22. Minos

There had been a brief moment when Minos had wondered if they could, in fact, terminate him. On their own, it certainly would not have been possible. Angels could not get rid of a demon, particularly not an Infernal King of the Underworld. But all areas of the Leadership Team together? Angels, demons, ghosts, the reincarnation division—well, all together they had formidable power. Certainly not more than Yah and Luce, but more than he did on his own.

Could he be recreated? That was sort of Yah's thing—creating something from nothing—so he still hadn't been too terribly concerned. Yah had given their word, and that was not a thing to be taken lightly.

Nevertheless, there had been a moment of disquiet in Minos. He knew Adam would be grief-stricken if he disappeared, and he had no desire to have his human upset for one more moment in time. So it was with some relief that nothing at all happened, and he could only roll his eyes to show Adam that he was absolutely fine and there was no reason to worry.

He had forgotten the whole god's name thing, too. Upstairs that was a thing—you were not supposed to use god's true name. He was actually pretty sure Luce had started that at a point in history when angels and humankind were both equally demanding of Yah's time, and Yah was conscientious and caring enough to always come when called. Luce was always saying Yah was too kind for their own good, and then somehow he had made it so that you did not say god's true name. Luce didn't bother with his own name, because he felt no need to answer when called. Invoking Lucifer was as likely to get you engulfed in flames as it was to get you an actual visit.

If Minos had thought of it himself, he would have simply invoked Yah's name from the start as soon as he entered the door. Though Minos hated to bother them, Yah would clear this mess up.

Alas, living for all eternity meant things occasionally slipped your mind.

Yah was here now, however, and it was certainly not a pleased god looking down at their Leadership Team.

Minos smirked with grim delight, clutching Adam tightly in his arms, which was exactly where he belonged, as the voice of the Leadership Team began rushing out explanations.

"Most High and Majestic Creator, we can assure you that we did not invoke your name in this small matter that shall shortly be driven to a satisfactory resolution. It is a minor inconvenience"—Adam huffed at that statement—"of a misplaced soul and a negligent placement angel which are being handled. The soul is being accorded to their proper afterlife designation, and the placement angel has been properly disciplined for their actions. Rest assured that the write-up for their errors shall be handled and filed in due course.

"As for the…ahh…"—the angel looked up and glared at Minos at this—"demon that is apparently in heaven, we are most aggrieved to say we have no idea how such a thing has occurred, but you can once again rest assured that the security team will be addressed for their dereliction of duties in regards to this."

Yah simply stared down at the kneeling angels, saying nothing.

"Oh, you guys are in for it," Adam chortled. His little human was really very gleeful about this entire incident.

The angel glared up at Adam this time, and Minos growled low in his throat. Adam merely patted Minos' chest, however.

"Where, exactly, were you planning on placing this soul?" Yah asked in an eerily calm voice.

"Oh, that is definitely the voice your momma uses when you have made a big ass fucking mistake and are about to find out exactly how you fucked up," Adam laughed. Yah simply smiled at his Adam again. None of the angels dared look on the face of god, so Minos supposed it didn't break the "bad ass" look Adam was so impressed with.

"Almighty Majesty on High, the soul was placed in heaven. We were reallocating them to their original designation, as per their arrival ticket."

"I see," replied Yah. "Did anyone double check the soul's placement ticket?"

The angels startled at that, and there was some bustling and whispering and a briefcase opened up and tablets came out, and Minos could appreciate the comedic aspect of this all happening while the angels were kneeling.

Then there was some frantic whispering and conferring while Yah strolled over to Adam and Minos.

"I see you two look no worse for your ordeal," Yah stated. "Although the same cannot be said for this portion of heaven," they pointed out, quirking an eyebrow.

Minos merely scowled a bit, but as he watched the walls quickly set themselves to right and the room took on its heavenly, white glow once more.

"Ah, Honored and Beatific Creator?" came a trembling voice from the group of angels. It seemed that they were making the newbie give the bad news and setting them up as the sacrificial lamb. The angel with the planner Adam wanted (and which Minos would create for him, of course) had shuffled forward on their knees at the behest of the other angels, and they looked ready to be struck down by lightning at any moment.

"Ohhh, that's my favorite Leadership Team angel!" Adam gushed. He glared at the whole group of them. "So like you to make the little sibling take the fall for your fuck-up. Moms, or Dads, always know who's really responsible, though. I bet little sibling gets ice cream and you all get extra chores for a week. Or a millenia. Or whatever."

"It, ah, appears that the placement did indeed change?" the angel bravely continued on. "We aren't, ah, sure how this is possible? Because it appears that the soul is still placed in heaven? But the soul is also allocated to Limbo? And the soul is also placed in hell? Which does not appear to be possible, Almighty," the angel finished off lamely.

"Mmmhmmm," Yah merely murmured.

"So you all kidnapped me, and you didn't even double check what you were doing? What the fuck, guys? I'm sorry, Yah, but your team definitely needs some ‘discipline' for their ‘dereliction of duties' in this ‘small matter.'" Adam said, air quotes flying as he spoke.

"Yes, I can see that they do. Since you are clearly the wronged party here, and you have become quite adept at handling corrective action, I think your suggestions have merit," Yah stated, walking back over to the angels.

Minos wasn't aware of what corrective actions Adam had in mind, but of course Yah was.

"You shall be taking over as head of the Leadership Team," Yah declared, speaking to the newest angel. Everyone startled at that, including the angel in question, who dropped their planner and their pen and almost looked up at Yah but averted their eyes at the last minute.

"The rest of you shall be undergoing some sensitivity training. Adam has some thoughts in mind. I'm sure he'll be able to compose a memo with all the details with the help of the Judge of the Damned. There shall also be something called "complaint boxes" at all levels.

"The Leadership Team has gone unchecked for too long. You may be a necessary evil, but you are not the ones who are in charge here. I think you have forgotten that there are things out of the realm of your authority. You have forgotten that we are here to serve, not to claim power. You shall be reminded of your place."

Yah looked over at Adam and Minos, and a door opened behind them. "I expect you'll want to find yourselves back home. I trust the trip back shall be less eventful than the trip here."

"But, Almighty…" the previous mouth-piece angel said. They just couldn't let it go, obviously. "Almighty, how…? It isn't possible…?" the angel stuttered.

"Of course it is. Adam is Minos' mortal soul. Thus, they cannot be separated, Minos cannot be terminated, and they may go wherever they would like. It is really quite simple. If you had just done your jobs correctly, you would have realized that."

With that cryptic statement, the angels all turned to gape at Adam and Minos, and Yah disappeared from the room.