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The sound of metal against bone echoes harshly against the walls of Minos' dead flesh. The meat had grown tough after centuries of decay, stomach acid pooling in odd places from the haphazard carvings of parasites. Dead now, of course. With any luck, Minos himself still lived. With any luck, it would listen to reason. Ironic, now.
Heaven had been thrown into utter chaos. The machine was still tearing through Hell at a rapid clip, destroying everything in its path. Gabriel himself had no light left to guide him, and he had begun the arduous process of finding his own path.
Path to... to what? Death, unquestionably. The council had torn all holiness from him, body, mind, and spirit. Without it, he would falter. Had faltered. But he had done so with the light as well, so perhaps it mattered little.
Reform, perhaps? Maybe. In his absence, in the council's absence, he hoped a kinder hand would form in place of their iron grip. But he would never see the fruits of his labor, whether they grew in full and sweet, or small and bitter, or simply rotted on the vine.
Besides, he had never been any sort of leader. Just the sharpest tool available. It allowed him space to breathe that other angels had never received. Lenience. The ability to save, occasionally, instead of letting rot. To keep the spokes of this wretched wheel spinning, to better crush all underfoot. But now he had lenience in abundance, and that wheel was burning, folding in upon itself.
Damned robots.
Absolution? Gabriel didn't know. It wasn't right to have ripped Minos from his throne, not when he had brought so much light to souls in such desperate need. He was the beating heart of Lust, and his hands had crushed it.
But what choice did he have, at the time? Defy the council? Throw his lot in with Minos and watch as his world crumbled? For what? Some ridiculous oaf that thought he could liberate Hell, live in peace, prosper.
But. He did. It had. Before the council noticed. And Gabriel had, in the end, defied them.
Maybe. Maybe. Maybe in another life, he had questioned more, looked back sooner. But he was no Lucifer. Not then. Not while the fire's embers were still cooling.
Maybe all he really wants is a fight. Maybe, all he really needs is adrenaline, and a way to forget.
Gabriel approaches the prime sanctum, the doors scraping away from him. As they should. As everything does. With one great wingbeat he is upon the prison, wrenching its teeth apart to find the glowing soul held within. He rips the cube asunder in one great pull as Minos' soul begins to coalesce into a humanoid form, and begins his plea when it is almost whole, a vain attempt to have the good judge listen.
"Minos-"
A translucent fist meets Gabriels white metal faceplate.
"YOUR JUDGMENT IS UPON YOU, GABRIEL!"
A knee drives itself between Gabriels legs, where nothing but armor lies. He still appreciates the emotion the gesture shows.
"Minos, be reasonable. I want to talk."
A caustic laugh bursts from The Fair King.
"NOW? NOW YOU WISH TO TALK? TO BE REASONABLE? YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE, ANGEL."
Gabriel lifts a forearm to soften the blow of a serpent, fangs aimed towards the holes in his helm. It latches onto his vambrace instead.
"Yes."
"DIE!"
Gabriel's hand grabs that ardent ankle aimed, once again, at his fucking face. He takes a deep breath, a low whistle through the slots in his visor. His temper is short, especially these days.
"Will you shut your mouth for five fucking seconds."
Gabriel gets his answer by way of spit in his face.
The chinks of Gabriels gauntlet dig into the audacious king's white flesh, and a thin trickle of blood seeps out from the punctures made. His snow white armor fades blood red, and in the next moment he has Minos by the face, skull driven into the floor.
"Listen. God is gone. The council is dead- I killed them. Hell is in ruins, thanks to your forsaken species' wretched metal offspring. Soon there will be nothing. Do you hear me, you old fool? Nothing."
Gabriel's grip loosens, the red glow fading from his form.
"And I... Do not know what to do next."
Minos stares for a moment, considering the being above him. Choosing his words, or how to prostrate himself.
"Answer me this, Gabriel. How is it that Heaven's brightest angel takes such a turn?"
He is silent for a while, slowly unclenching his fist from Minos' face.
"There was... a robot. A machine of war. It had made it to gluttony with- with ease. Grace, even. I was sent to stop it."
He pauses, wrenching the words from within himself.
"I lost. The council... I was to try again, and succeed this time. Failing that, I would be put to death."
Minos chuckles. "You failed."
Gabriel bites down the bitter anger, settling for a nod.
"And that brought clarity, of a sort. Freedom. God is gone from heaven. It's just the council now. Or- was. And they..."
"Are wretched, short sighted fools, too busy following scripture to consider another way."
Gabriel bats away his old feelings of allegiance to them, and nods, once again.
"And I am still fated to die, so you don't need to worry about killing me."
Minos nods, considering once again. He pats the ground next to him, offering Gabriel a seat.
"What are you going to do? Now that you're free."
The question surprised Gabriel as much as it did Minos, springing out with no thought.
"I suppose... well. It's not like you can put me back in that box. I'm sure my city is due for a second renaissance, and now there is no one to stop me. Maybe Heaven needs one too. It would be easy to lay waste to it, now."
"Please. Show my people the kindness I denied yours." Gabriel says. His voice sounds so worn. He hated it. He missed fighting the machine.
God above, that thing haunted him. A gun without a wielder. Maybe he could learn to be that free. He almost misses Minos nodding, so lost in his reverie.
"I shall spare them. I am, after all, the Just King." Minos shifts, studying the flesh of the walls. "What will you do? Now that I'm free."
Gabriel hums. "That's what I came here to find out. You seem to have a clarity that I lack."
Minos huffs. "I cannot make your choices for you, Gabriel. It's pathetic of you, to run from one ruler to another the second you taste freedom."
"I am NOT-" a breath. A hand massaging a nonexistent nose. "I am not running to you, you parasite riddled sack of arrogance. I just want..."
Minos holds up a hand to pause.
"Gabriel. I think you've somehow managed to suffer enough to forgive your sins against my people. However, I hate you, down to my core. You are a wretched bastard, and I will cheer when your final breath is drawn. What makes you think I will give you anything, advice or otherwise?"
He sits in shock. "That was blunt of you, Minos."
"If you wanted to bang your head against a wall all day, you would've found Sisyphus."
"True."
Minos stands. "Well. I'm off to clean up whatever mess you've made of my layer. Thank you for setting me free. If possible, die faster."
Gabriel waves the doors open, and Minos leaves. Once again, it's just him, and Hell. And silence.
He needs to find that fucking robot.