Chapter 9

Four dark-winged beings swooped into the church, and for a moment Omi thought they were demons. Then he saw the feathers, and realization hit him at the same moment as Nagi. "Fallen cherubim!" the seraph exclaimed. One of the Fallen screeched in much the same tones as Farfarello as she dove on the icon, and the others flew to attack the five boys.

Omi sent a frantic mental summons to Schuldich using the connection forged between them by his powers, and was vaguely aware of the telepath's hazy acknowledgement. He buried two of his darts in the heart of one of the Fallen angels, and it fell writhing to the ground.

"I can't see them!" Ken exclaimed in frustration, swinging haphazardly around him with his claw. Aya grunted his agreement, standing in a ready stance and trying to anticipate where his opponent would come from. Nagi had blown one of the cherubs back out through the stained glass window, and was now dodging the celestial blade of the fourth.

Schuldich and Crawford burst through the doors from the offices, their clothing in disarray and guns held ready. "Your bullets won't hurt them!" Omi yelled at them, targeting the Fallen cherub attacking Nagi. He missed with his first dart as the angel unexpectedly gained altitude, and only scratched it with the second. The creature hissed in pain, turning to dive at him instead. "Schuldich, take their positions from our minds and relay it to the others!"

Schuldich gave him a startled look, unused to obeying orders from anyone other than Crawford, but did as he was bid. Omi felt the ghostly pressure against his mind, and opened his shields enough for the telepath to see what he saw. He knew it was working when Youji abruptly spun and lassoed the angel attempting to tear the cross to pieces, his wire burning her flesh wherever the blessed metal touched.

Now the Hellhounds were bounding through the door, and Ken and Aya charged to meet them as Omi finally managed to hit his opponent dead on. He cheered inwardly when he saw the blessed weapons tearing easily through demonic flesh, sending the Hounds yelping and skittering away. It still wouldn't be an easy fight - there had to be a dozen or more of the Hounds, plus who knew how many others still outside - but at least they had a chance now!

Nagi stumbled up beside him, panting. "Cover me for a second," he gasped, and Omi obliged him. The telekinetic cupped his hands together and concentrated, chanting under his breath. Sparkles and streamers of light gathered, spinning out from a sphere to a long, thin length. Abruptly it coalesced into the shining, double-bladed longsword that was every seraph's birthright, and Nagi grinned brightly at him. "I was hoping I could still do that," he said, and charged back into battle with his new weapon.

Omi threw the last of his darts at another of the Hounds that was advancing on Schuldich and Crawford, and summoned his own celestial weapon. He was gratified to see that the energy composing it was almost entirely white, with only a few dark strands running through it here and there - that meant it would probably be able to injure the demons. He was dismayed to realize that he needed two good hands to wield the long, spiked staff, however.

"Catch!" he called to Crawford instead, tossing the weapon at the precog. He didn't know if the American knew how to use such a weapon, but even if he could only poke at the Hounds ineffectually with it, it was still better than nothing. Crawford seemed to realize this as well, dropping his useless gun and catching the staff.

He was now out of useful weapons, and he stood panting for a moment, trying to catch his breath. The demons were everywhere now, and his side wasn't entirely without injury - Aya was bleeding sluggishly from his left arm, and he thought he saw a few claw rakes down Ken's back, though whether they had penetrated through the tough leather of the other boy's jacket he didn't know.

Youji passed by him, and something about the playboy's gait made Omi take a closer look at him. He was moving slowly, jerkily, not at all with his usual grace and panache. He followed the older man's gaze to the window, and saw a beautiful dark-haired woman beckoning to him seductively.

"Succubus!" he realized, shouting the warning to the others. "Youji, no!" He darted forward and blocked his friend's forward progress with his own body, using all his body weight to hold the bigger man in place. "Youji, snap out of it! She's a demon!"

It was useless, as he knew better than anyone. Once a succubus or incubus had you in their power, you were oblivious to anything but them. He tried to use his own powers to snare the man away from her, but even though he could sense that she was technically weaker than he, he was no match for her full demonic aspect while he was in this mortal form.

Instead he did something he would never have even thought of before - he turned the tables on her. He caught her eyes with his own, exerting every bit of his strength to hold her in place. She wasn't expecting it - she couldn't look away without losing her hold on Youji, and then she was trapped. He hadn't been sure his powers would work on another sex demon, but he was grateful to see the familiar glaze come over her eyes. "Let him go," he ordered, and she released Youji obediently. The playboy shook his head as if awakening from a dream, and glanced around in confusion. "Leave, and don't return," Omi added, throwing in an extra surge of power so the order would hold after she'd left his line of sight, and the demoness turned and walked away.

"Oh, god," Youji moaned, shaking as he realized what had almost happened to him.

"Don't look in their eyes," Omi told him, raising his voice so the others would hear him. "That's how they trap you, by hypnotizing you with their eyes!"

He was trembling now with exhaustion, having used every last bit of his reserves to turn the succubus' hold on his friend. It was all he could do to stay upright, and he cast desperately about for some source of energy. He spotted Farfarello only a few feet away, laughing maniacally at the fight, and grimaced. Well, it was better than nothing, he supposed...

He used the very last dregs of his power to hold the Irishman in place long enough for him to get there, and pressed him up against the wall with his body. He kissed the madman deeply, feeling dirty but allowing his demonic nature to take control briefly as he pulled the energy directly from the Irishman's soul. Farfarello screeched beneath him, then quieted suddenly as Omi regained enough power to enthral him.

He pulled away as the lunatic passed out from the energy drain, wiping his lips disgustedly. "I hope I didn't catch anything nasty," he muttered as he turned back to the fight, feeling marginally better. At least he wasn't in danger of collapsing.

The devils had entered the church now, and were watching the fight in amusement. Omi wondered what they were waiting for - Weiss had nearly finished dealing with the Hellhounds, and Nagi was helping mop up the last few in quick time. Unless they had more reinforcements waiting outside the door...

There was a sudden sickening lurch inside his mind, and Schuldich's entire psyche washed over him as the telepath screamed and fell to his knees. Crawford staggered, seeming dizzy as he struggled to sort through the phantasms around him and discover which were the ones he was actually fighting in the present. Every remaining window in the place shattered all at once as Nagi lost control as well, the telekinetic force shoving at everything around him with sharp pressure. Just that quickly, the battle went from nominally even odds to no chance for them to succeed.

The few remaining Hellhounds were regrouping, apparently realizing that the three White Hunters with their deadly blessed weapons could no longer see them. Weiss likewise gathered into a tight knot, guarding each other's backs as they scanned the room helplessly, trying to spot their opponents again. Nagi had curled into a little ball nearby, and was hugging his knees to his chest and moaning with the effort of not bringing the entire structure down around them.

Carreau laughed, the sound horrible and grating against raw nerves. "See what your pitiful efforts come to in the end," he chuckled smugly. "You could not have defeated us, though you might have succeeded in injuring us. Now we shall destroy you all for attempting to defy us!"

Omi hissed at him instinctively, the sound more than half-growl and emanating from somewhere deep in the back of his throat. One of the Hellhounds paced forward, its massive shoulders higher a grown man's waist, and pounced without warning. Ken went down screaming, and Aya and Youji tried to knock the invisible foe off their teammate.

Schuldich cried out from somewhere off to the side, and then Omi lost the touch of his mind. The telepath had overloaded, blacking out from the overwhelming amount of agony being thrust upon him. Ken screamed again, voice choked with blood.

"Stop!" Omi begged, tears running down his face. "Please, Carreau, stop it! Don't hurt them! They have nothing to do with this, they're only trying to protect me!"

The devil of cruelty looked straight at him, eyes glowing with pleasure in the suffering of those around him. "Come to me willingly, little one, and I will release them," he purred.

"Omi, no!" Nagi objected, gritting the words out past his locked jaw. "You can't trust them!"

"Swear it!" Omi demanded frantically as the Hellhound turned from toying with Ken to snap at the katana aggravating its side, catching half of Aya's arm in its teeth as well. "Swear it by your immortal soul - I go to you willingly, and you will release them. Aya, Ken, Youji, Schuldich, Crawford - they go free, no harm will come to them from any devil, demon or other celestial evil, from now until the natural end of their lives!"

"I so swear it," Carreau pronounced in triumph, as Nagi screamed a denial. "I'll even let your precious lover live; he'll Fall anyway without you to save him." The devil clenched his clawed fingers into his palm until the rotten-smelling ichor ran freely, tracing a binding pentagram over his torso with the oozing liquid.

Omi hastily grabbed up a fallen shard of glass and cut his palm, repeating the sigil on his own body. The liquid hissed and bubbled, sinking through his shirt to embed itself deep in his skin. He felt a distant tingle of response from the previous pentagram that he'd traced there, on the day that his angel had first fought him. The Hellhounds immediately backed away, leaving Aya clutching his sword arm as Ken lay bleeding to death on the ground, Youji crouched helplessly over them both.

"Omi..." Nagi sobbed, tears streaming from his eyes as Omi moved to go to the devils. "Why..."

"If my destruction will save you and the others, it's worth it," Omi told him fiercely. "It's all been worth it, angel, every moment. Even knowing that it would come to this, if I had to do it all over again, I'd still love you." He leaned down and kissed his soul mate gently on the lips one last time, before continuing past him. He paused again as he came to his three friends, looking at Carreau for permission. The devil smirked and waved negligently, knowing he had all the time in the world to torment his new toy.

"I love you all," Omi told them in a choked whisper. "You're my family. You taught me the meaning of friendship. Don't forget me - and help Nagi, please. He will Fall if he doesn't have someone to guide him."

"I grow impatient," the devil warned him, and Omi felt the brand of blood on his chest burn. He drew in a deep breath and resolutely took the last few steps to bring him to the devil's side.

"I'm yours," he said, grateful that his voice remained steady. The monstrous clawed hand reached for him, sharp talons piercing right through his torso as it closed around him. He screamed in agony, blood bubbling up from his lungs to froth forth from his nose and throat.

Please, God, if you're listening, he prayed silently, with the part of him that somehow remained detached from the torture. I don't know if a demon's prayer counts for anything, but if you love them at all - Weiss, Schwartz, Nagi - please help them. Protect them, guide them, love them. Be there for them, as I cannot. God, Jesus, all the angels in the Hosts - please!

Vaguely he was aware of Nagi staggering to his feet and rushing forward, only to be stopped by Youji. "Don't you dare!" the playboy scolded the hysterical psychic, holding him tightly. "He's giving his life for us - don't you dare make his sacrifice in vain by throwing your life away!"

The massive talons withdrew, and he felt his heartblood pumping out from the huge holes in his body. They pierced him again, and this time he didn't even have the voice left to scream. He felt the devil's power slowly tearing his soul to pieces, and welcomed the oblivion that waited for him in the end. At least when he no longer existed, he wouldn't be able to feel this all-encompassing pain...

He heard a shriek of agony from somewhere beyond his own circle of pain, and at first he thought Carreau had broken his word and attacked the others. But no, surely even he would not dare to break this oath...

He felt himself falling, felt the impact with the ground as only a sort of dull pressure. It couldn't compare to the pain he was already feeling, and dimly he wondered why his mortal body was still alive.

"Omi! Omi! For God's sake, Omi, don't die on me, please!"

He became aware of a voice calling to him frantically, of the warm, salty wetness of tears splashing on his face. For Nagi he would do anything, even force his eyes open through the blood that caked them shut.

Well, one eye, anyway - he suspected that his right eye wasn't there anymore. He finally managed to focus, and found Nagi leaning over him as chaos reigned beyond him.

He tried to form a question, but couldn't draw breath into his ruined lungs to ask it. Nagi saw it in his face, and smiled, looking like he might pass out from sheer relief. "Gabriel," he said, gesturing around him. "Gabriel came. They saved us."

Now Omi saw the white-feathered wings, and realized that the mayhem was actually Gabriel's Enforcers driving the demons and devils away. There was an entire Host of seraphic warriors, and he could now see a couple of cherubim kneeling over Ken and Aya. He realized that the soft surface under his head was actually the lap of a third cherub, using her powers of Healing to keep him alive.

"Why?" he managed to croak, grimacing as the torn tissues in his throat protested. The cherub smiled gently down at him.

"We'd have been here sooner, but the gateway was opened deep inside Hell, and it took us this long to fight our way to it," she told him in her sweetly melodic voice. "We started out with half a dozen Hosts, and now we have only the one, and a few Healers. It was very brave, what you did - sacrificing yourself for them," she added in an awed tone. "I don't think I could have done it, knowing what Carreau is capable of."

"Had... to..." he said, smiling painfully back at her. "They're... everything to... me..." He felt Nagi's hand tighten on his, and his lips twitched again at the shocked expression on the angel's face.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again his depth perception had returned. The hideous wounds in his chest were slowly sealing over, and he was amazed to realize that his previously injured arm was nearly whole again. "I didn't realize just how much you were capable of Healing," he admitted reverently. She blushed.

"You were almost beyond help," she told him seriously. "You're lucky we got here when we did. Your friends should be all right as well..."

"OMI!" Ken's voice sounded from across the vestibule. "Let me up, will you? I'm fine, I need to see if he's okay!"

"I'm okay, Ken-kun!" he replied, his voice still hoarse as he tried to shout. He sat up with help from Nagi and the cherub, grimacing. Aya was staring at his Healed arm in wide-eyed fascination, and Youji was trying to help another cherub keep Ken still long enough to finish Healing him. The battle had ended, and the seraphim were now regrouping to get their own wounds treated.

Ken relaxed when he saw that Omi was indeed alive, and took the time to really look around him. He blanched. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed, then bit his tongue. "Are... are you really all angels?"

"Yes," the cherub working on him told him in amusement. "Now sit still and be quiet until I'm finished!"

Across the way another cherub stood over Farfarello, shaking her head sadly. "There's nothing I can do," she told Schuldich and Crawford with genuine remorse. "He's been too damaged, for too long, and I'm not at full strength. I'm sorry."

"I'm not sure I'd know how to deal with a whole, sane Farfie anyway," Schuldich snorted, eyeing the multitude of angels around him uneasily.

Omi wobbled to his feet, feeling more of his strength return to him by the minute. "I'm okay," he told the cherub helping him. "Go heal the seraphim before you run out of energy." She nodded and turned to one of the more badly injured angel warriors.

"So, you found each other after all," Omi heard Michael say from behind them. He and Nagi turned as one, to stare up at the archangel. He was looking back at them with what could only be called a fond expression. "There will be a great deal of upheaval in Heaven over this - a Risen demon. Not that the Hosts couldn't use a good shakedown to shock them out of their ruts. I, for one, am glad you succeeded."

"Michael-sama," Nagi replied hesitantly, and Omi couldn't help but giggle at the way he automatically added the Japanese honourific. His lover gave him an annoyed glance. "Michael, why did God punish us? Our love WAS true - shouldn't He have known that?" He looked deeply troubled, and Omi couldn't blame him.

Michael sighed. "That is a question that bothered me for some time after you were gone," he admitted. "I finally dredged up the courage to ask Him. I'll give you a paraphrase of the answer He gave me - tell me, what will you do the next time your lover kills a victim?"

"Probably cheer him on," Nagi replied flatly. "I know Omi, he wouldn't ever kill anyone that didn't deserve it a hundred times over..." His eyes widened as he realized what he was saying. Michael turned to Omi.

"And you, incubus... what will you do, the next time he goes charging off to rescue some poor soul, leaving you behind?"

"Go with him," Omi answered promptly, beginning to catch on. "I don't think I could just sit by and watch someone be hurt, knowing that I could help - that's why I'm in Weiss, after all." He hesitated, then added, "It was a lesson, wasn't it? Those are the things we used to fight over - the things we couldn't understand about each other. I used to resent him so much when he would abandon me for some cause - and he hated the thought of me killing people."

"A lesson," Michael confirmed. "And to prove the truth of your love, not to Him, but to the rest of the Hosts so that there could be no question. He never doubted that you would succeed. Are you ready to retake your rightful places in the Hosts?"

"Now?" Nagi asked, startled. "It hasn't been seven years yet!"

"The point of the lesson has been learned," Michael said, shrugging so that his great white wings rippled in the candlelight. "And the incubus' sacrifice has more than proved his worthiness to Rise. You only had a few weeks remaining here in any case."

They glanced at each other, and nodded wordlessly. Michael glanced over their shoulders to where the rest of Weiss and Schwartz were gaping. "I suggest any mortals present cover their eyes for a moment," he said wryly. "This is going to be very bright, and I don't think my Healers have enough energy left to unblind you all."

His hands came to rest on Omi and Nagi's heads, and Omi felt a warm tingling move through his body. It itched, and he could feel his muscles and bones stretching and growing, feeling the massive wings forming at his shoulder blades. It should have hurt, this wholesale rearranging of his body, but it didn't. The light surrounding them did indeed become unbearably bright, until he had to close his eyes as well.

When it faded, he opened them again and looked up to see his angel, looking back at him with the same stunned expression he imagined was on his own face. "Angel?" he whispered, his voice returned to its normal haunting tenor tones. He drank in the sight of his silver-haired lover, memorizing every inch to store up against moments when he wouldn't have that precious sight before him.

"Omi..." the seraph replied in awe. "Your wings!"

He canted them forward, glancing over his shoulder, expecting to see the usual sleek black-scaled expanse. Instead a dazzling display of pure white met his vision, and he exclaimed aloud. "They've changed colour!"

"You've Risen," Michael explained. "Just as a Fallen angel's wings turn black, so a Risen demon's turn white. It is a little strange to see, but they suit you nicely."

He spread them, luxuriating in the feel of them tugging against the extra muscles in his back. It felt strange, but good to have them back. Nagi was doing the same, fluttering them to shake the feathers into place, and they grinned at each other.

He flipped the wings back to their resting place against his spine, and turned to his friends. He blinked a little to have to look down at them - he'd forgotten that he was over six feet tall in his natural form. He kept his powers under careful rein, knowing that the sight of an incubus alone was enough to entrance some mortals.

Schuldich was cursing softly in German, making all the angels around him flinch. "I don't believe this," he exclaimed. "I bloody damn well don't believe this. Just like that," he snapped his fingers, "you guys are gone? What the fuck is Schwartz supposed to do now?"

"You could always try balancing your own scales a little," Omi pointed out acidly. "Try doing some good for a change - you might just find you like it. If I can develop a conscience, anyone can!"

"Omi..." Ken said hesitantly, looking up at him. "God, this is so weird. You don't look like you, you don't SOUND like you - but it's definitely you. I... I'll miss you."

For the third time that night Omi felt tears spring to his eyes. He swiped at them irritably. "I'll miss you too, Ken-kun. Ken. I'll miss all of you. I wish I could stay!"

"Why not?" Nagi suddenly asked, and Omi turned to look at him in astonishment. "Well, why not?" the seraph said again. "We could take mortal form, and stay here. You've done just fine without me for the last seven years," he added to Michael. "And I'm sure there are plenty of angels who could use a few more centuries to get used to the idea of a demon in Heaven, never mind a few decades. Why couldn't we live out the rest of Omi and Nagi's lives? We're needed here!"

Omi nodded slowly, the idea taking root in his heart. "I don't want to leave," he pleaded softly. "They're my family, and I just found them. Seven years of having someone love me isn't very long, compared to centuries of being surrounded by hatred. And I can make a real difference in Weiss!"

Michael regarded them both soberly. "You realize I'd have to take your memories away again? All of you," he nodded at the gathered mortals as well. "It's not good for any mortal to live with such knowledge of the celestial realm. You'd live the rest of your natural lives completely as humans, ordinary mortals."

"What's a century, compared to eternity?" Nagi shrugged indifferently. "Except when demons are chasing us, my powers aren't all that useful anyway. And Omi's will only get him in trouble."

"Lucifer can't even touch us," Omi added excitedly. "Carreau swore on his soul that they would live their lives unharmed by demons if I gave myself willingly to him - and I did. The fact that I was rescued doesn't negate the bargain. I'm the only one who would be in any danger, and once the gate is closed they can't reach me physically anyway."

Michael closed his eyes, and considered it. Finally he nodded, opening them again. "So be it. Far be it from me to take you both from something that makes you so happy." He gestured, and Gabriel stepped forward with some of the lesser archangels. "Take their memories, and seal them in mortal form until their corporeal bodies die. I wish you both luck - God be with you."

Omi and Nagi hugged each other tightly, then Omi turned and moved to the rest of Weiss. As the golden, glowing light enveloped them, he knew he'd made the right decision by the love his in friends' eyes.

|Part 1| |Part 2| |Part 3| |Part 4| |Part 5| |Part 6| |Part 7| |Part 8| |Part 9| |Epilogue|

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