[Location: Central Park, New York]

It's been three days. Three days since Gabriel descended from Heaven in search of her grandnephew, Dominic. Three days since she left Tom's apartment in disappointment

From Queens to Brooklyn, with no clue to show.

Until now that is... Manhattan's Central Park.

"FOUND IT!" Gabriel squealed as she jumped, her golden hair bouncing as sunlight shimmered across the park's pond, her wings fluttering faintly in delight before she remembered—she wasn't supposed to reveal them. Quickly, she glanced around, realised a few humans were staring, and sheepishly tucked the faint glow away.

"Oops… no wings, no wings…" she muttered to herself, clasping her hands together as if that somehow made her invisible. "Stay normal, Gabriel. Normal human girl. Totally not an archangel walking among mortals. Yup."

The humans nearby just smiled awkwardly, assuming she was another eccentric performer. Gabriel beamed back, taking it as a good sign.

She turned to the open field ahead. A faint shimmer in the air—like sunlight bending where it shouldn't—caught her eye. The same shimmer she'd been sensing across the city, like a heartbeat she couldn't ignore.

That's it… That's his scent.

Her heart fluttered. "So you really were here…" she whispered softly.

"But this is old... maybe four to five days old. Mmm Ah~ there was a curtain here—!!!'"

"I-Is he in danger? Injured? Where is he?" Gabriel started panicking as she pressed her palms together, her wings twitching faintly from anxiety. "Okay, calm down, Gabriel. Breathe. No crying this time!" she muttered, puffing her cheeks as she tried to concentrate. Her halo flickered faintly above her head before she smacked it down like a misbehaving lightbulb. "Not now, you shiny thing!"

Gabriel stood at the edge of the field, her bright golden eyes narrowing slightly as she focused on the invisible distortion hanging over Central Park. It wasn't exactly visible to mortal eyes—more like a faint shimmer, as if the air itself remembered something powerful.

She crouched down, brushing her fingers against the grass. The blades were still tinged with a strange, dark residue. Not demonic in origin alone—something deeper. Her expression grew serious, lips pursing as she tried to decipher the lingering energies.

"Two demonic… and one foreign god aura," she murmured, counting them on her fingers like a child trying to solve a math problem. "No wait—two gods? Or… one god and one corrupted celestial?" She groaned softly, tugging at a strand of her golden hair. "Why can't these things just come with name tags?"

The breeze picked up, rustling her hair and skirt. For a moment, the air around her glowed faintly—threads of pure light unravelling from her presence as she unconsciously invoked her perception. The mortal world shifted in her vision, revealing layers beneath the mundane. The park wasn't just grass and trees anymore—it was a battlefield's echo.

Shattered ley-lines pulsed faintly beneath the soil. Burn marks shaped like sigils of binding sprawled beneath the lake. The faint scent of ozone and sulfur hung in the air, mixed with the metallic tang of blood— her face immediately paled.

"One god and one Demonic entity were allied with Dominic, while one god—No! It's an avatar of a god, fought Dominic, with that one other Demonic entity fighting Dominic's allied Demonic entity—it's too confusing, but one thing is clear—I need to find him!"

"But... how? This scent is old, with only lingering bits. I can't find anything with this, which leaves me only with one option—ask around."

Gabriel stood in the middle of the field, hands pressed together nervously. "Okay… humans. Humans talk. Humans see. Maybe one of them saw something. Maybe… maybe someone knows!" She puffed her cheeks and took a deep breath. "Time to be polite, friendly, and completely normal."

She spotted a jogger slowing down to tie his shoe. Golden eyes narrowed. "Excuse me! Hi! Um… did you… see anything… unusual? Like… strange people? Or… maybe someone… fighting?" Her voice was tentative, too high and a little shaky.

The man blinked. "Uh… weird people fighting? In the park? Not that I saw, miss…?" He glanced around nervously.

Gabriel smiled faintly. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to… bother you. Um… never mind!" She waved awkwardly before stepping to another small group of tourists.

"Hi! Sorry to bother you! Did you… see any… anyone doing… unusual things… like… magic? Or powers? Or… humans fighting each other…? Or… gods?" She flinched at how strange it sounded.

The tourists exchanged looks. One chuckled nervously. "Magic? Uh… no, honey, just birds and squirrels."

Gabriel nodded quickly. "Right! Birds and squirrels… normal… normal… Okay! Next!" She skipped forward, twirling a strand of her hair. "I can do this… I can… find him…"

Hours passed, and Gabriel asked anyone she could politely approach. Each human gave her blank or puzzled looks. Some laughed nervously, others scurried away. She felt her shoulders droop. "Maybe… maybe humans aren't helpful… maybe I need… a better plan…"

She crouched down again, pressing her hand into the grass. "If only I could… sense him directly…" She closed her eyes and concentrated, letting her light mingle with the faint echoes still lingering in the park.

"Excuse me, Cutie, you lost or something?"

Not again...

Gabriel has learned her lesson. Hmph!

Gabriel opened her eyes slowly and looked up at the voice. A teenage boy leaned against a lamppost, earbuds dangling around his neck, holding a skateboard casually under one arm. He was trying to look nonchalant, but something about the tilt of his head and the way he studied her made Gabriel instinctively tense.

"Um… hello," she said, voice small. "I… I'm looking for someone… important. Have you… seen anyone… unusual… around here?" Her words came out halting, hesitant.

The boy raised a brow, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Unusual? Like… superheroes? Or magic powers?" He chuckled softly, and Gabriel tilted her head, unsure if he was teasing or serious.

"Not… superheroes," she replied carefully, shaking her head. "Not exactly… but… something… powerful… um… like… a human, but… not?" Her fingers twitched nervously, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

The boy squinted at her, trying to gauge whether she was joking. "Uh… okay… that's… vague. You mean, like… a freak? Some guy doing crazy stuff?"

Gabriel frowned slightly, trying to explain without revealing too much. "Not… a freak… not like… hurting anyone… just… someone… special… I need to… find him."

He blinked, clearly unsure what to make of her. Then, after a long pause, he shrugged. "I don't know about anyone like that… but… you've been wandering the park for hours, talking to everybody. You sure you're not… lost?"

Gabriel's shoulders slumped just slightly. "Maybe… maybe I am lost… but… I know he's here… I can… feel it… it's like… something is… calling me." Her voice trembled a little, and the boy frowned, sensing her seriousness.

The boy tilted his head, studying her carefully. "Something calling you? Like… a signal or… a vibe?" He smirked, trying to sound casual, but there was a faint edge of curiosity in his eyes.

Gabriel nodded earnestly. "Yes… yes, exactly… like… a heartbeat… or… a light… um… guiding me." Her hands twisted nervously in front of her. "I… I think it's him… the person I'm looking for."

The boy let out a low whistle, pushing his skateboard along the ground idly. "Alright… well… that's… weird. But hey, weird's cool. Maybe I can help."

Gabriel's golden eyes widened slightly, hope flickering in them. "You… you can? Really? Thank you!"

He grinned, leaning casually against the lamppost. "Yeah… maybe. But first… tell me exactly what this guy looks like… or what he's doing. Something to go on, you know?"

"I-I don't know..." Gabriel drooped as her shoulders slumped slightly. She bit her lower lip, thinking hard, her fingers twining together nervously.

"Ares... I am curious, it seems you are quite idle?"

A ghostly voice sounded as if death itself had spoken through the shadows. The air went cold—unnaturally cold.

"Brother Azrael!" Gabriel immediately perked up as she turned to see a pale boy walking toward her and the skateboard-carrying boy, who apparently is Ares.

Gabriel's arms wrapped tightly around Azrael, almost as if the world could be held together by her embrace alone. Her wings trembled faintly behind her back, hidden beneath the plain dress she insisted on wearing.

"Brother… I'm… I'm glad you're here!" she whispered, her voice trembling slightly, eyes wide and glimmering with unrestrained relief. "I… I found a lead… I think… maybe…"

Azrael's silver hair caught the sunlight as he bent slightly, his expression unreadable but softening just a fraction. "Calm yourself, little sister," he murmured. "Nothing to fear, I'm here, see~"

Gabriel is the heartrob of the whole heaven, every one of her siblings doted on her, even cold and unapproachable Azrael included.

"So it was you, no wonder it smelled like rotten air earlier," Ares said while maintaining his disguise of a young man.

Gabriel blinked at the boy, her golden eyes wide, then turned to Azrael instinctively. "Um… rotten air? What… do you mean?" Her voice wavered slightly, the words awkward and clipped. She wasn't used to human sarcasm, and Ares' tone threw her off completely.

"Ignore him, lil' sis," Azrael said with an endearing smile gracing his lips for a fleeting moment before he turned to Ares with a frown. "What is a rabid dog of Zeus doing here? I wonder if Zeus got upset that his little toy wandered into mortal territory without permission."

Ares, still maintaining his casual guise, shrugged nonchalantly, but his amber eyes flickered with amusement beneath the hood of his sweatshirt. "I'm just… taking a walk, big bro. Don't get your halo in a twist."

Gabriel tilted her head, unsure how to react. "Wait… you know him?" she asked softly, glancing between the two. Her voice carried a hesitant curiosity, tinged with the naive politeness that defined her.

Azrael's gaze softened ever so slightly at her question. "Just an ordinary war dog of the Greek pantheon." But words were anything but soft, as a mocking look flashed past his face, looking Ares in the eye.

Gabriel blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "War dog… Greek… pantheon?" Her small hands twisted nervously in front of her. "I… I don't understand…"

Ares smirked faintly under the hoodie, shrugging one shoulder. "You don't need to. It's… complicated."

Gabriel's golden eyes darted between him and Azrael. "Um… but… why… why is he here? Is he… looking for Dominic too?"

"Grrrr... so I was right."

***

Stone me, I can take it!

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