Judgement Day

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Gabriel gazed down upon the Earth, his eyes filled with a rare sensation of sadness and concern, his pure and gentle heart corrupted by the most insufferable pain imaginable.

It was not a common feeling that had over taken his awareness, in fact Gabriel could not remember a time when he felt so disheartened. He could not feel any contentment or warmth radiating from the face of the Earth.

It seemed that the souls of the mortals had weakened, that they had become deeply blackened and rapacious, and naturally they had begun fighting amongst themselves, losing all feeling of affection and altruism that they all once felt. It appeared that the mortals were too easily deceived and that is what seemed to be the foundation of his lingering sorrow.

Gabriel, himself, knew that the Earth was tainted and decaying. It was the fault of mankind that it resulted in such disaster and adversity. Perhaps it should have been expected, after all it was a proven fact that all mortals were, and still are highly flawed, and generally imperfect.

They were the reason of their own crisis, and they are probably worthy of the world in which they live, however it was more than just the decomposing of the Earth that had effected the strength of Gabriel.

It was that deplorable evil and malice that now dirtied the hearts of virtually every one of the mortals, whether they were at one time a follower of the Lord or not.

Gabriel allowed these thoughts to overcome his mind, after all it was not as though it were inconspicuous, he was sure that everyone was now aware of it, perhaps even the mortals themselves. His heart, he knew was already beginning to fracture, his once durable and vigorous heart would surely become weak and shattered. But his real concern was as to how long it would take before it actually happened.

And what would the consequence be? Would he die? Would his heart also befall that dreaded blackness as the humans of Earth now suffer? Would he be cast from Heaven? Would he be converted into a demon to do the old gentlemen's bidding? No. That was something that even Gabriel, as strong as he may be, would not be able to endure.

His golden eyes began to cloud and his thoughts began to diminish, as he started to weep silently, maintaining his gaze upon the azure crust of the small pearl-sized planet. Surely that could not be his fate.

But then again, if such an event were to occur, could he honestly expect the Lord to save his defiled soul? The rivulet like flow of undesirable tears continued, unbroken, down his beautiful, pristine face. He sighed, sadly, to himself as the terror and destruction continued regretfully many miles below.

There was once a time, not so long ago, when the mortal's lived together with compassion and empathy for their fellow man.

"How could I not have foreseen such a horrid calamity much sooner?" He mumbled, crossly to himself "I may have been able to end it all, but I foolishly disregarded it, now it is too late; the world is surely ending."

There was once a time, not so long ago in fact, where the Earth was a joyous and cherished place to for the mortals to dwell. It was a place where obliteration and carnage was only something that could be observed in the most terrible of dreams. It was something that Gabriel was confident could not exist in actuality. Yet for some reason, it did, almost as if it was destined to do so.

"Is that truly your philosophy, Gabriel?" The mellifluous voice of the archangel, Michael, entered Gabriel's undeserving ears. It reminded him somewhat of silk: pure, rare, and untainted as it left his soft red lips to mix in with the fresh air. It was more melodic than the most tuneful of harps, the most beautiful of choirs. It was enough to turn them away in shame. "It is quite ridiculous of you to think in such a manner."

"Ridiculous?" Gabriel replied softly, trying to hide the fact that he had been crying "Is it ridiculous to face the truth, and except what has been done, even if you are to blame?"

Michael chuckled, a soft chuckle, as he slowly approached Gabriel. "Even if this nonsense you speak of were true, what could you possibly do about it?"

Gabriel had not turned to face him this whole time, he remained sat upon the cotton-like cloud just out side of Saint Peter's Gate, legs dangling over the edge, eyes fixed upon the Earth.

"This nonsense you speak of, that is what you call the day of reckoning, is it Brother?" He countered him, coldly.

Michael came up behind Gabriel, placing an affectionate hand on his shoulder. "May I sit with you, Gabriel?"

He nodded slightly. Michael knew that something was troubling him and felt it was his duty to comfort him. He sat himself promptly down next to Gabriel, allowing his legs to hang over the edge of the cloud upon which they sat. He sat there for what felt like an eternity, as the unpleasant silence continued to linger.

"Are you going to answer me, Brother?" Gabriel said in a whisper.

"Answer?" said a puzzled Michael "Answer what?"

Gabriel smirked slightly, it was not a smirk of joy or even cunning, it was one that spoke itself; he thought Michael was purposely acting dense. "My question: do you actually think the ending of the world is nonsense?"

"No, but I think this idea you have that Judgment Day is approaching, is very nonsensical." He said simply.

"With all due respect brother, have you seen the condition of the Earth recently?" He said looking up at him for the first time. "It is dying. All of it: the plants, the animals, the children of God!" His tone completely changed. It had altered from a basic whisper to a sound that displayed a sensation of misery and guilt.

Michael placed his pallid hand upon Gabriel's soft cheek; his cerulean eyes alit with worry. After all, such emotions had never before been seen in the nature of any angel.

"Gabriel, what is it that ails you? Judgment Day is not upon us, that is from the Lord's mouth, not my own." Gabriel threw himself into Michael's arms, as tears began to cascade down his face. He seized hold of Michaels' robes, roughly, and began weeping into his chest. Michael, rather alarmed, froze in position. He most likely would have preferred it if Gabriel had made a noise as he sobbed, but he didn't, not a whimper, not a sound.

"The world is not ending, the Lord does not intend for it to end, why would you think such a thing?" Michael stated, as he wrapped his arms around Gabriel's shaky body. He soothingly stroked Gabriel's lengthy golden curls, unsure of what to do.

Gabriel spoke, his voice unstable and cheerless, "Brother, it is. I can feel it, I can feel the pain, and it has a grip on my heart, crushing it like a vice. The mortals have been manipulated by temptation and have lost their souls in the process. The Earth is deteriorated. It is dying!"

Michael gazed troubled, seeing the seriousness in his fellow angels' eyes.

"Gabriel, just because there is pain now does not mean it will last. The mortals are not ill-fated, they shall be saved, but only if we are victorious after the battle."

Gabriel looked up, anxiously, obviously he was completely oblivious, and it was not a surprise as hardly anyone knew about it.

"The battle?" Gabriel acquired, pulling back out of Michael's embrace.

Michael sighed, "Yes. It has been predicted that the King of Darkness, shall again assemble his army and the second battle between Heaven and Hell shall commence."

"Why do you act so indifferent towards this?" Gabriel exclaimed, "What if we fail in winning this battle? What shall become of the Earth after that? Of us?"

"Not possible. There are twice as much angels as there are demons, you are aware of that, we shall fight for Heaven and Earth and we shall reign victorious, and the Lord shall send them all to the flames of the Underworlds where they belong. There is no reason to doubt for we shall also have The Saviour."

Gabriel gazed at him unsurely, he was uninformed to any of these goings on before hand and then it was just thrown at him all at once, it was a lot to consider. But he found it compulsory to ask, but Michael had already read his expression. "The Saviour is a mere mortal, born into a world of misdeed and warfare. He is the person who shall save Heaven and Earth from total destruction. It is his destiny."

"But how could a mortal possibly overcome a demonic army? Honestly, brother, is that even achievable?"

Michael sighed, ruffling his silvery wings slightly, as Gabriel listened intently. "It will not be straightforward, and The Saviour shall not be able to complete this task alone. It appears his heart is still corrupted by the evils of his fellow Man."

"I could assist him!" Gabriel called, rising to his feet, unable to control himself. "I could help this Saviour in bringing about his destiny, if only you could persuade the Lord, I am sure he would permit me to and -"

Michael began to laugh slightly; he knew that would be the reaction he would receive. It was rather odd; however, that Gabriel was so eager to be involved in battle. "Honestly Gabriel, do you truly believe that you shall be up for the challenge?"

"Absolutely, I -"

"For I personally, have my doubts, dear Gabriel. What is to prevent you from crawling right back through those gates?" Michael pointed to the golden gates of Saint Peter that lay only a few feet behind him, "I am not yet certain if Our Lord will even consider it."

The sparkle in Gabriel's eyes began to diminish. His gorgeous face, all of his alluring feminine features, were veiled as he wallowed in his own guilt and self pity.

Michael only smiled, as he took hold of Gabriel's delicate hand, interlocking their fingers.

"I shall mention it to the Lord. I shall try and influence him to let you guide The Saviour, but only if you can answer me this: Gabriel, when the time comes will you be prepared to fight for Heaven?"

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