'Winging' it the entire way through

His limbs ached, his head lolling forward. His arms were bound behind him and the cuffs around his wrist dug into his skin painfully, seeming to burn wherever they touched.

Matt opened his eyes.

His grace was still burnt out, leaving him sluggish and his mind clouded. Matt tested his binds, tugging on the chains in vain before sighing, eyes scanning the room. He couldn’t really make anything out though, due to the fluorescent light above his head (fluorescent lights in hell, he thought bitterly. Where the hell would you get those in hell?), blinding him to everything around him, but he could faintly make out the outline of a door in front of him.

It opened, the doors slamming against the wall and he winced back at the noise. A demon strode in, twirling a knife in hand. “Why, hello there.”

Nothing more than a strangled noise came out of Matt’s mouth when the blade was pressed against his throat, finding it hard to speak at all when his mouth was painfully dry and he felt the blood running down his neck. He started wide-eyed at the demon, who smirked down at him condescending.

“Shame we had to split the two of you up, couldn’t have you guys slipping through our fingers again,” they explained, backing away from Matt.

“Dex?” He rasped, the word burning his throat before it came out. The demon hummed, running their finger along the blade to clean off the blood.

“Yeah, Gabriel,” Dex, Matt corrected. It’s not Gabriel, hasn’t been for a long time, get it right- “He put up quite a fight. It was easier to kill him right there and then.”

Matt couldn’t speak, but he strained against his bindings, lurching forward as much as he can. The demon didn’t move an inch. “The guy went out screaming – noisy little fucker he was – yelling ‘no’. It was all so boring.”

He glared at them, gritting his teeth together. Dex wasn’t dead. No, Dex was not, he’s probably somewhere else in this grudging pit of hell, tied up like him but alive. Dex was not dead.

“Spare me that look,” they ‘tsk’ed, looking up. “We killed your brother. Drove a knife through his heart, pierced straight through it – we checked.”

Matt hunched over. The things they said were gruesome and the logical part of Matt tried to say that they didn’t, they wouldn’t, but that side of him was becoming distressingly similar to his desperate part so he tuned that out completely.

“We can’t kill you, especially since we actually managed to grab you. You know, for the whole ‘Archangel of the Lord’ thing, you’re a horrible fighter.” Matt couldn’t linger on the legitimacy of the statement before more demons walked into the room, not hesitating to walk up to him, grabbing at his wings-

Oh. In the midst of everything, the pain of his wings being stretched out behind him was mixed in with the ache of everything else, but it became increasingly evident as something sharp was pressed into the flesh and he screamed, jerking beneath the movements. They held him still and he felt the blades carving into him and if he strained his ears, Matt could hear the feathers hissing as they fell, turning into ash. Even in hell, they couldn’t take those.

The demon in front of him noticed that and they growled, marching up to him with a furious expression on their face. For a moment Matt was satisfied that he got the upper hand, even if it was just the fact that they couldn’t steal his feathers. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards and they punched him in the jaw, his head lolling forward.

“Don’t get snarky, you’re not escaping,” they snarled, seizing him by the neck. Matt choked and they let go a moment after, leaving him gasping for air. He felt blood run through his feathers and he attempted to move one, sharp pain coursing through the wing with more ash piling beneath it. “Stop doing your feather trick, we want trophies before we kill you.”

Matt couldn’t speak, his voice blown out by the screaming. He cautiously looked up at them.

“Of course, we could take an eye, but angel feathers are much more valuable,” they said. “Hell, if we could, I’d take your wings.”

He shrunk back, pressing his back against the wall so the back of his wings were constrained painfully against his spine. Please no, he thought, unable to convey it. Not my wings, not my wings-

“But,” they walked forward and plucked a feather, watching it turn to ash in their fingers. “We’re going to have a bit of fun before we try that.”

And he screamed.

~

Matt woke up and was barely awake when he felt the knife carve into his skin, almost straight down to his bones. He didn’t lift his head, barely wanting to see their faces. Sometimes they were the same, but others joined them and through his wall of denial he could hear them taunting him – all words he’s already heard before.

He didn’t know how long he’s been in hell, because time was simply a concept now. Matt was awake when they wanted him to be and unconscious when the knife was given a break. He tried to count the minutes once, to keep his mind off of the burning and stabbing and he could barely get past five before Matt was distracted by his own screams.

And they always seemed to find new ways to torment him. They sprouted lies but Matt believed them, because that was the only thing he could. God hadn’t been with him for years and with how long he thought he was in there for, he wasn’t even sure that anyone was coming. And Dex, Dex, he could be dead but Matt didn’t know. He didn’t even know if he was still alive.

He tried hiding, once, inside the corners of his mind and shoved his grace even deeper. Stop, stop!, he pleaded. I’m just a man, I’m not an angel anymore. I fell, I fell! I did horrible things, I don’t deserve to be an angel anymore!

So maybe you deserve to be here. The chilling thought rose. You’ve killed, you deserve this.

Matt shook his head, but the words felt so painfully true. And now, as a demon walked up to him, a red hot piece of metal in hand, he looked up and only had three words to say.

Matt groaned, waking up to his head pounding and slowly opened his eyes, chest constricting as he got a glimpse of the room. To his left, Dex stirred, rolling over before peeking through his eyelids, closing them immediately afterwards in disbelief.

“What the hell,” he said and Matt sighed, glaring at him in disappointment before shaking his head.

“Uh – do you remember anything? Cause I kinda… don’t,”  he asked.

“I remember being in the office and that’s about it,” Dex admitted, sitting up. Matt sat up, cradling his head in his hands.

“M’head hurts and we actually might literally be in hell,” he said, “why.”

Dex got to his feet, eyes scanning the room. “I, uh… I don’t know.”

Matt snorted, “well, hopefully not. It’d kinda suck if one of us has been to hell before.”

“Maybe it’s all some huge practical joke.”

“One hell of a practical joke, that’s for sure,” Matt grumbled before realizing what he said, snickering despite himself. Dex laughed behind his hand.

“Hell yeah it is,” he continued, grinning. Matt shook his head, muttering an ‘oh my god’ under his breath.

“Um,” Matt started, smile faltering. “But if this isn’t a joke, then that means we’re in hell.”

Dex huffed bitterly and the joking mood disappeared. “Always knew I’d end up here someday.”

“Oh don’t say that,” Matt chided. “You’re an asshole; I agree, but not that much of an asshole.”

“We’re should try and get our bearings,” he said, abruptly changing the subject. Matt stood up, pacing in the room and Dex pointed behind him. “Look, door.”

Matt whirled around, blinking. “How much do you wanna bet that it’s locked?” He walked towards it, Dex following behind him. True to his predictions, the door didn’t budge and he frowned, turning on his heel to face Dex. “Now what?”

Dex stared blankly at it for a few seconds. “I bet we can blast it open.”

“Let’s do it,” Matt extended his hand and focused, slightly folding a wing in front of him as he anticipated bits of wood and stone to blast towards him when the door broke – but nothing happened. He blinked his eyes open and looked over to Dex, who looked just as shocked as he felt.

“What happened?” He asked and Matt gaped at his hand before shoving the shaking limb into his pocket.

“I… don’t know,” he took a step back. “You try.”

Dex lined himself up and extended his hand, but to no avail. He blinked, looking at Matt with a confused expression.

“That’s not normal,” he gulped, “our grace… I – did they do something?”

“They couldn’t have,” Dex insisted, though he sounded a little unsure of himself.

“Well, when was the last time you heard of archangels in hell? Other than Luci of course,” he sighed. “Today can be full of surprises.”

The door opened, revealing a demon who grinned wickedly, closing the door behind them with a click. “Well, look at this.”

The angels took a few steps back when the door was opened and now they stood, glaring at the newcomer. “What do you want?”

The demon laughed at Dex, the smile staying on their face. “Now that’s a question. You know, for a bunch of archangels you were easy to capture.”

“I’m not an angel, nor am I afraid to rip out your bloody throat with my teeth,” he growled, Matt gritting his teeth from beside him.

“You sure about that?” The demon tilted their head. “I feel like you still have that spark in you that screams angel. And watch your mouth – you’re in our territory now.”

“Fuck you,” Dex snarled. The demon huffed out a laugh, which only irritated him more.

“If you could’ve done something, you would’ve. I’m sure you’d love to get your hands around my throat. Tell me, how’s the grace thing working out?” Matt looked away.

“I don’t need my grace to fuck your shit up.”

“Then what? Are you going to try and escape? I mean, I understand it’s your first time here but you should know, every single demon out there would be out for your asses as soon as word spreads,” they said, with that smirk that Dex wanted nothing more but to punch off of their face.

“We can handle ourselves,” he gritted out.

The demon snorted. “Yeah, if we don’t break you first.” They walked forward, brandishing a knife made from a metal the two hadn’t seen before, but it send chills down their spines.

“What are you gonna do? Stab me?” Dex taunted and the demon hummed.

“Well, that’s certainly on the list of things we’re going to do to you,” they said and Dex glared harshly at them.

“I… we’re?” Matt narrowed his eyes.

“How many of you fuckbags are there?” Dex growled.

“Mmm, well, I have a partner. And of course, we had lackeys above too, keeping track of you. I can’t exactly give you an exact number.” Behind them, the door opened and their partner sauntered in, looking chillingly excited to see them.

“Our family will come looking for us if you don’t let us go!” Dex stated and the first demon shrugged.

“Yeah, but can they fight off hordes of demons? You’d be surprised at what the damned will do to get their hands on you.”

“Our friend is the King of Hell,” Matt said, finding his voice. “You’ll end up answering to him.”

“He will come for us,” Dex insisted.

“You seem awfully sure of that. By then you’ll already be goners. Do you know the time conversion rate in hell?” Dex slowly shook his head. “Well, let’s see… A week up there is about, what, ten years down here?”

Matt’s eyes widened in disbelief and Dex rapidly shook his head. “No, no fucking way.”

“That gives us plenty of time to have fun with you,” the demon claimed, grinning at their partner who couldn’t help but grin back.

“It sounds lovely,” the other one practically fucking purred, what the fuck before the first one walked towards them, a smile tugging on their lips.

“Now, where should we start?” Dex glared at them, backing away.

“Stay away from me,” he snarled as the other demon went towards Matt, who clenched his hands and stumbled back.

“Why, hello there.”

“Don’t touch me,” Matt hissed. The first demon almost pouted.

“If you get that one, I get to have fun with the snappy one,” he said and his partner nodded, smirking as he turned back to Matt. Across the room Dex backed himself into a corner, grasping at the walls. Matt immediately retracted all his wings, slowly backing away from the approaching demon.

“What a compromising position – thanks for making my job that much easier,” the demon grinned, twirling the knife in his hand as they towered over Dex.

“Stay away from me!” Dex yelled over the other demon’s taunts to Matt as his back hit a wall. The demon grabbed Dex, pointing their knife to his cheek before stopping.

“Say… Did we brand them yet?”

“I don’t believe we have, oh, this will be fun. It’s so much better when they’re awake,” the other demon responded.

“I – what do you mean?” Matt stuttered out in between panicked breaths.

“We’re gonna brand you!” Before they could fully comprehend the statement, the demon over Dex drew out a metal instrument, the end curved into a symbol. They stuck the end in the flames of the torch above Dex’s head.

“This is always the best part.”

“Keep that away from me!” Dex cried out, but couldn’t do much in his position. They waited till the end was hot enough before yanking Dex off the ground, scanning his torso.

“There’s a tattoo on your chest, hate to ruin that… How about here?” The demon pressed the tool against his ribs and he let out an agonizing scream, drawing the attention of the room.

“Dex!” Matt cried out, forgetting about the demon that was merely a foot away from him. Dex writhed and attempted to pull away, but the demon kept him steady.

“Now, now, stay still. It just wouldn’t work if the brand is messed up,” they ‘tsk’ed, holding Dex harder against the wall and Matt watched, too shocked to feel the demon rip his shirt off and press his instrument on his ribcage. He screamed, nails digging into his palms. Dex’s demon hummed as he patiently waited a few more moments before removing the tool, grinning at his work.

“There we go. All nice and tidy, too.” Dex slumped against the wall, tears streaming down his face as he stared at the demon with nothing but hatred. A second later the device was removed from Matt’s torso, leaving him to hunch over as the demon hummed happily at their work.

“What… What was that?” He croaked out.

“We’ve branded you, so now you can never leave,” the demon beamed from above him.

“Lovely little thing, isn’t it?” Their partner agreed. Dex grit his teeth before he let out the most horrifying sound, catching his demon off guard. Matt looked over at him, alarmed.

“What do you want?” Dex asked and the demon took a breath, recomposing themselves.

“Well you see, we’re going to overthrow Heaven, and you two are going to escort us up there.”

Matt shook his head and Dex flatly stated, “never.”

“Now, who said we were going to ask for your help? Oh no, you’re going to help us whether you like it or not.” There was a short pause before Dex’s laughter broke through the silence and the demon raised their eyebrows. “Something funny?”

“You. You’re an absolute fuckin’ riot,” he stood up, stepping forward. The demon stood their ground.

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” he exclaimed, a dangerous edge to his tone.

“What, you think we can’t handle a couple of fallen angels?”

Dex looked down, sighing almost bashfully before meeting the demon’s gaze again, eyes inexplicably burning with grace. “I’m Gabriel, motherfucker. The Trickster.”

The demon took a deep breath, their last breath, because not a moment later Dex grabbed his head, twisting it with a sickening crack. The others were shocked, but Matt recovered faster and stood up, decking the demon in the jaw. Dex appeared behind them, wrenching it back as he held them still by the wrists.

“Grab that knife and kill this fucker,” he nodded to Matt, who didn’t waste another second before grabbing the dropped knife and dug it deep into the demon’s chest. The demon went limp in Dex’s arms and he let the body drop, turning back to Matt.

Matt frowned at the mark on his ribcage. “Now I’m shirtless and have a tattoo I never wanted.”

“C’mon, let’s just get out of here,” Dex shook his head, ignoring his scowl. He grabbed the keys off of the demon and unlocked the door, quietly sighing in relief when it opened.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Matt made his out but as soon as he stepped into the doorframe he recoiled, clutching the brand and yelling in pain. Unfortunately, Dex was just behind him and his actions mimicked Matt’s with a pained yelp.

“Fuck!” He growled, clutching his ribs.

“So they weren’t lying. Great,” Matt groaned, standing back up. Dex hissed and stood up, leaning against a wall.

“I’ve got an idea… but you’re not going to like it.”

“Well, we’re already in hell. It can’t really get that much worse.”

Dex held his hand out for the knife and Matt gave it to him without hesitation, curiously watching him. He bit his arm as he carved into the brand with the blade until it was split in two and Matt made a choked noise.

“I – jesus christ.” He shakily let go out his arm, handing the blade to Matt. Matt began the same process, muffling his screams with his hand. He gasped as he finished, placing his hand over the wound. “This better work.”

Dex took a deep breath, wincing before he hesitantly walked through the door. Matt paused, waiting for any repercussions and when they didn’t come he sighed, following him out. “It worked.”

“Thank g – you. You. God remains not to do anything.”

“God isn’t with us today, Mat. He hasn’t been with me for a decade,” he kept walking. “Our best bet is to find Ryan.”

Matt sighed and sped up until he was walking beside him. “So what do we do, call his name every minute?”

“Ryaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!” Dex yelled, tilting his head back. “Ryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!”

Matt managed a chuckle. “Ryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!”

They walked around aimlessly for the next half an hour, constantly calling the king’s name. At this point, it didn’t even sound like a real word.

“So, we’re most definitely lost though, right?” Matt said.

“Oh, absolutely.”

“So,” he started, “if they were right about the time thing, we could be in here for years before anyone notices we’re gone up there.”

“Don’t think like that. We’re gonna get out of here – I refuse to be stuck in this hell hole for years,” Dex replied.

“Hell hole, my god,” he laughed and Dex snorted. Matt faltered in his steps.

“You do know it’s entirely plausible that we won’t make it out right?” He paused and Dex glanced at him, determination in his eyes.

“We’re gonna fucking make it.”

“I – yeah, but out grace still burns out. If the demons get to be too much then we might not…”

“Fucking listen to me,” Dex stopped, turning towards Matt. “We’re getting out of here. Alive.”

“In one piece.”

“Yes.”

“Both physically and mentally.”

Dex looked away. “That’s the plan.”

Ever since he fell, Heaven has always been a delicate subject for Matt – it’s what you ask about it to get the different reactions. What he did would make him hesitate, who he was would make him stumble and why he was like that would make him flush.

(And depending on who you are, asking about him falling would earn you a dark glance and a swift change in subject.)

Matt has never really gotten ‘sick’, but before he fell, there was a time when he was too reckless with his powers and almost drained himself completely, leaving him exhausted and feeling nauseous whenever he tried to use his grace. It was his first time really feeling human and after he recovered, he was more responsible with his powers because to him at the time, ‘human’ was synonymous with ‘weak’.