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Simon slowly blinked, eyes flooded by blindingly white lights of the C.O.I station- wait. No, that wasn’t right. Where..? Fuck, he couldn’t think about that through the agonizing pain coursing through his veins. He gritted his teeth, shutting his eyes tight and trying to will himself back into whatever unconsciousness he could.
“Oh—! You uh. You’re awake!”
A voice said— His voice. Simon’s. But a bit less gravely.
“Wh…whhhat?” Simon grunted out, shaking his head lightly and slowly opening his eyes again.
“Uh, hello, welcome too—“
Whatever the person said next fell on deaf ears. Simon squinted at them; a man in a tan jumpsuit, with a little badge that had some numbers he couldn’t make out.
Not a patch, hole, or stain in sight on the clothing… How? How was that possible?
Simon tucked the question away, his gaze drifting from the jumpsuit, to the man’s face—
Holy shit.
It was like looking in a mirror! Same beard, same facial structure, eyes, mouth, everything— Though, the longer Simon looked, the more he realized that there were a few differences.
The other man looked happy. Well fed; Unlike Simon, who’d endured malnutrition almost his whole life. His ‘twin’ had no scars or marks or anything; and his gaze was soft.
Then it hit him.
“I… I always thought Father was lying when he talked about you..”
“Well, we’re…. Wait what?” The being had been cut off by Simon’s sudden interruption.
“Beings of light, love, kindness. I thought they were just stories, I..” Simon’s gaze fell to the ground. “Forgive me for my ignorance earlier..”
“Oh uh, of course!…? I think. Um, anyway, welcome!”
Welcome. As if Simon belonged there. He leaned back, falling into a soft mattress; much like the ones in the medical rooms on Eden. It was bent to hold him in a sitting position.
He hadn’t seen such luxury since he was a little kid.
“… Thank you. Thank you.. For everything.”
“Oh, don’t thank me! Thank the Nurse.”
“… Is this .. Heaven?” Simon asked slowly. The Savior blinked, looking around.
“What?”
“Am I— I’m sorry. This is a stupid question.. Am I in heaven?”
“What? No! No, not at all, not at all! You’re on the Invincible II.”
Not Heaven. So .. then, where was he?
‘Invincible II’? Yeah, Simon had no fucking clue what that meant. The more he looked around, the more convinced he became that this WAS heaven. Or at the very least, heavenly.
“You don’t need to lie to me, my Angel-“
“Angel..?” The other person’s confused echo cut Simon off before he could finish speaking.
“…yeah?”
“…”
“…”
“Uh. My name is Mark.” The angel held out a hand to shake.
Simon stared at it, before slowly taking it. He was shaking an Angel’s hand. Oh, wow, this was.. Truly amazing.
“… You are..?” Mark asked slowly.
“Oh, f-forgive me. Simon.”
Mark retracted his hand, (all too soon in Simon’s opinion,) and placed it on his hip. “Simon! It’s great to meet you.”
“It’s .. Wonderful to meet you as well.. Protector of the trees. Truly amazing, I—“
“Huh?” Mark frowned. “Why would I protect trees??”
“Like.. Father taught. The Angel’s protected our gardens by allowing our flesh to nurture the soil-“
Simon trailed off, seeing the horrified expression on his Savior’s face.
“I. I’m not an Angel.”
“Well of course you’d say that; Father always said your kind is humble..” Simon almost wished he could bow; though he had a feeling he’d collapse if he tried to leave the bed.
“No! No, I’m not being humble, I’m just not an Angel!!” Mark said indignantly.
“Is this.. a test?” Simon frowned.
“No!”
“Am I being judged? Oh, god, I-I know I’ve done bad things, b-but-“
“No! No, dear god, no! I’m not an Angel?!”
“I’m so, so sorry, please—“
“Simon.”
“Forgive me, I-“
“Simon.”
“I’m begging you—“
“SIMON.”
The Savior grabbed his shoulder’s, and Simon was sure they were staring directly into his sin ridden soul.
“I. Am not. An Angel.”
Simon stared at him.
Mark stared back.
“…”
“…”
“… Are you sure?”
“YES!”