The Myth and The Guardian Book II: Christopher
Chapter 10

The Wilson’s and Alex entered the temple and were immediately thrown into panic by the lack of air in the room. They were greeted by a heat so intense that it seemed to melt away oxygen. They each struggled to breathe in the air provided as the panic and lack of oxygen caused rapid increases in their heart rates.

“Remain calm.” Archie spoke as he noticed the panic on their faces. “Breathe slowly and try not to focus on the heat.” He added as they all looked at him.

“Austin!” Alex yelled as she noticed the body next to the wall across the room. They all looked at the spot that had her focus, but none of them could see anyone.

“Alex, sweetheart, there is nobody there.” Angela said in a soothing voice that hid her confusion.

“He’s right there!” She exclaimed as she pointed to the body on the floor.

They all looked again and saw the body of a boy lying motionless on the floor. The body turned to reveal Austin’s bloody face staring at them all.

“Help me.” He said in a strained voice.

Joel and Alex took off in a dead sprint as they heard his plea for help.

“Stop!” Archie commanded as loud as possible.

The two of them stopped after only a few steps toward Austin.

“It’s an illusion.” Archie added firmly.

Austin’s body used the wall for support and finally forced itself into a standing position. His face was swollen and covered in blood. His right hand was covering an infected looking would on his left arm, and his entire body looked as if it would collapse to the floor within seconds.

“An illusion? He tried to kill me, Archie!” Austin shouted with all of his might. Joel, I am hurt pretty bad. I need help.” Austin said in a breaking voice.

Joel was fighting everything inside of him to that told him to run over and help his friend.

“Alex, baby, look at me. I can hardly move my body. I need help getting out of here.” Austin begged as he stared at Alex.

He walked forward and nearly fell to the ground. Joel and Alex both tried to take a step towards him, but they were both stopped. Archie positioned himself in front of them and blocked their paths with his arms.

“That is not Austin. You have to trust me.” Archie told them as they struggled to get by.

“How can you say that, Archie. Look at me. Look at me!” Austin demanded as they stared at him. “Angela, Amy, Joseph, you all know me. Tell him he’s wrong. Tell him you know when I’m myself. Joel, I know you know who I am. Alex, you know in your heart that I’m me.” He pleaded to them.

They each stared at Austin and then back at Archie, but none of them moved to help him. “Archie, listen to me. You know him. You know how he thinks. He told me that I wouldn’t be able to get any of you to believe I am who I say I am. He said that all of you would rather watch me die than trust me. I told him he was wrong. I told him that my family knows me! My family will always believe me, and they would never let me die in this condemned place. I told him they loved me too much to let that happen.” Austin continued as his eyes filled with tears.

He knees trembled as he spoke until his body finally collapsed to the floor again. He started crying as he tried to stand again but failed to do so.

“Yes, that’s it. Cry Austin as they watch you suffer! See how truly selfish humans are for yourself. All they have to do is believe you, Austin. All they have to do is trust you enough to help you.” Allen F. Lange’s cold voice filled the air as his body appeared standing next to Austin.

“They will always disappoint you, Austin. They will always allow you to hurt in ways that surpass the physical pain you feel now. The sooner you see this truth, the sooner the pain will stop. All you have to do is join me, Austin. Let Christopher have complete control to do what you cannot, and I promise you will never have to hurt again.” He added with a hiss.

“Austin, don’t listen to him!” Archie yelled to everyone’s surprise.

“You said that wasn’t Austin!” Alex screamed as they all stared at Archie.

“I… I’m not sure anymore.” Archie admitted as he debated going to rescue Austin from his brother.

They were all unsure of what they were seeing. None of them knew what to believe anymore.

“Archie you have to do something.” Joel insisted.

“I’m afraid you may be right, Joel.” Archie agreed slowly.

He looked at James with sorrow in his eyes, and James returned the look.

“I may have to transform again to stop him. Do you understand?” Archie asked James whose eyes were filling with tears.

“Yes, I understand. Just… When this is all over, make sure he knows why I did it. I need him to know that his daddy loved him.” James said softly as his voice broke.

“He knows, James. I promise you he knows.” Archie replied as he stared at painful expression on James’ face.

Everyone stared at the two of them in awe and could not believe what they were hearing. “Wait, what?” Joel asked as he expressed the confusion of the entire group. “Austin…is your son, James? How is that even possible?” He added as the news caused his words to exit his mouth slowly.

Archie did not waste time listening to their conversation any longer. He formed the large light sword and took off in a sprint for his brother. He jumped over the carpet and swung the sword with all of his might. The event that had all been witnessing shattered like glass being struck by a hammer. There were flames and smoke as the image quickly disappeared before their eyes. Archie landed on the other side of the carpet and was relieved that the image had shattered. He had only hoped it was all and illusion, but now he had confirmation.

The others had stopped their conversation upon seeing the illusion shatter like glass. They watched as Archie landed on the floor of what they all hoped was the real temple and not another illusion. Archie’s sword of light quickly vanished as his eyes locked on Christopher’s unconscious body. His brother was nowhere in sight, and this made Archie aware of his own fear for the rest of them.

Only he was familiar with the horrific capabilities of his brother. Archie knew that the first illusion was only the beginning. If there was one characteristic about Allen F. Lange that Archie had no choice but to both admire and fear, it was the fact that he always had some sort of plan. He was always prepared for happenings that even Archie himself could never predict. The rest of the angels called it “In Visus,” but humans knew it better as “psychic ability” or the gift of seeing what is to come.

“Gabe and Luci. Why did he give it to those two? I think it would serve me better.” Archie thought to himself while waiting to replace out if the unconscious boy on the ground was another illusion, Christopher, or Austin.

He waited with patience because he knew the importance of not acting too quickly when his brother was involved. The body in front of him could be Christopher and Austin’s actual body, but Allen could make it look like himself and appear to jump up and attack. Archie knew the right hit from his sword to the boys’ body would kill them both. It would make his brother all but completely happy if Archie killed the boy because of one of his mind games.

Archie was considering the possibility that his brother had left upon their arrival, and the illusion was a line of defense or distraction. He almost allowed himself to think this particular battle in the war went unpredicted too long to be changed by his brother, but the wishful thinking was soon shattered like Allen’s first illusion. He could feel the tingle shiver up his spine as if it were some type of warning. The room grew frighteningly silent, and the air went from thick and hot to a dead chill. Archie turned around and stared at the warm breath of the others as they breathed easier but reacted to the temperature change.

“Let’s play, Mikey.” Allen’s voice whispered in Archie’s head.

Archie felt the threat in the tone of Allen’s voice, and he attempted to prepare himself for the unexpected. Before Archie could expect anything, the temperature doubled in heat from the first time. He heard the other’s scream before he turned and saw the flames surrounding the walls of the temple. The flames came from nowhere and started on the wall closest to the others. It was spreading quickly in both directions with what seemed to be the purpose of covering every wall in the room.

“Stay calm!” Archie shouted. “It’s just another illusion!” He added quickly.

The flames had already reached the wall in front of Archie, and he panicked as the two flames finally connected with one another in front of him.

“The heat is intense and even I can feel the heat from the flames. The flames from his illusion could only give off enough heat to make people believe the fire was real. In fact, the flame was just an image, but the human mind could make the body believe it was hot because of a flame that seemed real. However, this flame was hot enough to do actual damage which means…” Archie thought to himself but reacted before he finished the thought.

“Protect yourselves! The fire is real!” Archie shouted as he tried to figure how to help them all.

He heard Joel and Angela yell out in agony as the fire wrapped itself around their clothes. The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils as they rolled around on the floor trying to extinguish the flames. He rushed towards them as Amy fell to the ground trying to keep the fire from burning her parents alive. Joseph was using his body to shield Alex who was balled up on the floor for protection. The fire caught his shirt, and he too fell to the floor trying to put out the flames.

Archie was nearly to the carpet about to the jump over it when the flames shot up from it. The fire was inches away from his face for a few seconds before it moved itself toward the others. It covered all of them as they lay helplessly on the floor, but it soon vanished. All of the flames were gone instantly as Archie jumped over the carpet and landed on the other side. He was met by the piercing screams of the people he had brought inside of the temple.

All of them were badly burned but still alive to endure the pain of their burns. He immediately formed the bright light with his hands and started healing Joel. The screams from the rest of them made it hard for him to focus on what he was doing. The screams grew louder from everyone but Angela Wilson, and Archie noticed that she had stopped making any sounds. He looked over at her and was greeted by eyes as dark as night. She stood to her feet and began slowly walking towards the carpet.

“We all deserve to suffer. We all deserve to die.” She said in a hypnotized tone of voice.

“They all deserve to suffer. They all deserve to die.” Allen’s voice whispered inside of Archie’s mind.

Alex was the next one to stop screaming and rise to a standing position. Her eyes were the same unending black as Angela’s eyes. She took two steps towards the carpet and began chanting the same words.

“We all deserve to suffer. We all deserve to die.” She said in the same controlled tone of voice as Angela.

Archie stopped healing Joel and jumped to his feet to stop Angela and Alex from reaching the carpet. He grabbed Angela first and pulled her over to Alex. His hands were still glowing with the white light, and he placed a hand over each of their eyes. As soon as he removed his hands, they both fell to ground and started screaming from the pain of the burns again. He returned to healing Joel, but Joseph was the next to stop screaming and stand with those dark empty eyes. As he stood and touched Joseph’s eyes with his hands to break the trance, Angela stood again and headed toward the carpet while chanting the words. He rushed to her and broke the trance again. The whole time Joel was yelling as the pain increased from his burned body.

“Let them all suffer or watch them all die and become mine? What will it be my foolish brother? Allen’s voice hissed inside of Archie’s mind again.

He stood there as they all suffered knowing, if he tried to heal one of them, the others would be forced to walk to the carpet.

“Stop this, please!” Archie begged as their screams grew louder.

“Look at yourself, Michael. So weak! You would actually beg just to spare their lives? Have you forgotten what they truly are? Have you forgotten what they did to her?!!” Allen’s voice boomed inside of Archie’s brain.

“Those people were just afraid of what they did not understand.” Archie replied aloud.

His body was quickly turned around, and his face met the burning grasp of Allen’s hand. “Look at me! They murdered her!” Allen shouted as his hand burned Archie face. The pain from the light burn was tolerable, but the images that rushed into his head brought Archie to his knees. He saw her bloody face over and over again as the man beat it with the stone. He could hear her screams as if it were happening all over again. “Isabella.” Archie said as his voice broke.

“Yes Isabella. Remember that feeling, Michael? The only time we ever felt loved? The only time we briefly experienced what they were given and demean daily? They took that away from us. They took her away from us!” Allen yelled in a burst of anger as the images grew more unbearable.

“Please stop. That’s enough. Please make it stop.” Archie begged as the memories replayed over and over in his mind.

He could not force himself to stand as the agony of the memory was as sharp as it was the day it happened.

“It was all our fault, Luci. If we hadn’t…” Archie wept.

“How dare you blame me or yourself? It was these things that killed her. It’s these things that kill each other, and they will all suffer!” Allen said as he released Archie’s face.

Archie continued to weep openly as the memories of Isabella and the screams of Alex and the Wilsons echoed in his head.

“I should have never talked to her. I should have never loved her. It’s all my fault.” Archie spoke through his sobs.

A bright light flashed from out of nowhere, and Archie looked for the source but could not replace it.

“Archie, listen to me. None of this is really happening. You know him, Archie. You know how his tricks work. You have to trust yourself, and remember there will always be a way to tell the difference if you look hard enough.” The voice spoke and sounded as if it was coming from directly beside him.

Archie had to force himself to ignore the screaming, and he focused on what his eyes were seeing. Everything seemed real, and the screams were certainly not inside of his imagination.

“These people are in pain! I can tell when humans are in pain!” Archie yelled to the new voice.

“Well, well, well. Looks like you’re weaker than I thought, dear brother. I’m not inside your head anymore. So who’s whispering to you now?” Allen said with a sinister smirk on his face. “The great Michael, The highest rank of Angel. The Arch Angel. Losing his grip on reality. And “he” actually thought that you were enough to defeat me?!” Allen added as he watched Archie struggle to focus.

“I felt the intensity of that flame, and their bodies are burned.” Archie whispered to himself.

Archie stared at all of them hardly moving on the floor and in agony from the burns. He looked at each one of them as they suffered, and he noticed the error: Joel, Angela, Joseph, Amy, and Alex were the only burnt bodies he could see. Archie stood up from the floor, and his knowledge of the illusion caused it to vanish. He was now standing in front of the others who were on the ground but perfectly fine. Standing beside the rest of them was James Farmer, who looked positively confused about what was happening to everyone else.

Archie looked around for his brother, but there was no sign of him as far as he could see.

“Mr. Farmer. Did you see him leave?” Archie asked James.

“I haven’t seen anyone since we’ve been here. What is wrong with everyone? They were all fine one moment, and the next moment they all fell to the ground and started screaming.” James spoke with no hint of trying to hide his confusion.

“They believed they were on fire.” Archie answered seriously.

“And you? Did you believe you were on fire as well?” James asked without hesitation.

“No, Mr. Farmer. Sadly, I believed the exact image that they all did. That is, until I noticed that you had vanished.” Archie explained as he continued to look around the room.

“Vanished? I’ve been right here the whole time wondering what the hell is going on.” James replied with a bit of frustration.

“I mean the illusion, James. In the illusion, everyone was present and on fire except for you. That’s how I knew it was an illusion. There is no way to leave this place without my help, and I’m sure I would have remembered seeing you die.” Archie said trying to replace a clue as to what his brother’s next move would be.

“Well, why did I not believe I was on fire like the rest of them?” James asked flatly.

“Honestly, I would imagine it is because it would not have mattered much to you at this point. My brother may misread humans at times, but even I can see that you have no concern for your own life anymore.” Archie answered while making eye contact with James for the first time during the conversation.

“Yeah, well I wonder why.” James replied coldly.

“You made the choice yourself, Mr. Farmer. I couldn’t change it now even I wanted to do so, but I am sorry if I mislead you about the outcome in anyway.” Archie said sincerely.

“Well, as long as you’re sorry. I guess that makes everything worth it.” James said with loaded sarcasm.

“It’s done. You’re not as selfish as you believe yourself to be. In fact, you would do the same thing again. Why are you making this more painful for yourself by complaining about it? What purpose will that serve? Just help me wake the others. They should be rested from the trance by now.” Archie spoke in nearly a yell which conveyed his growing annoyance with James.

“Help you? Haven’t I helped you enough?! I gave you the damn body you’re walking around in, and you still want more from me?!” James screamed as the flames shot up from the carpet again.

Archie noticed the fire rising with James’ level of anger. His hands lit up with white light immediately, and he shoved James into the wall behind him. The force knocked the wind out of James and sent him to the floor. As soon as the body hit the ground, it transformed into an image of Archie with a scar of the left cheek.

“Please, stop this. I’m still your brother. It doesn’t have to be like this between us.” Archie said as Allen quickly stood up from the floor.

“Are you sure about that?” Allen’s voice whispered from directly behind Archie.

Allen’s arm wrapped around Archie, and his grasp was tight and unbreakable. Archie tried as hard as possible, but the struggle proved to be pointless against the lock Allen had on him.

“Struggle all you want, dear brother. You can never break free from me. We are of the same species and forever connected.” The Allen behind him hissed softly.

“What’s going on?” Archie asked as he stared at the Allen in front of him.

Archie looked at the man in front of him a little closer. The scar on the side of his face was not as long as the one that belonged to his brother.

“Christopher. Christopher do you have any idea what he has tricked you into doing?” Archie asked as he figured out what was happening.

The man in front of him gave an evil smirk and finally transformed into the boy who resembled Austin. Something had changed in his appearance from the last time Archie had seen him.

Christopher’s eyes were narrower and snake like, and his skin was darker and appeared to be tougher than normal skin. It was as if he had formed a new skin that resembled normal skin but was made of leathery material. His teeth were sharper and developed more of a point at the end of them, and his pupils were no color at all. They were now mirror-like and seemed to reflect whatever he was staring at to make up for the emptiness inside them. The empty mirror eyes were surrounded by deep blackness that seemed to demand fear. Christopher was showing signs of becoming the monster he was becoming on the inside.

“Christopher, have you seen yourself lately? Look at what he has turned you into in such a short time.” Archie said with sympathy for the boy.

“This was not his doing, Archie. This new body is the result of Austin and I having a moment of the synchronized anger. You may even say that we are finally becoming who we were meant to be.” Christopher spoke in whispers that seemed to echo of the walls of the temple.

“Well done, my son. Well done. You have performed your duty in a way that has fooled this poor excuse for angel and impressed me beyond measure.” Allen spoke from behind Archie as he stared at Christopher.

Archie noticed a twinkle of delight in Christopher’s empty eyes.

“Thank you, father.” Christopher replied with a slight head bow.

“Now, bring them to me. It is time to complete this phase of our plan, my son.” Christopher seemed to vanish for a few seconds before returning moments later carrying both the sun and moon medallions. The look of shock on Archie’s face was undeniable. “Yes, this new look came with a few new tricks, Archie. I don’t have a use for portals anymore. I can travel at will.” Christopher chuckled softly.

“How can you be in control of Austin without wearing that medallion?” Archie demanded to know.

“I’ve told you, old man. Austin and I see eye to eye these days. Well the little of him that is still left inside of this body. His burst of anger gave me more control than I could have hoped to gain. He’s in here somewhere. I can feel him growing more afraid for you by the second.” Christopher replied with a grin that made Archie shiver.

“It’s time for us to be more like them, Michael. Don’t you agree?” Allen chuckled darkly.

Christopher walked closer and placed the moon medallion around Allen’s neck. The statues of the angels in the temple started to glow, and the eyes opened on both of them. The statue that bore the sun symbol had a bright silver glow to it, but its eyes were blood red. The moon statue soon began to glow the same magnificent silver, but the eyes opened to reveal a bright blue color. The stones underneath them scraped and scratched against one another as the two statues began to turn to face each other. The blue light from the eyes of the moon statue burst from its eyes and was being absorbed by the eyes of the sun statue. As this happened, the moon medallion around Allen’s neck began to glow the same blue color. The blue light shot from the medallion and connect with the sun medallion that Christopher held in his hand.

“You and I shall be as we once were, brother.” Allen spoke loudly.

“No! Stop this! You do not understand what will happen if you do this!” Archie screamed as he struggled again to free himself.

The sun statue was now giving of a red stream of light that wrapped around the blue light. The sun medallion mimicked the sun statue and released a stream of red light that formed a bond with the blue light from the moon medallion. The two streams of light appeared to push against each other as if one resisted the other. After a minute the streams of light merged to form a glowing purple color. First the light from the statues, then the stream from the medallions turned the beautiful purple color.

Allen released Archie as the light merge to become one color. Both of their eyes had become completely white, and they were in a type of trance.

Archie transformed without warning into the way he looked when he had fought Christopher last. This time there was no armor protecting his body, and the energy from the transformation shot from his body and wrapped itself around Allen. Archie’s wings returned at the end of his transformation and the force of their expanding ripped the shirt off of his body. They were glorious and gigantic wings that looked gold when they first appeared and finally became a perfect untainted white color.

Allen screamed as the shirt on his body caught fire and quickly burned away to ash. On the same location where Archie’s wings were, Allen had two large scars that covered about half of his back.

As the white light surrounded both Archie and Allen, the purple streams from the statues and the medallions began to flash rapidly until they finally became the same sparkling silver as the glow around the statues. Archie’s body shot from the floor into the mid-air without warning. Allen’s body followed, and the two of them were in a trance suspended in the air. Following Archie’s and Allen’s flight, the sun medallion floated from Christopher’s hand and bolted into the air to join the two of them. The stream of silver light from the statues formed a new stream in the middle of the original. This second stream of light went upwards and directly hit the sun medallion. The stream of silver light had connected the statues and both medallions to one another. The sun statue to the moon statue, the statues to the sun medallion, and the sun medallion connected to the moon medallion.

Archie released an agonizing yell while still trapped in the trance, and his eyes glowed bright blue. A large scar shaped like a partial moon appeared in the center of his chest. Allen released an equally agonizing cry as a large sun shaped scar appeared on his chest and covered the majority of his upper torso. The stream of light shining through the moon medallion on his neck became more intense, and the medallion began the glow and reflected the partial moon inside of the scar shaped like the sun. The reflection of the image soon began to sear Allen’s skin as he released another loud scream. The image of the partial moon burned deeper and deeper into his skin until another scar appeared inside the sun scar. Archie’s body turned to face the sun medallion as the light shining through it became more intense, and the same process took place. The image of the sun appeared on his chest and surrounded the scar of the partial moon. Soon, the image of the sun burned deep into his skin and created the same image that was also on Allen’s chest.

The streams of light vanished in the blink of an eye, and the statues slowly returned to their previous position of being beside one another in a perfect line. The moment they reached this position, Archie and Allen mimicked the behavior of the two statues. Finally, the two statues moved towards one another until they merged to become one. The little partial moon shape, that made the medallion Allen had on his neck, broke the chain holding it and floated above Archie and Allen. The sun medallion floated upward and positioned itself directly beside the moon medallion. They each began to glow the silver color again, and they slowly fused together to create the same image that was now burned into both Archie’s and Allen’s chests.

Archie and Allen also began to move slowly towards one another as the statues and medallions had done. Just as each of them began to shine the same silver color, a bright flash of light appeared suddenly. The light made it impossible for Christopher to see what happened, but he heard a loud yell followed by an even louder crashing sound. Everything went completely silent for a few seconds, and the light was slowly becoming less intense to Christopher’s eyes. As the light finally vanished, Christopher was able to see a single body lying on the floor. He could not tell if the body was Archie’s or Allen’s, but he was sure it was one of them.

He looked up in the air and detected no sign of the medallions.

“It must have worked.” Christopher whispered to himself.

He slowly walked towards the body, but was stopped by a voice inside of his head. “Christopher, it’s a trap. Fight until I return.” Allen’s voice commanded inside his mind.

Christopher looked around quickly and noticed that the statues were no longer merged as one. As soon as he noticed this and prepared himself for battle, he was struck by a blow that sent him flying across the room and through a wall.

“Good kick, Aaron.” Archie said as he slowly stood from the floor.

“Thanks, captain. Aaron replied with a grin.

“How are you doing? I thought we were going to lose you.”

“Another minute or two, and you probably would have.” Archie replied as Aaron helped him stand.

“Where are the humans? Are they safe?” Archie added quickly.

“Yeah, they are actually in the same spot as when they entered as far as I can tell. I’m guessing he froze them when they entered or something.” Aaron replied as he readied himself for a return attack from Christopher by forming a second sword identical to the one he was holding.

“He cannot freeze people, Aaron.” Archie said in a tone that suggested he was guessing.

“Well, they are as still as statues for some reason. They seem unharmed for the most part.” Aaron answered as he eyes searched around the room.

“Statues? He actually can do that!” Archie yelled as he rushed to help them before they became stone pieces of artwork.

They were all unconscious but completely normal in the short amount of time it took Archie to reach them.

“You really shouldn’t have brought them here, Archie.” said a very muscular man with long blonde hair wearing a white robe.

“I had no other choice, Gabe. Thanks for helping them and for sending me your flicker. That illusion would have got the better of me had it not been for your message.” Archie replied gratefully.

“Always cleaning up after you is becoming a bit annoying old friend, but the exercise is a nice change of pace for me.” Gabriel replied friendly.

“Did you bring it, Gabriel?” Archie asked quickly.

“Yes, but he saw it. I had to open a portal up behind him and knock him through it to keep him away from me. I then opened one for myself and hid it where only you can replace it.” Gabriel answered calmly.

Archie looked at Gabriel for a second and finally gave him a nod.

“That’s not all I hid!” Gabriel yelled quickly as he vanished into thin air. As soon as Gabriel had vanished, Allen popped from a newly formed portal that vomited flames that reflected his own level of anger.

“Where is he?!” Allen roared as the portal closed behind him.

“Too late, brother. He’s already gone.” Archie said as he stared at his brother. “Coward! He always interferes but refuses to fight me! Just like the rest of them.” Allen boomed furiously.

“It’s not fear of you that prevents them from fighting. They refuse out of loyalty to me.” Archie corrected in a wise tone.

“None of them know anything about loyalty!” Allen screamed as fire shot from the carpet again. “If they did, they would have joined me and prevented any of this from ever happening!”

“It can still be prevented. It does not have to be this way. It does not have to end this way. Why can’t you seem to understand this already?!” Archie spoke in a breaking voice as he stared at his brother.

“Yes it does. It has to be this way because they’ve proven me right time and time again, Archie. It has to end this way because I am tired of being around them. I was right about them, and he “will” admit that to me and allow me to come home!” Allen exclaimed. “I just want to come home.” He added in a whisper that was worthy of sympathy.

“Lucifer, look at me.” Archie began.

“Do not call me that! I will not warn you again, Michael!” Allen boomed as tears rolled from his red eyes and sizzled on his cheeks.

“Okay. I will call you, Allen, but you should not hate your name as much as you do. You have no idea what you are capable of being, my dear brother. You are so angry for no real reason. He loves you more than you can see with this blind rage of yours.” Archie explained with sorrow in his voice. “You are so special, but you refuse to fulfill your own potential. That’s the true reason you cannot go home. It’s not because he doesn’t love you; it’s because you’ve forgotten how to be who you were meant to be.” He added softly.

“Well whatever it is I’ve become, dear brother, you just remember that he made me this way.” Allen hissed darkly.

“You had a choice, and you still do.” Archie said hoping his plea would finally work.

Allen backed away from Archie slowly and began to chuckle in a low evil grunt.

“So did you. You chose to talk to me rather than prepare for battle. Now, your little friend will pay for your wasted attempt to turn me back into his puppet.” Allen replied quickly.

Archie turned to look at Aaron just as Christopher stumbled back inside the building through the hole created by his body after Aaron kicked him. Aaron saw him as he appeared in the opening, but before Aaron could ready himself, Christopher was behind him with his arms wrapped around Aaron’s throat.

Aaron had no time to struggle before he felt the sharp pain shoot from his back through his stomach. The scream had barely escaped Aaron’s mouth when Christopher turned him around and plunged the dagger into his chest. Aaron fell to the floor immediately as the blade entered his chest and blood spewed from his mouth. Archie saw the weapon before it entered Aaron the second time. It was the dagger from the cave that hid the fountain. The only object created to penetrate the skin of Angels, nephilim, and human.

“NO!” Archie shrieked as he watched his friend fall to ground.

“Yes.” Allen snickered. “I assume you recognize the dagger. I believe it was created by you to kill me as a last resort until you found a different use for it. I guess Christopher found a different use for it as well, but I wonder how he knew.” Allen spoke with a pleased grin on his face the entire time.

“You planned this?!” Archie yelled as he rushed towards Allen and struck him in the face.

Allen took the punch with ease and continued to laugh at the thought of Aaron dying. “Oh look who’s decided to wake up in time for the show.” Allen chuckled as he looked at the humans.

The Wilson’s along with James Farmer and Alex had all recovered from the effects of nearly being turned into stone statues. They all woke and stood slowly and stared in confusion at each other, the temple, and Archie.

“Oh my god, Aaron!” Amy finally screamed as she saw the dagger handle sticking out of Aaron’s motionless body.

“He’s not dead yet, Michael. You could still heal him, but it would take more time and energy than you have left. Besides, if you attempt to save him, who will protect your precious little hairless monkeys?” Allen spoke with complete malice in his tone. “You know what I can do to them. I will not kill them and grant them automatic entrance to our real home, but I will force them to become trapped in the prison so unforgivingly designed for me. All it takes is one piece of them on my special carpet, and they will cease to be mortal and become mine forever. So, let’s see how easy it is for “you” to make a choice. He forced me to live with my so called choice, and now I will do the same to you.” Allen added slowly with no remorse.

“You will pay for this.” Archie said through gritted teeth.

Archie transformed again, but this transformation was with ease. His armor, wings, and flaming sword appeared immediately after he finished speaking. Christopher noticed the transformation and quickly appeared at Allen’s side.

“Do you sense that, father? He’s angry.” Christopher spoke in a whisper.

“Yes, I can feel it. He’s far beyond furious, but he is not a threat to us. He couldn’t kill you if he wanted to do so, and he too will die if he kills me.” Allen said in a certain voice.

Archie was perfectly still with his head slightly bent as he listened to the two of them speak. His sword was in a striking position but was just as still as his body. Archie swung the sword without warning with speed that was nearly undetectable. The first cut sent Christopher to the ground in agony. His leg landed on the ground first followed by the rest of his body. Christopher felt the pain only after his leg had been cut from his body, but he had no time to embrace the surprise of being hurt. Before he could even think of reaching for his severed leg, Archie was behind him and kicked him across the room towards the humans.

Allen watched in awe as Christopher flew across the room and landed a few feet away from the others. Allen was about to turn and look at Archie, but Archie was already standing directly in front of him with his sword ready to strike again. Allen felt fear for the first time as he finally caught a glimpse of Archie’s eyes. They were red from pain and producing a stream of tears.

“Are you crazy?! If you do this, you die too!” Allen blurted out as he tried to back away from Archie.

As Archie stared across the room at Aaron’s bloody body, he squeezed the handle of the sword tightly with both hands, and the flame of the sword increased tremendously in size and intensity.

“So be it.” He finally replied before rushing towards his brother as fast as he could.