The blood that drips from an open wound in the angel's neck is the only colour V2 has seen since it has cleaned up its part of the processing plant. The angel's body is larger than it is, humanoid, clad in gleaming armour befitting his rank. The symbol of the tree of life adorns the front of his helm, splattered with blood. Evidently this one had not gone down without a fight.
Then the angel's head turns, and V2 realises that he is still alive. He goes very still, inscrutable, until V2 approaches, its newly cleaned blade unsheathed once more.
The angel shifts violently in place, his limbs hanging limply on either side of his body. He has been thrown carelessly onto the metal table, one of his arms twisted at a bizarre angle beneath him. His wild movement produces a concerning crack as one of his hanging legs kick the side of the table. V2 holds up its hands in a gesture of reassurance, somewhat dishonestly, and the angel growls.[1]
If this is how they are going to play, then V2 will oblige. It draws its sharpened blade, holding it so that the sickly overhead fluorescence reflects off the sharp edge. The angel struggles harder, flinging one of his arms off the table. Lightning-quick, V2's blade darts out, resting against the angel's neck.
The angel stops struggling. For a moment V2 thinks it's won, but the angel moves his head, using whatever meagre strength he has left to press the skin of his neck into the knife. Blood stains the metal red once more, and V2 withdraws its tool, more curious than frustrated.[2]
The angel is looking right at V2. V2 sheathes its knife with a practiced movement and holds out its hands, palms up. Fortunately for the angel, V2 was created with the ability to negotiate.
'I must admit. I do not remember killing you.[3] Why are you here?'
The angel laughs, a bitter, hollow sound.
'Of course.' He pauses to draw a breath. 'Of course, this would be my punishment. To lose all my dignity once more, at the hands of another machine.'
V2 shelves all its questions for later. This angel needed to be calmed down before it could do any work. It selects the most efficient module it possesses. Parasocial, overly familiar, but it has never once been ineffective. It starts by saying, 'What is your name?'
'I!' He puffs up at the question. 'I am the Archangel Gabriel, Righteous Hand of the Father. Judge of Hell.'
'So I have heard,' says V2. This broken, bloodied thing could not be the same angel that the broken husks in Hell whispered of, the bright, terrifying creature whose radiance could only be partially captured by the various stained glass windows throughout Limbo. Whatever incredulity it feels, it must keep him talking. 'Pleasure to make your acquaintance.'
'Hmph.' His rolls fully onto his back, fluorescence reflecting off the bits of white that show through the grime of his armour. 'Skip the pleasantries. They have asked you to slaughter me for my transgressions. Get on with it.'
'And "they" are?'
'The Holy Council. But I suppose I can forgive the ignorance of a machine. You have not seen them with your own,' Gabriel's helm moves slightly, 'eyes. This is my judgement, and I see now that I have no say in the matter.'
V2 does its best approximation of a shrug. This movement is one of the few it has learned instead of being hard-coded into its brain, a perfect filler with a hint of disrespect. Gabriel bristles at the movement but says nothing. He struggles half-heartedly on his useless limbs, and V2 decides to respect his request.
It draws its knife and begins working.
The angel locks a whine behind his teeth when V2 slices straight down the middle of his cuirass. This strange piece of armour stops at the waist, leaving the skin of his stomach visible, or so V2 thought. A thoughtless skim of its fingers over his abdomen reveals that he is wearing a bodysuit. It will have to deal with that later. But for now the angel's tough carapace is its main problem, and so it removes the pieces of cuirass and tosses them to the side. It will deal with that later, as well.
Gabriel's breath hitches when V2 brings its knife to his shoulder. He has nothing to fear, not as long as he stays still. [4]
V2 severs the pauldrons at the straps, which it accesses by sliding the blade in the space between his torso and arm. They come away with little resistance, V2's knife cutting through leather like butter. There is a strange rubberiness to his suit which becomes an obstacle to V2's main task, but Gabriel is becoming very cooperative, staying still and only moving to wince when he thinks V2 has cut too close to his skin. V2 is suddenly reminded of a domesticated dog. [5]
Gabriel's upper arms are revealed next, strong and muscular. His discomfort increases significantly when V2 nicks his bodysuit at the elbow, its knife caught on a fold of the strange fabric. The removed armour clatters to the floor, and V2 says, 'Why are you here?'
Gabriel's fingers twitch when V2 breaks open his gauntlets, holding his hands like it is proposing. His fingers are limp, cold, a shadow of their former graceful strength. V2 continues while it cuts down his armoured wrist. 'You said a lot of strange things about judgement and punishment. What did you do to be sent here[6]?'
Gabriel is silent. V2 is beginning to think itself foolish for ever expecting an answer, but the angel clears his throat and says somewhat raspily, 'I failed in my task. I was supposed to stop your kin from ever reaching the depths of Hell. There was—' He pauses here. 'There was another. It looked like you[7], and it brought me to my very first defeat.[8]'
V2 finally frees both of Gabriel's arms from the confines of his armour. Next would be his belt, and everything underneath. V2 gets to work immediately, ignoring the noise of protest that Gabriel makes when it cleaves his belt in two and tears it away from him. They join the other pieces of his armour on the floor. Gabriel makes another sound when V2 tears away his skirt, turning his face away and muttering something about decency.[9]
The armour on his legs comes off faster than that of his arms. If anything, V2 prides itself on its ability to learn on the fly. Well, there is only one thing left to do.
Gabriel actually whines when V2 carefully places the back of its knife against his neck, wiggling the tip into the space between his bodysuit and his actual skin. V2 slides its blade down in one smooth motion, following the centreline that his sternum was a part of. Gabriel is making some noise or other, but V2 is focused on its task, until—
Its blade sinks into something soft. Gabriel makes a pained sound, turning his face away. V2 withdraws its knife and peels open the bodysuit, split open to his chest, and then—
Oh.
Gabriel's breathing is shallow as V2 places the tip of its claw in between his breasts.[10] He forces himself to look directly at V2 as it uses the same claw to slice down the rest of his bodysuit, down to the stomach. His skin is warm to the touch, beautifully sculpted muscle and fat. Where his navel would be is an expanse of smooth skin, gold markings decorating his abdomen.[11] V2 makes no more cuts, taking hold of the suit and tearing it off him, listening to the sound of static as it separates from his skin.[12] The suit comes off all in one piece, until the angel lying on the table before V2 is completely bare.
Gabriel looks away, breathing gently.[13]
V2 turns Gabriel over so that he is lying on his front. 'Where are your wings?'
Gabriel attempts to turn and look at V2. 'You will not have them.'
V2 shrugs again. It slips its arms underneath Gabriel's shoulders and lifts him, not without some effort. He makes a noise through his teeth but V2 is setting him down before he knows it, placing him on another table. Gabriel makes a panicked sound when V2 pulls down a hook from a railing above.
V2 shushes him to the best of its ability. If anything, the sound it manages to make[14] is bizarre enough to pull Gabriel out of his panic. V2 seizes its chance when he freezes in place from sheer confusion to shove the tip of the meat hook into the flesh of his shoulder.
Gabriel cries out in pain, the metal hook speared between his collarbones. V2 grabs the second hook and does the same, and the angel almost sobs. V2 places its hands on his shoulders, moving them closer to his neck to avoid the chains attached to the hooks. It pats him gently in between his whines.
'Sit,' it tells him. He pulls his head back to try and headbutt it; it sidesteps the attack. 'Sit and it won't hurt as much.'
And against all expectation, Gabriel listens. He goes still on the table, supported only by the hooks and V2, his limp legs swinging. V2 picks up the hose next to the table and turns on the tap.
A trickle of water escapes the hose. V2 directs it to Gabriel's body, starting from the dried blood that has accumulated in a messy ring around his neck.[15] Neck, collarbones—those wounds have already healed, leaving behind an uneven patch of skin with faint glints of gold. Gabriel shudders at the temperature, ice-cold. He is holding onto V2's shoulders, his grip vicelike.
Deep red water trickles to the white tiled floor. V2 watches the water travel down his body, gathering in his clavicles before spilling and trailing down his breasts, splitting further into multiple smaller streams—
Well, this is a surprise. V2 reaches out a cautious hand and touches the top of his breast. He shudders at the contact of its claw.
Gabriel has feathers.
Small downy feathers that cover most of his chest,[16] stopping right above the nipples. His stomach is left bare, but the feathers return at his hips, larger and more visible, culminating in several pairs of wings that cover the space between his legs.[17]
'Well?' V2 startles at his voice. 'There is nothing I can do to stop you.'
V2 tilts its head. 'What exactly do you mean?'
Gabriel huffs. The feathers on his chest puff out slightly with the motion. 'I know very well that most machines would jump at the chance to defile an angel.'[18]
'Feathers are difficult to work with,' says V2, reaching for Gabriel's wings between his thighs. The angel gasps but quickly stifles the sound. 'I will have to get the picker running again. Or otherwise manually remove them.'
Gabriel huffs again. 'Well, suit yourself.'
V2 places its hands on his shoulders again. 'Stay still.'
Gabriel obeys, holding his head still as V2 runs the hose over the rest of him.
Water droplets roll off Gabriel's feathers, leaving them glossy and shining as dust is washed off. Some feathers at his hips drop off at the slightest pressure, and the wings between his legs curl tighter to his body when V2 goes past them to get to his graceful legs. Such a pity, thinks V2. Such a pity that something so beautiful has to die.[19] The feathers on his ankles are the longest ones that V2 can see, and it lifts one of his cold, limp legs to run its fingers through the soft down on his feet.
And then his fingers. The same soft down on his feet, though kept cleaner and neater. V2 touches his nails.[20] Gabriel's feathers stand on end when V2 gently tugs at a patch of down.
Gabriel seems sufficiently distracted. V2 tries again. 'Where are your wings?'[21]
Gabriel snarls. 'I told you. You can't have them.'
'Your superiors have already sent you to die.' V2 draws its knife, hesitates; it puts the tool back and reaches for the hooks threaded through Gabriel's shoulders. 'You submitted to their will with barely a fight.' It rips out the hooks from Gabriel's right shoulder, and the angel screams. 'What difference does it make if your wings join the rest of you as meat?'
It rips out the second hook. Gabriel is panting, a whine rising from the back of his throat. He is bleeding again onto the clean metal table; V2 will have to clean him up all over again. The feathers on his chest, rising and falling with his breath, are stained with red.
Gabriel looks helplessly at V2. There is a soft blue glow, and large, iridescent wings burst from Gabriel's back. The fluorescent light that descends from the ceiling is captured by the blue-tinted feathers of those beautiful wings, scattering onto the sterile tiles in shards of jewel-bright tones. V2 reaches out and pats Gabriel gently on the shoulder. The hand comes away a deep red.[22]
V2 squeezes his shoulder. 'Good boy.'
Gabriel makes a noise that sounds like a growl, undercut by the soft whining from behind his teeth.
V2 steps around the table, grabbing Gabriel's shoulder tight to keep him from falling over. His wings flap weakly, and inspection shows that they are for the most part uninjured, though with a streak of blood across the primary feathers of the right wing.[23]
Emboldened, V2 grabs one of his longer feathers. 'They call you the Righteous Hand. Has anyone told you that you behave like a dog?'
'Lowly object,' Gabriel hisses, but the venom is neutralised by the tremble in his voice. V2 runs a finger through the downy feathers at the joints between wing and back, and Gabriel gasps.
'Your owners told you to die for your failure, and you accept.' V2 draws its knife, sets Gabriel down on the table face-up. His wings, crushed beneath the weight of his body, flutter weakly. 'Do you live only for them? Is that your purpose? You, a full living creature?'
'And what would a machine like you know about life?'[24]
'You're no different from me,' says V2. 'Discarded cogs.'[25]
V2 draws its knife and shoves it into the space below Gabriel's sternum.
Gabriel screams. V2 continues to cut, splitting open that beautiful stomach, stopping above the nonexistent navel. V2 blocks its audio processors when it reaches its hands into Gabriel's stomach, pulling out a segment of intestine.[26] Gabriel struggles, twitches from the pain, when V2 ruminates on the liver. The stomach follows, and the kidneys.[27] V2 cuts the organs out from the twitching body, places them neatly on the table, carefully weighed and lined up.
V2 looks at Gabriel. The angel's chest is heaving, his head tilted back. V2 turns its audio processors back on.
It is met with Gabriel's heavy panting, a soft, inscrutable noise escaping him when V2 rests the tip of its knife against Gabriel's sternum. The soft noise[28] triggers something within V2, and it changes its mind, instead placing the knife against the wings that cover his cunt. It moves the knife, carefully opening up the wings. Its other hand moves to hold the wings open when he attempts to cover himself up once more, slowly chipping away at his defenses one by one, until—
V2 runs a finger along his cunt.[29] The wings held down by V2's fingers tremble at the touch.
V2 meets Gabriel's gaze. The angel stays still for a moment that feels too long.
The angel tilts his head back and moans.
V2 fights down something unnameable. Dips its finger in. Gabriel's smaller wings are relaxed, as if coaxing it in. V2 adds another finger, moving in to the first knuckle. Gabriel whines and pants. Then, when it feels his pulse rise, it withdraws its fingers.
Gabriel does not have time to voice his displeasure. Lightning-quick, V2 drives the knife through Gabriel's beautiful, iridescent wings.[30] A spray of blood splatters across the table and Gabriel screams.
'Nothing but a dog,' says V2. The blade finds Gabriel's ribcage next, sliding until it hovers directly above his heart. 'Depraved, mad... thing.' It drives in the tip of the blade, watching beads of blood form and pool in between his breasts. 'Any last words?'
Gabriel is still breathing heavily. V2 watches with a climbing feeling it still cannot describe.[31] The angel's wings twitch gently beneath him, and finally, he finds his voice.
'I am Gabriel.' V2 drives the knife in deeper. 'Loyal Hound of God.' A small laugh escapes him. 'And I have failed in every possible way.'
V2 plunges the knife into his heart.[32]
1His lack of successful resistance seemed to indicate an inability to do so. Indeed, when his limbs were skinned and cut up one by one, it was evident that most of his tendons had been cut. His right Achilles tendon was missing, presumably unrecoverable.
2To live is the core directive of any living creature.
3A non-sequitur. Most of the others that have been through this processing line have never met V2. But Gabriel does not need to know that.
4V2 had had plenty of time and carcasses to practice its skills on. Husks were the easiest to deal with, followed by fellow machines. Demons with their tough stone skin proved more of a challenge, but V2 was thankful for them and their similarity to the angel before it. The angel's armour was tougher, though not without exploitable weakpoints.
5An animal that you could hurt again and again yet still come to heel when you called. V2 did not like to think about dogs.
6'Here' was not something that either of them could define. V2 had already slaughtered its way through half of one afterlife, and Gabriel came from the other. To create another final destination for one's soul seemed redundant. Consider, however, that God has never been much good at making sense.
7V1. V2's predecessor, and its superior when it came to combat, and a beautiful example of humanity's irony. Strange that it was V2 who was the defunct one now.
8That vicious little thing defeated an archangel. Holy shit.
9Which was, frankly, none of V2's business. What the meat underneath its knife felt about being stripped and processed was of no concern to it. Even rare cuts like this one.
10It could push its claw down until it met the bone of his sternum. An angel's skin was remarkably thin for how nigh-indestructible they were. Remarkably human. Down to every last detail of his graceful anatomy.
11It would have liked to trace those gold markings past his hips, leading between and back around his thighs. More of the same markings looped around his shoulders and end at his back, but they were not as tantalising as the ones it had first laid its eyes upon. God's glory crystallised.
12Night-dark. An exact match to the colour of his bodysuit.
13Usually protocol would dictate that V2 take the stunner out and end the meat before it with a quick shot to the head. But Gabriel fascinated it. He could live for just a while longer.
14Imagine, if you will, the hum of machinery, interspersed with a light creaking of internal components. V2 has heard a cat purr before, but the sound has proved difficult to imitate.
15Apart from the blood, this was more protocol than practical. Gabriel had sweated remarkably little by the time V2 found him in the plant. In hindsight it should have moved the cleaning process to a much later time.
16Feathers on an otherwise mammalian body. Not unheard of, considering the myriad existences on Earth that refused to fall into the neat categorisations of humans and their taxonomy. V2 had no reference for the anatomy of higher-ranked angels, and it logged this detail diligently within its database.
17For modesty, or for protection? The relevant parts installed in V2's pelvis, mostly for the benefit of her human companions, were protected by a retractable plate to prevent damage to those fragile silicone parts. For an angel, to whom modesty was surely a larger concern, V2 was not exactly sure.
18Not at all what V2 was considering.
19It seemed all beautiful things in the world were destined to die terribly, in a spray of arterial blood. V1 was at her mercy at that one point in time, its thin neck clutched between her claws, the end of her world in the palm of her hand. She had shown it mercy, for the sake of the companionship they shared, even for a brief moment. She had pitied it for its fate, doomed to abandonment in an age that had no use for its brutal nature. But then the mouth of Hell had opened up, and V1 had not returned the favour.
20The shaved-down talons of a bird.
21Usually the next step would be to strip the meat of its hair (or in this case, feathers). But V2 had already broken protocol by not taking the stunner to the angel's brain the moment he showed up; what was one more?
22A completely pointless gesture. V2 did not have V1's absorptive plates to be able to make use of Gabriel's blood. She did help herself to the angel's blood after she was done with her job, and the sweet nectar through her tubes did not carry the feel of victory that she expected.
23His wings were the only limbs of his that remained perfectly functional. With an angel's strength, he could have subdued V2 in her unprepared state, fly far away enough, and bought enough time to recover from the injuries inflicted on his other limbs. He could have resisted, but did not; V2 had a sneaking suspicion as to why.
24She had read through every book her creators had uploaded into her database, some as a test, some for the sake of her learning. She could rattle off several answers to the meaniing of life, quote philosophers and scholars. None of which she truly believed in. If you were to ask her what her life meant to her, she would say that she was doomed from the very moment humanity died.
25V2 believed that the path of one's life was pre-ordained. There was nothing she could have done. There was nothing he could have done. Fight the invisible hand of fate and be crushed by it.
26About three metres of small intestine, and one point five metres of large intestine.
27For something that was supposedly divine, the bits and pieces V2 pulled out of his stomach, and later his chest cavity, were nearly identical to the organs of the humans she was made to protect.
28A noise which seemed strangely inappropriate. V2 would later recognise it as excitement.
29Wonderfully soft. Dripping wet. For the first time in its life, V2 understood why others sought pleasure.
30Broken plating. Stress-testing. A researcher pressing her against a wall, knowing she cannot complain. The desire to destroy something beautiful.
31Revulsion. Fear.
32After V2 cleaned off the blood that splattered all over its plating; after it stripped the feathers from the angel's pretty body and wings; after it skinned him and kept the gorgeous gold-on-black for itself; after it chopped up those graceful limbs and hung them up on hooks and wished it could have a taste of him, this beautiful archangel; after it disposed of his head by hiding it beneath the gleaming tiles of the processing plant; after it sat itself down on the very first table Gabriel had lain on, still warm from the running blood within his veins; it realised. It had not torn his halo from him, and now it never would. V2 flung its knife across the room, listened to it break and the pieces clatter all over the floor.