Int. Inside Warehouse (Night) October 23, 2025, 10:15 PM
The loud sounds of the gun going off echoed around the warehouse, the shells falling to the ground with a small click, eight of them rolling across the ground. All the noise in the warehouse stopped; only the sounds of Gabriel breathing heavily could be heard. The man's head was pushed forward, not a scratch on him from the close-range shots. Gabriel dropped the magazine to the ground, quickly reloading with another one from his belt. "I let my kindness be my weakness. I told you to leave; you refused, now you'll die here like the others," the man stated, his tone emotionless. Gabriel raised the gun again, but didn't have a chance to fire off shots before he felt his head slammed into the ground.
Bam!
Gabriel's world exploded in pain, stars in his vision, the ground around him cracking slightly from the force of the hit. He struggled with trying to move, but something strongly held him still by the back of his neck. Gabriel sluggishly moved his right hand that still held on to the gun, hoping to aim to fire it at the man pressing his head against the ground. "No more of that!" the man growled out before knocking the gun out of Gabriel's hand, freeing up the pressure holding his head down. Gabriel quickly tried to crawl away, but the man grabbed him by his ankle, dragging him back, leaving Gabriel hanging upside down in front of him by his ankle. The man looked at Gabriel, letting out a small sigh. "All you had to do was walk away, Gabriel, but you just had to be a hero, huh?"
Gabriel didn't have a mirror, but he could feel his left eye begin to swell; the vision in the eye was blurry due to being slammed into the ground. Gabriel refused to give in to his fear again, the blood rushing to his head as he was held upside down. He glared at the man. "F... F...uck you!" Gabriel spat, trying to sound as intimidating as he could. The man smirked before throwing Gabriel into one of the shelves standing up, almost twenty-five feet away from where they were standing.
Crash!
"Ah," Gabriel cried out as he went flying through the air. One second he was in the air, and next thing he knew, he was in a bunch of pain. Gabriel landed awkwardly on the ground, his back having bounced off the giant shelf. The force of the throw was strong enough to cause some of the products to roll off the shelf, landing around him. His breaths became labored, an almost rattling sound every time he inhaled or exhaled. Blood poured out of his mouth; Gabriel struggled to even turn his head. He heard loud footsteps coming toward him. Through his blurry vision, he could see the shape of the man, his red cloak being the most defining factor.
The man shifted Blake from his right hand to his left; in the exchange, he went from holding Blake by his mouth to the back of his neck. Gabriel could've imagined it, but it seems Blake's eyes opened in shock, maybe at seeing the state he was in. The man gripped the back of Blake's neck, causing him to cry out. "Do you see what you do to others? Look at him, he's in this state because of your sins. If we didn't need you alive for this ritual, there would be nothing left of you to find," the man sneered, his face in a permanent frown.
Blake slowly began digging through his jacket, using the motion as if he was struggling to not catch the man's attention. "Don't use me as an excuse for why you treated him like a human ragdoll, you piece of shit," he argued. "You're no better than me, right? You say you help the innocent; well, that kid right there is innocent and he's laying there probably dying because you want to be a piece of shit."
The man cocked his head to the side, as if thinking over what Blake said, his face scrunched up in an unpleasant manner. "Our war for justice may be righteous, but even with how strong all of us are, we can't save everyone. Gabriel willingly decided to stand against us; I gave him a chance, yet he still chose to fight." The man squeezed Blake's head once again, causing Blake to scream out in pain.
Gabriel just laid there, useless, his body not listening to any commands he tried to give it. "I have to keep fighting. I can't just lay here useless!" he thought to himself. His vision becoming even more dark, his body throbbing with pain. Gabriel pushed himself to one knee, his vision slowly fading, the room spinning as he reached a hand out towards the monster, before collapsing on the ground. Gabriel heard a voice go through his head, soft, almost angelic, calling out to him, yet the words were almost incomprehensible. One phrase he kept hearing was "don't forget who you are." The pain Gabriel felt was unbearable, his mind consumed with trying to hold himself together. Blood continued to fall off his mouth, likely from biting his tongue too hard; his body was riddled with various cuts and bruises.
Blake roared in anguish. "DAMMIT, KID! STAND UP!" He struggled in the man's hand, the grip holding strong. Blake's face was red; whether it was from anger or the guilt he was feeling was hard to determine. "JUST WAIT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! I'LL MURDER YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME? I'LL MAKE SURE TO TAKE YOUR WHOLE FUCKING GAME DOWN IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THE KID!" he screamed, doing his best to discreetly pull out a round object from his jacket coat. He pulled on the end of something that looked like a small ring. Gabriel had trouble seeing what it was, but assumed it could've been a grenade.
The man stood there, shaking his head at Blake's foolishness, squeezing his hand slightly, his face having a cruel smile on hearing Blake scream. "Another pathetic sinner threatening me with trying to kill us, to kill me," the man gloated. The smile grew even bigger at the pain. "My name is Lucious, also known as Lust. You can barely handle me and you think you can take out the rest of us!" Lucious taunted, squeezing Blake once again. He pulled Blake closer, watching as Blake shivered slowly as he ran his tongue against Blake's cheek, tasting the sweat off his face. "Your fear tastes sweet, almost like a milk chocolate flavor."
Blake shivered at the feel of the tongue running across his face, keeping calm. "5, 4, 3, 2," he muttered under his breath. The man looked down at Blake, a confused look on his face. Before anything else could be said, Blake threw his arm backwards quickly, doing his best with his arms to shield parts of his body that weren't clothed.
Lucious looked at the round object coming at his face, cocked his head to the side. He looked amused, not caring about Blake's random actions. He went to open his mouth when the object went off, a cloud of mist covering him, a burning sensation began going throughout his mouth. He quickly let go of Blake and tried swatting at the air, his eyes turning red, with tears running down his face. Blake quickly opened his other hand, threw another round object at Lucious before quickly turning his back and running towards Gabriel. "Taste that, you creepy fuck!" Blake yelled when a big explosion pushed Blake forward.
"MY FACE! WTF DID YOU DO TO MY FACE?! GHAAHHHH IT BURNS!" Lucious screamed from behind Blake. His red cloak melting to his skin from the explosion, the grenade mixing with the pepper spray pushed the fumes of the gas out, making Blake's eyes water as well.
Ignoring the shrapnel in his back, Blake got to his feet, quickly making his way towards Gabriel. Gabriel saw Blake's body getting close, but couldn't move. His body was a damaged shell of what it once was. "Jesus, kid," Gabriel heard Blake muttering as he felt a touch on the side of his neck. "Okay, he still has a pulse, though his breathing is coming out slow, fuck. It's okay, just keep calm. Come on, I got you, kid," Blake stated.
Gabriel felt himself rising to his feet; he knew that it was Blake helping him up, yet another voice kept overlapping. The sounds of Lucious screaming in the background faded into nothingness as the world around him began to fade to white. That voice he heard earlier loudly entered his ear once again, but this time more legible. "My Son, never forget who you truly are," the most gentle voice he ever heard. Opening his one good eye wide, Gabriel saw a woman with fair skin and dark brown eyes. Her hair was cut fairly short, smiling upon him. "I've always watched over you; even the days when you cried and felt alone, I always made sure to try and put peace in your heart. I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to raise you," the woman teared, wiping the stray tear going down her face.
Gabriel went from shock to a frown as he was confused about what was happening. His mind sluggishly tried to come up with answers, yet they eluded him. "I... I don't understand," He stuttered, his words slurring from the loss of blood, his body shivering as if a cold wind blew through. "Who are you? What is this place?" Gabriel looked at the woman, but looked away as if nervous to upset the woman and he didn't understand why. Even though he could still feel Blake slowly pulling his body, Gabriel at the same time felt weightlessness, as if he was free from his body.
"You poor child. One day you'll get your answers," the woman said, walking closer to Gabriel, kneeling down, resting her forehead against his. "I love you; I'll always love you. For now, rest, my child." Kissing his forehead before stepping back with a watery smile on her face.
Gabriel tried to open his mouth, wanting to speak, to say anything, but a warmth spread through his body. Combating the cold feeling he had, his eyes closed as he dropped into sleep with a small, peaceful smile on his face.