December 1, 00XX
Light poured in through the windows. Elliot awoke to the familiar sight of the pristine white ceiling of his room. His head was heavy from what felt like sleeping for quite some time. He blinked back the haze covering his eyes and tried to remember how he had gotten here.
There were voices, he recalled. He could've sworn he heard someone speaking earlier. He sat up and looked around only to find he had been alone.
And a war... Angels were fighting against demons. He could still clearly remember the feel of his sword cutting and piercing through skin. That's right, they were winning. No, they had won.
A knock on the door jolted Elliot from his thoughts. He remembers a bright light, but then what happened after that? Had they fully won by then? Or was that another trick by the demons?
He looked at the door with trepidation and stood up uneasily on his feet. He summoned his sword in his right hand and carefully approached his mysterious guest.
"Come in," he said.
The door flew open, and Elliot raised his weapon. As soon as he saw the person behind it, he let his hand fall with a relieved sigh.
"Whoa there," Zaila stood before him, arms raised defensively. "Nightmare?"
"Zaila," Elliot breathed at the familiar sight of his friend. He noticed her confused expression and almost forgot about the sword in his hand. He moved to dismiss it. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"Well, I appreciate that it wasn't my head you intended to cut off," Zaila came inside, sidestepping his tall figure in the doorway and sitting down on the bed. She looked at him for an explanation as to who this 'someone' might be. Elliot, however, was too elated to give one.
"If you're here then..." he turned to her, a bright grin spread across his face. "We won the war!"
"War? What war? Don't tell me you hit your head on top of trying to kill me too?"
"Zaila, you can stop pretending to be stupid, and let's celebrate!"
She rolled her eyes. "You and your imagination. Well, if you look at it, a war doesn't seem too far off from the escalating arguments we've been having with the demons..."
"Demons... What are you talking about? Didn't we kill all of them already?"
"Elliot, whatever that was, it was a dream. Though given how you ended up here, it's not surprising you'd want to kill them."
He shook his head. "Wait, wait, wait-what happened? The war's over, so why are there still..."
"You and a few others ended up here after a surprise attack coordinated by some demons yesterday. I had almost thought you were a goner!" Zaila regarded me with a concerned expression. "From what I can see, it's good to see you're doing fine. Though those demons should be dealt with, word of this should be getting to the higher-ups anytime now."
Elliot stayed quiet, silently processing all the new information he already should've known. Something definitely wasn't right, and the pit in Elliot's stomach grew deeper with each passing second.
"...Zaila, what date is it?"
"You don't remember? It's December first."
Elliot paled, his eyebrows furrowed into a line. "What do you mean?"
Zaila snorted. "The day after November thirty? Did you really forget what happened to you?"
Elliot looked back; it's like he could never remember the events of yesterday, the day before, and the weeks before it. He tried to remember, but it only made his head ache.
That damned demon. What was going on!? Was that a vision of the future? O-or, did he use some strong demonic magic to send me back?
Elliot let out a stream of ungodly curses that an archangel would have fainted upon hearing and looked up to see Zaila staring at him in mild amusement.
"Wow, you must've hit your head pretty good."
He swallowed. "Yeah, yeah, um... Could you tell me anything about what happened before I passed out?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zaila immediately popped over to take the chair by his side. A bright fire lit up her eyes as she recalled the events with such fervor that he might have scoffed if the situation wasn't serious. Knowing her, the whole thing would derail into a rant about demons.
But at the moment, she could ramble all she liked. Elliot needed anything that gave him a clue whether that pesky little demon was involved in this or not, and he still couldn't remember what happened before he had woken up in his bed after living through a war. And it wasn't like he couldn't drop the news without looking more of a complete idiot, not to mention the possible impact it could have on the future.
Elliot knew he only had one path left to take.
He had no choice but to act as if everything was normal.
As it turned out, pretending he knew what he had done in the last few months was harder than he thought. He forced himself to focus on what Zaila was saying. He watched her mouth move intently but couldn't make out the words.
At that point, he stopped listening to her entirely. The bare bones of a quickly strung-together plan were forming in his mind. If that was a vision from the future or if he was actually sent back in time, then he knew what would happen from here out. He could simply stop any unnecessary losses from happening again, and who was to stop him?
Though doubt still clouded his mind. Could he change the future that easily? How could he be sure that whatever he just went through wasn't a dream or an illusion?
But still, he was given a chance, and he'd be a fool not to take it. That demon was an idiot for sending him back!
"Alright now, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, but you should get some rest." She stood up and made her way to the door.
"Where are you going?"
She grinned. "They're holding a meeting after your recent attack. Don't worry, I'll catch you up with the juicy details later."
A meeting, huh?
Elliot leaped to his feet and grabbed the door before she could close it completely. "On second thought, I think I'm feeling better already!"
"You sure about this, E? It's not my fault if you faint and make a mess out of yourself."
"It'll be fine!"
After a lot of persuading and assuring, Zaila rolled her eyes and finally agreed to take him with her. They left his room, and Elliot had to blink twice. Everything was unfamiliar to him-what was presumed to be his familiar, safe, comfy home was a confusing maze of halls and stairs. He gulped and felt the stares and looks of pity and awe from the angels all around him.
"Elijah." Zaila forced a smile.
"Heard you took quite a beating there. I'm more surprised they got you!"
Who the hell was this person?! Well, with Zaila's tense figure, it only means bad news. He squinted, taking in his appearance. His face looked familiar at the very least, but the more he dove deep into his subconscious, the more excruciating his headache got.
"Elijah, I think it'll benefit everyone if you leave us alone for now. Come on Elliot, don't mind him."
More than once, he'd caught himself staring at more of his supposed friends, and Zaila would have to snap her fingers in his face to get his attention again. Angels he'd once thought to be dead, injured, or disappeared were freely roaming around and spending their time as if nothing was going to happen to them. He felt guilty for it.
Elliot entered the meeting hall, just shy behind his best friend, and took the time to inspect the room.
It was just about the same as he remembered, minus the newly added maps covering the entire room. They were strewn about the walls and filled to the brim with annotations and notes in bright red marker. Everyone gathered around the long table in the center, where a long map was spread across the whole surface. The chairs were engraved with the names of the lieutenants, and in the middle was... he couldn't recall. He wanted to take a closer look, but Zaila pulled him over to check out the map in the middle instead. Thumbtacks seemed to be laid out at random, but Elliot knew what they were meant for. He had been there once to see each one plucked off and replaced with a big black X.
"Demon camps," Zaila whispered to him in awe, "I never knew they had so many."
His eyes fell on the unmarked patch of land, and he had to suppress a frown. He could've sworn there was another thumbtack there.
The higher-ups arrived at the meeting room, and the curious angels near the table were shooed away. Zaila dragged him off with the others, and they both stood far away from the table. His mind couldn't help but stray towards that seemingly empty space on the map where a tack should have been. It couldn't be that they haven't found it yet? Had they?
He shook his head with a sigh. His plans were getting riskier by the minute. The adrenaline from learning he was from the future still hadn't left him, and now he was seriously considering breaking into an undiscovered demon camp for himself.
But imagine the lives that could be saved! He would be doing them all a favor by removing one of their problems. He didn't necessarily need to fight any demons. That way, he wouldn't be disobeying any orders by starting up any conflict that could be reported to their superiors. Just a little 'scouting', and he could leave.
Elliot leaned over just enough so Zaila could hear him whisper. "I think I'm going back to my room after all."
She rolled her eyes, about to demand an explanation for ditching the meeting he was so eager to attend a few moments before, but he was gone by the time she turned around.
______________________________________
This was idiotic. Elliot can't remember the way back to his room, nor could he ask any angel to accompany him because all of them were back at the meeting hall. He was so absorbed with gawking around the place earlier that he didn't even think of memorizing how to get back. He dragged a hand down to his face and turned around another corner to find himself back at the same place he started.
Well, how was he to know all the halls looked the same! With the same white floors, white walls, and occasional mahogany door, nothing told him that he was even heading in the right direction. His vision was starting to swim by the time he rounded the corner-again-only this time, he had found himself nearly stumbling over someone else.
"Hey Elli, what are you doing here?" He looked down to find a short angel with curly hair.
"You look like a lost puppy." Beside him was another similar-looking angel. Brothers, he guessed. The only way he could tell them apart was through the color of their eyes. The first ones were blue, but this one had black.
"Hi, um..." Elliot trailed off, pressing his brain for any memories of these two.
"You don't remember the path back?" The two mischievously grinned before nudging each other's shoulders. "What's next? You're going to say you don't remember us too?"
Elliot looked away, feeling sheepish that they were on the mark. "I uh, I better go now."
The angel with black eyes laughed. "Don't mind Raziel, he's just messing with you."
"We'll take you there! Right, Zuriel?"
"Right."
Before Elliot could protest, they grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him off.
From what he could tell, wherever they were taking him, it was definitely not back to his room. Helpless, he watched as they passed the main building until they reached empty roads and passed a gate.
The weight around his shoulders was released, and he fell to his feet. Elliot rolled his eyes and watched the two angels fly back into heaven's gates before giggling madly.
Great. Those two friends brought him closer to the exit than the comfort of his room. Temptation took over, and Elliot looked down. Below him, the ground dissipated in mist and revealed the vast expanse of the world below. Fields of green and earthy brown rolled over into the horizon, and not so far off, he could see the sun still high in the sky.
He stepped back a little, unnerved that he was practically toeing the edge. Soldiers weren't allowed to leave the holy land. He was in enough trouble already. He shouldn't be out here thinking about things he shouldn't be doing.
He looked back at the glistening golden gates. They were all probably in the meeting, talking about demons and whatnot. It wasn't like anyone would know if he disappeared for a short while.
Elliot glanced back down and sighed.
One step closer to my crazy plan.
______________________________________
Elliot flew down freely without the watchful eye of angels who were too busy plotting their schemes against the demons.
The whole thing felt unfamiliar. It felt like a barrier preventing him from leaving heaven, but now that he had crossed, it left him feeling like he had done something wrong. It's not like he hadn't gone down before. He wanted to go. He'd never get a chance like this again if he didn't.
He took a deep breath, and after a few minutes of flying, he reached his destination. He was in the forest. It was dark, and the air smelled fresh with just a hint of sulfur.
He looked forward and found the secret path to the demon camp. Heavily guarded and protected, it had taken them up until the third week of the month to find it.
Elliot gulped as he trudged down the path. It was cold and made his wings ache. He walked carefully to avoid alarming any demons. He saw the faint light of a fire in the distance and kept walking. He followed the small crackling sounds and crouched towards a bush to take a closer look.
A demon was quietly humming and swayed slightly on its feet. Elliot thought of summoning his sword when the temperature dropped to freezing, and shivers covered his entire body. Cautiously, he crept forward.
He was almost close enough until he heard a growl.
"Don't move," came a voice, "I know you're there." His heart skipped a beat as an all too familiar energy surged through the air.
It's him. The one that sent him back in time and flung him around like a stick. He began to get second thoughts about this foolish plan of his. Why'd he even think that his assassination attempt on an entire camp would work. He can't do anything while that demon mage is here. He stalled too much and accidentally locked eyes with the mage. The demon opened all six of his eyes in what he would assume to be shock.
Without thinking, Elliot instinctively opened his wings and flew. The demon took after him. He felt a burning sensation across his back, and then a moment later, he heard a loud crack. The same binds tied his wings and arms, and he yelped before harshly crashing into a nearby tree. He coughed from the impact and made an effort to escape, yet the binds made him weaker, suppressing his light.
"I loved that tree, you know? Wait a minute... it's you! How did you even-? It's not possible. No angel is meant to find this camp until the third week."
"I remember. Last time, the time you trapped me in the dome, and Zaila, she killed you! How were you able to send me back in time, to torture me or-"
He began laughing like a maniac. "Out of everyone that could've remembered, it's you!? The prissy angel soldier that escapes death every time? How cruel fate must be." He wiped a fake tear off his face while Elliot continued to struggle. "Would you calm down, you winged fool? Whatever nightmare you're brewing up in that empty head of yours, it's not gonna happen. Well... unless you lie."
"How's that going to make me feel better!?"
"It's not. But its purpose is to pressure you down to your core to tell the goddamn truth! So tell me, how did you get here?"
Elliot gulped, "I woke up after killing a demon, and then I was back to a month ago. Did you-did you send me back?"
"Well, you, my feathery friend, have broken the loop. I'm flattered you thought I sent you back, but the truth is, I'm strong but not as strong as the one that trapped us in this hell hole."
"H-how did I escape?"
"I," he contemplated, "...do not know. But you have to believe me, we can work together and end this-"
"What makes you think I will stoop so low to work with a demon? I know a trick when I see one."
He clicked his tongue. "Inflated ego much? Besides, your life depends on your cooperation." He reached for his arm, ready to make a deal. Elliot saw a slight flicker of desperation in all of those eyes before he shook his head.
"I won't. Make a deal. With a demon!" The demon groaned in frustration before glaring at Elliot.
"You'll believe me once this all ends, then meet me at this place; I shall tell you the entire truth." The demon raised his hand and released his binds. "Don't even think about fighting back. It's utterly useless." He said with a cold voice. "I won't smite you where you stand, and as you can see, it's taking quite my strong will and kindness to not kill you on the spot. Now, do as I say and get out of here. It's been fun meeting you after a loop, we'll see each other again soon enough, and we'll work seriously by the time you accept the deal."
Elliot scowled before taking off. "I'll make sure we won't."
"The name's Ythyr!" The demon yelled before he vanished from sight.
Elliot was surprised by how fast he moved. He looked up at the sky, wondering what had just happened.
______________________________________
Elliot returned to heaven and knew he was in deep trouble when Zaila and three of his friends with a bunch of soldiers anticipated his return.
"It was Elijah's fault! He told us we should leave Elliot at the gate. We didn't know his brains were gone to the point that he'd actually leave! Please, Captain Adrianne, let us go!" Zuriel pleaded with the armored angel. She held her hand up and asked Elliot if he was fine and where he had gone. Guilt consumed him when he told about the demon camp he found. She asked him about his whereabouts, and he answered truthfully.
He was dismissed, and Zaila brought him back to his room, while the other three got berated for tricking him. Elliot felt relieved that they let him go from questioning, but he had a sense of dread for the rest of his extended lockdown. More eyes will be on him now to prevent his escape.
"Angels don't sleep, but you really need to. Whatever hit you was strong demonic magic enough to turn you vulnerable. Go rest."
Yawning, he laid down and thanked Zaila. As soon as he hit the bed, Elliot closed his eyes and fell asleep.
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