Death of the paster

Blood splattered on the wall as screams filled the small church. The people of this town had never seen anything so grotesque, this was the City of Angels, The City of Light but darkness was seeping in through each and every crack.

“You dare insult me!” The blonde stranger yelled, spinning around on his heel to look back at the people in the pews with his piercing blue eyes. Eyes that bore into the very souls of the church goers.

“N-no sir.” The pastor quavered from the aisle with fear heavy in his voice, “I… I just merely don’t understand what it is you want with my church, with my people.”

The stranger’s thin lips curled up into a smile;  his sharp and piercing blue eyes penetrating the depths of Pastor Mark’s soul. For being vile, the blonde stranger was dressed in a very fine suit and fedora making him look quite charming, “Now Marcus… Don’t play dumb with me I just want to understand why you lie about your devotion to Christ.” He replied with a plastic grin, his hand gestured up at the crucified Jesus they had on display, “I want to know why a black sheep is preaching to a room of wolves!”

“Th-these are good people! If anyone in here is a wolf it’s you! You.. you just came in here and….and  Blew Randy’s head off because he said you weren’t a true follower!!” The pastor had shouted with a heavy gulp of terror  to follow.

Laughter erupted from the handsome man’s throat, “You think that’s why I killed Randy? Oh no no no no, he was right… I’m no follower of God.” The blonde stranger jested with a laugh, “I’m here to destroy your faith, nothing more! Randy was just part of that plan”

“You will never destroy my faith!” Seethed the pastor.

“We’ll see about that Marcus… Firstly I’d like to go back to when you said this was a room of decent people.” He smirked as a short chuckle crept past his lips, “How  much would you like to wager on that one?”

“What do you mean by ‘wager’?” Mark questioned whilst the blonde man let out a tedious sigh.

“Don’t play stupid… What are you willing to put on the line for your faith?” The phrase was spoken in a frustrated growl, the blonde man clearly wasn’t enjoying this as much as he was earlier.

Mark had fallen silent while staring into the stranger’s bright blue eyes, “I… Bet on… No… I know better than to make a wager with a demon.”

This made the male laugh though the laugh was far from human. It sounded as though there were multiple voices laughing at once and it was strong enough to shake the walls of the church, “Demon? You think I’m a demon?” He marveled; bursting out into more laughter.

The pastor glared before he clutched his bible soon holding his rosary up, “Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies,

Saint Michael the Archangel,” He avowed as the stranger let out a pained scream soon falling to his knees and clutching his head, “defend us in our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness,” Mark continued as the demon’s skin began to smoke.

The smoke abruptly stopped and the blonde man looked directly into the preacher's eyes, “against the spirits of wickedness in the high places,” The blonde man’s voice was laced in a thick malice demonic voice,“Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to his likeness and whom he has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny  of the devil. The Holy Church venerates you as her guardian!” The booming voice proclaimed as it grew louder,  “and protector; to you, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet,” The man sassed as he dramatically raised his hands to the ceiling, “that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church!!” Sneered out the man with howling laughter before he stood up and straightened his suit, the pastor's hand slowly lowered as his eyes watched in terror.  His hands shaking while he listened to the demonic entity speak, “I’m not a demon… I couldn’t be in here if I was.”

Raising his left hand he lifted everyone on the right side of the church and with a twist of his wrist they began  to blast into the wall. Bones could be heard shattering as the building shook and the plaster cracked. One by one their bodies all began exploding causing the rest of the people to attempt to run away in  absolute fear while the pastor stood frozen.

“Sit down!!” The stranger stormed as everyone who was standing slammed back into their seats.

“That’s enough Azazel!” A stern hard voice snarled from behind the blonde man.

Azazel grinned, turning around to face none other than the angel Gabriel whom was standing on the pulpit, “Ah look who finally decided to show… Only took me tearing apart seven churches.” Azazel beamed proudly.

“If you wanted me there’s other ways to have gotten my attention.” The angel frowned; brown eyes gazing down at the blood soaked church.

“Yes but they wouldn’t have been as fun.” Azazel smirked a dirty and wide smirk.

Gabriel knew this wasn’t going to end without a fight and if he didn’t act quickly then more people were going to die. With a glare the angel drew The Lance of Longinus; after the crucifixion the lance was encased in diamond and opal giving it a beautiful and glowing resonance.

Gabriels wings spread fast before he charged into the half breed causing them to rip through the wall and land onto the dirt. The angel was forbidden to kill however, he thought he’d be able to cast the half breed back down to hell. It was never fun dealing with the offspring of an angel and a demon.  

Azazel groaned and swung his hand at Gabriel as though he had a knife, despite his hand being empty, the angels cheek was cut. Gabriel moved back in attempts to avoid another blow as his blood dripped down his cheek giving off a beautiful shimmer before hitting the ground. “Ahhh Perfect,” The half breed purred. He then raised his hand to the sky, “Ichni Onatanu Ashrium!” He chanted as chains shot down from the heavens into the very spot Gabriel's blood had hit the ground.

“Azazel!” Fretted the angel as the ground turned a deep black around the chains; they began pulling out a tall and dark blackened figure, “No… Azazel stop this!” Gabriel pleaded as he took a step only to find demonic hands reaching from the ground to hold him firmly  in place. A darkened figure began climbing and raising up from the ground resulting in Gabriel feeling an intense sense of fear for the first time.

“What’s the matter Gabe? Don’t wanna see darling Ezekiel? Ha! I don’t blame you! Even you should know better than to cross a Fallen Angel!” Azazel gushed with glee, “Oh wait… You didn’t cross him did you? You’re the b*****d that made him fall… The b*****d that bound him to hell… And all it took was your blood to free him.”

Gabriel glared and stabbed at the blackened malice figure however it quickly caught the lance breaking it in its grasp. On the silhouette of its head a mouth began opening and growing ever so present with sharp snake like teeth, “Ahhh Gabriel…. 2,000 years ago you bound me to hell… In this very spot.” his voice sounded as though several demons were speaking at once; all with different accents.

“You were walking around heaven trying to get other angels to fall!” Gabriel protested, generating a ball of light in his hand that he shot at the ground followed by two more as he tried to break free.

Ezekiel made a sound that one could assume was laughter; Eyes began developing as his form grew more human like aside from the sheer size of the Fallen Angel. His voice began evening out into one elegant british accent though the other voices could be heard in faint whispers, “Yes.. and now little brother it’ll be your turn… Lucifer has missed you so,” He laughed as the hands began dragging Gabriel down.

“No! You know angels can’t wander into hell!”

“You’re right…. Let’s fix that,” Ezekiel said harshly  as he extended one of his elongated arms towards Gabriel. A fiery blast shot from the palm of his hand causing the angel's wings to erupt in flames causing Gabriel to scream in sheer agony.

Azazel smirked and lit a cigarette before cutting down the center of his arm, he walked in a circle around the two as he worked on opening a portal to hell. Gabriel cried out  as he was slowly being dragged down causing the black goo on the ground to follow him. Ezekiel smiled as his form began to take place, his blue eyes nearly glew in the Earthly sunlight. His black hair was neatly slicked back and he wore a damn fine suit looking far more classy than Azazel. Once the angel fully disappeared in the clutches of the soil the two evil entities followed through the portal, vanishing from the mortal realm. Leaving the terrified mortals to flee and call the police.

Gotham City, New Jersey

“See Brucey, told you camping out wouldn’t be a bad idea~,” Dick purred with satisfaction as he looked around the campfire at his family. The sun was burning hot and the river gave off a soothing mist. The eldest son had talked Bruce into letting the family go on a short camping trip, the only reason Bruce agreed to it was because it was still in the city so if Batman was needed… He’d see the signal.

“Grayson, every idea you have is bad,” Damian criticized as he crossed his arms, despite getting along with Dick best he still gave him a hard time as to not show how much he really cared; After all he was raised to believe emotions made one weak.

“Hm.. I don’t want to sound rude or ungrateful but…. There’s more important things we could be doing than sitting around a fire... “ Tim sighed with his head resting in his hands. Being the analyst of the group Tim was thinking of all the work they could be catching up on, not to mention the fact he was already homesick. Three days of constant exposure to the family outside was enough to wear any introvert out. It was different if he was working on something meaningful but just the camping? Yes he did have fun, it was impossible not to with Dick around. Dick ensured that he and his brothers played and had fun though that didn’t prevent the arguments with Damian, whom was extremely jealous of Tim, though he’d never admit it. Out here they didn’t get space from each other resulting in more and worse fights.

“Are we talking about your suicide, because you can do that out here as well, Hell I’ll do it for you.” Damian responded quite harshly.

“Oh why don’t you shut up and shove that sword up your a-”

Bruce smacked Tim on the back of the head, “Enough.” He ordered sternly as he glared at his two children. Their arguing was beyond annoying, hell sometimes he’d swear they acted like teenage girls fighting over boys and shoes.

Dick sighed growing disappointed that the two couldn’t stop fighting, “Hey! Why don’t we make smores and play some Truth or D-” The male was quickly cut off by a bright fiery light crashing right into the center of the fire, knocking everyone back.

With as large as this flaming ball was it was an absolute miracle that no one got hurt. Bruce had stood up and taken a defensive stance along with Damian after they had gotten off the ground. Dick and Tim were still on the ground unlike the other two, though every muscle in their bodies was prepared to spring into battle. As the flames began dying down they could see two bright white wings wrapped around a body in an egg shape; soon that body stood. Dick let out a soft gasp as he watched the male stand tall over them, a light mist surrounded the angelic beings waist keeping his body covered aside from his perfect toned chest. He had glowing white eyes and blonde hair that fell in his face. His wings were partially extended only giving a sample of the mans enormous wingspan. Bruce’s eyes set in a glare as he watched this being silently and defensively, obviously it was a creature much bigger and stronger than them.

“Bruce.” The being coaxed in a calm and collective voice, his white eyes generating grayish blue iris’, “I need your assistance.”

“Who are you?” Bruce asked coldly and straightforwardly as he would any other entity.

“Michael… The archangel, you are most suited for the task at hand.”

“And what would that be?” The billionaire interrogated not lowering his guard in the slightest. Damian was more than prepared to fight beside his father’s side though Tim and Dick were staring, absolutely astonished.

“My brother… Gabriel, he has been dragged to the pit of hell… I fear Lucifer's going to kill him or worse, turn him into a demon...Gabriel’s a very powerful angel.. If his soul gets corrupted the Earth will burn in an armageddon.” The angel explained.

“And why can’t you get him?” Bruce questioned.

“It is forbidden… Quite honestly I don’t know how they got Gabriel in hell, it could be too late for him but we must try.”

“...So… We’re supposed to skip through hell to save an angel who might be demonified because a handsome nudist said so?” Dick questioned as he finally brought himself to stand, still gawking at the angel.

“You are to do it because the fate of Earth depends on it…. Earth is a middle ground between heaven and hell… Gabriel could drag it out of the central plain of existence and damn everyone in it.” Michael lamented sadly as he watched the young hero.

“And if he’s fallen?” Bruce asked, finally lowering his fists as he studied the heavenly being searching for any sign of deceit.

Upon hearing the question the angel frowned, “Then you shall bind his soul to hell… Stop him from coming to the middle plain..”

“Why us?” Dick asked abruptly as his brows furrowed looking at Michael, “Why not Superman or Wonder Woman?”

“Because it is my father and my belief that you won’t fall victim to the temptations hell has to offer…. It’ll be challenging nonetheless but there’s hope for you.”

Bruce was silent a moment before he finally nodded in agreement, “Very well… How do we get down below and how do we bind Gabriel to hell?”

“I’ll open a portal..” Michael said as he held out his hand generating a small diamond shard, handing it to Bruce, “I’ll tell you what to do if he’s fallen…. Now I must warn; each of you have a sin that weighs heavy in your heart… When you reach the circle of your sin you’ll be filled with the desire to feed it.. To fall for the trap… You must resist with everything inside you.” The angel warned.

“Do we get to know what our sins are?” Dick asked as Michael shook his head.

“It is forbidden, but surely you can take a guess.” The angel responded as he held his hands out, one slightly over the other.

His eyes seemed to catch light in a bright whitish fire as his hands were engulfed by a bright orange flame. The angel then threw the fire onto the ground causing the grass and ground to die while a flaming pentagram formed around them. Michaels wings fully extended as he looked up to the heavens moments after giving Bruce a silent nod. With one powerful flap of his wings Michael was in the air while the other four were blasted through the ground.

As they fell their clothes began searing off, their flesh got cut by roots and rocks as the air around them grew thicker and hotter making it difficult to breath. Souls began hissing and swimming around them as their bodies caught flame only adding to their physical discomfort. Dick and Damian let out excruciating screams while Bruce and Tim grit their teeth containing the pain that flooded their bodies, this pain lasted a little over an hour before it was washed away by a cool mist, that clothed their bodies in their costumes. It was a brief and peaceful relief before they crashed onto the rock hard ground.

“Jesus… Fnnm.” Dick muttered as he rolled around on the ground, slowly looking at his now gloved hands, “That… was fun, I’ll have to keep it in mind for a first date.” He said sarcastically.

“Gnn what happened?” Damian asked as he slowly stood looking around at the dark and harsh place, rubbing his aching head.

“Your souls were ripped from your bodies while your physical form rests in a realm that shouldn’t exist.” A whispy voice whispered, catching everyone's attention, “I am Virgil...I am to be helping you through the circles of hell… Welcome to Limbo.” The spirit said with a calm collected smile,

“This is where the true torment begins…”