Chapter 45: The End
"Moriarty didn't have the time to tell the rest of the leviathans, Lucifer checked," Michael looked like he was sucking on a sour candy, as he regarded his brother. There was a hint of gratefulness in his deep brown eyes. Lucifer snorted.
"You think I will just let the leviathans think baby brother is a gourmet dish? All the sick people who have been looking at the videos also don't remember. But I made a list, and I will see them in Hell. Now, Tagas, are you fully healed?" Lucifer turned to the youngest angel, who nodded.
"I am fine. I doubt that Moriarty was giving me the worst treatment he could have dished out," Tagas relaxed on the couch in the living room. Harry by his side. Arthur was still at the farm, and the angels still guarded him.
"Probably just starting. You were not gone long," Michael said, and then went to his youngest brother. "This is why you have to come back home."
"You kick him out, and now try to break his family apart?" Lucifer snapped; Michael glared at his older brother.
"Don't speak to me as if you don't know the danger! I knew he could have handled humans, but didn't think this place would have leviathans. If one got out, then another could as well," Michael snapped back. Tagas sighed.
"I am not coming back. I will stay with Arthur until he dies. We made a promise to each other. As soulmates, you can't break us apart," Tagas insisted. He was not going to cave on this one. No way was he leaving Arthur and Harry.
"See sense, baby brother. If you don't take the offer now, you will have to be counted among the fallen," Michael spoke sternly, but his eyes were pleading.
"I am certain that older brother Lucifer won't mind housing me in Hell, after Arthur dies," Tagas looked to the blonde angel, who nodded.
"My home is your home," the fallen angel said, and then turned to Michael, smirking. "You can bet I won't let him anywhere near the front lines."
"Is that really your wish, Tagas?" Michael asked, as he straightened himself to his full high.
"Are you going to cut me out of the family, if it is?" Tagas asked, eyes going misty. He felt Harry's arms wrap around him in a silent support.
"You know the protocol," Michael said, already regretting his words.
"Then, so be it. I can always sneak back, just like the rest of the fallen," Tagas gave his older brother a cheeky grin, but his eyes were filling up with tears.
"I am sorry," Michael said, and he touched Tagas on the forehead. Tagas winced for a moment, and then felt something like an emptiness. His connection to his brothers had been severed.
"You did what you had to," Tagas told him, already forgiving his brother, for, what else could he do?
Michael went out in a puff of white mist, his expression torn. Lucifer sighed, and went to sit next to Tagas.
"Baby brother, it won't be easy for you, going forward. Know I will help, as much as I can," the blonde angel patted his brother on the back, and then disappeared as well. Harry turned to Tagas.
"We should go and break the news to Arthur. The angels are probably no longer guarding him," Harry said. Tagas nodded. The demon got them to the farm. Arthur was sitting on the front porch, staring out into the nothingness.
Upon seeing the two, he stood and rushed to them.
"What happened?" He asked, and Tagas hugged him tightly.
"I choose you over Heaven," Tagas said, between sobs. "Over my brothers, over my home, over eternity."
"Oh, Tagas," Arthur murmured, as he began to pat the angel on the back. He didn't know what those words meant, exactly, but he could guess. Arthur led Tagas to the farmhouse, and then up the stairs. Harry followed close behind.
Tagas was a crying mess, when they got in the room. Arthur lay him on the bed, and then hugged him close. Harry went on Tagas's other side. Sandwiched between the two, Tagas was reminded why he did what he did.
"It is not like Michael sealed away your grace, did he?" Harry asked, and Tagas shook his head.
"He has never done that, to any of the fallen," Tagas told them, and buried his face in Arthur's chest.
"See? You can still get children back to their parents, heal sick people, and crack down on kidnapping rings," Harry told him. Trying to lift the fog of despair that hung over Tagas.
"I will never see Heaven again, unless I sneak in," Tagas said, heartbroken. "When Arthur gets there, I will never see him again, unless I break the rules."
"Arthur won't get there. He was in an orgy," Harry said with a sly grin. Arthur's eyes widened, so Harry clarified. "I got down in the cauldron because I was in an orgy. Granted, the one I was a part of was bigger than the one Arthur was in. But what is a threesome, but a small orgy?"
"Are you saying I will end up a demon?" Arthur paled at that. Yet, it was too late to do anything about it.
"You probably won't see the pearly gates, any more than either I or Tagas. When one looks pass the smell, Hell is not that bad. Warm all year round, with a red sky. If you are lucky, and considering you are the soulmate of the boss's favorite brother, you are. Then, you might spend your time in the Garden of Sorrow," Harry said, and Tagas brightened up at the mention.
"I hear it is just as beautiful as Eden. Lilith's greatest creation," Tagas said, and suddenly felt better. Surely, his older brother was going to let him go there. Maybe even let him take care of the animals that called the garden home.
"Mother has the right of it, when she calls you both devils," Arthur said. He kissed Tagas on the forehead, and then chuckled. "But I won't have you any other way."
