They knew it was the end of the world when the gates came down.

Oh, they'd had reason to think it before, when Gabriel's trumpets had rung out over the three realms, but they couldn't rely on that. She'd done it before, after all, and the end had been averted. So while it was time to surrupticiously check weapons (In Daniel's case) or sharpen claws (in Hutriel's case), they hadn't dared make any more preparations.

And besides, with the constant warring on earth and the population increase, the number of damned through the gates of Hell had only gone up, and they had a job to do. So Hutriel had flexed his claws on the stone pillar he perched his leonine form on while he watched the damned pass through the gates, while he looked for any sign that they might be saved. And Daniel likewise let his hand fall to the hilt at his belt, shadows shifting around him while the damned trembled at this manifestation of God's wrath.

The two of them were never alone. There was nothing they did that would not affect the damned, and so they watched and watched and did nothing.

Then the final trumpet blew, three sharp blasts, and the gates of hell behind them came down.

They turned together, a low growl rising in Hutriel's throat, warning back the first who would pour through the gap. Daniel, in one smooth movement despite twenty-five thousand years of sedentary life, unslung his sword and brought it to bear. It burst into life with a pure white beam; no ordinary sword of flame, this, but one made out of a fraction of the Light of Heaven itself, forged by Lucifer before the Fall and still uncorrupted. While the Virtues were not known for their senses of humour, the irony nevertheless appealed to Daniel.

Hutriel's muscles glistened and bunched under golden fur. He tossed his mane, snapped his wings out, and glanced through lion-eyes to Daniel. "I have loved you since the beginning of time," he sang in high Angelic. "I would not want to be anywhere else than here, now, and I will not let you die while I still live."

Eyes no longer visible among the shadows that had gathered around Daniel, a black hole in the shape of an immense angel, his Oath-chains glistening darkly on his chest, Daniel nevertheless looked back. "And I you," he returned. "It is an honour to be by your side."

The army of Hell surged forward and the Angels of Final Judgment, the first line of defense, turned to fight and die for Heaven.