Chapter Text
Inky doesn’t know how long she’s been here. Inky doesn’t even know how she got here.
When was the last time she saw a living being? Days, weeks, months? She’s growing wary. It’s been far too long without rest.
In the depths of the [LUST] layer, long after the machine population had wiped out the last remaining sinners from. She’s not from this universe. She shouldn’t be here, but she doesn’t know how to leave. She has to stop walking. She has to before her feet fall off. Inky practically flings off her backpack against a crumbling wall, collapsing next to it in a panting mess. The last of the water in her bottle is downed almost instantly, watching the reflection of the neon purple in its metal.
Gabriel’s on patrol, much to his annoyance. This layer is dead, there is no need to patrol it yet the Council insists. He lands on the roof of a nearby building, collecting himself and peering down below when he spots something. Or someone. Someone that should not be here, that should not exist. Inky’s already noticed his arrival, his neon blue wings had reflected in her metal water bottle. Her grip on her backpack had tightened out of reflex, but she seemed… relieved? Gabriel was confused. In one gracious swoop, he jumped down to the floor, Splendor and Justice drawn and pointed at her chin.
“Who, in the nine layers of Hell, are you.” Gabriel’s voice boomed, echoing through the streets. “And how do you exist? Your kind died millenia ago.”
Inky’s voice was tired, rough around the edges from who knows how long wandering in Hell.
“... Inky. Inky’s my name.” She whispered in relief. “You do not understand how long I’ve been looking for any sign of life here.”
Gabriel’s grip tightened on his swords. He raised them to her throat, causing her to back against the wall, fear flashing in her eyes under her glasses. Inky raised her hands in surrender, trying her best not to get attacked by the only life she’s seen in ages. The air was tense, Inky's breaths picking up pace.
“How are you alive.” Gabriel stared her down, wings rustling behind him his clear disdain. “You should be dead.”
“I-I don't— I don't follow? Is that why no one else is here?” Inky's voice went a few octaves higher in slight panic. She didn't even know where “here” was in the grander scope of the Multiverse. Though, her question made Gabriel falter. Does she not know? How does she not know?
“... How are you unaware of your species’ extermination? Who are you?” Gabriel's swords lowered slightly before returning to their places at her throat.
Inky's eyes widened behind the coloured glass of the square glasses on her nose. She glanced around at the crumbling state of the [LUST] layer. Her voice held the weight of a thousand souls, quiet in a way no entity should have to bare.
“... So that's why I haven't found anyone. Why it’s so quiet here.” A pause, breath exhaled with a mix of exhaustion, guilt and sorrow. “I'm sorry.”
Gabriel tilted his head slightly. This person was… confusing, to say the least.
“Do not apologize to me. It does not concern me. What does however, is you. Where did you even come from?”
Inky looked up at him with fear, though not directed at him.
“... Another universe. I-I don't know how I got here, to this universe. All I remember is an explosion, then waking here with my belongings.”
She glanced at her wrist, where a device was attached like a cuff. The circuitry was clearly busted, dark burn marks on the metal. Her arm around it was wrapped in a bloodied bandages, the watch itself shattered. There was visible shrapnel embedded underneath the bandage. The screen had glitched out, and there was a faint metallic sound coming from it. Inky sounded scared.
“My watch. It must've blown mid-transport. I-I don't even know where I am or-or how far I am from the stuff I've catalogued and—”
She trailed off, breathing increasing even more. Gabriel stared at the trembling little mortal for a few more moments before relinquishing his blades from her throat with a sigh. He sheathed them, crossing his arms.
“... That's a lot to take in. Come, it's not safe out here.” With careful consideration in both his voice and actions, Gabriel offered a hand to her. He helped her to her feet and waited as she gathered her belongings. Truth be told, he needed to get more information out of her about all this ‘Multiverse’ crap but she clearly wasn't in any state to interrogate. Plus, there were still a few rogue machines left around here who would happily kill her before he got the chance to find out anything. He knew of a safe spot, not too far from here. It was an old church that King Minos had built in the centre of the [LUST] layer, before he’d cut him down. Now it was crumbling, but served as a patrol station for those watching this layer. It was stocked with necessities like first aid, food and water, but wasn’t used often since absolutely nothing ever occurred here.
Inky’s relieved to have met another living being. It’s been however long without contact of any kind. Even if this knightly figure had just pointed two swords at her throat, she’s still relieved. She’s had similar occurrences before, defensive people protecting themselves or their communities pointing weapons at the mystery person who’d randomly shown up. She’d managed to talk herself out of death many times before. Yet Inky found this person… intriguing. The armour they wore did not suit the time era they were clearly in, being almost medieval in nature while this was clearly a futuristic civilisation. There were killer robots for Gods’ sake! She found herself wanting to know more about them, to ask why they dressed so… regally. Perhaps this person was of important stature and she just… did not know. They continued to trek through the desolate city, Gabriel keeping an eye out for machines and for the massive Corpse of King Minos. She spoke after they’d walked a far distance.
“... What is your name? And why do you dress like a knight when it’s clearly the late 21st to early 22nd century?” Inky’s voice was quiet and meek, clearly trying to make sure her tone wasn’t patronising or could be taken the wrong way. “I-I mean no disrespect or anything, I’m just curious.”
Gabriel halted. No one’s ever asked that. Never asked why he dressed this way. Some part of him found it offensive, to have this random mortal question his holy armour. But another, stronger part of him found it curious. How did this mortal not recognise divinity? Why didn’t this mortal recognise divinity?
“... Nobody has ever asked me that kind of question before.” Gabriel’s tone held a slightly offended edge, but he tilted his head curiously as Inky awaited his answer. “I am an Archangel, God’s Right Hand and the Judge of Hell himself. This armour is a symbol of my unyielding trust in the Holy Father and a symbol of my divinity.” Gabriel sighed.
“... And yet, my trust is wavering.”
Inky tilted her head, adjusting her glasses. In her countless universal travels, she had become familiar with Heaven and Hell’s denizens, though never actually getting the chance to meet one in person. Many universes had the shared concept of a “good” place and a “bad” place, more often than not being called Heaven and Hell respectively. Some universes, these were real places instead of just speculative coping mechanisms developed by man to help understand the concept of life and death, much like here where she stood in the [LUST] layer of Hell.
“Your trust? How so?”
“The Heavenly Father has been missing for millenia. The Council stepped in His name, commanding Heaven under what I thought was His rule. Yet… I grow wary. The Father… I begin to doubt whether He is alive anymore.”
Inky’s eyebrows knitted together in concern. She understood that whoever Gabriel was, this “Father” person held significance to him. She’d seen grief before. Tentatively, cautiously, she placed a hand on his pauldron, a quiet attempt at comfort, but she immediately relinquished her grip after his whole body jolted like she’d burned him.
“... Sorry.”
Inky looked at her feet, silently scolding herself for touching him. He clearly wasn’t the kind of person that sought hugs for comfort, idiot.
“I’m… sorry. I-I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
Gabriel’s wings flitted behind him, sighing as he shook his head.
“It’s alright. Just don’t do it again.”
Inky nodded, swallowing nervously. They started walking again, Gabriel a little more on edge now.
He was thinking… Why did she do that? Most mortals would be quaking in their boots just being in the presence of an Archangel, let alone have the gall to touch one. This person… She was the most confusing creature he’d ever come across, and that was after getting his ass beat by a machine, V1. They rounded another corner, the old church coming into view. Gabriel halted them, hearing something suspiciously mechanical behind a piece of crumbling rock. A swordsmachine, dragging its blade behind it, stumbled out onto the clearing. It halted upon seeing Gabriel, but its optics narrowed upon seeing Inky. It immediately surged forward, Inky flinching back and her eyes widening. Gabriel casually stepped between them, unsheathing Justice in one smooth movement and slicing the machine’s head clean off, letting the sparks fly against the cobbles. Inky just stared at the machine’s body on the pavement, the blood and oil mixing in a disgusting puddle around it.
“Jesus… That was quick. You are really good with that sword..”
Her hand was pressed to her chest, trying to calm her heart. It was obvious she’d encountered those machines beforehand by the way her hands shook. Gabriel quickly ushered her into the old church, locking the door after her. The church itself was still decorated inside, though there were some holes in the roof that cast streams of purple light through. The cross was illuminated under one, Gabriel taking a moment to stare at it before shaking his head. He walked to the altar, placing a hand on the cross before pushing it gently, a door sliding open to reveal a bunker.
“Please, come in. There’s food and water.” Gabriel’s voice was a lot more quiet, the bravado in it wavering. Inky quickly walked in, dropping her backpack to the floor and moving to the cot, but hesitated before sitting on it.
“Do you mind if I…?”
“Go ahead. I do not need rest.”
Inky collapsed right onto the cot, groaning as the tension fell off her shoulders.
“You said there’s food? I don’t want to be pushy but I haven’t eaten in a while…” Inky’s voice was tired. The lack of rest made itself evident on her face as she finally got the chance to take a breather, her eyes half-closed and heavy with eyebags. Gabriel couldn’t help but feel bad for her, it was obvious this poor mortal hadn’t caught a break in a while. Gabriel sighed, placing his scabbards against the wall, and quietly rummaging through some cabinets for some bread. He pulled a loaf from a dry storage box, breaking off a piece and handing it to her.
“Don’t eat too fast. There isn’t much left.” Gabriel’s tone was resigned, but he reluctantly sat beside the cot on a busted up church pew that had been stored in the station room. Inky quietly munched beside him, watching him stare at the bread in his hand with curiosity. She wanted to learn more about him, his mannerisms, his history, everything. He intrigued her greatly, considering this was the first angelic being she’s met on her travels. And probably because he was the first person she’d met in who knows how long.
She intrigued Gabriel greatly as well, because of her nonsense about this “Multiverse” shit, but her mannerisms weren’t like what he was used to. She did not fear him. In fact, he’d caught her sneaking curious glances at him. He had to admit, he found her antics oddly endearing, her innate curiosity about him and the world. She did not beg or grovel like most sinners would upon seeing him, she just… wanted to know him. He sighed, tearing a small piece of the bread off and slipping it under his helmet.
“... Tell me more about this “Multiverse” you speak of. What do you mean “other universes”?”
Gabriel questioned quietly, obviously trying to keep his voice quiet considering she was exhausted. Inky sighed, opening her backpack and rummaging through. She pulled out a large folded piece of paper, opening up the massive map and sprawling it over the floor.
“... It’s a bit outdated, I haven’t had a chance to add new universes to it from my watch.”
Gabriel’s many eyes widened beneath his helmet. The map is.. Massive, spanning half of just the floor space alone. And she says it’s outdated. Every universe she’s visited, documented, all connected to one another like a massive tree. Almost… almost like the Tree of Life. There are notes along some of the “clusters” she calls it, a key at the bottom to make sense of this mess. Each connecting branch she’s aptly named “vessels”, some of the larger, thicker ones nicknamed “highways” with stupid little smiley faces drawn by them. They are all labelled with various names around their genre, some as simple as “Earth 84” or “Galactic Earth 776”, but some are more complex like “Marvel Micromulit Cluster” or “Transformers Comic Cluster”. Some are labelled with tags like “game”, “film/tv”, “comic” or “book”. It’s… It’s a lot.
“The last place I was, was here,” Inky pointed to a small cluster labelled “Branch - Moderna Earth”, then to the universe “Megacity Earth 887”.
“I was trying to head to the next cluster, down here,” She pointed to the cluster “Lung Cluster - Dystopic” and to “Overgrowth Dystopia 66”. “But I think my watch blew while I was travelling through the vessel, and I must’ve got sent some crazy distance away…”
Inky frowned, looking a little lost. It was clear this was mildly panicking to her.
“I-I can’t even check what sector I’m in since the watch blew…”
Gabriel had been silent for some time, his wings rustling in thought. This was… crazy, to say the least. He snapped out of his thoughts of “what the actual fuck is this shit” as he noticed Inky fiddling with her bandages, a worried look on her face. She was picking at the shrapnel sitting beneath the layers of blood-soaked cloth.
“Stop picking. You’re going to make it worse.” Gabriel chided, turning to dig through the cabinets again until he came across the first aid kit. He grabbed the bandages, grabbing Inky’s arm gently and carefully, worried he’d scare or hurt her if he was too rough. Inky’s hand was still trembling as he held it. Slowly, he unwrapped the bandages and removed her watch, clicking his tongue at the sight of her wounds.
“Have you not treated these? You’re going to get an infection at this rate.” Gabriel pulled off her gauntlets, setting the gold metal by his feet and the watch on the floor, gently grabbing the rubbing alcohol from the kit and dabbing some on. He used a pair of tweezers to pick out the shards of metal embedded in her pale skin, his wings locking up at every pained huff, grunt or whimper she made as he worked. He didn’t know why, but the sound of her in pain grated on him. It just sounded… wrong. Gently, he re-wrapped her arm, tying the bandages neatly.
“There. Now you’re not risking an infection.” He huffed, watching her with careful consideration as she examined the new bandages with gratefulness. He then turned to the collection of bloodied shrapnel that was sitting on a paper towel.
“Are these… all from your watch?” Gabriel tilted his head.
“Yeah… It must’ve blown pretty hard. Plus, the vessels tend to multiply unstable objects, so there’s probably more there than makes sense.”
Inky shifted onto her side, fingers tracing pathways on her map. There was a sort of longing in her gaze, the want to return to familiar grounds. Gabriel sighed, standing up and stepping around the map to the small cupboard at the foot of the cot, retrieving a thin blanket from it. He didn’t know why but he felt protective of her. This mortal, unknown to the horrors of this universe, to the self-induced massacre of her kind. She did not belong here. She did not deserve to be stuck here. Gabriel looked at her and saw a lost girl. He felt that he should protect her until she was able to leave again. That, he vowed to the Lord, or whatever may be left of Him. Slowly he walked back over to where she was still tracing vessels and highways along her map, the longing and exhaustion causing her brow to crease, her lips to press into a sad, thin line. She looked so… sad. He gently placed the blanket over her shoulders.
“Get some rest. You look completely exhausted.”
She glanced up at him, giving him a grateful nod as she took off her glasses, hooking them on a strap on her backpack.
“Thank you. For.. helping me and stuff.”
“You’re always welcome, Inky.”
His voice was soft and gentle in a way he would have normally scolded himself because of. He didn’t want to scare her.
“My name is Gabriel, by the way. I didn’t tell you that earlier when you asked.”
Inky smiled, sticking out her hand.
“Its great to meet you, Gabriel.”
Gabriel stared at her hand for a moment before smiling and shaking it, his wings giving a happy flutter.
“Likewise.”
A loose feather flitted down in the air, landing atop Inky’s nose. She sneezed at the feather’s tickling, but giggled at the event. Gabriel couldn’t help but find her laughter endearing, for even as scared and lost as Inky was, she still found joy in something as simple as a feather falling on her face. He watched as she tied the feather to a string, and wore it as a necklace.
“I’m gonna keep this. Gotta remember you if I get out of here!”
Gabriel watched as she settled to rest, taking her time to get comfortable with her bandaged arm and the various aches and pains of walking too much. He couldn’t suppress the small smile of watching her get so cozy in this shitty little cot in the back room of a busted up church in the middle of Hell itself. For once, he was at peace.