The Fallen

Frank’s P.O.V

I stared at the mirror. Inscribed on my chest was a backwards,, twisted writing. I couldn’t read it, but far, far underneath it was a symbol. It was a circle with an x through it, and a cross in the middle. It was slashed violently, as though the creature had carved it and then further shredded my skin.

“What does it say…?” I whispered, frightened.

Gerard looked reluctant to answer, “I don’t care to burden you with that. It’s written in Demona. Language of departed souls. I can read it.”

“Well,” I said, my eyes narrowed, “It’s carved into my flesh, on my body. I have a right to know.”

I stared at him angrily. Gerard sighed and complied, “Alright. It’s… You know, even when you’ve been badly shredded, you’re so cute.”

“Thank you. Now read my chest.”

He sighed again, “I tried. Okay. Lean back a little.”

I complied and he studied my chest for a moment. Closing his eyes, he pulled me closer and began to whisper in my ear, “A war is approaching. The lost will come forth and appear to the flyers. Broken will become fixed, the last of the three hidden will die. Bury the faith or perish along side them. The youngest amongst you will be the first to die, protect the fables or suffer the lie.”

I blinked at him, my eyes wide, “What the fuck does any of that mean?”

He nodded to himself and carried me back to his bed. Gerard put me down gently and begun to play with his fingers, “I…I don’t know for sure, but I know what the part about burying the faith means. The faith refers to the Faith stone, one of the three stones of balance. There are Faith, Silence, and Dream stones.

These stones were used to hold the world together long ago, but, as legend has it, the hero who locked them away in Tannin betrayed the Archangel. In anger, the Archangel banished him. One night, the hero snuck back and stole the stones, scattering them on earth.

One of the stones was destroyed, the Silence stone. That left the Dream stone and Faith stone. It says burry the Faith, but I believe it means to uncover the Faith, you know, find the stone. “

He paused to breath, staring at me, before continuing, “The lost will come forth and appear to the flyers? Flyers was ancient terminology for the angels of Tannin, and I suppose the lost is either the demons, the standing dead, or the fallen. The rest… I can’t figure out right now.”

Gerard rubbed his temples, his eyes closed. I reached forward and put a hand on his elbow. He smiled, almost secretly and removed his hands before placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.

He got up, telling me he’d be right back before exiting. My eyes followed him, though I found that when he was gone, I felt intensely tired. I fell back into my pillows and let my eyes close…

~

Mikey’s P.O.V (I missed Mikey’s view in this story! :] )

I heard the doorbell ring. Damnit, I didn’t feel like moving. I was comfortable, half paying attention to the movie that was playing on the T.V. I really really didn’t feel like moving.

But whoever was at the door refused to leave, ringing the doorbell several more times. Finally, with a defeated sigh, I stood and shuffled over to the door. I pulled it open to reveal a sandy blonde dude with blue eyes and a peaceful smile.

He was tall, and almost seemed to glow. Despite this, he looked old enough to be my father. He was dressed in a white tee and cargo shorts.

“Uhh, hello.” I said to the stranger, “Can I help you?”

He smiled widely, looking very happy to see me. I felt suddenly self-conscious, so I ran a hand through my tousled brown hair. His hair was long in the back and he had bangs cut just above his eyes. Mine fell sloppily over my glasses.

“Actually, Michael, it was you I was hoping to see.” The man said.

I raised an eyebrow. I was getting seriously creeped about now. This weird old dude who I’ve never met shows up at the house I live in and uses my name.

I just stared blankly at the dude, “Well, um, who are you and why do you know my name?”

The blonde opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, an angry voice sounded behind me, “Mikey, get the fuck away from the door!”

I turned to look at my brother, who rushed to the door, pulled me away from it and threw it open farther before stepping outside it and closing it behind him.

Gerard had tossed me with tremendous force, but I wasn’t hurt. I climbed to my feet and ran for the door, opening it and sticking my head out. Gerard had forced the man back onto my lawn and was trembling with hatred. Who was this guy?

I could see Gee’s skin tone getting darker, as though someone were dusting his entire visible body with shadow. I could see his wings bristling with anger under his shirt.

“I told you to stay away from my brother.” He growled, quite literally growled.

And I was terrified Gerard would revert to a more powerful form. I’d seen him do it once, and I wouldn’t talk to him for a week afterwards for fear of him dragging that beast out on me. Last time he’d done it was when he found a young girl in the street, dead. I didn’t know what significance she held for him, especially since she was a girl, and he’s gay.

The strangest thing. I felt incredible grief when I saw her dead. But I couldn’t remember her.

The blonde man laughed shortly, “He’s my son, I have every right to see him. Your looking a little shadowed, Way, maybe we should take this inside.

Gerard fumbled and pulled his shirt over his head, his wings snapping out. He was revealing himself to this dude? Wait, WHAT? He called me his son? No, I have a father, I don’t see him often, but I have one.

Who does this man think he is?

“I regret allowing you to keep those wings now, Way. At the time it seemed appropriate. But even perfect creatures like myself can make minor mistakes regarding mess-ups like you.” The man smiled smugly.

That drove him over the edge. He’d been storing this hatred ever since he saved Frank’s life from… well, he never told me what from, and now it was too much. I watched him change.

The ridges of his feathers became sharper than razorblades, and his wings grew significantly. His skin was now blotchy, half pale, half black. The black was slowly spreading, and in five minutes or so, he’d be completely shadowed.

Gerard spoke, but it sounded like a series of rasps and growls, “I dare you to fight me. If I win, you leave my family and my love alone.”

The man looked a little freaked by Gee’s rapid change. Little did he know, Gerard wasn’t even halfway through his transformation.

The man tried to regain his composure, but Gee grew less and less human by the second, “A-and if I win?”

Gerard pulled back his lips in a gruesome smile that revealed each and every one of his needle-sharp teeth, “You honestly think you can win? Oh, well. If you by some miracle manage to utterly destroy me, because you will not win any other way, I grant you permission to take your son.”

I shivered. The golden haired man looked me dead in the eye and nodded, “Alright, Way. I was elected Archangel for a reason, you know. I can fight. Well.”

A grating noise came from Gee, I realized he was laughing. He looked up. It was getting dark by now, and I knew he got intensely stronger in the dark. His form flickered and disappeared.

The man’s eyes widened. He seemed to only just realize what he’d gotten himself into. He pulled his shirt over his own head and two snowy-white wings snapped open. I really wasn’t surprised at this point.

The man I still did not know the name of leapt into the air and, with a powerful downward thrust, he soared off. Gee’s form flickered, and I watched him tail the guy, only he was no longer relatively human.

He had reverted to his most evil form, a demon. He had shed his pants, not that he needed them now. He was entirely consumed by the black, a long, scaly tail thrashed out behind him.

I watched, my eyes huge, as he surged, gripping the guy’s shoulders. Gerard’s feet had become claws, and they thrust forward digging into the angel’s back. Gee released him with his hands, using them to rip out his right wing. Gerard pushed off him, allowing him to spiral and fall, hitting the ground with a crunch in the street.

Gerard began to circle him like a vulture, diving and landing next to the angel. He stepped towards the crumpled form just as he began to stir. The man sat up, and Gerard snapped his head off.

My eyes widened, to be honest, I felt slightly sick watching Gee devour the angel’s body, yet I couldn’t look away. When he’d finished, there were no remains, just blood smeared on the street. The demon turned and approached me on four legs.

He sat about three feet in front of me, bowing his head. He spoke into my mind, “I apologize for frightening you, Michael. I did what had to be done. When I return to a more-suited form, all will be explained.”

I nodded and let him into the house. He asked rather nervously if he could sleep in my bed until he resumed his human form, because Frank was asleep in his room. I nodded and hurried him off to my bedroom before going down to his room and finding him clothes to put on when he became human once more.