Brothers (Complete)

Part 1

A man stood outside of a large red house quietly staring from a distance. Ignoring the breeze that brushed against his long dark brown hair and brown leather jacket he continued staring at the house. He had memorized the address a thousand times: 999 Milton Avenue. He always thought about approaching it before but could not summon the strength to knock. This time, he knew it was going to be different. This time he was going to the front of the house to see someone he hasn't seen in a long time.

As slowly approached the house painful memories bloomed around his thoughts. He remembered how he and another were young and he had a lot of fun. Then he remembered the tragic event that shattered their unbreakable bond.

The man walked to the front door, gently tapping his large fist against the door. The door opened and was answered by an invisible phantom. The man looked to his left and right yet no trace of the mysterious answer. He then gazed down surprised to see that a small girl wearing a light yellow dress staring up at his tall stature.

"Are you a giant?" The girl asked.

The tall man smiled. He noticed a red hooded cloak covered her long blonde hair and asked. "That depends. Are you Goldilocks?"

"No. I'm supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood." The girl chuckled, unveiling the hood from her hair. "This is for my school play."

"Sorry for the confusion. The golden hair gave me a clue for someone else. Do you have a name?"

The girl just stood and smiled at the friendly man.

"I get it." The man laughed. "You're not suppose to talk to strangers, right? Smart girl. I bet if we introduced ourselves, we won't be strangers anymore. My friends call me Mike. What's yours?"

"My name is Regan." The girl replied.

"Nice to meet you, Regan." The man extended out his large and lightly grasped the child's puny hands, giving each other a light shake. "I was wondering if you could help me out. I'm looking for your stepfather. Is he around?"

The girl was then lifted into the air by a pair of pale hands by a tall, slender gentleman behind her. Regan scream and laughed as the man spun her around and tickled her sides with his long fingers.

"Looks like the Big Bad Wolf has nabbed himself one of the little piggies. Num num num!" He hollered joyfully.

"Wrong character, buddy." Mike interrupted as he watched the two laugh and play.

The second man turned and locked eyes with Mike's. His playful demeanor faded away. His jaw dropped in shock and his red eyes widened as if he saw a ghost.

"Mike?" The man whispered.

"Hey Lu." Mike said. "It's been awhile."

Two more characters then walked up behind Lu. A girl dressed in black stood behind her sister Regan and their mother softly clenched her husbands arm and greeted Mike with a kind smile.

"Whose at the door, Lu?" Carmen, the mother, asked. "Friend of yours?"

"Honey. Kids. Meet my brother, Michael - the archangel."

Part 2

"You didn't mention you had a brother." Carmen said as she cleaned away the dishes.

"I don't really talk about my family." Lu said, watching his older brother Michael talk with his stepdaughters at the dining table. "Just like I don't talk about Him."

"I know you and, um, your Father have...issues," Carmen continued. "But your brother is here and looks like he wants to spend some time with you. How long has it been since you two talked?"

"Since my fall from grace." He replied, sucking away at a bottle of a cold alcoholic beverage.

"How many siblings do you have again? Thousands right?" She asked.

"No, I have seven." Lu corrected her. "Seriously, why do all mortals think all angels were related somehow. It's like being related to a person with the last name Johnson."

"Aren't all angels God's children?" His wife asked.

"Please don't ask about the complexity of our order. We'll be here until next Saturday. Anyway, well there's Gabi, my sister. She was always athletic and liked to torment me. Then there's my other brother Raph, the angsty one of the bunch. My third brother Uri was always cool to hang with. He was quite an inventor. Then there are the twins Rami, the bookworm, and Sari, the hippie. Finally, there's the second to last child Jermy. always the quiet one, that one. And lastly we have me, the black sheep of the family.

"And of course you have Mike, the oldest and Pop's number one kid. Mike was always good to me. When Father became...distant...Mike always looked after me. He taught me how to catch, he stood up to the bullies that picked on me, he even helped earn my wings. Everything really changed afterward. I led the demons into Heaven and Father ordered Michael to stop me. We fought and then he tore my wings off."

"Some fight." His wife commented.

"Do you know what it's like to have your wings ripped from you?" Lu said. "It's like slowly pealing off an arm or a leg. A part of you was removed and you're left broken, incomplete, damaged. After Father banished me into Hell he made Michael a full fledged archangel. He became Heaven's greatest champion while I raveled with the damned. Yeah I eventually became king but he got glorified for beating his own brother. But why now? Why find me now? Why come talk to me after all this time?"

"I don't think it matters why, but it's better that he's here now." Carmen said, comforting her husband with a light hug. "Wouldn't you two like to reconnect that bond you had rather than continue hating each for another thousand years or so?"

Lu sighed and wrapped fingers around his wife's soft hand as he continued watching the three talk. He knew that someway Carmen was right. He too wished to make amends with his brother, but he wondered how could he forgive him for his brother's treachery and his own sin.

                                                                  ***

Michael, Rosemary, and Regan all sat at the dining table quietly staring at each other. Michael tried thinking of several different conversation starters, but he knew he was bad with children and children always made him uncomfortable.

"So...you girls are in school, right?" Michael finally asked his nieces. "Do you like it?"

"I like my school." Regan said cheerfully. "My teacher Ms. Kat is very nice and we play outside and draw pretty pictures."

"It's school." Rosemary groaned. "You're not suppose to like it. You're supposed to deal with it."

"Sounds...interesting." Michael said. He then looked over and noticed the large tank housing Slinky. "That your snake?"

"Pretty cool, huh?" Rosemary said. "So, you're an actual angel."

"An archangel," Mike corrected. "It means I'm one of their guardians and most powerful warriors; and I'm one of Heaven's leaders."

"How many archangels are there?" The Gothic older sister asked.

"Nine. We each help govern Heaven as one voice, one unity. We are called the Archangel Council."

"Where do angel babies come from?" Regan then asked.

"That's a very adult question that I'm going to respectfully deny an answer until you're older." The archangel muttered."

"What's the difference between an archangel and a regular angel.

"My wings are bigger the average angel's." He continued. He then noticed that the girls were smiling at him. Their smiles grew inch by inch as they waited for something.

"You want to see the wings, don't you?" Mike asked. The girls nodded with anticipation. Mike stood up from the table and pulled out a pairs of sunglasses. "Fine. You might want to put these on. It'll get pretty bright in here."

The Gravely sisters placed the sunglasses on their faces and continued watching. Michael positioned himself in the center of the dining room. He took a deep breath and clentched his fists together. He then arched his chest forward, forcing two pillars of light to fire from his back. The pillars arched out into the shape of wings that stretched from one side of the room to the next. The Gravely sisters watched in awe as the wings popped out.

A loud sound of thunder echoed through the household. The wings shined brightly as the sun. They looked like giant eagle wings but were coated in light with streams of energy surges flowing around the tips. As quickly as the wings appeared, Michael retreated them back into his large body. The girls applauded loudly at their uncle's showcase. Lu and Carmen then entered the dining room, joining in on the small family gathering.

"You know it just dawned on me that Regan's costume is going to need a few more details," Carmen said as she gathered up her children and led them to the door. "So we're going to head out for a bit, pick a few things, maybe see a movie, you know Gravely gal time. Lu, why don't you show your brother around town? Then we'll meet back here for dinner. It was nice to meet you, Mike. Say bye, girls."

Rosemary and Regan waved their goodbyes to their new uncle and followed their mother to the car outside. The girls were gone and the immortal brothers were alone. They stood there in silence, wondering what two brothers turned enemies should do next.

"Want to go to a bar?" Lu finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

Part 3

Dante's Inferno was populated that afternoon. The usual crowd of bikers, families, friends, and loners gathered into one urban bar. Now two brothers, who haven't spoken in so long, are laughing and sharing cold beers and stories for the first time in their eternal lives.

"Seriously, it looks like you have a nice bunch of kids you got raising." Michael said, finishing his second drink.

"Yeah but do you want to know the weirdest thing they do,"Lu said, waving his hand for another round. "I've heard them take showers together. Who does that?"

"It's not that weird. They're girls. They're sisters. Siblings do that sometimes. They'll probably grow out of it." Michael said. "How's business been?"

"Can't complain really. Little dark, little moody, but you never get tired of every waking hour to hear the wailing screams of the damned forever tortured for their sins. Other than that it's still the usual business."

"Hey, what happened to your old partner? What's he been up to? What was his name again?"

"Mephistopheles? He's spending his damnation locked away in the deepest, darkest hellhole I found. Never to be mentioned by anyone ever again."

"Things didn't work out, huh?"

"Not at all. But without him, Carmen and I couldn't be together. What about you? Archangel life treating you well? You still polish that old sword and shield of yours?""

"Haven't picked up those things in ages. Life's been good but, honestly, gets pretty boring. I miss the action. Things are far too quiet. Our siblings are doing well too. Father's the same."

"No surprise there." Lu groaned, rolling his eyes and sipping his new beverage.

"Don't be like that," Mike defended. "He loves us all. He just hasn't been the same since...you know."

"Yeah, I know." Lu sighed. "I wish I knew her."

"She loved you," Mike comforted his little brother. "That matters."

The immortal brothers continued to sit and drink away their harmful memories from the past. They sat silently in their seats reminiscing their childhood. Lu then spoke out, "Why exactly are you here, Mike?"

Mike stared into his drink. "I just wanted to see you is all." he muttered softly.

"No," the devil fired back, "No that can't be just it. You don't see me or speak to me for over two-thousand years, and suddenly you're here. Why?"

"For dad's sake, Lu-"

"Is this something from the Council? Usually they send one of their errand boys, but you're here alone. Archangels don't usually come on their own. Unless..."

Lu leered down his brother. His eyes lit up when he found the answer. "They don't even know you're here, do they?"

Michael kept silent. He said not a word but gulped down a large sip of his beer. The silence that the devil received was more than enough to confirm his suspicions.

"Well I'll be damned all over again." Lu said. A sly grin stretched. "The obedient son is rebelling. Not only are you breaking a law of seeing me, but you've broken the highest law for interacting with humans."

Their social bonding was then interrupted by a howling rant that echoed into the bar. "SINNERS REPENT!"

"Not this guy again." Lu growled under his breath.

"He a regular?" A confused Mike asked.

"A regular pain in the ass." Lu mocked. "He's the local preacher here.

A mad-eyed, mangy haired preacher waltzed into Dante's Inferno, waving one hand freely as the other safely guarded a small bible. He walked around the bar beseeching everyone to his spoken rants. His gospel holler echoed throughout the bar and rang through the ears of the crowd who continued to ignore him.

"Hear me!" He cried. "We live in a world of sin. We can all be saved. I have spoken to God, and he has told me of his great plan."

"Really?" Mike shouted to the preacher. "He never mentioned you."

The patrons laughed at the archangel's truthful jester. The preacher's face burned with hellish fury as he made his way to the immortal brothers.

"You think you're funny, son?" The preacher scowled. "You think you can mock the work of the Lord? We didn't evolve from monkeys, you know."

"You're definitely right about one thing." The devil added. "You didn't evolve from monkeys. You evolved from apes, there's a difference. Also, at what point was he mocking Father? He was just mocking you, old man."

"Silence your forked tongue, devil!" The preacher hissed. He raised his hand to deliver a smiting slap across the devil's cheek. Mike grabbed the old preacher's wrist and gave an almighty squeeze.

"Back off my baby brother!" Michael bellowed, ramming his fist between the old man's eyes.

The preacher flew to the other end of the bar, crashing into a large grizzled biker. The biker picked himself up and glared at the brothers. He ran towards them, his fist readied for impact. Lu then slipped his foot under the charging giant, tripping him onto the dirty bar floor. One of the biker's comrades grabbed a beer bottle and smashed into the serpent's head.

"Was that seriously supposed to hurt?" An unfazed devil said as glass and alcohol rained from his impenetrable skull. Lu's fist crashed into the surprised comrade's nose, knocking him onto a pool table. Another biker whipped out his knife and jabbed it into Mike's side only for the archangel to quickly grab him, pulling the stainless blade out his body.

"I like this jacket." He commented as he tossed him into a table full of angry patrons. The crowd turned into a fighting frenzy as punches, kicks, bottle shards, and beer were thrown around the bar. The brothers joined in the bar brawl, punching out every worthy opponent they engaged.

"Let's make this interesting." Mike said. "No supernatural powers during this fight."

"Why do you always have to take the fun out of everything?" Lu said.

The brothers still fought on. No magic, no powers, just their knowledge and skills of fighting. They both battled and laughed as they remembered how they did before their eventual separation.

Part 4

Mike and Lu stumbled out into the rain, laughing after their victory in the battle of Dante's Inferno.

"Just like old times, huh?" Michael laughed.

"Yeah." Lucifer smiled. "Speaking of old times."

Lu's fist flew through his older brother's lower jaw. A small drool of blood leaked from Mike's mouth.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Mike retorted.

"Why didn't you stand up for me then?" Lu shouted furiously.

"Seriously, you want to start this argument?" Mike barked, wiping his blood away.

"You always had my back for a long time," The devil continued. "But when the Almighty gave you an order you obeyed like the good little soldier that you always were. No matter what it was you always did it without question."

Lu threw another punch towards his brother. Mike blocked and retaliated with his rage-filled fist smashing into Lu's ribs. Lu felt the bones crunch together, forcing him to choke out a painful cough. Mike then swung another punch into his little brother's cheek, leaving a large swollen imprint in its place.

"Maybe you should've listened to him all this time so you wouldn't still be wallowing in your self pity." The archangel said. "Dad wanted someone to talk some sense into you, so I volunteered."

"You sure did a good job talking some sense to me." Lu growled. "Fighting me, beating the crap outta me, and then ripping my wings off. You could've said no to him for once. After that everyone praised you like some kind of hero."

Lu tackled Mike against the wall and delivered a couple blows against his stomach. The light drizzling rain suddenly poured harder and harder from the sky. Mike launched a kick into Lu's sternum and grappled his arms. The two wrestled back and forth as the rain showered them more rapidly.

"Father had a plan." Mike argued.

"Don't give me that!" Lu retorted. "Was it his plan for you to beat me? Was it his plan to banish me from my home? Was it his plan to drop his youngest child into some godforsaken abyss. To be abandoned with all the others who have been left to be tormented only to be seen as nothing more than the bad guy?"

"It wasn't his plan for you, his son, to lead a rebellion inside Heaven's own gates. You were out of line then. Your little temper tantrum nearly destroyed Paradise."

"I only started that revolution so I could prove that not everybody had to obey him. To prove not everybody had to do what he said. But more importantly, I wanted him to notice me for once in his damn life."

"You're a selfish little piece of crap, you know that!? Do you honestly think you would have done better in his position? Do you honestly still believe he still resents you after Mom-"

"DON'T YOU DARE MENTION HER, YOU SON OF A-!"

Lu slammed his head against his brothers only for Mike to crash his fist into Lu's jaw. The pair delivered a series of punches against one another, each hateful blow harder than the last. The raging rain drenched them as they continued fighting. Finally both brothers delivered their last punch. Both punches crashed into the other's cheek, knocking them both down into the soaked streets. A flash of lightning erupted from the heavens as the brothers finally ended their match. Both brothers sat quietly in the streets, allowing the rain to wash down their blood into the sewers and instantly heal their cuts and bruises. Sorrow and regret once again filled their hearts as they remembered their last bloody brawl.

"But you're right about one thing," Michael finally spoke, his tears blended with the rain. "I'm not a hero. A hero is meant to protect everyone he cares for. I should have protected you from Him. I should have stood up for you. Every time he was mad at you, and even when he ordered me to stop you. I'm so sorry."

Lucifer look at his brother and said. "It's not your fault. I was angry. You and others always got his attention. He never acknowledged me. It's funny that everyone called me the Betrayer after my fall, but it wasn't until my rise to power I finally realized the one I truly betrayed was you. You raised me, and I let you down. I'm sorry too."

"This is why I came to see you. I don't want us to hate one another. I don't want us to fight anymore, even if Judgement Day may come. I want to make things right with us. Please, let us be brothers again."

Michael picked himself up and stretched out his mighty hand before his baby brother. Lucifer looked at both his brother and his soaked hand, pondering the next step. He knew he couldn't completely forgive him for their infamous fight, but he knew he could never forgive himself again if he had to abandon the bond they had. Letting out a regretful sigh, Lucifer grasped his brother's hand and hoisted himself up into his brother's arms. Lu hugged his brother tightly as Mike did the same, finally able to bury the guilt the both carried for so long. The rain slowed to a halt as they brothers finally let go.

"You know, Dad wanted you name you Samael." Mike said.

"Seriously?" Lu laughed.

"Yeah it's true. I remember that." Mike continued. "Luckily, Mom convinced Him otherwise. She always wanted to name one of us Lucifer. I'm glad she finally did. You know, I've been watching you recently."

"Pervert."

"Funny, not like that. Seriously, I noticed that something's changed in you. Ever since you been with that family of mortals you became different."

"Yeah, how so?"

"You're happy. I'm glad to see that in my baby brother again."

Lu's fiendish lips curled into a heartfelt smile. He then jumped when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He whipped out his phone and answered a text. "Ah, Carmen's texting me. She's wondering if you're joining us for dinner?"

"I don't know if I should..." Mike hesitated.

"Please, brother, I insist. After all, they're your family too."

Mike smiled and the pair walked back to 999 Milton Avenue, arms wrapped around one another. Finally they were brothers again.