Chapter Text
Wrists and ankles shackled to the ground, Emily trembles, but holds her head high.
I have to be brave. Brave like Katniss, Lenore Dove, Glory, Sunny, brave like Spensa, and Yumi... pretend you're one of them.
Abel screams, getting lashed, and it makes Emily tear up. Abel didn't deserve this. St. Peter didn't deserve this, Molly didn't, none of them! It was Emily's idea, but… she can't fold now, so she bites her tongue and holds back her tears.
Sera always taught her how to stay composed, so… huh. Sera.
She assumes Sera doesn't know about this. Especially considering when Emily shouted at them that Sera would be mad, the exorcists all froze and glanced at Lute, who barked at them to continue.
Emily look up, making eye contact with Lute.
The exorcists surrounding her whip her side again, blood and bruises welling up.
"Heaven is a lie," Emily hisses through her clenched teeth.
Snaking through the air, the whip finds a way to bite back at Emily, straight across the face. She falls forward, breathing heavily.
"Quit speaking," Lute sneers.
"If this is what happens... when we fight back..." Emily says.
Whip
It hits her bruised ribs and she tries not to scream, breathing out with pain and anger.
Still, her chin stays up, eyes burning with a fiery passion.
"If this is what you choose to do with us... if you—" she finally screams in pain with the next hit. "—CAST us... down to Hell..."
"Shut up!" Lute says.
"If you do this... you are no better than the sinners whose blood you stain your hands with..."
"Those sinners killed Adam!"
"But what about before that? Why did you kill them before then?" the Seraphim asks.
Lute kicks Emily's jaw.
"If you silence us... if this is... how you silence us... then heaven must be a lie..."
Whip
"If angels can do whatever... then how are you... any different from those sinners?" Emily says. Blood dribbles from her mouth down her chin, a stream of gold, like liquid sun.
"Anything left to say, brat?! Still wanna plead for your fucking life in heaven?!" Lute screams.
"I'm not pleading! I'm asking you... demanding that you continue this and cast us down. Cast me down!"
"You crazy bitch!"
This idea has been forming in Emily's mind for a while now. And for once she's speaking her thoughts, saying what she needs to say, shouting it in Lute's face, acting out! And…
And it's exhilarating.
Even the horrible pain from the whip lashes, the feeling of her halo being ripped away and her wings being clipped doesn't end this high of joy and passion.
But what hurt, what really hurt, was hearing the others' noises of suffering as the same was done to them.
Emily would be the last of the group to fall as Lute grabs her by her hair and drags her over to edge of Heaven.
•(♧◇♧◇♧)•
"Uh... Charlie, what's that?" Angel asks, looking outside.
Charlie looks out and sees the different figures falling from the sky. She grabs her binoculars that she'd begged Vaggi to let her get on a fun trip a few years back.
A guy with blonde hair, and another. Someone who looks like Angel a bit. A woman with curly, dark hair. And far, far above them is a blue angel…
Abel... Saint Peter...!
"Emily!" Charlie says. "Holy shit, I-I... I think they're falling!"
"Well, no shit!" Angel says, running to the door.
"Oh my god. I meant their wings are ripped out!"
"Vaggi! Help!" Charlie shouts, anxiety tearing through her.
Running downstairs, Vaggi appears in the doorway. "Yes, Charlie- OH."
Seeing the falling angels and understanding what she needs to do, Vaggi's unfolds her wings and flies out as quickly as possible. They're too far, and there's too many.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Charlie curses, looking around quickly. "…Oh! Alastor can help!"
A gold light fills the room, and Lucifer falls face first onto the floor before Charlie. "CHAR-CHAR! I heard you say you need help from BAMBI! You know who ELSE can help?!"
"Oh! Uh-"
"Me! I can! Haha! With, uh, what… exactly?" Lucifer asks, a rubber duck falling from his pink sweater.
Charlie squints at him, but decides now is not the time to judge. "Uh, well, there's a buncha angels falling, including a FUCKING SERAPHIM LIKE WOAH, I DON'T THINK ANY HAVE FALLEN SINCE, LIKE, YOU-"
"…uh! Don't worry, bout it Charlieee! I'll fix it!" Lucifer snaps his finger and the fallen angels all hit the hotel floor.
Mouth falling agape, Charlie stares at them.
Shit, shit, shit, gotta— huh? Vaggi whirls around in the air. Where did they go?! Oh, shi—
Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she pulls it out. A photo of them… in the hotel?
"What… oh, whatever…" Vaggi says, flying back to the hotel.
•(♧◇♧◇♧)•
Emily should be back in her room by now, so Sera head off to talk to her.
Inhaling deeply, Sera opens the door, but… Emily isn't there.
Lute said she'd take her back to her room… oh shit…
Sera's eyes widen and she spreads her wings, taking off to Adam's old trophy room. Lute's been practically living there, and she's gotten some noise complaints.
She hears talking on the other side of the door and pauses, listening. Just sounds like she's talking to herself… she hasn't been right in the mind ever since Adam was killed again, really… Sera thinks, throwing open the doors.
Lute jumps. "Agh! What the fuck do you want—oh. Sera…"
"Where is Emily?!" Sera says.
"Well, uh—"
"I said, WHERE IS SHE?"
Lute rolls her eyes. "How should I know? Took the brat to her room and she probably ran off for more of that rebellion shit…"
Disgusting. Her behavior is that of a sinner… Sera thinks, glancing around. There's shattered glass and claw marks everywhere, it looks like some animal got in.
When Lute turns away to look at the wall and nervously glance between Sera and it before mouthing something, Sera decides she isn't gonna get anything out of the exorcist, so she leaves, shutting the door behind her.
"Emily?! Emily! Where are you?! Emilyyyy!"
Sir Pentious slithers out, stopping in his tracks at the sight of Sera. "OH, SHIT! I just escaped! SKEDADDLE, I WON'T BE JAILED AGAIN—!!"
"Where's Emily?" Sera asks, grabbing him.
"Um, um, Miss Sera… I believe… she… erm… well. It was… horrifying to watch, truly…" he says, eyeing the ground. His hood flattens with a soft, sad hiss.
Heart dropping, Sera's eyes well with tears. "Where is my sister?"
She regrets asking, already knowing the answer before it leaves the serpent's lips.
"In Hell, Sera… she was fallen."
"Goddammit!" Sera cries, not even caring that she used the lord's name in vain.