--New Zealand--
Sera stood on a cliff, hands in his pockets. The breeze blew his hair, bringing with it the smell of the ocean that stretched out before him. It was peaceful here--the ground firm beneath his feet, the clear blue sky outstretching out endlessly above him. Though he couldn't see for himself, his eyes were the exact color of the ocean's waves.
Without needing to look, he sensed someone's presence behind him. For a moment he stood, not wanting to shatter the relaxing silence.
Fate took a step forward, standing next to Sera. He too looked out at the ocean. Sera didn't acknowledge him. The pair stood, silently together, enjoying the peace.
"Thank you for meeting me," Sera finally said.
"Of course."
Sera looked to his left and then his lips parted in surprise. Fate was dressed differently--very differently. He wore a green Hawaiian shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, and tan sandals.
The look of surprise disappeared and Sera smirked, looking back out to the sea. "That's quite the look, Fate."
"With everything that has happened I decided it was time to treat myself to a long overdue vacation."
Sera looked at him, still smirking. "And God's okay with this...hiatus?"
Fate's lip twitched, his eyes narrowing slightly. "God and I are not on speaking terms exactly, currently."
Sera looked over the edge. He kicked a small rock, watching it tumble away. "Ah. That's a shame."
Fate shrugged. "I put the pawns in place to kill His first son. I worked with Time and Death to restore Los Angeles to its proper state. I brought mortals to Purgatory, allowed them to cross the River Styx. Twice. I pulled a lot of strings to erase people's memory here on The Surface of what transpired."
Fate sighed. "You know how God is--even when things do not go according to Plan, He does not like the outcomes changed too drastically." Fate's brow furrowed. "No...I do not believe I will be speaking with God for a very, very long time."
Sera was genuinely surprised. "If you don't mind me asking...what happens with your post?"
Fate looked at Sera, proffering a smile. "Don't know, don't care."
For a moment Sera looked stunned. Then he laughed. "I think that's the first time I've heard you use a contraction."
Fate ginned coyly. "Do not get used to it...That was forced."
Sera looked at Fate squarely then, squinting at him against the sunlight. He grew serious.
"What happened to Lucifer after that day, Fate?"
Fate nodded curtly. "He is--contained." He looked at Sera, providing a reassuring look. "He is being watched over in a see-through coffin with constant vigilance. If he ever wakes up, he will be dealt with."
Silence.
"God sent you to speak with me, did He not?" Fate said finally, the words laced with contempt.
Sera turned to Fate. "How is everyone doing?"
Fate folded his arms, looking perturbed. "For their help, and as part of reversing what happened, I restored Hakan and Vince to their proper mortal selves. Raven is living with Sapphire; it was decided his soul may remain intact. Marcus and Sires have quickly become best friends--I think it might be good for Sires' mental health. Zoe has been provided comfortable conditions." Fate looked back to the sea. "Jeanette has been returned to her family. All is well."
The deity paused. "And how is Rosalyn?"
Caught off guard, Sera coughed into his hand. "She's...good. Yeah. She's good."
"Are you two coupled now?"
"We decided it would be stupid to incur any more of God's wrath. So no, we're not 'coupled' as you said. For now, anyway."
"Ah, a shame. You are both good for each other."
Sera frowned. "It's not just that. She, er–well. I have some things I have to work on. About myself"
Fate snorted. "Like your entire demeanor?"
Sera gritted his teeth but said nothing.
"You know," Fate continued lightly, green eyes looking out at the gentle waves, "God does not care if angels couple."
Sera snapped his head to look at Fate in disbelief.
"God never said that," Fate replied. "It is simply frowned upon by God because it increases variables that would exacerbate the probability of an angel's Falling. Believe it or not, God is rather traumatized by what he did to Lucifer. So, once angelkind mistook his dislike of pairings as an actual Will Of God, He never felt the need to correct them."
Sera pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is half the reason The Surface is the mess that it is; He never bothered to correct humans when they grossly misinterpreted things."
"True. However, to start correcting that would be–"
"Let me guess," Sera interrupted dryly. "It would require too much deviation from His Plan, right?"
Fate merely smirked.
Sera returned to the original conversation at hand. "What of Death and his role in what we did?"
"I barely had to persuade God that Death's involvement was entirely my doing."
Awkward silence fell between them again. Overhead, gulls screamed. Fluffy white clouds fluttered by with the gentle breeze as the sea crashed soothingly below them.
"Do they remember?" Sera said.
Fate now looked angry. "Of course they remember! I was not going to drag them into something like that and not let them remember the good they accomplished that day!"
Sera's eyes turned into globes, beyond shocked at the sudden outburst. "Fate, I--"
"Yes it was hard, and yes I am sure there will be some emotional trauma, but I am sick of manipulating people." Fate clenched his hands into fists. "I am sick of molding human brains in my hands like--like--like--clay! People deserve free will--actual free will. They deserve their memories from that day!"
Sera cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms, looking amused. "I appear to have hit a nerve. You're usually so calm and collected. Sorry, Fate."
Fate glared. "Just deliver your damn message already."
The smile smeared off of Sera's lips. Trying to not look sad, he turned back to the sea, hands clasped behind his back. "There will be consequences. At a currently undetermined time, they will each be punished in Hell for their transgressions."
Fate outright gaped. "For how long?"
"For an undetermined amount of time, presently."
"And you?" Fate spat. "And Jeanette? And Rosalyn? Myself? Time and Death?"
Sera swallowed audibly, pursing his lips, narrowing his eyes. His refusal to answer was his answer.
Fate tisked and shook his head. "So, we get off Scot free, but they will suffer. It is not fair."
Sera looked at Fate seriously. "You should be happy God isn't just outright killing everyone. You know how He is. Why do you think it's taken a year for Him to say anything on the matter at all? He's been mulling it over this entire time."
A silence befell them, white seagulls screeching loudly overhead.
"Might I confide in you, Archangel?"
Sera looked at Fate in genuine curiosity.
"When we were in The Realm Of Time," Fate spoke. "You remember that, correct?"
Sera paused, unsure where Fate was going with this. "Yes?"
"You remember that blasphemous speech you gave, willing God to strike you down, saying that God wasn't listening and was bad at his job?"
A mix of emotion tumbled throughout Sera's body a moment. Embarrassment, anger, fear, regret. "Yes. Of course I do."
After a moment, Fate looked deeply into Sera's eyes. "How did you come to seek me out today, Sera?"
"God asked me to."
"Through what means?"
Sera looked confused.
"Did God speak directly to you?"
Sera chuckled. "No, that He did not. I received a piece of parchment, as I usually do. To be honest with you, I haven't seen God since I became Archangel."
"I told you that day in the Time Realm that God wasn't a depressed heap on a throne because if you knew the truth, there would be nothing worth fighting for, Sera."
Sera blinked.
Fate took a stalking step towards the taller angel. "You are telling me that I avoided The Surface's destruction just so a handful of good people could be punished horrifically in Hell? People who did the correct thing to save the lives of millions of humans that God Himself put on this world? Lives that He appears to love more than His first son, Lucifer? They did His bidding, Sera, and they are to be tortured?"
Sera looked away, gritting his teeth. "I never said I agreed with it, Fate."
Fate shouted. "They protected God's children and he's punishing them? How is that just, Sera? How is that fair?"
Sera squared off to Fate and glared. "Life isn't fair, Fate. It never was, and it never was meant to be."
Fate abruptly disappeared. Sera let out a long, slow sigh, closing his eyes. Then he took in a deep breath, opened his eyes, and looked across the sparkling sea.
"No. Life isn't fair."
Sera disappeared.
The End.