The Rebellion of The Angels, page 16
They walked for a few minutes, who knows how many miles, maybe, on that route between descents and permanent elevations; sometimes it also twisted, eluding other mouths that led to other passages as dark as the one travelled by the group; thus they appeared in a kind of roundabout, which, although underground, grew in a rising way, allowing multiple paths from several mouths to intertwine with each other.
But the group crossed that place as if they continued their initial journey, and after making several sections that constantly changed their direction, they appeared in a large room whose envelope remained of rock walls with an upper floor that encircled it as a gallery, both on this level and on the ground floor, with several mouths that led to different underground places.
The columns looked like marble, but the most striking thing, perhaps idyllic of that place, was what those who were once neutral angels, regardless of sex, built; hundreds and hundreds of years away perhaps from their real home, they tried to feel close to that place, and for such feeling, in their own way, they remodelled the main hall, where in the Celestial Kingdom all the angels met with God; then, motivated by that fascination, they built an altar, at one end with many steps leading to long benches distributed across. From the centre and top of the altar they built a circle that apparently gave off rays of light, which represented the presence of their creator father, God, who frequently spoke to them when they inhabited the Kingdom of Heaven; for this figure was surrounded by countless angels carved on the sides. Under the circle there was a kind of very striking strongbox indeed. Only those who were once neutral angels knew whether it kept an object or not, and if so, what object it was... That strongbox was just behind a table located in the middle of the altar, whose centre allowed the rest of a cup that supposedly represented the Holy Grail, surrounded by some candelabras and candles.
Then, when they entered the room illuminated like any building with torches placed on the walls and columns, the group that the young woman belonging to the neutrals led was pointing their weapons at their companions who at that moment inhabited the place... for they would not attack their friends, but as they were mixed with Youth and her group, they seemed that they would do it.
—¡Lower your weapons, there is no danger! —The young leader belonging to the neutrals said, who, as in all the way to this place, headed both the men who accompanied her and Youth´s group. But the girl was not obeyed immediately, so she insisted:
—¡Please, lower your weapons! —Youth looked at her guardian angel that twinkled between white, indicating the presence of those who were neutral angels; light—blue, doing the same with her and her companions, who were the angels followers of God; and transparent, that indicated the presence of natural humans, such as Rahab, as if assuring that all of them were neutral and not demons in their state of men and women pretending to be natural, as Youth suspected at some point.
Not very convinced and with a gesture of the young woman that once again requested calm, all those who inhabited the room lowered their weapons, although they did not do so in a very convinced way.
—Who are they, what does this mean? —One of the many men who propped against the group asked, at the same time as he approached the newcomers with other companions.
—It means that they have found us and both of us... —The young leader belonging to the neutrals said. Youth, tired of so much waiting for answers, more impulsive than with calmness, interrupted.
—Enough... who of all of you is Hope? Where is she?... —They were all petrified in absolute silence, so Light did not hesitate to insist:
—Answer! What happened to Hope? Did she abandon you?
Suddenly, before so much disturbing silence, a nearby and unexpected voice answered:
—Hope did not abandon, does not abandon, nor will she ever abandon the kind heart that keeps beating, because Hope is aware that without her, the dreams die. And if dreams die, good and beating hearts die. Hope would shelter even a homeless person in this world.
Hope does not even ignore ingenuous and weak hearts, submerged in deep darkness because they are tempted by evil hearts, because Hope knows that without her, all living beings that breathe the air of life, no matter what their kingdom is, human, animal or vegetable, will be empty of dreams and future, and they will only surrender and fall in the deepest of the abysses. Light, Hope will always be present unless the one, who loses it, let himself fall and die. Because, Light, I am Hope... —The young neutral leader said who, accompanied by a few men, took Youth´s group there, revealing her truth identity because that young woman was Hope, who led the neutrals after escaping the contest hundreds of years ago perhaps, in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then, Youth and her group were surprised, though cheerfully, by such great news. They had found Hope and precisely she continued:
—Now my dear friends, I owe you an explanation —Talking to her old followers who left the Kingdom of Heaven with her—. They are our eternal and well known sisters Youth, Light and Peace; they are Compassion and Love, and this young natural human is called Rahab.
—How did you find them? How did they know who you were, Hope? — The same man, who belonged to the neutrals and who interrogated her at first, asked.
—We knew it thanks to our guardian angels —Youth interrupted, letting her little companion fly whose most immediate form was that of a butterfly.
—They change their colour depending on who is present or nearby. When it twinkles in white it indicates our presence, and if it did it in red for example, that of our enemies, the demons —Hope added before everyone´s attention.
—I believed that I should also consider them our enemies... —The same man said.
—You know it is not like that. You know that we took the Holy Grail to prevent it from being stolen and desecrated by the followers of Satan, in case they won that contest that began in our old home to which we will hardly return, our beloved Celestial Kingdom... —Hope answered.
—Only if you pray well in this earthly life you will be granted the possibility that your other life will be in the Kingdom of Heaven and not in the Kingdom of Hell... —Youth explained—. Only we, because we have been sent to Earth by our Father, God, can return at best to our Celestial Kingdom as soon as our mission ends, and not before, as happened for example with Experience, who was killed by the enemies —All the neutrals were astonished, and while Hope knew what had happened with Experience for having been present in the fight that ended with her life, she did not stop experiencing a certain astonishment, given the possibility that her brothers and sisters, followers of their father, God, had the instantaneous possibility of returning to the Kingdom of Heaven in case they lost their lives on Earth; but her amazement was increasing as soon as Youth said:
—Once the fight in our home, in our kingdom, was over, the followers of Satan went after your steps, but in turn our Father, God, who feels so much love for all of us, sent Eyes of Heaven and other brothers, including Temperance and Offer, to follow the demons in your defence and protection, and to make them reconsider to bring the Holy Grail back and to return home before it was too late, as it is now when the situation has changed for the worse.
—Is that what you want? —Hope asked this time.
—Not exactly —Youth said.
—Explain yourself... —Hope asked.
—The Holy Grail must remain in the Kingdom of the Earth, until it would be in the hands of man, son of God, by its own will. But until then, all of you, along with Eyes of Heaven and his group, must protect it against indiscreet eyes and hands that could attack the Holy Cup, and therefore against the possibility that the human being, regardless of sex, will no longer experience nor live his own life; no longer choose between the pairs of opposites, between the possibility of doing good or evil, but instantaneously do only evil, possessed, moved by the superior will of Satan.
Worried faces inhabited the room...
—What about Eyes of Heaven and the others? — Hope asked.
—We still cannot find them —Youth answered.
—And how is it that the demons found you and therefore us?
—First let me clarify that even without finding us, sooner or later, they would have found you anyway. Because she, Rahab, who some distracted could think that we find by chance and not by God's will, as it really happened, knows as her father the portal, that one by the East and the other by the West, leads to the secret paths that as I understand now, lead to this place —The man who asked Youth and Hope exclaimed:
—We must leave now or we will expose ourselves to a new and imminent battle!
—Where is your father and how is it that you know the portal to the secret paths? —Hope asked, ignoring her partner and looking first at Youth and then at Rahab.
—Surely looking for her... —Because they did not know that her father, Abed, had been kidnapped by the demons, and what was worse, that along with them he was heading there by one of the secret ways, in this case the one located on the East region—. She and her father are descendants of several generations of the first pair of humans that created by our Father, God, inhabited the Earth Kingdom —Hope remained thoughtful.
—What happen? —Peace asked.
—I was the one who showed their ancestors the portal, and asked them to showed it secretly to their descendants, understanding that our life would end one day and that they, being descendants of the first couple that inhabited this Kingdom, and understanding that they would love it more than anyone else, would protect the Holy Grail, looking for the freedom of the human being. I have always imagined that our Father, God, would not abandon us but I did not know if you would find us alive, as you will see, we still have some privileges of our heavenly life, to which I particularly yearn to return one day; because our years continue running as if we were still angels that inhabit the heaven; hence our youth and our developed auditory senses, which are indispensable for our defences —Even those who once were angels inhabiting the Earth, regardless of their inclination, whether followers of God, Satan or neutrals; they still experienced the celestial time and not the earthly one— But even so the reality is that one day we will die, and if it is not for old age, it will be for giving ourselves to the life of our fellow— Hope explained.
—That is why I said that you should take care of the Holy Grail. Because someone of you, Hope, or no matter who, should give the son of our Father, the son of God, the Holy Grail —Youth said.
—What is not clear to me is how the demons knew that she and her father are descendants of the first pair of natural humans, who, created by God, inhabited the Earth —Hope insisted.
—Because the enemy, Satan, has become powerful, very powerful, and to the extent that time passes, he wins wisdom by feeding on human despair and he increases his army. He follows our steps through a wizard he kidnapped, who reveals her father´s movements by knowing him personally; and although he cannot do it with her precisely because he does not know her personally, he chases us, thanks to the power of the smell of his followers —Youth explained.
—Then you want to make an alliance to face Satan and his followers... — The man who belonged to the neutrals thought, who exchanged dialogues with Youth and Hope.
—No, we want to reaffirm the brotherhood that unites us which we all know we always have, and that following our will, which is the will of God our Father, together we will face Satan and his army of demons, to give our life for the man, for the fellow —Light said.
—I surrender my heart and my soul to the sacrifice and bliss of man until the arrival of the son of God, and I leave the decision of all of you delivered to your own wills —Hope said, talking to all those who being neutral angels followed her when she left the Kingdom of Heaven, taking the Holy Grail with them.
—Well, my will to follow you ends here, Hope —The same man said, with whom according to their silent gestures many companions agreed, when suddenly, by one of the many mouths that came from the different underground sectors came to that room, hurried and nervous, another group of neutral angels with the skin of men who seemed to be the defence of one of the secret paths; then one of them warned with an emphatic voice:
—Hope, the enemy is on the way. We eliminated a few... —And as soon as he completed this news, both he and his companions were hit by several arrows that came from inside the underground passage; and immediately, by the different accesses to the room dozens of demons appeared led to that place by Abed, the kidnapped by those, father of Rahab, starting a new battle between angels and demons...
—¡Cover yourself! —Hope managed to shout, hiding behind one of the many cylindrical columns that were between the gallery and the room, as many others did; while a minority slipped away but at the same time they exposed themselves taking refuge among the benches of the room, being protected by those who were hiding behind the columns, since a strong rain of arrows that came from both the ground floor and the gallery from the upper floor covered that place in a threatening, dangerous, deadly way...
Hope was appeared throwing an arrow that hit an enemy, eliminating him, and then she hid again and told the man who questioned both her and Youth loudly, almost shouting:
—I need a shield of protection on the right side, I must reach the Grail... —That sacred cup was hidden on the altar.
—It is impossible —He answered then, also shouting, as any kind of dialogue would be developed during that battle—. We cannot even counterattack —And the truth was that he was not lying; the arrows came uninterruptedly and at the slightest carelessness, they insinuated death.
—This battle is lost, Hope, we must leave...
—¡Never... Not without the Holy Grail! —Hope answered, surprised and anger by her partner's refusal.
—Well, then, I hope you succeed in this capricious unequal battle —He said, and then he shouted with all his strength.
—Those who want can follow me, leave, leave...! —Then most of those neutral angels with the skin of men and women began to leave through some of the many accesses that led to that room; including those six men who arrived there with Hope and Youth´s group from the town library.
Then Light, behind a nearby column, shouted at Hope:
—¡Go for the Grail, I watch your back! —As the man who refused Hope´s request for help fell under the weight of an enemy arrow; but even so, it was too late for the great majority of the neutrals to return to the battle, since the last ones were lost in the accesses that led to the underground tunnels.
—You cannot do it alone —Hope answered.
—She will not be alone —Youth interrupted, coming from column to column to the one Light used to protect herself, while Peace, hiding behind another column next to Rahab, continued shooting arrows in aid of those who were taking refuge among the benches of the room, trying even uncomfortably and more than risky to give battle. There, as part of that group made mostly of those who were neutral angels with the skin of men and women, were Love and Compassion.
Then Hope discovered herself once again, but this time running towards the altar while Light and Youth did the same, and climbing up the benches they answered to the enemy arrows that challenged them to fight.
At that moment, a small group of demons appeared near one of the many underground mouths that the gallery had at the opposite end, precisely from where the demons that inhabited the ground floor were fighting, hiding behind the columns of that area. Among the recent group appeared and very guarded by the way, it was possible to see a handcuffed man who seemed to be the great trophy of those; it was none other than Abed, Rahab´s father, who the demons kidnapped that night when he visited the fruit market with his friends, of whom eight went after him, although there was no news of them until then; and three were those who, in the abandoned castle, met Eyes of Heaven and his group, and they took refuge in the town of Chacra.
—Observe our triumph and feel the owner of man's misfortune... —One of the demons said to Abed in a victorious attitude.
It was then that from the other end of the fight, hiding behind one of the many columns while following the battle, Rahab discovered that his father, Abed, had been kidnapped by demons.
—¡They have my father, they captured my father! —She exclaimed, forgetting about the battle and as if she had a weapon to defend herself or a force field that moved her, she ran after her father at a time when, in the same way as Rahab, Hope and all her group left the library to get there, also from the library of the town of Chacra, Rage appeared commanding her group of demons, which for the amount attempt to attack Youth and her friends; and it was precisely Rage who, observing what Rahab was doing perhaps in a heroic but certainly desperate way, perhaps guessing who she was, ordered some of her followers:
—Let's go after the girl... —While she said to the rest:—. Watch our backs.
Rage and part of her group ran freely towards Rahab, who in the middle of the fight shouted “Father”... As Peace could not protect her because she was watching Love and Compassion´s backs, who along with a few neutral angels with the skin of men and women, since others had fallen around them without life due to so much battle, were still putting up resistance as Youth and Light did in another area from the wide and extensive room, protecting Hope who, using the benches located in the room as a more immediate way of protection, tried to approach the altar where the Holy Grail rested.
But this room was visited by one more group... The one led by Eyes of Heaven in the company of Temperance and Offer, who also came from the library of the town of Chacra, reached that place by the same way Hope and her group did from that same library, among them Youth and Rahab, and the same way the demons led by Rage did... Precisely behind those who had as their duty to protect Rage and a few companions, Eyes of Heaven and his group appeared, and while both young women quickly shot arrows at their enemies, the first one won time to reach them and fought with his sword, preventing a quick counterattack from their opponent.
