This time we both fall from Grace

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Zizikitty

Crazy Cat Lady
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
  3. Multiple posts per week
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Fantasy ANYTHING, magical/medieval fantasy, modern fantasy, future fantasy, high fantasy (mages and magic) sci-fi, horror, Flowing Romance (no love at first sight and nothing fluffy), vampires, werewolves, space odyssey, epic quest, adventure, combat, action, HUMOR <3, Anthro, World of Warcraft. Non-Human races.
The writers keep writing what they write,
Somewhere another pretty vein just dies,
I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see,
That you're the antidote to everything except for me,
A constellation of tears on your lashes,
Burn everything you love then burn the ashes,
In the end everything collides,
My childhood spat back out the monster that you see…

Fall Out Boy – Light Em Up

The rock song played on the jukebox, the guitar filling the room with a lively sound. Other than the few patrons of the bar dancing, laughing with their drunken stupor, the bar was relatively peaceful. On the other end of the room pool balls cracked against one another as a few men played a friendly game. Various spots around the bar coupled were fawning over one another, a few boisterous patrons cheered and jeered as their sports team scored or lost. All was well in this bar of no importance. Not that one could see anyways. Not that one man was more obvious than the others as he appeared to fit in.

Years ago he didn’t believe in all that bible talk of demons and angels. Despite being familiar with other supernatural creatures. He simply wasn’t a religious man. And despite being a fan of sci-fi movies and shows about time travel, he certainly didn’t believe it. But as it were destiny has a funny way of changing someone. “Yo. Bartender. Another White Russian please.” The man’s voice had a certain stoner surfer drawl as he, in his way, politely asked for another drink. “Thanks man.” He said in a somber tone as he was handed another mixed drink. The man was of average height with a fit build. Not muscular, but someone that stayed in shape. He looked to be with the punk or skater crowd with his eyebrow piercings and purple dog collar. His round freckled face was heavy with sorrow, his yellow brown eyes looking nowhere in particular. And though the man had dyed green hair that was a little lengthy and styled spiky, that wasn’t the most prominent feature about him. His skin at first glance looked tan, like a man whom spent many hours in the sun. But it had a certain heavenly glow. Making his arm band tattoo and bird wing tattoo on his back stand out even more.

Appearing softer than even the white tank top he wore. The lady bartender narrowed her eyes on him and leaned on the bar. She could tell this was a man suffering, using the drink to numb his pain. Despite how ‘light’ he looked, there was a heavy weight surrounding him. “You look like someone down on their luck?” She said, tossing her blonde pony tail from her shoulder. He looked up and scoffed lightly, taking a sip of his drink before he responded. “Nah. More like I’m tired of loosing pieces just to get check mate…” He sighed as he looked away. She paused and looked him over a bit more. “Gotta name?” She said after a moment.


The man chugged his alcoholic drink, placing it on the wooden bar with a loud clink. “D.” He said ruffling his hand through his hair. “You just giving me a letter or is it D-E-E?” He groaned as he inhaled as he looked up at her. “I’m not even the same person I once was so… Yeah… Just the letter.” She gave half a smile of compassion as she moved to help another patron at the bar.
 
In this day and age, nobody really took their time to think about hell. Exemplary religiousness of past centuries had faded into obscurity when confronted with much more practical problems of this overly materialistic world. Natural progression, one could say, or perhaps it was more moral decay than anything, but one thing was certain; hell had really become an obsolete concept good only for scaring naughty children into obedience. The adults presented it as a dark kingdom where the sinners meet their well-deserved end in blazing cauldrons, being slowly boiled alive. Inna, one of current residents, knew better than that. Real hell had very distinct ways of getting under people's skin; the prevalent theme was as simple as emptiness. Emptiness and isolation. Facing the darkness within one's soul without significant distraction - having nothing else to think about for eternity - usually sufficed to drive the person in question over the edge.

Inna was quite different, though; this place actually put her in a calm, reflective state of mind. Not only because of position she held; even the demonic staff would sometimes take a break from all the surroundings devoid of emotion. Some of them also visited a private psychiatrist regularly to cope with depressing working conditions; it spoke tons about sad standard of hellish bureaucracy. No, the former angel - the one that fell - was simply able to look in the mirror without regrets. And if there were any residual traces of sorrow, Inna had buried them so deep in the forbidden sections of her memory's archive she wasn't aware of it anymore. Brain could be reprogrammed fairly easily, especially with conscious effort. For now, she needed to concentrate on her mission; secondary concerns could be taken care of afterwards.

The tiniest of smiles appeared on her face as the angel reached out for something invisible; she would have looked like a madwoman to any random observer. A lone person standing in a middle of inhospitable wasteland, grinning as if there were an especially funny joke only she understood, waving her arm in an attempt to grasp the nothingness. The energetic trace here was particularly strong; strong enough for her to follow the fiber of time safely to one very specific reality. Right to the core, to the heart of where everything had begun. Let's cut through the main artery with style, Inna thought, consistent with anatomical terminology, and called upon the powers resting somewhere in the corner of her mind. She remembered it being easier back then, when her allegiance belonged to the heavenly good guys, but the not-so-metaphorical Ariadne's thread ended up firmly in her clutch despite the pearls of sweat shining on her forehead. The cold light slowly devoured her silhouette, making her disappear in the cosmic whirlwind.

Apart from the fact that the woman emerged literally out of nowhere, there wasn't anything too remarkable about her visage. Her height was average, maybe slightly under the ordinary value, but she couldn't be labelled as a lilliputian or a freak of nature. The shade of her long, very straight hair was too brilliantly red for it to be convincingly natural and icy blue eyes were somehow out of place in her heart-shaped face for reasons that couldn't be logically explained, yet that like that wouldn't cause a stir. After all, the girl looked young, possibly in her mid-twenties, and such youngsters didn't hesitate to experiment. Still, something felt off about her persona as a whole; those Wicca charlatans would have probably said she radiated tainted aura. Inna took a look around, somewhat disoriented from the journey that transcended both time and place, yet she quickly regained her composure; yes, this was the right timeline. Definitely; the gut feeling had never failed her before. Sudden gust of wind caressed her hair softly as she started walking down the street. I will show them what exactly I am capable of. Not trustworthy enough? Really? Really?! Do they think I still go for a beer with other angels after work or what?

It was morning, fresh and beautiful, which meant many people needed to get to their work, including the man just getting out of his apartment. Ah, the star of this little drama himself. Inna tapped him on the shoulder nonchalantly; the man turned around, slight confusion apparent in his eyes. "Hi. Sorry to do this; it's nothing exceedingly personal." Her tone was light, almost cheerful; after that exclamation, she leaned in and kissed him passionately, ensuring that the poison would spread through his body as a forest fire. Forest fire was a fitting analogy as it would be just as damaging. Reality is such a fragile thing; all it takes is a single push in the right direction.
 
It was yet another fresh and beautiful day in 1998 at Oahu in the Hawaiian islands. A few rain clouds dotted the blue sky but it promised to be a gorgeous day. Full of sun, fun and pretty women in swim suits. It was days like this that the young man loved his job as a resort manager and glass bottom boat tour guide. And yet it was a bit somber as well. He was moving in the next week to help set up a new resort in Florida, but also to live next to his best friend. The man opened the door and placed his sun shades on his eyes and walked form the building.

Hardly a glance was spared to the woman coming behind him. Not until she tapped his shoulder. He turned to face her, lifting the shades off his eyes to look at her better. His round freckled face in a quizzical expression. When she kissed him he was shocked at first, but his brows twitched with interest and a smile formed on his lips between the kiss. He was a player, a womanizer and a party boy. He merely assumed this was a woman from a few nights ago. But something was wrong.

Terribly wrong. His lips burned as if searing fire had been set to them. And not the fire of passion. Fire in his veins, seeping into his flesh and spreading quickly. Muffled painful cries escaped him as he tried to push her away. But it was far too late, the poison was ravaging his body. Killing him quickly.

~*~

Another drink was placed before D, one that he wearily picked up with his hand. He turned his head and watched the tv a moment. Showing the weather for the next week. "It's gonna be a cold one this 3011 Christmas!" The weather lady said in a chipper tone. The holiday brought up painful memories and it only made the alcoholic drink that much more needed. He took the glass and took a sip. But it just so happened that when he took a drink something happened.

A searing fire burned in his lips. So painful D spat out his drink. He could feel fire burning through his face and throat, making it hard for him to breath. D coughed painfully as he jumped off his stool, his drink dropping from his hand and shattering on the floor. "Hey! You okay?" The lady bartender said as D fell to his knees. Her voice though sounded distorted, a disconcerting sound that made D jerk his head up. As he clenched his heart the world around him started to change and shift, as if the layers of time were being mixed together. The people in the bar and the bar it's self started to fade and even change.

D's eyes were wide with panic and confusion. The pain in his chest told him one thing and the time line shifting confirmed it, but he didn't believe it. When things settled down the bar was far less friendly than it had been. The people were surrounded by dark auras, soulless and foreboding eyes shifted his way. One patron opened their mouth and hissed at him. These were demons and other creatures of evil. "You in tha' wrong place, angel boy." One burly man said as he started to round the bar and come towards D.

D was just now trying to figure out what the hell just happened, and trying to cope with the pain in his chest. Now he was having to deal with a room full of demons. He staggered to his feet and looked around the room. "I uh totally though this was some where else?" He said as the door behind him opened. The demons sneered and backed away as a firm hand clasped his shoulder. "I suggest you leave my friend alone." D knew the voice, the same angel that granted him his abilities.

Charles was what you'd think of when thinking of an angel. Tall slender, blonde hair, and holier than thou attitude. The bar patrons didn't come any closer. One angel was something they might be able to take on but two was suicide. Charles dragged his partner from the bar and opened a door with holy light. The door led to the realm of the Time Wardens, a holy place that no man or demon could enter. "Dude that the hell just happened!? You felt the shift right?" D said in aloud voice as he turned to face Charles. The blonde man signed and paced a moment. "You died. That's what. Or were you too drunk to feel it?"

"Died?" There was a long pause before D spoke again. "Wh-when? Shit when did I die? Whua-what happened?" Charles sighed in irritation as he walked to the wall. He placed his finger on the white marble wall. White smoke appeared and Charles waved his hand over the smoke to reveal images. "I don't know exactly when but... It appears... Everything has been changed..." D pushed Charles out of the way and moved his hand over the smoke to see various points in time. "Alana never... Wait she never becomes a space pirate... she doesn't become anything... Wait... Shayne? Luc? Whe-where are my kids?" Charles took over the wall to find D's best friend. "Wait... Ziear doesn't even become a vampire... D you have to fix this."

Everything his D at once. He dies before he met his ex-wife thus his precious boys were never born. But far worse was the fact that his best friend was never turned into a vampire. That changed everything. So much pivoted on that key point in D's history. A key point that D had to make happen. "You have to help me fix this. My-my kids. I gave up everything to keep them safe!" D grabbed Charles by his shoulder as he pleaded. Charles showed no emotion as he shook his head 'no'. "I can't help you. This is your time line. It's forbidden." D lashed out and shoved Charles. "Shrew the rules man we're not just talking about my family! Everything has changed!" He bellowed as he stepped back.

"If this is some vendetta someone has against you, I can't help! I'm sorry D. I know how much you gave up. But the Divine says it's forbidden to interfere with another Time Warden's time line. And I will not cross the Divine. You're on your own." The other angels voice took on a bold and solid tone. D pause a moment, tears filling his eyes, his anger and pain rising dangerously to the surface. He choked back the tears as he shoved Charles. "Fuck you and fuck the Divine!" D screamed as he backed away. His anger taking the better of him. He took over the wall and hunted a few moment before he found the year he died. But that was it. Nothing more. There was a blank space where he should have been able to see. This meant a demon interfered, or an angel. But that of course was forbidden. Though he never assumed it could be a fallen angel.

Once D found the year he clasped his hands together and imagined the date in his mind. So it had to be before he left Hawaii since he never met his ex-wife. He'd have to start there. When his hands drew apart a door opened in time and he stepped though back to 1998.
 
As Inna felt his muscles flex in a desperate try to pull away, she placed her arms around his waist to support him in a way that could almost be called gentle if it weren't for the fact she also happened to be his murderer. "Shhh. Just succumb to the sleep. Don't fight it. You don't wanna additional pain, right?" Dissonant serenity was oozing from her voice; it was the kind of tone many people used to calm down startled animals with. Universal translation could be something like: "It will be alright. I won't hurt you." Yes, she had presented him with the kiss of death, but her previous remark about it not being personal wasn't just standard, pre-asskicking one liner. Inna didn't need to act like a typical B-movie villain to the guy who was dragged into this mess for his future deeds he had no idea about. Despite his major role in the perpetual struggle between the legions of angels and demons, he remained a mere pawn in this timeline. Ha! And the Divine said all my virtues have been... What was the exact phrase? Irrevocably burnt into ashes in the pits of hellish fire? Or was it something even more pretentious? Geez, they sure do enjoy their theatrics.

The moment the man drew his last breath was exceptionally hard to miss, for the world shook in its foundations. No earthquake of any Richter scale could possibly compare; the whole realm was reacting to the changed conditions, instantly rewriting itself to avoid the system collision of catastrophic proportions. The shapes of buildings, mundane devices and even people - just about everything - fused into one nondescript mass; strangely blurred colors turned this sight into an epileptic experience... Inna, the only organism in the world whose very essence wasn't being rebooted violently, could only gasp for air like a fish out of water; witnessing the creation of entirely new timeline surpassed the usage of drugs in practically every way, but fooling around in the center of events also had its disadvantages. Steel fist crushing the oxygen out of her lungs mercilessly and malfunctioning senses ironically weren't the worst feelings to deal with. Those fell into the category of physical pain and Inna was good friends with it. Well, maybe not really friends - nobody could see her enthusiastically carving inscriptions into her flesh with a rusty knife - yet she knew how to treat this entity.

But how to cope with pain originating somewhere in her chest, totally unrelated to any physical cause? No, this wasn't sudden attack of conscience; more like restriction mechanism in practice. Technically - save for few minor details like eternal damnation, of course - Inna still could be considered an angel with all their properties, including their tightly-embedded disgust to screwing with time to such a calamitous extent. Her noble intention to wreak a havoc worked a little too well. Just who the hell was this guy? Manager of the universe himself? Yes, Inna had sensed his importance before; she had found him because of bold string of fate in the first place. Nevertheless, saying the intensity of consequences was unexpected would have been an understatement of the century.

The moment of transformation came and went quickly; the reality assembled itself again as if it was nothing but a giant puzzle. This time, though, the resultant picture showed substantially darker world. All that pretty houses that breathed a family atmosphere were replaced by a different coulisses; mostly rundown, suspicious buildings no-one should approach without either a loaded gun, deathwish or both. The streets were still kinda recognizable when one tried hard enough, but they looked like its post-apocalyptic version featured in a propaganda movie about relevancy of ecology and what would happen if people stopped sorting out the garbage. Inna stared at the scenery in an astonishment for a while, not fully believing the range of destruction she had sown... The surprised expression on her face didn't last too long; amused laughter filled the silence. Bingo. You go, girl! She would have congratulated herself if the handshake performed with one person didn't look so awkward. One hit, one kill.

The destiny didn't give her a chance to celebrate just yet, though; the portal opened from the depths of time, spitting out the man who had to be an angel in charge of this timeline. The red head simply leaned on the wall in a relaxed position, extraordinarily indifferent when taking into account she was caught redhanded with the corpse next to her still warm... And that the corpse looked like the angel's twin. Frankly, running or hiding wouldn't have solved anything; her aura shined like a lighthouse in the darkness. Moreover, Inna wasn't really the kind of girl to retreat from confrontations, no matter how heated. She tilted her head aside, few rebellious lock now hanging into her face, and abandoned her position at the wall to gain some space. Any experienced fighter would notice slight shift into the defensive stance; she had to find out what the boy could do first before going into frontal attack blindly. "I could swear I've killed you already. Or is my memory really so unreliable?" Inna motioned towards lifeless body on the ground, inquiring spark in her eyes. Nothing could send the wardens in frenzy like good old provocation. And angry enemy was much better than someone following the path of reason, right?
 
How did he die? Couldn't be a demon. They can't directly affect an angel or would be angels time line. Well a very powerful demon could. And that was what worried D. Could he take on a supreme alpha demon? With tears in his eyes he thought of the faces of his boys. Three boys actually, the second failed marriage hadn't clicked at the time. His three boys no longer existed. They didn't exist because he never met his ex-wives. His mind raced with Alana and all that she did in the future. As much as a heartless vampire bitch she was, she did a lot of good as well. But her simply not existing cause this? Or was it something more. Alana never became a vampire because Ziear didn't her. Could Ziear not becoming a vampire cause this?

D stepped through the portal to see a sight that made his stomach turn in all sorts of ways. Nausea set in and his heart sunk in his chest. His own pale brown eyes, lifeless. Staring into abyss with his skin stained dark like poison leaked into his veins. It was a sickening image. "Oh my god..." was all he could mutter. His eyes shooting up to the fiery red head defiantly looking at him. "What have you done... You..." A dark tone seeped into his drawl. "You didn't just kill me man. Fuck with me all you want... But you just took everything from me!" His body shivered as he thought about all his memories. Memories that would never happen. Never take place.

"You know..." Tears choked in his voice. "I normally don't hit women but... I'm gonna kill you." He said as he balled his fists. With speed too fast for the human eye to see D jolted towards her. For the two angels, the movement wouldn't normally seem any different at all. Though the drunken D was at a slight disadvantage. He lunged for her, his fist aimed at her head. A hit he aimed to cause damage.
 
Okay, she probably didn't need to bother with verbal lashing; the guy's psyche was totally devastated enough even without her helpful intervention. Voice on the verge of breaking and all too familiar despair engraved in his features gave a sufficient testimony regarding what exactly he thought about her work. Inna's expression, however, didn't show any signs of remorse; she could understand his sentiments from certain standpoint as the requirement to give up everything in order to fix what once went wrong was a shared fate of all celestial beings, but at the same time, her attitude towards the sacrifice differed drastically from the norm. As far as she was concerned, the angels threw their old lives away in exchange for sugar coated placebo and chains of slavery. Profitable business - well, at least for the Divine. "Did I? Oh, so you were under the impression you had something left in the first place. Cute." What? Being nice about the whole thing wouldn't instantly turn them into best buddies, so why waste her breath?

Another sentence almost made Inna roll her eyes; the famous "I-am-too-high-and-mighty-to-hurt-the-fair-sex-but-I-will-create-a-special-exception-solely-for-you" mantra. What motivated the men to say it? Was she supposed to feel honored that she had such a rare effect on them? Or did they expect her to nod understandingly and praise them because beating women wasn't their modus operandi after all? Inna, mostly a creature of logic, failed to see a point in this lovely custom.

And then, the furious angel rushed to exact his revenge. The sight itself could be considered quite frightening to less hardened minds; while the height difference between them wasn't extremely significant, it didn't take a genius to identify the stronger individual out of the pair. Hint: the girl with arms like matchsticks wouldn't win the patronage of any sane bookmaker. Still, Inna took pride in her ability to stay relatively tranquil and focused during life-threatening situations. People generally thought it was insanely difficult, but they couldn't be farther from the truth; in fact, it just demanded one specific mindset. Mindset closer to humanity than anyone would imagine; fear of the unknown. As this struggle could only lead to two painfully obvious options - to kill or to be killed - it left no room for insecurity.

Since the angel didn't come up with any supernatural hocus-pocus yet, she assumed he specialized in hand to hand fighting... Which had to mirror in her strategy if she didn't want to end up as his punching bag. Inna jumped to the side with surprising speed, dodging the possibly deadly blow to the head, and tried to kick her foe to the inner side of his ankle. Quick, practical hit to the weak spot that ensured at least momentary loss of balance if done correctly. Whether she succeeded or not, Inna resorted to the good old strategical retreat in order to put some distance between them. Why? Well, judging from his actions, the angel didn't look too eager to kiss her and it took some time for the poison to accumulate in her hand in a substantial dose; dose concentrated enough to actually harm upon the touch.
 
The aura surrounding the woman was lighter than it should have been, meaning she was an angel. Like D. But why would she kill him!? Her cold an callous voice held no remorse, no regret and even mocked him. D was normally a relaxed and laid back man but this chick had him on fire. The pain and rage within him poured out in his bellowing yell as he threw his fist at her. The alcohol in his system only added to the blindness that came with the rage. She moved with incredible speed as his fist hit the wall behind her.

Sparks of blue and white light flashed during the impact, the power of the holy energy used made a sizable crater in the wall. D cursed as his fist stuck in the wall a moment. He staggered as he jerked his hand out, luckily dodging the potentially crippling kick to his ankle. But he stumbled back wards a few feet before he regained his footing. He let out another raging yell as he tried once again to close the distance. His style of fighting, though sloppy due to his intoxicated state, resemble martial arts. His fists came once again quickly at her as he tried to get close.

"Why?!" He yelled at her. "Why would you even kill me!?" He said. She was too quick and he knew he;d never catch her this way. Suddenly he stopped and his whole left arm started to glow white and blue. D then slammed his fist into the ground, causing a shock wave of broken road and holy energy shooting towards the woman. His hope was to knock her off her feet so that he could get close.
 
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