To Be Selfish

My first attempt at making my writing public. The A-men have been together for a few months now after a huge battle in Flint Michigan. Now they seek to learn to work together while new threats emerge.

 

            The A-men: Furnace

To be Selfish

Psalm 119:36

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

 

It has been two months since the events of what has been named the Genesis. Now the A-men have been around for a while. However that does not mean everything is perfect. It also does not mean things are going to be getting any easier. They don’t know it yet but the team is heading into rough challenges ahead. In this new season there will be many things to examine. Folly is still at large and someone has to stop her. Akita is still lost and someone has to save her. All the while the prediction of the Dark Days still looms over everyone. New schemes will be hatched and new characters will be revealed. Now prepare yourself for a new year of the A-men.

 

 

Chicago, Illinois: Three years before present day            

                Malachi had been watching Diana for some time. He was really impressed with the work she did outside of church. She was active in youth groups all around the city and was a very rare breed of authenticity. Unlike a lot of so called Christians, Diana practiced what she preached. She tried to live right as much as she could. Of course she was only human. She made some mistakes but she found them to be less frequent as she got older and fairly rare once she was given her granddaughter. Even though her granddaughter never liked getting up early, she almost always forced her to go to church. Diana believed that it was a good thing that she took her to church. The world was bad enough without her having any firm foundation to stand on.

                Malachi could remember when he had enlisted Diana into SOUL. Diana would have been an excellent addition but she was stopped early when she was injured. Wisdom Woman believed that she was a very special talent that belonged in the physical realm not the spiritual one. Malachi didn’t want to give Diana up but he eventually saw the validity of Wisdom’s point. So now he had his eyes set on Diana’s granddaughter. She was a newly converted Christian as of two weeks prior. She was in peak physical condition and could be very useful. Malachi thought about the boy he had been assigned. It wasn’t yet time for him to actually meet Rex face to face. In fact for the next year or so he was only to work behind the scenes. Taking some time to invest in this new candidate wasn’t a problem at all. He wanted to say her name out loud because he believed it was so beautiful.

                “Akita Crystal; you are meant for bigger and better things.” Malachi flew off. Tomorrow he would go meet Akita face to face. If she had the potential that he believed she had, SOUL was about to receive a long needed helping hand.

 

Unknown location: present day

                Gabriel hadn’t run this fast in a long time. Ever since he had split from SOUL, he had not had a reason to run. The demons searched for him but after a while of no success, they discontinued their pursuit. Then a few weeks ago they suddenly started looking for him again. He couldn’t figure out why after so long they had such an interest again. However it didn’t really matter to him why they wanted him. All he was concerned about was avoiding capture.

                Currently there were about ten of those vile creatures following him. He took inventory while he was running. He sighed in frustration when he discovered that he only had three arrows left. This presented a serious problem. How was he going to get rid of ten demons with only three arrows? He turned to face his hunters. He knew that either he had to kill them now or get killed. He couldn’t run any longer. He took up his bow and drew his first of three arrows.

                “Alright then since you’re so eager to fight, I’ll be happy to oblige.” Gabriel said.

                The demons suddenly stopped in their tracks. They weren’t the smartest of creatures but they could count fairly well. With only three arrows, the angel could only kill three of them. They all started to laugh mercilessly. One of the bigger ones moved in closer to Gabriel. Then he spoke.

                “You don’t want this problem. We could kill you swiftly but if you fight back we will have to torture you.” His voice was deep and booming.

                Gabriel smiled. “You would torture me regardless. I have nothing to lose.” Gabriel let the first arrow launch and it impaled the large demon in the middle of his forehead. Then he ran at the dead creature and tackled it. Before he had even landed on the ground, Gabriel had already ripped the arrow out of the larger demon and drew it back for reuse. He set his sights on two demons that happened to be lined up. He shot the first one in the chest and then shoved the body into the demon behind him.

                ‘Three down and seven to go.’ Gabriel thought to himself.

                As he was going to retrieve his arrow he saw a sword in his peripheral vision. He just barely moved in time to avoid being sliced in half. Just as soon as he dodged that one, he turned to see a spear coming for his face. He was able to trip the demon who tried to impale him which caused the would-be-killer to miss. He missed Gabriel but he didn’t miss his teammate who unfortunately died at the hands of a very jagged weapon. Gabriel quickly drew his second arrow and killed the demon that he had just avoided. After pulling that arrow out, he turned around to face the second half of the battalion.

                ‘If ever there was a time for Malachi to show up, it would be now.’ Gabriel said. Then he let the next arrow soar. It pierced the next demon in Gabriel’s favorite spot. It went straight through the monster’s eye. Thankfully there were only four threats left. Unfortunately they had seen what Gabriel could do in such a short amount of time. They were not about to charge him. Three of the demons guarded the dead one so Gabriel couldn't get his arrow back. The forth one started to advance slowly. He knew that if he could avoid this last arrow, then Gabriel would be defenseless.

                Gabriel knew what his adversary was thinking. It was a dangerous spot to be in. If he wasted his last arrow then he might not walk away. 'He is too attentive to let himself get hit.' Gabriel thought. Then he had an excellent idea. He drew his final arrow (much to the satisfaction of the demon) and drew it back. After a few moments of suspense, the monster ran full speed. Gabriel fired his arrow and watched the demon side step it. 'I knew it.' Gabriel thought.

                Gabriel's pursuer stopped in his tracks when he heard a cry from behind. He turned to look around and discovered that another of his teammates had been killed by the arrow he had just missed. If he had kept his eyes where they needed to be then he might have been successful. By the time he turned around it was too late. Gabriel was on top of him and smacked him with his bow. The demon was stunned long enough for Gabriel to get his hands around his neck and snap it. Now there were only two demons left. Gabriel also made a note of where each of his arrows were. He would have to get through these two but if he could, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to survive this ambush.

                "Come on you stupid creeps. I'm only one guy. You should be able to handle me. I'm only one angel."

                "You dare mock us?" The first asked.

                "I will feast on you skull!" The second demon said.

                "Why not just eat your friend? There are like eight of them just lying around." Gabriel responded.

                His last comment was too much for the demons to stand. They charged at him. Gabriel prepared to make his stand. He thought about how hard he would punch Malachi if he ever saw him again.

New Hope Baptist Church: A-men current home

                It had been about two months since the A-men had formed. However without the assistance of Wisdom Woman, it had been a long two months. The first thing that was to be decided was who would lead the team. Malachi had suggested himself but Rex objected stating that David was a better choice. Malachi knew that he was currently in the middle of two who weren't praising him as a great person so he backed off. David wasn't too thrilled to have the responsibilities of a leader but it was better than Malachi.

                For the first two weeks the A-men operated strictly in the human world. Malachi spent a lot of time in devotion. He was well aware of the mistakes he made and he wanted to make sure he could avoid making them a second time. David and Rex spent their time at local churches. They liked to help in the church even if it was something as simple as cleaning. But what they really liked to do was evangelize. They would go out and see who they could witness to. It wasn’t a glamorous job most of the time and one time it was actually dangerous.

                Rex and David had gone to this neighborhood that a lot of people had warned them about. It was considered an undesirable part of town.

                “Don’t go there. Those people will run you out the second they see a bible.” One person had told them.

                “We are called to witness to everyone.” David had said in response.

                Rex had been a little angry that they were the only two from any of the churches that had the audacity to approach those who looked dangerous. But he didn’t voice his complaints. He wanted to make sure that all of his energy was turned to saving the unsaved. When the two of them went to this neighborhood they were already prepared for conflict. However the type of rebellion that they encountered was far worse than they had expected. Rex and David decided to stay together as they didn’t want to be caught alone. As soon as they knocked on the door of the first house, a whole group of people came from off the corner to surround them. They all started yelling something about private property, and busting caps, and gang affiliations. David got a little frightened at first but Rex was there to back him up.

                When the person finally came to the door, they thought they had gotten a welcomed relief. It turned out that the person was just as angry about strangers as the mini riot was. Rex and David weren’t able to get two words in before they were cursed out. Their persistence only made things worse. Once Rex took out his bible the violence began. Someone knocked it out of his hand while the others started throwing whatever they could find. Rex and David wanted to be successful but they also wanted to be able to witness another day. So they ran away and didn’t look back. They had plans to eventually return but it wouldn’t be soon.

While that particular instance was a failure, Rex and David had experienced success at other times.  There was one man who wasn’t a believer. He felt like his life was too bad for there to be a god. Rex and David continuously witnessed to him and soon they convinced him to attend a small local church. After a few days he was completely overwhelmed. After two weeks he was on board with Christianity. He wasn’t the only one to experience change. David had converted three others while Rex had converted two.

The one person that David longed to get through to was Emoni. Before the A-men were created, Emoni was the person he had been witnessing to. Today would mark the third month since he met her. Some would think it was strange that a seventeen year old boy would be having deep conversations with a twenty eight year old. Emoni tried to shut him out once because she was afraid neighbors would start to say something if he was seen inside her house. Nonetheless David was persistent and soon Emoni had a change of heart. She still didn’t accept Jesus but as long as David was allowed to keep seeing her, he would be able to keep trying.

After a month of hard evangelist work, the A-men believed it was time to return to the spiritual realm. Malachi was excited to be able to put his sword back to work. Ever since the A-men, he found new energy. He was no longer eager to have his life taken away. He also wasn’t eager to create blood baths. He only attacked when attacked. There was no reason to start conflict that wasn’t brought to him. It was really hard for the A-men to decide what was to be done. There was so much evil in the world that it was difficult for them to determine where they were needed. They ultimately chose to stay in the area they served in while in the physical realm. David explained that it was the best move since they could reinforce what they were doing on both sides. If they could spread the message of God throughout the area then it would make it a harder spot for the demons to keep control of. Less would be able to reside there and the A-men would be able to clear them out. The only problem with this plan was that it wasn’t a quick one. It could takes months or possibly even years to clear out an entire city of evil. And even if they did, evil would always return. With only the three of them, it would be nearly impossible to hold the city for long and definitely unfeasible to move on to others. David refused to think about that. He just wanted to do what he could to help now, which he did.

The three of them although small were mighty with the help of their Savior and they proved it on multiple occasions. They had a few run-ins with Goliath which were hard fought battles. Some of them were successful like the time Goliath was attempting to find a way to tempt a young boy into trying drugs. They were able to beat Goliath away from him. Other times were not successful like the time Goliath tempted a boy to give up his virginity while only in the ninth grade. It always hurt to fail but keeping their mind on the successes helped the A-men endure. Everything had been going great until the most recent battle. For the first time in a long time, Akita had joined Goliath and his demons. During the battle Rex was forced to engage Akita in combat. He struggled to defeat her because she was such a powerful warrior but he finally gained the upper hand. He had the chance to get rid of Akita but at the last second decided to let her go. His compassion was noble but David had a slight problem with his decision.

“I know why you did it.” David said to Rex when they returned home.

“What do you mean?” Rex asked defensively.

“The only reason you didn’t finish Akita off was because you have a crush on her.” David didn’t entertain the conversation after that. He simply walked away and let Rex think. Things had been a little stressed around the three of them since then. To get his mind off of things, Rex tried training with Malachi.

Malachi was quite the difficult angel to train with. He didn’t have mercy on Rex at all. He believed that since the demons wouldn’t have any mercy on him there was no point in training him any differently. Rex was having a hard time getting back into the feeling of being a warrior. He hadn’t done it in such a long time it made him question how he was ever able to defeat Akita. All he knew was that he needed to get back in shape soon or he might not be able to defeat her again.

 

Demon Headquarters: Unknown location

Goliath waited impatiently for his lap dog to return. What was he thinking in giving her time to ‘revitalize’ as she would say? The only reason he was allowing it at all was because he felt that she would be most useful when she was fully focused. He tried to make sure the other demons didn’t hear about it because he didn’t want them going around thinking he was soft. After the first hour he started pacing. After the second hour he started yelling. After the third hour he started killing. She took so long that Goliath had worked his demon body count up to twenty. Finally Goliath had had enough.

                “GET OUT HERE NOW!!!” He screamed.

                For a moment he got no response. He thought he was going to have to terminate her but then she eventually came out. She looked much different than she had before. Her attire was a lot less covering. Her entire body, save for her chest and legs was exposed. The parts protected were covered by new black and red armor. Her arms were wrapped in some type of cloth. She had cut her lush brown hair in favor of a new look. Short hair dyed red was apparently her desired appearance now. Strapped to her belt were two twin katana swords. However they were different than before. The ones she used to have were silver like any other sword. These however had been forged pitch black. She was now an entirely different person. Goliath took one look at her and realized that he didn’t recognize her at all.

                “Wow Akita you look terrible.” He said.

                “That doesn’t mean much coming from you.” Akita said in response. “Now if you excuse me, I have a score to go settle.

                “I hope you don’t plan on leaving.” Goliath began. “I waited hours for you and now you are going to do as I say. Malachi can wait. I need you for other business.”

                Akita thought about arguing. But then she thought about how good she looked. She would hate to mess that up due to some scuffle with the lug head. “Fine. What is it you need?”

                Goliath grew furious. “You forgot something at the end of your inquiry!”

                “What is it you need…master.” Akita said. Right after the words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. Giving a monster like Goliath any sort of pleasantries was beyond low. She longed for the day she got to kill Malachi so she could come back for the giant himself.

                “I’m glad you asked my dear. It is of the upmost importance that you do not fail me this time.” Goliath said.

                “Failure is not part of my vocabulary.” Akita responded.

 

New Hope Baptist Church: A-men’s current home

                While no one could say they liked being in constant danger, the A-men could say it was a necessary duty. Right now there was no danger calling. They were all sitting around a table. Malachi was reading a book that he found to be incredibly boring. Rex and David were eating and debating comic heroes. It was one of their favorite past times for some reason. After a half-hour of non-stop quarreling, Malachi felt compelled to end it.

                “Can you guys find something more useful to talk about?” Malachi asked.

                “It is none of your business what we talk about.” Rex said.

                “True but I’m trying to read peacefully and you two are hindering that.” Malachi said

                “Well then that is unfortunate. This church is large enough. You can find another place to go read.” Rex said.

                “Fine then. I’ll leave.” Malachi closed his book and removed himself from the room. Rex seemed satisfied but David was not. When Rex tried to renew their conversation, David confronted him about what had just happened.

                “Don’t you think that was a little rude?” David asked.

                “Not really. We were here first so if he has a problem he should change locations.”

                David wasn’t convinced. “I don’t think that sounds like you. Usually you are understanding and compromising. What you just did was plain disrespectful. I think you are holding a grudge.”

                Rex stood up so fast he knocked his chair over. “Do you really think that is why I snapped like that, because I don’t want to forgive him?”

                “You made it rather easy to tell. Listen Malachi made a lot of mistakes but we have to work together now. We are a team which means there is no time for selfish grudges.”

                “Selfish, you are calling me selfish? I wasn’t the one who schemed with my dad.”

                “I know what he did was wrong but you have to forgive him. We all have reasons to be angry but I am trying to put those things behind me. We have new missions we need to carry out and the only way we are going to be successful is if we think of the whole and not just ourselves.” David said.

                “Fine whatever.” Rex said. Then Rex walked off. 

 

Demon Headquarters: Unknown location

                Akita assembled her band of demons for her newest mission. As far as they were concerned they were about to invade an illegal teenage house party. There were plenty of ripe souls to lead astray. They could barely contain their excitement as they thought about all of the drinking and drugs that they were sure to cause at this party.   

                "Maybe I'll get one of them to OD." one of the demons said. The other ones who weren't busy challenging him were cheering his bold claim.

                "I'm going to cause sexual intercourse!" Another one said.

                "I bet I'll bring about plenty of lies for most of them to get to the party." This claim was met with very loud applause.

                Akita was disgusted. She thought back to all of the bad things she did. Was there a group of demons huddled like this? The sheer thought of it was disturbing. Fortunately they weren't going to any party. Goliath only wanted Akita there because he thought she could use her looks to seduce the main target at the party. Some boy named Justin was supposed to be there. Goliath was just going to have to get over it this time. Akita knew where Malachi was and she wasn't about to give up another chance to achieve her goals.          

                She had to yell at the top of her lungs to get the demons' attention. "Listen up monsters. Goliath wants us to raid this party. There is ample opportunity to bring about further destruction of the human race. You already know what to do. If any of the warriors of Heaven decide to show up, kill them!"

                Akita had a portal of fire open up. Then with her regime she jumped in and prepared for her rebellious mission. Malachi would not be getting away again. Akita had big painful plans for him.

 

New Hope Baptist: A-men current home

                Malachi rushed in. He looked distressed as if he had seen something terrifying. He grabbed David by the shoulders and dragged him into the upper room of the church. He didn’t want any of the members to hear him speaking.

                “We have to go. I can feel her getting closer. I don’t know what she wants but I think confrontation is inevitable.” Malachi said.

                David wasn’t sure what to do. “I didn’t think she would come back so soon. She has to still be hurt from the last time she fought. Nonetheless I guess we have to face her. She could be leading some type of dangerous attack.”

                David went back downstairs to round up Rex. Once all three of them were in the upper room, they transferred to the spiritual side. Arc-Stone covered himself in his stone armor. Devil Chaser took up his sword and shield. Malachi sharpened his sword quickly and was then ready to go. Stone looked over at Chaser and gave him a warning.

                “This time if you two have to face off, don’t let her go. I don’t want you to kill her, but you have to capture her.” Stone said.

                Elsewhere a few blocks away from the church, Akita and her regime of demons were marching. She had her fist clenched around her sword ready to draw it the second she needed to. If Malachi tried to attack her, it would not end well for him. She would never admit it out loud but she was a little afraid. She had denied all of the orders she had been given for the sake of her petty grudge. Since Goliath was going to find out anyway, she was going to put her all into this opportunity to kill the angel Malachi. The demon general that went by the name Efuire felt like it was his place to question Akita.

                 “Why in all of Hell are we following you?” Efuire asked.

                “Because you only have two options. You can go back to headquarters and have Goliath kill you or you can have me kill you. If I have to do it, I will make it very painful for you.” Akita responded.

                “When did I fall so low in the ranks?” Efuire asked.

                “Probably the same time you decided to follow Satan instead of God.”

                Efuire looked up and realized that Akita had not answered. It was Malachi who had spoken the words. Before he was able to do anything, Malachi swooped down on him and took his head off. As it rolled the other demons drew their weapons. Being able to say they were the one who killed Malachi was too good an honor for them to not claim it themselves.

                Chaser looked over at the female leading the regime. He was surprised because he didn’t know that the demons had a new recruit. While he knew it wasn’t smart, he really wanted to be the first to test out this new enemy. He let his excitement overcome him and soon he was rushing straight towards a total stranger. With his strong arm he brought his sword down on the female. It should have sliced her in half but in an instant she whipped out her blades and blocked the attack. After she had deflected his assault she started to laugh.

                “Come on now Rexie, just because you got a lucky flip last time doesn’t mean you can take me this time.” She said.

                Chaser took a closer look at the girl. He almost fell backwards when he discovered who it was. “Is that you Akita? What happened to you?”

                “I changed my look. It’s what we girls do.” Then Akita cut Chaser’s arm and dropped kicked him. “I was still recovering from Malachi last time we fought. This time I am as good as new. You will never be able to beat me now.” Akita started swinging rapidly. The only reason Chaser wasn’t cut into pieces was because of his shield. He was able to use it to defend himself.

                Malachi and Stone were surrounded by monsters. It wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle but it would be a challenge to get out of this one. Malachi swung at a few but only killed one. Stone’s powerful punches killed three of them. Things were looking good until Malachi’s sword was knocked away. Then he was tackle by a hoard of demons. Stone attempted to save him but he was also overcome by the demons. While the two of them struggled to stay alive, Chaser fought to try and escape Akita. He wasn’t able to actually fight back because he was too busy blocking blows.

                “I knew it was a bad idea to only have three of us.” Malachi said.

                Stone finally broke free of his demons and then killed another four of them. He ran over to Malachi and freed him as well. Malachi looked over and noticed that his sword was out of his reach and demons were standing in his way.

                “Would you like to do the honors?” Malachi asked.

                “Sorry I’m a little preoccupied right now.” Stone said as he prepared to engage the last few demons. Malachi started trading blows. He had to avoid the spears and maces of the enemy while trying to dish out pain. However it wasn’t really working at all. As he was about to be killed again, he was saved by an unexpected ally. An arrow was lodged in the chest of one of the demons. Then a barrage of additional arrows killed the rest of them.

                “I thought you could use some help.” A mysterious voice said.

                Malachi looked up and his eyes lit up. He couldn’t believe who was floating above him. “Gabriel? Is that really you?”

                “The one and only.” Gabriel said. Then he drew another three arrows and killed the demons that Stone had been fighting. Gabriel flew over to Malachi. Malachi who had not seen Gabriel for some time was excited to see him.

                "Wow that was quite an entrance. How did you get here?" Malachi asked.

                Gabriel was barely paying attention to him. "I'll tell you once we are finished dealing with these fools."

                Gabriel then proceeded to reengage his enemy. There were four remaining demons and as usual he didn't have enough arrows to handle them all. He was able to take down one of them by cracking it in the head with his bow. He got a little more creative with the next one. This larger demons had tusks which Gabriel decided to use to his advantage. He ripped one of them out and stabbed the monster with it. It fell over and crumbled into dust. The last two seemed to sneak up on him. They lunged and Gabriel realized that he didn't have enough time to draw another arrow. If he had been alone then he would have been done for. This time however he had allies. Arc-Stone and Malachi came to the rescue. Arc-Stone crushed one beneath his fist and Malachi sliced the other one in half. Gabriel sighed in relief.

                "Thanks for the help." He said.

                "No problem. But you missed one." Malachi was referring to the demon that Gabriel had knocked over. It was starting to get back up. Gabriel heard its movement and without even looking, drew an arrow and planted it in the demon's right eye.

                "That always was my favorite spot." He said.

                Arc-Stone almost fell over in awe. "How did you do that?"

                Gabriel didn't respond. Instead he simply flew away. Malachi called after him but it was no use. He was perplexed as to why Gabriel would bother to show up if he was just going to promptly leave like that. Malachi surveyed the battlefield to see if it would be a good idea to leave and pursue Gabriel. When he saw Devil Chaser fighting Akita he knew he had to stay. Akita would pick Chaser apart if he were left alone.

                Chaser continued to struggle with Akita. He was on the ground with his shield up desperately trying to protect himself. In fact he had dropped his sword and began holding on to the shield with both hands. Fighting back was completely out of the question. "Why are you here Akita? What is it you want?"

                Akita didn't stop swinging when she answered. "I want Malachi and all others like him gone off of this Earth forever!"

                Chaser tried to appeal to her again. "I know Malachi isn't the best right now and it must have been some type of Hell for you but this isn't the way. Come with us and we can talk this out like civilized people instead of this barbaric manner." Chaser no longer felt the pounding assaults on his shield. He was sure he had gotten through to her.

                "It is obvious that I won't be able to get to Malachi with you in the way. I will settle this score another time when he is alone." Akita turned her back to walk away. She was stopped by a giant who fell in front of her.

                "Goliath what are you doing here?" Chaser demanded.

                "That is none of your concern. Demons come collect our friend Akita. Clearly she had a problem with obeying commands." Goliath said.

                Soon three demons swooped down on top of her. One of the demons grabbed Akita and the other two stood in front to stop anyone else from getting to her. Malachi was now behind Chaser.

                "Let's go. We didn't come here for Goliath. Our mission was successful."

                Chaser's eyes went wide. "But what about Akita?"

                Arc-Stone was also on the scene now. "He's right Chaser. We should go. Conflict with Goliath isn't smart right now." Chaser looked up at the portal in the sky. He assumed that was how Goliath had gotten here. It was high up and way out of the reach of someone who couldn't fly. But the demon that could fly wasn't out of Chaser's reach.

                "Devil Chaser that is an order!" Arc-Stone said.

                After some thought Devil Chaser responded. "Sorry but you are not my boss."

                Chaser jumped on the demon's back. The demon knew it couldn't keep flying toward the portal but it also knew that it had to take Akita back to base. The demon tried to spin and squirm so Chaser would fall but his grip was too strong. Goliath saw that Chaser was going to make it to the portal and he couldn't allow that to happen. He jumped high into the air and reached Chaser. With all of his might, Goliath kicked off of Chaser which pushed Goliath through the portal and sent Chaser hurtling toward the ground. Chaser could only watch as the portal closed. The impact of the ground was nothing compared to what he was feeling inside. Malachi ran to assist him.

                "Are you alright?" Malachi asked.

                "I'll be fine." Chaser turned his attention toward Arc-Stone who had followed Malachi. "I owe you an apology."

                Stone's face showed clear anger. "We will talk about this later." Stone, Chaser, and Malachi returned to the physical realm.

 

Demon Headquarters: Unknown location

                Goliath kicked Akita for the third time. "I told you where to go and you completely disregarded it. Now Justin is out of our reach. He didn't go to party. You have hindered my plans!" This time Goliath punched Akita in the cheek.

                After Akita spat out some blood, she started to chuckle. "Maybe you didn't see the fight between Malachi and I. There is no pain you can deliver that will deter me from my goal. Malachi will die by my hand and mine alone."

                Goliath grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to a group of demons. After stomping on her chest again he addressed the demons. "See to it that Akita gets the worst treatment possible. It is about time she learned her place." The demons were overjoyed and took Akita away.

                "You can do what you want but my mind is made up." Akita said as she was dragged away.

 

Unknown location: same day

                Malachi had been looking for Gabriel for about half an hour now. It was taking way too long to find him. He still couldn't figure out why Gabriel had shown up and disappeared so quickly. Finally after looking for a while, he found Gabriel in a video game store. When Gabriel saw him he initiated conversation.

                "I find this to be an interesting human past time. It boggles my mind that they can be capable of designing games of such violence. We only participate in warfare because of a real and present danger. They senselessly kill each other for fun. I wonder if I will ever understand."

                Malachi was shocked that Gabriel wouldn't mention what happened earlier. "That is what you are concerned with? You are not at all interested in talking about what happened?"

                "There is nothing to talk about. I had just happened to be passing by and I saw that you were in trouble. I might not be on your SOUL team but we still serve the same God. I was obligated to come help you so I did."

                "Which I really appreciate but why rush off? You could stay with us. We really need the help."

                Gabriel almost lost it. "Are you really trying to get me to join SOUL again? Because I'm pretty sure I sufficiently let you know how I felt the last time."

                "No don't worry, this isn't SOUL. We are a new team called the A-men." Malachi tried to defend himself.

                "So what is this some new idea that you came up with?" Gabriel asked.

                "Actually we all came together by chance. I'm not even in charge. David is. I'm sure you remember him.

                "Oh great you all are run by humans now."

                Malachi could hear the mocking tone in Gabriel's voice. "It really isn't as bad as it sounds. They were able to hold their own. The only problem is that there are only three of us. We could really use a helping hand."

                Gabriel considered it for a moment. Then he clenched his fist as tightly as he could. With all his might he punched Malachi across the face. It was so hard the store shook. "You have no idea how long I wanted to do that after all of the crap you put us through. But I've seen your little team in action. They definitely show promise and I am tired of being alone. I will accept your offer." Gabriel held out his hand and Malachi after recovering from the shock of the punch shook it.

 

New Hope Baptist: A-men current home

                David was furious at Rex. The fact that he would endanger his life like that was one thing. The fact that he would endanger it knowing that there would only be two others was another matter entirely. "What in the world were you thinking?"

                Rex couldn't believe he was taking a lecture from someone his age. "I was thinking I could save her. I was trying to show compassion."

                David sighed in disappointment. "Your compassion was not genuine. If it had been someone you didn't like you would never have tried to save them. The only reason you went after Akita was because of your feelings for her. You can't let your own personal goals distract you from the team's. We could have lost you today."'              

                Now Rex was feeling bad. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rebellious. I was just so attached I wasn't thinking."

                David decided to ease up. After all he was human as well. "Listen to me very carefully. Akita can be redeemed and we all would like to see that happen. I have no problem with trying to help you devise a strategy as to how to reach her but it has to be a team effort. None of us are a one man show anymore. We all have to look out for each other. If we are really going to be a team, then we need to act like one."  Then David left Rex to think about the words. One thing he knew for sure, this new road that the A-men were walking was not going to be an easy one.

Next Time: In the next installment, The A-men struggle with a new enemy dubbed Dishearten. With no way of defeating him on their own, they seek out Wisdom Woman for guidance. Episode 2 entitled: Lamenting Struggle