Dear Duamerthrax,

In DH2, Gabriel resurrects Chris (who was pretty damn easy to kill for a vampire) no less than four times. Now, if Gabe is posessed with this power, why the hell didn't he resurrect all of his other dead team members!? It sure seems like it might have saved him a bunch of trouble with the Brotherhood!

-Contemplating in California

Dear Contemplating,

There's a very good reason Chris was pretty damn easy to kill for a vampire. Post-mortem Vampirism (PMV), the form of the affliction Chris contracted, takes longer to convert its victims to full vampires than other forms of vampirism. First off, the deceased must be brought back to life; that alone slows the onset of the vampirism, pushing it into a somewhat dormant state. You'll recall that Chris showed few signs of vampirism after his PMV-related resurrection late in DH2: he only beared his fangs twice, he showed no signs of superhuman strength, and he walked around in broad daylight. Given a few more days, unless Chris takes the vampirism suppressant Vitamin V, which allows the Brotherhood's vampiric agents to walk around in daylight and resist the Thirst for days at a time, his PMV will blossom into full blown vampirism.

Now, the reason Gabriel resurrected Chris no fewer than four times is that he didn't want the little twerp's soul to go to Hell. Since he was killed in a demonic resurrection, his soul was already sent downstairs, and he is essentially soulless, a fact compounded by his contraction of PMV. It's very rare that a mortal shell keeps living without a soul; the few known recorded cases are found in the ranks of the republican party. However, if at any moment Chris's body dies permanently, the soul transaction will be finalized, and Chris's immortal soul will remain forever in Hell. But, since he's not quite dead, Hell cannot officially claim his soul. It's a beaurocratic technicality that gives Chris hope of somehow getting his soul back.

So, why did Gabriel resurrect Chris? To keep his soul from being trapped forever in the grip of the Prince of Darkness. Every time Gabriel resurrected Chris, he didn't save his soul, but rather kept it from losing hope eternally. So why didn't Gabriel use his powers of resurrection to save his other fallen teammates? The answer is twofold. First off, their souls (with the possible exception of Wolf's) were in no danger of going to Hell. All of Gabriel's fallen teammates (with the possible exception of Wolf) went to Heaven, so there was no fear of eternal torment. Secondly, each time Chris died, there was enough life in him to keep him alive. Most of Gabriel's teammates, who I killed, were completely dead and gone by the time he arrived to attempt to save them. Here I proudly cite my thorough technique as a killer.