Chapter Text
"Limbo, Lust, all gone. With Gluttony soon to follow. Your kind know nothing but hunger, purged all life on the upper layers, and yet they remain unsatiated, as do you."
Gabriel's words reverberate across the floors and walls of the cathedral, slowly echoing back into its anterior rooms within earshot of the cobalt-blue machine currently making its way towards him.
"You've taken EVERYTHING from me, machine. And now all that remains is PERFECT HATRED."
His last two words cut the stale, hot air of this palace like a knife. Gabriel, newly christened in his singular burning desire, sits calmly in front of a gargantuan pipe organ. Readying his hands, he violently slams his fingers into its keys, producing a familiar chord. The rich voice of the instrument crashes through the halls of the cathedral. As he plays, he hears the clang of metal against granite in the gaps between his strained chords, familiar footsteps frantically making their way towards him. Finally, it has arrived.
V1 places its mechanical hands against the heavy wrought iron doors of the final room, flinging them open with calculated tenacity. It hurriedly takes in the layout and architecture of the room, noting a pool of crimson in the center lit dimly by the blood-red light that penetrates the palace. Beyond that, a set of wide, but short stairs. It knows he is here. Drawing its Marksman, it cautiously enters the pool, cool sanguine-tinted water flooding the lower plating of its legs. Looking around, it finally reaches the staircase, ascending to the top with swift footsteps. Bright cyan wings catch its attention, the angel before him sitting at some monstrous instrument. A quick cross-reference of its database identifies it as a Pipe Organ, an instrument reserved mostly for religious institutions. As the chords from its blaring tubes envelop the two of them, V1 is caught for a moment. Thinking to itself, it wonders why Gabriel hasn't attacked yet. What is he playing for? Is he playing for them? The way he is now, he almost seems...gentle. Its thoughts are interrupted when the white-clad angel suddenly slams his fists upon the backboard of the organ, creating a loud bang.
"Machine, I will cut you down, break you apart, splay the gore of your profane form across the STARS! I will grind you down until your very SPARKS CRY FOR MERCY! My hands shall RELISH ending you...HERE! AND! NOW!"
With his concisive threat, the heat was on. Almost immediately, the infernal machine tosses three gold coins tactfully into the air, hitting them with an expertly aimed Sharpshooter shot. Gabriel felt his armor ripple as the hot metal ripped his flesh. With a flash, he dashed above the machine, unsheathing his holy swords with a practiced motion. He swung them both in its direction, but it dashed out of range quickly. Swiftly moving to follow up proved to be an error as V1 punched two shotgun shots directly into Gabriel's chest, the force knocking him backwards slightly. He felt a wetness below his armor, blood beginning to stream from the gaps in his stark-white chestplate. The pain flooding into his mind quickly steels his rage as he slashes in the direction of the machine once more, catching it with a nick upon its arm but not much more. Gabriel revels in this small contact, ecstatic over finally landing the hit he couldn't during their last encounter.
"YOU'RE GETTING RUSTY, MACHINE!"
Gabriel's taunts did nothing to shake V1's will as it dashes to the side, hitting him with a well-sighted railgun shot and following up with two spins of the Sharpshooter. It can sense Gabriel's anger growing stronger with every passing second, but it can't help but to think the angel may be enjoying this more than they are. Gabriel swings at them, missing by an inch but following up with a well-placed strike to their chest plating. Blood begins to ooze from the rended metal. Seeing such a waste of good fuel, V1 begins to get irritated. Gabriel lets out an enthused cackle, fully pleased with himself.
"IS THAT THE BEST YOU'VE GOT!?"
V1 lets fly a volley of nailgun rounds, missing Gabriel completely as he quickly teleports above the machine once more. However, V1 recognizes its previous mistake in an instant, firing the bolt of the Whiplash directly overhead without even wasting the energy to look up. It connects with a thud, and V1 launches itself above Gabriel with the momentum, bringing its full weight down upon his helmet with its iron fist. Gabriel, reeling from the literal head-on attack, is dazed just long enough for the blue machine to toss four coins into the air, and hit them precisely with an electric Railgun shot. The angel feels the bite of the shock hit him in the center of the chest, wracking his body with electric current as he is thrown backwards against the cold wall of the cathedral. Gabriel looks up to see the machine flying towards him, its fist connecting with his head in an instant. A wash of white floods his vision, as he is stunned completely by the impact. Immediately awash with purifying rage, he can't help but acknowledge that he is no longer able to stand. V1, seeing his state, steps back to inspect its work. Gabriel slumps over onto the floor, barely catching himself with his hands, crimson fluid draining from the holes in his headpiece. Seeing the ample supply, V1 is upon him in an instant, frantically trying to catch any spilled drops of Gabriel's precious fuel to replace what was currently leaking from the gash in their chest.
Feeling the godforsaken machine against him, Gabriel summons his strength and pushes it away onto the floor in front of him.
"GET OFF OF ME, ACCURSED THING!". Gabriel can't bear the thought of that repulsive machine trying to absorb his blood, seeing him as nothing more than another source of energy. "I am NOT a mere FUEL SOURCE, you FUCK!" V1 picks itself up off of the floor, standing cautiously to look at Gabriel still writhing below them, his blood going to waste. A shame, truly. With some effort, Gabriel flips himself over, pushing himself up against the wall with his heels to sit upright. The terrible gravity of the situation sinks into his mind, awful shame sinking into him like knives. but also, something else. A calmness. He doesn't understand.
"So here I am, beaten by an object...TWICE! I've only known the taste of victory, but this taste...is- is this my blood? Why-..I've never known such-...such...relief..? I-..I-"
His words are cut off by the clink of something against his helmet. He looks up, and the machine is above him, its revolver pointed square against the center of his forehead. Gabriel can't feel, can't act upon anything. The pain and shame of his final defeat is too great for him to bear. Looking up at this being of metal and blood, this object that destroyed his life as he knew it, only one option seemed proper to him.
"Well, machine. What are you waiting for? END IT!"
V1 looks down upon the defeated angel with an unblinking glowing eye, cocking its optic slightly to the side. They don't understand. He's not fighting? Why would he want to die now, after all this? A nanosecond of decision is all they need to decide what they really want from him. Slowly, V1 lowers its weapon, holstering it securely away in one of the fins of its wing pack. Looking down at Gabriel, it sees the fury return to him in seconds.
"WHY? WHY, MACHINE? IS THIS NOT WHAT YOU WANTED? WHY DO YOU SPARE ME NOW? DO YOU ENJOY SEEING ME LIKE THIS, YOU SADISTIC FUCK?"
V1 is taken aback, stepping back from the wounded angel in a spooked motion. They are now even more confused than before. Wouldn't he want to live, to fight again? He obviously feels enthralled when they fight, they can see how he brims with passion when trading blows with them. V1 puts a hand to its optic, as if they were thinking. For the first time in years, they boot up their vocal processor.
"YOU FIGHT WELL, GABRIEL. YOU ARE MY EQUAL."
Gabriel can't believe it. This...thing can fucking talk. It even pronounced his name correctly. And it-..How-...
"How dare you. How DARE you even CONSIDER yourself equal to me. You are less than mortal. You...-"
"IF WE ARE NOT EQUAL, THEN YOU ARE LESSER?"
The fucking audacity. Gabriel wishes so badly to tear this mere object limb from limb, but he knows he can barely stand.
"YOU are less than NOTHING, MACHINE! I-..I can't believe…I lost….to something like you."
Gabriel goes limp. He no longer has the strength to fight. He no longer has the will to resist his fate. A terrible calm washes over him once more, confusing him further. What would be the point? His time is running out. The Council, his duty, his Father's light, stripped from him. Maybe the machine wasn't at fault. All it knows is to kill, and it performed its duty. He, however, has failed. Failed to stop the machine's descent into hell. Failed the Will of the Father. All that remains now is to reflect on his actions, and wait out the clock. His penance would be fast approaching.
V1 stares down at Gabriel, his body now flaccid, unmoving. Is he dead? The thought saddens them, the loss of such a worthy foe, and maybe one day, a friend. They decide it's best to at least check.
"GABRIEL."
"What now, machine?"
Well that's good. He's not dead, yet. But what do you say to someone who just lost to you? They haven't had to talk to someone since they left the lab. V1 crouches down, forcing Gabriel to look at them, the golden light of their optic shining upon his gold-accented armor.
"LOSS IS OPPORTUNITY. TO TRY AGAIN."
The words of the machine who flayed him mean very little to Gabriel at this point. Still, he can't help but notice that the machine seems to be trying to...soothe him? Why even try, it obviously doesn't fucking care either way.
"I couldn't care less about your opportunities, machine. I have less than 10 hours to live, and I have failed my one chance for redemption."
V1 thinks for a moment. He isn't wounded mortally, his vital signs would show that. Maybe he has a concussion? Why would he die in 10 hours? And what is 'Redemption'? Some sort of award?
"REDEMPTION?"
"Yes, machine, my REDEMPTION! After you defeated me last, the Holy Council of Heaven severed the Holy Father's light from my body, as punishment for failing to kill you. Henceforth, I had only 24 hours to kill you and set things right, or I would wither and die without the light of the Father to sustain me. Tell me, machine, DO YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE MY REDEMPTION NOW??"
The harsh light of understanding washes over V1. Gabriel, the only being they have met who could match their power in combat, was going to die in 10 hours because of them. V1 sits down in front of the now fallen angel, curling up its legs and wrapping its arms around them. They are...saddened by this news. They know that logically, there should be no need for this. They won, by a large margin. But maybe..this wasn't about winning in the first place.
"GABRIEL."
"What. Now."
"I AM SORRY."
It's..what? Sorry for what? For fucking up his entire existence thus far? What a joke. This fucking object can't even feel.
"And what the FUCK are YOU sorry for? Why would you even CARE?"
Gabriel's words were starting to...hurt, almost. V1 is confused once more. They've never experienced anything like this before. They don't want Gabriel to die anymore. They don't know what this sensation is. Then, it clicks. Of course.
"I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE. I VALUE YOU."
"You-...What?"
Gabriel's head is spinning. He can't tell if it's just from the blood loss, or from what he's currently hearing. He doesn't know how or what to feel. He looks the machine up and down, studying it with open eyes. V1, seeing this, tucks its optic into its chest, looking away. What the fuck?
"I-...I have to think about some things. Goodbye, machine. I don't think I'll see you again."
Gabriel wearily stands up, almost losing his balance. He now realizes how much blood he's really lost. The machine looks up at him, still sitting on the floor, curled up in a strange position. It studies him as he starts slowly moving towards the door next to the gargantuan pipe organ, reaching it after some tentative steps. The red gate of the elevator opens for him with a loud clank, and he looks back at the machine, the only being in the last 10 years to give him any kind words. It sits upon the ground, welding its chest plating back together with blinding speed. As he turns and drops down the elevator shaft, one thought refuses to leave his mind:
"Do I value me?"