The Answer

The exorcist saw Lute approaching the Embassy and her heart began racing. After weeks of fending for herself in Hell, the angel found the opportunity to return to Heaven. Harp circled the Embassy like a vulture stalking a carcass on the ground below, waiting for anyone from Heaven to accept her back.

She had been receiving assistance from a demon by the name of Daera. Her mushrooms managed to heal her holy stab wounds majorly. Harp placed a hand over her mid-section at the thought of her, that night in the car, and freedom from responsibility and snarled. How could she abandon her fallen sisters?

Harp perched herself on the golden railing of the Embassy's upper floor and examined her busted mask. There were stories of dead Exorcists whose masks turned red after they were killed. Harp's mask shared that similarity, though the left side was shattered and unrecognizable. Yet, she felt naked without it and wouldn't dare show her face to Lute with such unsightly scarring. A busted mask was better than no mask at all.

She placed the mask back on and landed in front of Lute as she returned to the entrance. Harp could see the halos of her fallen squadron stacked in Lute's remaining arm, her stern expression visible even with her unique mask. She stood up tall, shoulders back and straight with her arm in an equally stern salute.

"Lieutenant. Corporal Harp requesting active duty." She didn't look her in the eyes as a sign of her complete submission to her will.

Lute had only a handful of broken black halos from her fallen sister in arms, her teeth gritted tightly as she looked at the absent arm she used to have. That fight with Vaggie cost her it, she was eternally injured from now on, and with that egotistical ass Cameal on her heels about ‘making her an elite soldier’ in exchange for a prosthetic? It just made her even more frustrated. She would hear the sounds of wings, but not just any wings, Exorcist wings. The top soldier would stop in her tracks and look to the sky, noticing the figure of a fellow sister circling above- did she not fall back whenever it was ordered? Did she follow Lute down whenever she wasn’t paying attention… or was this a trick played by an Overlord to make her see some things?

“Who the fuck.”

Lite mumbled before the Exorcist landed in front of her, her unmasked face not pleased or impressed as to seeing a stray exorcist in hell, especially since an order was given. As Harp addressed herself, Lute would furrow her brow, her top lip curling up a bit as well- was this anger? disgust? Whatever it was, the expression was plastered on her face.

“Requesting active duty huh?”

She said coldly as she walked past the Exorcist, tossing the halos into the building of the embassy before turning back around, the song of angelic metal clanking loudly echoed for a moment before a strong silence filled between the two. Lute fully took in the woman’s appearance- specifically the red mask.

“You should be dead. How did you survive.”

This wasn’t asked as a question- more of a demand.

Harp's chest tightened at the familiar sound of her voice, her insides twisting with obedience and a restricting sense of relief. She tried not to look directly at her, she hadn't earned it.

"I was assumed dead, ma'am. When I woke up again, everyone was gone and I was alone with the bodies of my sisters, ma'am." She explained in short, militaristic bursts. Harp did not move when Lute inspected her.

Her mind swirled from the memories of that day-- in truth, she had no idea how she survived what should have been entirely fatal. "With my life intact, I'm filled with purpose. I want--no--need to return to Heaven, ma'am."

Lute would bite down hard on her teeth, her jaw muscles flexing as she listened to the reasoning as to why this Exorcist's mask was Red, as to why she didn’t retreat whenever the order was given… but something didn’t seem right. If she was wounded to the point of death, WHO healed her? Lute would raise her own chin in the air, looking down at the woman standing in front of her before relaxing her mouth and preparing to speak.

“If you were assumed dead, that means your injuries were caused by OUR angelic weapons- and from where I’m standing?”

Lute took a step forward, chest to chest with the Exorcist, between the two Lute was the taller one. Lute would then lean down next to the Exorcist's ear, her top lip curled in anger.

“There’s not a fucking scratch on you.”

Lute stated before taking a step away, her golden gaze resting on the shorter Angel in front of her. Despite missing an arm, Lute was still incredibly strong and lethal, one of the best soldiers since Vaggie, even Adam himself clarified that.

“Who healed you, one answer. No excuses. Speak. Now.”

Harp didn't move a muscle, looking through her when she was met face-to-face with her steely golden stare. Could she risk lying to her Lieutenant to her face? She could feel her hold on Heaven slip away from her, seconds ticking by so slowly they felt like years.

"My injuries are beneath my uniform. I would have to show you my bare face, ma'am!" The LED of her mask glitched as she spoke, her lip quivering behind her mask. Harp threw the broken mask down and revealed the severely burnt side of her face. "I was burnt by the demonic barrier at the Hotel. It has not healed, I have not been healed."

Lute awaited the answer from her lower soldier, the gaze that she had held on her still going strong. Finally, Harp answered, the injuries beneath her uniform had her curious as to the extent of the damage- was it multiple tag wounds? A slash? Lute needed more details to figure out how she survived them… especially if Adam didn’t. The superior would watch as the woman took her mask off, the Exorcist narrowed her eyes at Harp as she took a step forward… her eye on the burnt portion of her face. It appeared glazed over, one that held no purpose… just like how Lute was considering Harp to be.

“If Adam couldn’t survive his injuries, how did you. THAT is my question.”

Lute stated with a snarl, obviously, there was more of an emotional scar on her than physical one, Adam and she were a pair. Seeing them apart seemed wrong, the whole yin and yang thing WAS Adam and Lute personified. Lute, however, wouldn’t admit to such things if her fellow Angels would ask.

“As for your eye, it appears to be far from bad. Can you see out of it?”

She asked, her stern tone still present through the entirety of this interaction.

Desperation lingered in Harp's mouth, "I'm... not certain, ma'am. My belief is it is all for a reason, God's will, for me to survive and serve Heaven." As for her eye, she fell silent. Without her mask, Harp was susceptible to being read for deception and hesitation.

"I can see." She said. It was simple and curt, but direct as Lute would want it to be. She was used to Adam standing beside her mocking the whole situation but without his immaturity, she was at the mercy of Lute's wrath.

Lute would bite the inside of her cheek at the statement as to why she survived and Adam didn’t. Harp was nothing more than all of the other Exorcists that served for Lute, except this time, one seeming survived injuries worse than Adam's and was still standing. This was a sick joke, a sick fucking joke in her eyes at the very least. Lute would exhale through her nose, nearly sounding like a Bull that was about to go on a rampage after seeing someone who was wearing red and dancing in front of them.

“God's will, huh?”

Was all she said in a stern yet cold tone, God was also speaking to her now, the next question that was answered however felt off. Lute noticed the silence, the unease of the answer she gave… especially how short it was. Lute would narrow her eyes, stepping to the blinded side of Harp.

“Don’t look at me.”

Lute stated, stopping as she was fully out of Harps good eye view. Her golden gaze rested on her soon-to-be former soldier if this question wasn’t answered.

“How many fingers am I holding up.”

Trick question, Lute wasn’t holding any up.

Harp stared straight ahead as told and her heart fell into her stomach, resulting in a cold sweat impossible to shake off. How did she end up in this position? Why did God choose to let her return to such a sorry state? She stared off for a long moment at the coming sunset in Hell, nothing like the one in Heaven, but still clung to the image.

The sunset on one side and complete darkness on the other.

"One."

Lute awaited her soldier's answer, her golden eyes staring at the eternally scarred eye that made no effort to look in her direction, not even a twitch or observant gaze at the person in the peripheral vision. The long silence was finally broken by Harp… only for the wrong answer to be given. Lute would narrow her eyes, her hand absent-mindedly going for her angelic sword that had taken the lives of so many Demons, a pair of wings from Vaggie… but never another life of a fellow sister in arms. Lute would grip it tightly, nearly unsheathing it- but stopped, letting it go before replying with a growl.

“You’re a fucking LIAR.”

She said loudly, some of the demons that walked by stopped in their tracks to observe the interaction, some even pulling out their phones to record the two Angels and their falling out. Lute would stay in the blind spot, walking behind the Exorcist, staring at her wings- the urge to clip them was growing with each second, a ringing in her ears, rage boiling in her heart. Adam didn’t survive but THIS did?! What the FUCK?!

“I should clip your wings, tear them off of your back without the assistance of a blade… but leaving them on is more of a reminder of what you can’t reach anymore.”

Lute stated coldly as she walked in front of Harp into view, locking eyes with her former soldier.

“You’re nothing more than the scum down here now, lying to a superior like that is inexcusable. You and Adam should’ve switched places.”

She stated coldly before walking forward, shoulder-checking the smaller woman as she walked towards the steps of the embassy.

Harp was on the verge of collapsing when her shoulder was checked; her pupils widened and her body froze. Her throat handled the conflicting thoughts her vocal cords struggled to convey until it was forcibly ripped out of her. "SISTER! You abandon one of your own in their time of need?"

Her metal boots clanked forward into the Embassy, following in Lute's footsteps. Her mask was in hand, her legs moving on their own toward her precious Lieutenant. "What about our teachings? Do they mean nothing to you?"

She tripped, busting her knees on the glassy marble floor. The wind was knocked out of her, gasping as she hit the floor hard. Harp looked down to see what tripped her in her blind spot.

Halos. The blackened halos of her fallen sisters scattered uselessly across the floor. Harp collected them in her hands, having lost her own in the attack on the Hotel. "Did you know their names?"

Lute thought the message was loud and clear from the beginning, she knew whenever she spoke Harp was one to know every word and yet… here she was, chasing after her as a puppy would after being abandoned on the side of the road. The puppy at the very least could be saved down the line… but Harp was in hell, walking the same streets she spilled so much blood of the sinners down here. As Harp called out, Lute continued to walk forward, ignoring the plea that the woman gave to her- as of this moment, Harp was just another sinner to her.

Lute listened to the questioning of her teaching, how much it truly meant to her- but this Lute now was different, actively grieving over the loss of Adam. She had continued her duties to not give her mind any minute to process the grief she was feeling… but Harp was making that more difficult. It wasn’t until the loud clang of metal against the floor did Lute stop and turn around, noticing the pathetic sight she scoffed before turning her body fully towards the fallen exorcist, her eyes narrowing.

“You do not question my teachings, question your loyalty for lying to your superior so easily- you fucking stain.”

Lute stated as she began to walk towards Harp who was still on the ground, the looming presence that Lute possessed was overwhelming in a way.

“Your sisters died a more honorable death than you did, seeing as how you lost yours and yet you still stand- it seems as if you fit perfectly in down here.”

…that’s when her eyes landed on the red mask the woman had in her possession, Lutes's eyes moving from that back to the gaze of Harp.

“You can’t even stand anymore, can’t see, can’t even show respect for yourself. What makes you think you can be of any use to me.”

That's when Lute would kneel in front of Harp, extending her hand and snatching away the mask by its horn- all while keeping direct eye contact with Harp.

“Consider yourself, fallen.”

Lute stated as she stood back up, turning away from Harp as the portal to Heaven whirred to life.

Tears threatened to fall from Harp's good eye, "You aren't the Father you control-hungry TYRANT!" She screamed, reaching out for her mask but every time she attempted to stand, her legs fell out from beneath her.

"I was LOYAL to you! I searched Hell for YOU!" She beat on her heart with her fist, heaving onto the floor with the halos scattered at her knees. Her bangs went down in front of her face, tears dripping onto the marble floor where her reflection mocked her. She shrieked, a halo being thrown in Lute's direction just as she portalled up to Heaven. The halo stuck into the wood.

"Who made you GOD? HOW CAN YOU SAY I HAVE FALLEN?" Harp screamed to no one, her shrieks echoing loudly due to the high ceilings and marble. Her wings outstretched behind her as if to shield what remained of her dignity.