Cast Down

"What the hell was that anyway?" Rachel says, as the sword in her hand blazed in a beam of light and left a pendant in it's wake. There was a mild curiousity on her features. Though her mouth was shaped in a thin line, indicating that she wasn't happy that the demon escaped.

"Well, he wanted to get a tattoo." Jake says as he stood from the ground, and dusted off his pants. "and now, I just want to get a shirt." He shuddered.

"A tattoo, you say?" Rachel narrowed her eyes at him, and walked over to where the gun was, and bent over to retrieve it.

"How'd you managed to jump that high anyway?" Jake says.

Rachel made a choked noise. "You just saw a former angel, and a duke of hell at that. And still, you wonder how I managed to pull the stunt?" she shook her head in disbelief and sighed. "I give up, your priorities are screwed." she finished, and threw her hands in the air.

Jake made a face.

Rachel shot him a look, and was in deep thought before she spoke. "What if.." she hesitated, as she looked at Jake's tattoo, pushing the gun in it's leather holster.

"What you'll give me that jacket? It won't fit." Jake says, as he walked towards her. "It would be really, really tight." He says, as he looked down on her-not her actually, but rather looking at a particular spot, just below where the pendant hung. "especially around the chest."

"Enough with the perversions." Rachel's face grew red as she backed away from him. "Let me show you what I meant." she says, as she removed her jacket and hung it by her shoulder.

"I usually love striptease darling, If it weren't so weird in here." Jake looked amused.

"Shut your mouth." Rachel quickly unclasped one of the belts at her waist, and raised the fabric of her tight gray tank top, revealing a strange white tattoo just above her right waist. "You see what I mean?"

Jake swallowed, and glanced at the tattoo, but not before taking a wild look at the curves of her waist, her white skin was unblemished as a pearl. He thought how it would feel to hold those waist and carrass it with his hands. She shot him a glare and he quickly turned away, and composed himself. "Wait. You got that at First Street too?" He managed to say, though he felt his pants got a little bit tighter around somewhere.

The tattoo on her resembled three pairs of wings. It would be indentical with his tattoo, if it weren't for the faded stark grey color, and the correct pair of wings. His tattoo had four pairs, and is faded from black to almost red, which sat on his chest like an angry birthmark.

Rachel rolled her eyes, and hastily pulled the fabric down to Jake's dismay, when suddenly a sound like breaking glass echoed throughout the area. The ground shook, and cracks appeared on the skies which now looked like the surface of a broken mirror. Jake marveled and at the same time felt horror as the sky  shook and tiny fragments of the mirror that bore the image of the inverted sky fell down, just as someone with a mighty pair of white wings bursted out from the sky's crumbling surface, shattering everything entirely.

The surroundings froze in time and broke. Jake whirled around, and at the instant, everything around them was quickly engulfed in a flash of light, leaving little time for Jake to close his eyes.

He felt a light buzzing on his ears and he opened his eyes to find someone standing or more like hovering a few inch from the ground directly opposite of him, the white pair of wings at the back of his shoulder made a heavy sound as it flapped slowly before he set foot on the ground. The stranger's eyes were a blazing blue as sapphires further emphasized by his golden hair and his jaw was clenched, entirely hostile. Jake felt the overwhelming sense to run, but he froze in place.

He felt something inside him stir. It wasn't exactly a memory, it wouldn't make sense. But seeing him sent him a feeling the french called déjà vu.

"Gabriel." He heard Rachel say.

"Whose he?" The boy that was called Gabriel asked Rachel, who stood by the side with arms folded over her chest. He spared Jake a glance, and his face hardened before looking directly at Rachel. "And didn't anyone tell him that it is rude to stare? Especially with a jaw dropped like that." He spat, as his wings vibrated and retreated into his back, completely dissappearing out of sight with a bone-crunching sound.

"Lemme guess?" Jake glanced at Gabriel then back at Rachel. "Your guardian angel?"

"Well this is surprising." Gabriel says, with a hint of dissappointment, more than anger. "You brought a human into Limbo? Does your idiocy know no bounds?"

"Wait." Rachel's nostrils flared. "What? It's as if it was my fault the guy kept on getting pulled into trouble." her hands were clenched into fists.

"She didn't. I got dragged here on my own." Jake intervened.

"You speak when you are permitted to speak, human."

Jake walked over to where Rachel stood. "I speak when I need to speak." he went on, "Who knew angels had such a nasty temper."

"The next time you speak, will be the last time you draw your breath." Gabriel threatened, "It wouldn't make any difference to me if I take a human life, I've got nothing to lose." His whole body tensed, like an angered lion about to pounce.

"So... you fell?" Jake didn't have the time to register what happened, as the words come out from his mouth. He saw the world spin and the next thing he remembered was his face on the ground followed by a dulling pain at his midsection.

"Gabe stop." He heard Rachel shout.

He shook his head, when someone grabbed him by the shoulder and he was tossed into a nearby wall with a sickening crunch, before he fell into the ground where he layed there unable to move.

Must've broken a rib or two, and I thought it was just the nasty temper, and not to mention very very violent. He thought as he gritted his teeth and forced his aching body to move. He raised his head and saw Gabriel towering before him. His eyes were now literally a blazing set of sapphires, a vain stood on his forehead.

"You're really asking for it, aren't you." Gabriel scowled.

Jake felt something swell inside him, and a surge of what seemed like a tenfold shot of caffeine worked its way into his veins. He didn't know what happened when he suddenly felt his right arm raise by its own. His body felt like a car, but his consciousness was entirely just at the backseat and there's somebody else driving his entire actions, like the time with Ferby. Only this time, he felt his control being overriden, slipping away from his grasp.

He felt something tug at his open hand, and Gabriel who was too shocked, and confused to react was blown away off his feet. Like something invisible yanked him out from where he stood like a puppet.

A bone-shattering sound echoed out, and he looked above to see Gabriel hovering above with wings on his back and with a furious look on his face, both curious and angry. "What's this?" He said.

Jake stood, and he felt his body pumped with energy, adrenaline magnified sevenfold. He noticed Rachel approach him, her hand covering her mouth.

She held a hand up to Gabriel, who nodded before she spoke. "Gabe, look." she says.

Jake looked at her, and at Gabriel who shot him a glare. And he noticed something burning and searing in his chest, at the exact spot where his tattoo rested.

He spared it a look, and found the tattoo glowing red like lava.

"What the hell is this?" Jake backed away from Rachel, when suddenly all the energy he felt, instantly vanished. He felt jelly all over and fell down on his knees.

"Wait." Rachel says as moved towards him. "Jake, listen." she started as Jake shook his head violently, and Rachel gripped his shoulders tight and shook him hard. "I know you are confused by what is happening right now. Even we both are." She looked at Gabriel who just nodded at her, urging her to go on and she continued talking.

"I mentioned angels falling and becoming demons earlier. But there are some.. some like us who.." she swallowed hard, looking like she doesn't want to say the word.

"Had fallen out of God's grace." Gabriel says in her stead who approached both of them. His wings were gone and so was the hostility. He glanced at Rachel and worry passed through his features. He turned around when he noticed Jake staring at him. "What she isn't telling you, is that knowing the truth of the world is a very delicate process." Gabriel says, and for the first time he heard him talk like he cared.

So there is a soft side to the guy after all. Jake thought.

Rachel looked at Gabe like she was silently thanking him. It was a look shared by two people who knew each other for a long time. The kind of words that are easily expressed without saying anything. Jake felt a pang inside him, but he didn't move and nodded at Rachel instead, who again spoke. "Well those like us. We didn't side with Lucifer."

"We are angels who fell because circumstances demanded it. You could call us Fallen Angels, or anything you like but it won't change the fact that we aren't angels anymore and ain't demons at that. We just hunt them, because they aren't at all that friendly around the neighborhood." Gabriel added. "If you noticed."

"And you." Rachel pointed at Jake, "You are one of us."

"That mark on your chest, proves that you were created by the hand of God, because only angels bore that mark even former angels at that. You can think of it as a signature, a brand of your maker." Gabriel says in a matter-of-fact, and raised the sleeve of his black shirt, where a tattoo same as Rachel rested.

"Then why can't I remember anything about it? I have a mother just so you know." Jake asked. Both exchanged a look and stared back at him, like he had just said something ridiculous. Though the look on Gabriel's face, made it look like he was hiding something.

"It's a slow process. But I can guarantee you will remember it. Sometimes it comes in flashbacks, or deja vu."

"Maybe he bumped his head somewhere during the fall."

"Wait. I don't understand. I mean how would that be?" Jake stammered.

"You never run out of questions do you?" Gabriel rolled his eyes at him. And again, he was back from being civil and caring to being absolutely nasty. Jake thought.

Gabriel exhaled a sigh, a heavy one at Rachel's pleading look at him. "What I meant to say, is that it isn't safe to talk about these things in here, human, or whatever you are?" He finished and nodded at Rachel, who helped Jake up.

"What Gabe's trying to say, although severely failing at civility. Is that if you want answers then you better come with us." Rachel told Jake, who looked suspiciously at her.

"Willingly, or I can do a little with force, if you so require it." Gabriel added, the tone in his voice told Jake that this wasn't up for discussion.

"You are like a siren on your own. You attract demons, and it wouldn't be safe to let you in the local populace, especially now that you've began to manifest. People might get in danger."

"Wait. Did you just compare me to a mermaid?" Jake says.

"Out of all the things, I'd just said and you get only that. I meant siren, like a beacon." Rachel says in irritation.

Gabriel sighed impatiently, spun on his heels and left.

Jake rolled his eyes and nodded. "So where's this secret hideout?"

"The garden, where else." Rachel says .