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Casino Nights

"You look like a dumbass in that."

"The word you're looking for is 'badass', Kabs. I should really get you a dictionary, it'd do you a world of good."

"I'd just burn it up in the furnace."

"A typical Tuesday night for you, really. Isn't it hot enough down there already?"

"All the better to light your scarf with."

"Please, Kabs, I'm not that stupid. I'd fireproof it first, much like I'm already fireproofed against your attempts to mock me."

"Fuck you."

"Love you too, Kabs."

Ezekiel promptly sat down on the couch, crossing his legs and angling himself so he was seated with his body facing the grandfather clock by the nearby wall. The jackalope brushed an errant strand of blonde fur out of his face, giving his guest a cocky smile. He certainly looked dressed to the nines, with his scarf resting just over the nape of his rather ornate jacket: the earthy color palette of his jacket and his shirt complimented the white fur all over his body, and his ears flicked over his horns.

Across the coffee table from him, Kokabiel rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his vest. The vest barely covered the doberman's dark blue tie. Ezekiel thought that the tie really did complement Kokabiel's dark red eyes in a beautiful way, but he would never admit that, not while they were in this situation. The rest of the outfit also fit him well, from the way that collared shirt hugged his musculature quite snugly down to the way that the cotton pants came all the way to his shoes.

Ezekiel pondered on the darkness of Kokabiel's fur: was it truly as dark down there as that midnight fur, as Kokabiel had taunted once upon a time? As an angel, Ezekiel had never gotten the chance to find out. Angels were forbidden from entering the abode of a fallen angel, and it had always been like this for as long as Ezekiel and Kokabiel had begun to meet. It was rather a shame: Ezekiel would have rather liked to see Kokabiel in his new home.

But he would have to make do with incognito visits in a luxurious hotel right in the center of London.

"Heh." Kokabiel brought a foot onto the coffee table, indelicately dropping it next Ezekiel's as he looked there. "Something tells me I'm not here for something so simple as scratching an itch, though."

"Perceptive." Ezekiel reached forward, grabbing a wine glass as he raised it to Ezekiel. "I have a mission to go on soon."

"More souls to save?" Kokabiel asked, swirling his cocktail in his hand.

"What else?" Ezekiel asked. He sipped his wine, looking over to his companion. "There is a demon hoarding souls somewhere, intending to traffic them down to hell. Of course all of the souls are technically virtuous people, but I suppose if you told this demon that he'd frame them for child sex trafficking so he could have an excuse to do so." Ezekiel shook his head. "The mongrels."

"Yeah." Kokabiel shook his head, pulling his foot away and looking at him. "And you called me here because..."

"Well, I am not considered one of their better hunters for nothing." Ezekiel stood up, swirling the wine in his hand. "After all, the only thing I need to do is track them down and guide the souls back to their proper place. That is not so difficult: I find the demons, rip a head or two off, and then get the souls back to where they need to be. Rather simple as one-two-three, eh?"

And here, Kokabiel raised a furred eyebrow. The jackalope certainly liked to make a show of how independent he was, but the Doberman could see right through it. His ears twitched as he pondered the proposition, his drink resting against his knee as he pondered this.

Finally, Kokabiel nodded, setting the drink down. With a flick of his hand, he conjured a cigarette out of thin air, and then flicked the butt of the cigarette to light it. He took a brief drag of it, before sitting back and exhaling, letting the smoke cloud dance in the air a little.

"I _guess_I could clear my schedule out a little bit," he replied.

Ezekiel's smirk glimmered in the light. "Oh, but Kabs, would you not want your head ripped off as well?"

Kokabiel rolled his eyes. "As if you had the balls to," he replied.

"Oh, I might," Ezekiel replied. He turned, slowly making his way towards Kokabiel. "A face that pretty should be preserved in a museum, next to King Tut's coffin so we all know that Tut was the handsomest son of a bitch alive."

"Fuck you." Kokabiel shook his head, before laying on the couch. "But yeah, I'll come along. Someone's gotta keep you out of trouble."

"Sounds good to me." Ezekiel promptly knelt next to Kokabiel, planting his fingertips on the fallen angel's chest. "So tomorrow we start searching. For now, we just have tonight."

"Because of course." Kokabiel sighed. "Guess we better rest up, huh?"

Ezekiel smiled, setting his wine down on the coffee table.

"I'm an angel, Kabs, we don't need to sleep."

----**----

"Dammit, I knew it was a bad idea to do that."

Kokabiel nodded, looking over at Ezekiel across the table. The jackalope was bent over the table across from Kokabiel, his hair somehow still perfectly brushed despite how strangely the angel had slept the previous night. He nursed his coffee with shaky hands, his eyes half-open and looking a little redder than usual.

Kokabiel leaned forward. "Well, I guess that seals it: the virtues of letting an angel fall asleep on time," he said jovially, tugging on his vest.

"You say, as a fallen angel," Ezekiel replied, taking another sip of his coffee for emphasis.

Kokabiel frowned, leaning over to look into the contents of Ezekiel's mug. "Huh, that's not earl grey in there," he said. "I guess your tongue cuts and wounds even without tea."

"Oh shut up," Ezekiel replied, leaning forward. "We have to save those souls."

Kokabiel sighed. "In that state?" he asked, gesturing to Ezekiel. "You're going to get your ass kicked six ways to Sunday if you show up there!"

"It's time sensitive..." Ezekiel sighed, drinking his coffee. "I'm just gonna keep sipping this coffee..."

Kokabiel nodded, then leaned back, looking to the ceiling of the hotel room. There he was, the only one actually able to do anything, and poor Ezekiel would take a while to recharge. As far as Kokabiel knew, he might even have needed to catch a couple more minutes of sleep there as well, and if it was as time-sensitive as he feared...

Kokabiel nodded, standing up and taking a key card for the room. "You mind if I go out on an errand, then?"

Ezekiel exhaled. "Sure, I guess," he said. "Not going anywhere right now anyhow."

Kokabiel flashed him a smirk. "Excellent," he said. "I'll call you when I'm on the way back."

And with this, Kokabiel left the room. As he walked to the elevator, he whipped his phone out, swirling it in his paw as he lifted his nose up. He then looked over to his phone, opening up the map application quickly. To say he was on an errand would not have been incorrect, but Kokabiel was careful to omit what the errand was. After all, as a fallen angel he knew where all the demons would come out to play, and at that time of day he knew exactly where to go.

As such, he walked to the elevator, hitting the button to go down as he tapped his foot against the elevator floor impatiently.

----**----

Kokabiel entered the bar: somehow, the fact that there was already cigarette smoke wafting in the air around him was the least surprising thing to the Doberman as he entered. The lights were rather low, and as he walked in the smooth jazz wafted just past his ears. To the side, there were people seated at tables, not so many that it was too quiet but just enough that things would be quiet.

He nodded, before glancing over to the bar. There, indeed, he saw the minor demon: He himself was dressed in just a collared shirt and pants, the clothes just hugging to his already stick-like frame. The strange insectoid eyes that stared back at Kokabiel seemed cold and uninviting, but Kokabiel was not intimidated: he'd dealt with much more menacing in his time as a fallen angel, and he could tell from the way the mantis' antennae popped up that he was excited.

And as Kokabiel approached, he smiled, turning on the charm almost immediately. "There you are," he said.

The mantis excitedly hopped onto his feet, pulling Kokabiel into a rather tight hug. Mantis demons were always the most jumpy, and they welcomed any opportunity to hug the air right out of anyone who approached. Still, this hug was tight even for a mantis, and as he pulled away Kokabiel coughed gently, the rush of air into his lungs catching him off guard.

"Oh, sorry!" the mantis said. "Was that too tight?"

"Any tighter and it would've broke a rib," Kokabiel replied. He sat down, his eyes wide as he looked down. "Jesus, don't you know the meaning of restraint?"

"Well, I mean, I'm not Jesus otherwise I wouldn't be here," said the mantis. "And sorry, I just can't believe I'm speaking to the Kokabiel, Rebel of the Divine Will!"

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Kokabiel replied. He flashed a grin at the mantis, before bringing a hand to the mantis' neck and trailing up the length of the carapace there. "I never was one for that kind of formality."

"Probably why you're here with us and not in those conference rooms you hear about," the mantis replied. He then looked over, grinning at the mantis. "But seriously, I never thought I'd get hit up by the Kokabiel. That's like... wow." He reared back, looking at him nervously. "I just don't know what to make of it."

"You will soon enough, kid," Kokabiel replied. He winked, before looking to the bartender and waving his hand. "I won't be here long, don't worry about me."

The bartender blinked, before looking at how nervous the mantis looked. She sighed, her pointed ears flattening against her head as she gave an annoyed scoff.

"Men," she replied. She waved them off. "Just remember, no bathroom times, you _will_be kicked out of here for the night if we catch you."

"Don't worry, Lucy, we're not that horny," said the mantis. He turned to Kokabiel. "Besides, we've got some business to talk about, right? You're lookin' for Judalhulb's soul operation, right?"

Kokabiel rose his eyebrows at this. "Judalhulb?" he asked. "They runnin' out of names down there?"

"Sorta," said the mantis. "He's set up shop in a casino not too far from here. The Grosvenor, if you know where to look for it."

Kokabiel nodded, tapping his finger against the bar. "I see," he said. "Right by Bloomsbury Park, right?"

"Indeed." The mantis smiled, looking at Kokabiel. "I gotta say, you're looking quite nice there. Judalhulb likes his visitors attractive."

"Is that right?" Kokabiel leaned forward, placing the tip of his finger on the mantis' torso and dragging it down. "You're not just saying that yourself, are you?"

"Oh, well..." The mantis chuckled, his antennae lowering and rising rapidly as he leaned back. "I mean, I've seen you all over, and..."

Kokabiel grinned at this, able to see the mantis' blush from a mile away. "You really want a chance to see some of what I could do, don't you?"

The mantis nodded, bowing his head forward. "Would you?" He then leaned forward. "I mean, the back alley isn't too far away from here, and--"

And with this, Kokabiel lifted a finger, placing it directly in between the mantis' pincers. "Say no more," he said, his eyes flashing quietly as he stood up. "Let me show you what sorts of things I can do..."

----**----

"You son of a bitch!"

"Sorry, but I tend not to like people who take innocent souls like that. Guess I got a bit of angel in me after all."

"You asshole!"

"Sorry, I don't make the rules. Thanks for the info, by the way!"

And with this, Kokabiel inhaled, reaching out for the mantis' soul and taking it into himself. He felt rejuvenated afterwards, and for a second he felt the small rush of panic that involved eating a demon's essence, that last little bit of the demon's consciousness fading away before his soul was consumed.

Kokabiel looked down for a second, stepping back at the mantis corpse that laid before him. He was actually not worried about this: demon corpses tended to vanish into the ether, and the Doberman knew better than anyone that it would vanish by the time he got back to Ezekiel with the news of where this soul-stealing operation was. It was surprisingly bloodless this time, as well, which was always a welcome change considering it left nothing on his shoes.

He turned away, his tail wagging behind him as he exhaled. Ezekiel would be glad to know where the souls were, at least, and now they could come up with a plan. Kokabiel could only think of one particular phrase as he smiled.

"Nailed it."

With this, he turned towards the exit of the alley, and checked his phone to see if Ezekiel had sent him any messages while he was otherwise occupied.

----**----

Ezekiel sighed, leaning against the back of the chair at the café he had walked over to. Kokabiel still was not back, and as Ezekiel sat there he wondered if the Doberman had indeed managed to get his message. He'd been gone unusually long, after all, and Ezekiel was already rather on edge from not having gotten anything done that morning.

And so, he sighed, drumming his fingers over the plate. His fingers brushed past a few remaining crumbs. He glanced to the still-uneaten steak sandwich across the way: Ezekiel liked to think he knew Kokabiel's taste in food very well by that point, and as he sat there regarding the sandwich he wondered how cold it had to have gotten by that point.

He sighed. "Typical Kabs," he whispered to himself. "Always late for everything. Even every meal."

"Oh come on now, give me a little more credit!"

Ezekiel jumped up in his seat, looking behind him. Sure enough, Kokabiel was there, just walking up to the table. He immediately sat down, glancing at the steak sandwich in front of him.

"Ooh, my favorite!" he said. "You really do care about me, Zeke!"

"Yes, I cared so much I ordered it for you twenty bloody minutes ago," Ezekiel said. "Surely by now it's hotter than the flames you've called home down in hell."

Kokabiel narrowed his left eye, his right eyebrow raising as he regarded Ezekiel with a tilted head. "You really need to stop going to this so-called 'library', it can't be good for you," he replied.

"But it's fundamental, Kabs," said Ezekiel. "I can't help it!"

Kokabiel shook his head, before picking up his half of the steak sandwich and biting into it and swallowing. "Lucky for you that I kinda like my steak sandwiches colder, then," he said. "You really taste the seasoning then."

Ezekiel reared back, his ears standing erect. "No wonder you're a fallen angel," he replied.

"And not a full-blown demon," said Kokabiel. "Or are you not interested in the fact that I found out where your little souls went when you weren't looking."

Ezekiel's eyes bulged out for a second, and then he leaned closer, tilting his head to the side. "You what?" he asked.

"Oh, it wasn't that hard," Kokabiel replied, leaning back as he casually munched on his sandwich. "You forget, as a fallen angel I can get any demon to say anything to me that they want. So I met this mantis at a bar, and got him to tell me that your man Judalhulb is running his operation out of the Grosvenor Casino over by Bloomsbury Park."

Ezekiel nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Of course it was a casino," he noted. "Why go with such a cheesy location as that?"

"Well, I mean, it's a den of greed, cheating, sex, all that fun stuff," said Kokabiel. "The question you should be asking yourself is why wouldn't they be at a casino."

"I am more asking myself why they don't just bathe in cheese fondue," Ezekiel replied. "At that point, they might as well play out the cheese for all it's worth."

The Doberman paused, considering this as he held the last little bit of the steak sandwich in his hand. He glanced at the sandwich, before nodding and popping it into his mouth.

"Fair point," Kokabiel admitted. "But still, it's a fitting location."

"Satan is certainly a tailor," said Ezekiel. He then leaned forward. "Did you figure out specifically where?"

Kokabiel paused, frowning as he regarded the jackalope with a confused look. "The Grosvenor Casino," he replied. "I thought I mentioned that."

"Yeah, but like, where inside the casino?" Ezekiel asked. "The back rooms, a hotel room, a kitchen, the restaurant, a hidden room under the blackjack table...?"

Kokabiel froze, blinking once. He paused, suddenly realizing that he had nothing to show for this. It was then that he realized that Ezekiel preferred going in knowing _all_the details, even down to the exact locations of everything. He could have done recon on the hotel itself, for sure, but he then realized that figuring out where to look would have been on the top of the list of priorities.

"Uh..." Kokabiel's ears folded back against his head, and he glanced off to the side. "I... didn't think to get that."

"Alright," said Ezekiel. He immediately stood up, looking around to make sure nobody else was around them and paying attention before he leaned closer to Kokabiel. "So where'd you find him? We can get the answer out of your informant, right? Or better yet, he can just take you straight to them, and bam, you get me to rescue them right then!"

If Kokabiel could have physically shrunk into his suit, he would have. As it was though, he gave a sheepish grin to Ezekiel, chuckling softly. "Yeah, uh..." He scratched the back of his neck, shrugging. "I... kinda ate his soul, so he can't talk right now."

" WHAT!?"

Ezekiel's fists slammed against the table with such force that it caused Kokabiel to jump up a foot or two from his chair. "What do you mean, you ate your informant's soul?"

"I wasn't going to have him blab to people, was I?" Kokabiel asked. "Word gets around quickly among demons, he would've told Judalhulb to expect us if I hadn't!"

"Why didn't you get him to, I dunno, show you where the souls were? Why wouldn't you use your fallen angel status to show you the souls!?" Ezekiel threw his fists up. "Just like a typical dog!"

Kokabiel let out a barking laugh at this, shaking his head. "Excuse me, I'm not some lackey for Satan if I'm here," he said.

"Please, don't insult Satan's intelligence like that," Ezekiel replied. "That was probably his best move not to trust you too much!" The jackalope let out a loud groan, before reaching for his jacket and shaking his head. "Well, I guess I've got a casino to find, then!"

At this, Kokabiel blinked, abruptly standing up. "Whoa, wait a minute!" he said. "You're just going to barge in like that?"

"Why not?" he asked. "We've got innocent souls on the line, and we can't wait for _you_to get your Bachelor's degree in criminal investigation, now, can we?"

"Hey, I agreed to help out," said Kokabiel, standing up himself and looking at Ezekiel. "And that means I have to go with!"

"The thing you can be most helpful with is by paying the bill," Ezekiel replied. He took the sleeve with the bill from the café, placing it directly in Kokabiel's hand and huffing. "I was short several dollars, you can probably do more with that than you did with that mantis you ate before you could find everything!" He then huffed, collecting his jacket. "Good day, I'll see you at the hotel."

The jackalope promptly picked up his jacket, storming his way out of the café and onto the street. Kokabiel simply stood there in silence, watching him leave quietly. He felt something sink in the pit of his heart, but as he stood there he still felt his fur stand on end from when Ezekiel had slammed his fists on the table.

After a minute of standing there, he heard footsteps shuffle up nervously to him. "Uh, sir... will that be all?"

Kokabiel turned, looking over to the diminuitive feline who stood by the table. The Doberman blinked, looking at the sleeve in his hand. His gears worked a little bit, and as his ears twitched he nodded.

"Uh... Yes, I think so." Kokabiel quickly pulled out a credit card from within his vest, placing it on the sleeve. "Uh, there's your payment method."

"Sure thing," said the waiter. "I'll ring this up for you right now."

With this, the waiter walked away quickly, leaving Kokabiel to contemplate his next move. Of course, following Ezekiel directly would be a fool's errand at that point, but Kokabiel knew already that Ezekiel would likely get himself in trouble regardless, so it would simply not do to leave Ezekiel to his own devices.

But how to follow along without being noticed by the angry jackalope...

----**----

"And there we go. Jackpot. Again."

Kokabiel pulled away from the slot machine, watching as more winnings came pouring out of the machine. By then he was certain the casino would have a few more things to say about how he'd gotten jackpot four times in a row, but Kokabiel could plausibly chalk it up to luck. After all, fallen angels seemingly could get away with everything, and there he was, winning enough money to buy a month-long stay at the Grosvenor's attached hotel while still having enough left over to eat at the Gordon Ram restaurant every single night.

But of course, the Doberman was bored of this: there was no fun to be had rigging the game in his favor. Thus, he pulled away, collecting the card reporting his winnings before starting to walk away. He wondered what else was available to do that was short enough that he could plausibly be seen as not following Ezekiel anywhere, but not long enough that he would be there strictly longer than necessary.

Thus, he moved his way into the tables. He started by the craps tables, hearing the way the dice bounced on the tabletop, followed shortly by the disappointed groans of someone who'd lost a bet or three. He could sense the disappointment coming from a blackjack table he just happened to brush, with someone groaning annoyedly that he had gone over twenty-one yet again.

And then, Kokabiel stopped, his ears shooting straight up. He could smell the aura of demon from one particular poker table just ahead of him. He blinked, before redirecting his path to brush by the table in question. He immediately moved to examine the card with his winnings printed on it, seemingly examining it with new interest as he passed by a table.

Both demons looked like weasels, both of them sharply dressed in matching tuxedos with matching red bow ties. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see an exchange of cards happening between the two of them, and as Kokabiel watched he saw one of the weasels present a flush to the shocked table. Kokabiel briefly thought of reprimanding them, but considering his 'luck' at the slot machines he knew he was in no position to judge. That was Ezekiel's department, anyway.

And so, Kokabiel stopped, acting as if examining the tables for an open space as he perched close to the weasels.

"Heh, we're cleanin' the house at this rate, eh, G?" the first weasel asked.

"Ya know it, Chris," the second weasel replied. He grinned, putting some chips in front of him. "Oh! Ya heard about that angel, right?"

Kokabiel's tail stilled behind him as soon as he heard this. He frowned, before checking his watch: he had only entered this part of the casino about ten minutes prior, and he was fairly certain the sun still bore down on the city around him.

He exhaled. Goddammit, Ezekiel, he thought.

"Oh yeah," said the weasels. "The boss wants us up soon, doesn't he?"

"Yep." G grinned. "We gotta execute 'im somehow. Can't believe we'd be makin' waves killin' an angel, of all things to kill!"

Kokabiel sighed, shaking his head. He briefly licked his fingers, using this to slick his hair back before turning to the weasels.

"The killing of an angel, you say?"

The two weasels blinked, before turning to face Kokabiel. They regarded him with steely glances, but after a second Kokabiel saw their severe gazes soften considerably. The first weasel even smiled, throwing his arms open.

"Well, if it ain't a fallen angel here," said G, leaning towards Kokabiel. "And wait, you're not, the Kokabiel, are you?"

"In the flesh," said Kokabiel. He then crossed his arms. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Oh, yeah." Chris rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, we're gonna be killin' an angel soon. He nosed in on our boss' soul operation. Dunno how the fuck he found it, but we're not takin' our chances just yet."

Kokabiel grinned, turning slightly as he regarded the two of them. "Well, I happened to be passing by the area, and I was getting a little bored, you know," he said. "So if you're gonna kill an angel, I think I'd be entertained if you could let me watch you kill him."

Chris grinned, cracking his knuckles as his teeth glinted in the light. "You know, Judalhulb always had a likin' for the theatrical and the ironical, eh?" he asked.

"Chris, that's not even a word!" G replied.

"Oh, our friend Kokabiel here doesn't care, right?" Chris asked, grinning desperately at Kokabiel.

The Doberman shrugged. "Doesn't make a difference to me," he said. "You gonna take me there or what?"

"Well not right now!" G replied. He shook his head, turning back to the dealer. "Let a bunch of guys finish a round of poker first, would ya?"

"Sure," said Kokabiel. He then nodded, lifting his receipt from the slot machines. "Actually, I should be collecting my own winnings, so I guess I'll see you when you collect yours?"

"Sure as my master's apple pie is filled with ghost peppers," Chris replied. "See ya in a bit!"

"See ya."

And with that, Kokabiel turned. He shook his head: he always knew Ezekiel was headstrong and stupid, but to get captured while Kokabiel was even playing slots had to be the universe's way of telling him that Ezekiel had managed to make up for Kokabiel's boneheaded move with one of his own. Worse, he would likely be killed over it.

As such, he sighed, getting in line to cash out.

Goddammit, Zeke, you better be alive up there, Kokabiel thought, shaking his as he waved the claim check in front of his own face. Even Satan wouldn't want me near him if he found out that I thought about doing what I'm about to do now...

And so, he waited for his new companions to join him there, he shook his head: how _did_Zeke wind up in such a predicament, anyway?

----**----

Kokabiel and the two weasel demons rode the elevator up to the top floor. Kokabiel was under the impression that only the hotel owners could have the uppermost suites of the building, but there they were riding up to that floor. He wondered if they were in the same place the souls were: Judalhulb would have to be extremely stupid to house the souls and Ezekiel in the same place, Kokabiel thought, and there was no way they would both be there.

The elevator doors opened, and Kokabiel's sensitive ears immediately picked up on the screaming of captured souls from the other side of the door directly opposite the elevators.

Goddammit, he thought.

G moved towards the door first, opening it with a room key. "Let us introduce ya to the boss first," he said.

"Yeah," said Chris. "Wouldn't want him freaking out too hard."

With this, G and Chris opened the door.

And there, right in the center of the room, was Ezekiel. The jackalope was held in place by flame runes that were inscribed into the floor and the ceiling, and as far as Kokabiel could tell there was no couch. But of course, he was facing the classic horned, overmuscled demon to the side, wearing the most off-putting green pants imaginable. True demonic forms were rarely shown to just anyone, but the red horns nearly poked at the ceiling, and Kokabiel could only imagine the scowl on his face was from one of Ezekiel's classic reads.

"Please, you? Become a head hunter of Satan's armies? You can't even pick out good pants to wear, why should you be considered a main hunter?"

"I managed to capture all these souls without being noticed by you, right?"

"Hm... Actually, you may be just right for that after all. He always did like guys with delusions of grandeur."

Kokabiel smirked at this. Always the same Ezekiel, he mused. The smirk quickly faded as he stepped in, though: he knew that Judalhulb could not be that dumb.

He took the time to scan the rest of the room, and sure enough off to the side there was another series of flame runes with screaming souls trapped inside. He winced upon seeing a few souls bang against the walls erected by the runes that were inscribed there, and their inhuman wails were enough to make Kokabiel's fur stand on end.

He may have been a fallen angel, but that still gave him the chills every time.

"Now look," Ezekiel said, splaying his hand. "You mock me for being smaller than you, but I could easily kick your ass right now. So here's the deal: release these souls, and I'll maybe think about letting you go back to your daddy so he can take you to Sears to pick out better clothes." He then paused, before shaking his head. "Oh right, Sears is going bankrupt. You could try Urban Outfitters if you're ever in America."

"No." Judalhulb shook his head. "We're looking for the best souls to give."

It was then Judalhulb and Ezekiel both noticed Kokabiel and the weasel demons coming in. Ezekiel's eyes opened wide upon seeing Kokabiel there, but Kokabiel played it cool.

"And who the hell is this?" Judalhulb asked.

G frowned, gesturing to the Doberman. "You don't recognize a fallen angel when ya see one, boss?" he asked.

Kokabiel bowed. "You might know me as Kokabiel," he said.

At this, Judalhulb's eyes widened, before he immediately stepped forward and pulled Kokabiel into a friendly hug. "The Rebel of the Divine Will!" he shouted. "Holy crap, how did I not recognize you before?"

Kokabiel let out an annoyed huff. Because you're an idiot, he thought, before shaking his head and pulling up. "Some people just don't know," he said. He bowed theatrically. "I heard there was an angel here?"

"Oh yes, there is," Judalhulb said. He then grinned, rubbing his hands. "Actually, I was thinking of taking him to Satan himself, but you know what? I think it might be more fun to see you kill him!"

Kokabiel had to resist the urge to facepalm right there: on the one hand, that had turned out to be an immensely stupid move. On the other hand, Kokabiel could not look that gift horse in the mouth: he had a way to free Ezekiel and to make sure they could take care of these demons in one fell swoop. All he had to do was play along for a decent amount of time, he would free Ezekiel, and then things would be taken care of.

And so, Kokabiel grinned, bowing his head. "You know, I've been interested in angels, lately," he said. He then turned to Kokabiel, crossing his arms and grinning. "They tend to go into these kinds of things head-first, you know."

Ezekiel's eye twitched, but Kokabiel was by no means finished. "Perhaps even if he had some help finding this place, he just couldn't resist running off to play the hero, huh?" Kokabiel leaned in close, his shit-eating smirk ever present as Ezekiel's hands bunched into fists. "Forget playing it cool first, they've got all kinds of souls to save, huh?"

Ezekiel growled. "Is it any different than--?"

But Kokabiel grinned, turning back to the demon opposite him in the room. "You know what?" he said. "I bet I could take him on without these runes here. Have your guys take these runes out, I'll take him on myself."

"Ooh, we're getting a fight!" Judalhulb grinned, gesturing to Chris and G. "Go on."

Chris and G excitedly grinned, making their way over and scrubbing out the runes as quickly as they could. "Ooh, an angel and a fallen angel fighting to the death!" G exclaimed.

"Make me some of that sweet hotel popcorn, I can't wait to see this!" Chris replied.

They worked so quickly that the runes were gone within a few seconds. Kokabiel grinned at this, cracking his fists as he approached a rather enraged-looking Ezekiel.

"Thank you," said Kokabiel. "Now, let's get--"

Kokabiel felt Ezekiel's fist dig into his cheek. Kokabiel fell to the floor, pushing himself up and feeling the tingling of pain that Ezekiel's punch left behind. The Doberman could only growl at this, before turning to face Ezekiel.

"You son of a bitch..."

With this, Kokabiel launched himself forward, tackling Ezekiel to the ground. He rose up, growling as he immediately retaliated with his own real punch to the jackalope's face. In response, Ezekiel growled, before grabbing Kokabiel's shoulders and rolling him onto his back.

"You bastard!" shouted Ezekiel, throwing his scarf out of the way before coming down. "How could you betray me like that!?"

"Fight! Fight!" The two demon weasels had grabbed the popcorn (how it had been ready-made by then Kokabiel had no idea), and Judalhulb joined in as they continued to chant this line. "Fight! Fight!"

Kokabiel pulled himself up, wrapping his arms around Ezekiel's torso, before lifting the jackalope up and slamming him on the ground. He brought his muzzle just close enough to Ezekiel's ear that he could whisper in there. "You idiot, play along!" Kokabiel whispered violently. He immediately grabbed Ezekiel's leg, holding him there and bringing his hand up as if to strike him again. "This is me bailing your stupid ass out of this situation, play fight and we'll take those guys down!"

With this, he stood up, immediately throwing Ezekiel to the other side of the room. The jackalope's back crashed into the TV set, and both Ezekiel and the remains of the TV set fell to the floor. Ezekiel took a second to stand up, before glaring at Kokabiel.

But, by the mischievious glint in his eye, Kokabiel knew that Ezekiel had gotten the hint.

"Oh, a fight's what you want, huh?" He grinned, growling as he jumped up. "Come and get it then!"

Kokabiel immediately rushed forward, aiming to grapple Ezekiel's legs. Not to be outmaneuvered, though, Ezekiel leaped up, making sure to come away from it. Kokabiel was not deterred, though, he pushed right off the dresser that he was about to crash into, violently yanking out one of the drawers and throwing it at Ezekiel. The jackalope ducked down, the drawer just missing the top of his antlers as he rushed forward, throwing a punch at Kokabiel.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The two weasel demons were fully throwing popcorn around at this point, the two of them jumping up. Judalhulb had fully moved over there by then, himself also cheering them on.

It was then that Kokabiel got an idea, right as Ezekiel rushed at him. The jackalope tried to tackle him, but Kokabiel was fast enough to turn it out and grab Ezekiel. He growled, before grabbing him and getting into a position to throw him across the room.

It was then that Kokabiel managed to get his muzzle close. "Get your touch ready," the Doberman whispered as soon as the jackalope's ear was in range.

He then positioned himself, growling loudly as he looked to Ezekiel. The jackalope grinned at him, and Kokabiel was thankful that Ezekiel was facing him. "Gotcha," Ezekiel whispered.

With this, Kokabiel whirled around, letting out a loud yell as he threw Ezekiel right at the trio of demons. Judalhulb blinked, before seeing the way Ezekiel's entire body glowed. His eyes widened, and suddenly he was scrambling away.

"Get away now! Get--"

But it was too late: by the time Judalhulb had managed to move out of the way, the two weasel demons released an almighty scream as Ezekiel landed directly on top of them. In a flash, the two demons were instantly incinerated, Ezekiel landing in a pile of their ashes. His landing sent a few plumes of ash rising up, the white powder wafting in the air as it fell down. Slowly, the light faded, and it left Ezekiel sitting up in surprise.

Judalhulb growled at this, the demon's muscles beginning to puff out. "Son of a bitch, how dare you!" With this, he flicked his arm out, a dagger spontaneously appearing in his hand. "Those were my lackeys! Do you know how hard it is to get a lackey?"

"Harder than finding a good wardrobe, evidently," Ezekiel replied.

The large demon growled, and in no time at all he had rushed straight at Ezekiel. The angel let out a surprised shout, for before either he or Kokabiel could do anything about it, he was above him, driving the blade straight into Ezekiel's stomach.

"How dare you insult my wardrobe!" Judalhulb shouted. "I paid thirty fucking dollars for this thing! Thirty! Do you know what that makes me!?"

"A cheap slut?"

As soon as Judalhulb turned to answer Kokabiel, he let out a cry of shock: Kokabiel was directly on top of him, his eyes glowing white in pure, hardboild rage. The doberman's hands squeezed down hard on Judalhulb's neck, and soon enough Judalhulb was unable to speak, his hands reaching for Kokabiel's wrists.

"Hey, I don't make the rules here, Zeke here does," Kokabiel replied, his voice booming and much louder than usual. "And there are some lines you don't cross there buddy. And for that, well... Send Charon my regards."

With this, Kokabiel let out a loud yell, and he yanked Judalhulb's head right off. He threw the head aside, tossing it across the room before pulling the rest of Judalhulb's corpse off of Ezekiel. He immediately rushed in, slamming his hand against Ezekiel's open stab wound and squeezing his eyes shut, his hand glowing brightly while Ezekiel's wound healed up under that hand.

This done, Kokabiel sighed, the heavy breathing of angel and fallen angel intermingling as they both remained in place. Kokabiel only lifted his head, his lips mere inches away from Ezekiel's. The jackalope looked up, his hands pulling themselves up to Kokabiel's shoulders.

"You... sure took your sweet time... to help," Ezekiel replied, breathing in. "Playing slots while... I'm in danger? Definitely a fallen angel..."

But Kokabiel shook his head. "Shut up," he said.

Kokabiel pressed his muzzle hard against Ezekiel's mouth. The jackalope paused, before giving in as their tongues brushed together gently.

----**----

Releasing the souls to Ezekiel's care did not take very long: both of them had plenty of experience undoing demonic runes, and Kokabiel actually noted that the runes seemed hastily inscribed. Ezekiel was a little annoyed that he could have broken out of there if he had been given a few more minutes, but Kokabiel reminded him at least he was still around to complain about it.

In the aftermath, all they could really do was lay there on one of the beds. Judalhulb's body had long since vanished by that point, and all it left was the ash from the two weasel demons and the remains of the TV set laying around on the floor. Kokabiel had settled on the nearby bed, with Ezekiel huddling into the crook of his shoulder. Kokabiel did not mind the antlers being so close to his face: he'd gotten plenty used to it before.

Ezekiel sighed, his eyes already closed. "You think God's gonna get on my case enlisting your help?" he asked, his voice a little quieter due to how tired he was.

"He better not," said Kokabiel. "I'm liable to take an army to him if he does."

"Spoken like a true fallen angel indeed," Ezekiel replied. He adjusted his scarf. "I guess you do have your uses, in some ways."

"Hey, you're lucky you're alive right now," Kokabiel said. "You've got to stop charging into things without thinking! I wouldn't have to rescue you all the time!"

"You say that as if I were a princess," said Ezekiel.

"You kind of were for a second there," Kokabiel pointed out.

Ezekiel growled, lightly slapping Kokabiel's chest. "Yes, because I sang songs there too." He shook his head, pulling himself ever closer. "But seriously, Kabs, I'm glad you were there."

"Same." Kokabiel lightly kissed Ezekiel's forehead. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Dunno." Ezekiel sighed, before going silent.

Kokabiel watched the jackalope's heavy breathing slowly: the jackalope had a very adorable tendency to shift his head further into his chest when he slept. It was just one of the many things Kokabiel loved about the angel: there was something really nice about having that close by.

Kokabiel then looked outside, looking at the sun. It was still high above the earth, and the Doberman figured that there were still at least two more hours before sunset would even begin. Still, he decided to bask in this feeling. Moments such as this were rare between him and Ezekiel, and he was certain that very few people would approve if they ever found out. But Kokabiel would not have traded this for anything regardless.

And so, he closed his own eyes, letting the sound of Ezekiel's breath lull him to sleep as well.