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As soon as Raphael arrived, Gabriel hit the locking mechanism. He was barely holding Lucifer there as it was; waiting until they could feel Michael would give Lucifer just enough time to bolt. But then… “Raphael? Where’s Michael?”
Raphael hung his head. “He refused to come, and when I tried surprise, trickery, and even brute force, I failed. I’m sorry, brother. One small silver lining – he knows where we are and will free us if he needs us.”
“Great.” Gabriel threw up his hands. “So now Dad’s precious humans are in Mikey’s hands without the three of us there to keep an eye on him, I’m trapped in here with the two of you instead of enjoying myself on Earth, and…”
“Um, guys? What’s going on?”
Two heads swiveled to stare at what was supposed to be Lucifer. Instead, it was just a regular old human, looking none too good for having been an archangel’s prom dress. Not even the right prom dress, the one that had been tailored just for him; a prom dress borrowed from a friend who was several sizes smaller. Gabriel and Raphael stared at each other. Raphael smirked. “I see you were no more successful in trapping Lucifer, although you did at least manage to get him here. The worst possible outcome. The Apocalypse will happen and we can’t do anything about it.”
“And there’s a human trapped here!” Gabriel waved a hand at the prom dress. “Can you help him out? Fix him up? If he’s gotta be stuck here, we can at least keep him in good condition!”
The man backed away as Raphael approached. “I have no idea what’s going on or where I am. Where did Lucifer go? I was supposed to help him get revenge on God! Please, please tell me you speak English?”
“Oh boy.” Gabriel held out a hand. “Hi. Lucifer took off because he figured out that we were about to trap him here, and left you behind. I’m Gabriel, this is Raphael, we’re both archangels as well.”
“Where’s here? Why am I trapped?” He kept backing away. “What’s he going to do to me?”
“I’m going to heal the damage done by my brother,” Raphael explained. He caught up and touched the man, and Gabriel smirked as the fear was replaced by wonder. “You feel better, I trust.”
“Much.” He looked between the two. “My name’s Nick. How long are we stuck here?”
“Um…” Gabriel winced, trying to figure out how to break it to the poor sap. “Until Michael and Lucifer learn to settle their shit? Or one of them or Dad decides they need us more than they’re pissed at us and comes to bust us out. Honestly, don’t know which one to hope for.”
“Well. Either way, I don’t have to go to work in the morning and try to explain letting an archangel borrow my body to deal with his daddy issues.” Nick plopped himself down on the floor. “Either of you got a deck of cards? Prep this place with a foosball table?”
“Uh… not exactly, I’m an archangel, I can create whatever we want.” Gabriel looked at Raphael. Was Nick actually taking this that well, or were they going to deal with a snap in about twelve hours? Raphael just shrugged. Great.
Raphael headed over to sit beside Nick, pulling him into a hug, and signaled for Gabriel to come join them. “May I ask why you agreed to being Lucifer’s vessel?”
“He promised we could get vengeance for my wife and son while he was setting up the showdown to get his revenge on God.” Nick’s face crumpled, and he leaned into Raphael’s shoulder. “Sarah and Teddy were everything to me. Without them, I was…”
“Vulnerable,” Raphael whispered. “Alone. In pain. Desperate. A perfect victim for Lucifer’s manipulation.” He held Nick tighter. “I can’t prove it, Nick, but I suspect that Lucifer arranged for your wife and son’s deaths. You were nothing more than a temporary shell until he could get his true vessel, and if there was any thought to him choosing you, it’s that you would be that devastated by the loss of your family.”
Nick burst into tears, sobbing on Raphael’s shoulder. Raphael held him close. Gabriel, in Enochian, whispered, “What the hell?”
“We’ll be here a while, brother. If we can get this over with, allow him the catharsis and beginning of proper grieving now, it’s not a time bomb hovering over us.” Raphael stroked Nick’s hair. “He’s a good man who was used badly. We won’t be able to protect Lucifer’s next victim, but we can help this one heal.”
Nick looked up. “What would happen to me if you killed me? Sent me to be at peace? Because I’m not sure I could go back to my life now.”
“I’m sorry, Nick, but you’d be trapped here just the same,” Gabriel said. “Your soul couldn’t pass the wards any more than your body could. Necessary to trap Lucifer here, but since we failed, ultimately pointless.”
“I give you my word that when we’re free, I will personally bring you to Heaven to rest,” Raphael added. Nick nodded at that, letting Raphael hold him tighter. Gabriel smirked. He’d never seen Raphael like this with a human. Him, yes, all the time. Michael, occasionally. Lucifer… well… not with actual good intentions, but he wasn’t above using a good seduction to get the humans to damn themselves and let him make them into demons. Raphael glared at him. “Brother, stop that.”
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say, bro.” Gabriel snapped his fingers, bringing up a pool table and a couple babes to stroke his cue for him.