by redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin)
Elizabeth "Archangel Beth" McCoy writes:
>And I think you under-estimate some people's desire to remain self-aware individuals. Eternity is a long time, and even in In Nomine Hell, might not be *really* eternity. A damned soul could get traded to a kinder Prince, or wait for the final War (and hope that Heaven wins!)...
Thanks, Beth, you just gave me a story seed. }:-{D
In the IN universe, is it really -possible- to have a final victory?
Two Balseraphs tossed the battered, tattered Celestial form of the oldest being in the Universe to the ground at Lucifer's feet.
It could be said that Yves was one of the lucky ones. Novalis, who until the last had worked towards coexistence, now hung on a thousand fishhooks in Abbadon, a plaything for Saminga's mad followers. Lawrence and Michael had fallen, back to back, fighting off hundreds of Calabim and Djinn, but not before taking Baal and Asmodeus with them. Kobal, who had gone Bright at the last moment, had been devoured by his 'brother' Haagenti, the last laughter in Hell vanishing into Gluttony's maw. David lay in Tartarus' depths, stripped of most of his Forces, slowly driven mad by the experiments Vapula had planned for Jean, but could never employ - the Archangel of Lightning had gone out in a literal blaze of glory. Marc and Dominic lay imprisoned in the deepest dungeons of Hades, guarded by the few remaining servitors of the Game, awaiting their dread lord Lucifer's wishes.
A few of Heaven's champions still remained at large, of course, but few had any real hope of survival. Gabriel, after slaying Belial in a savage, no-holds-barred battle, now hid in the depths of the battle-scarred Earth, licking her wounds, weakened almost to the point of final dissolution. Blandine and Beleth had met in the heart of the Marches; their Towers collapsed, and neither had been seen since. Eli had not even appeared at the Last Battle, and no trace of him could be found anywhere; likewise Jordi, whose servitors had fought most ferociously of all Heaven's hosts, had vanished into the burning wilderness of the Earth. Of Janus, and for that matter Valefor, there was no sign at all.
Lucifer smiled at the defeated Archangel of Destiny, standing from his granite throne and walking over to stand over the kneeling angel. "Good afternoon, Yves, old friend," Lucifer said. "I trust your accomodations were comfortable enough."
Yves said nothing, looking into the First Balseraph's eyes with a saddened expression.
"So," Lucifer continued when it became painfully obvious there would be no answer, "today, on the Earth, marks the first full day of my reign as Supreme Being. Our Creator has, as I suspected, abandoned his creation to the strong. His forces, in the end, were weak, and mine were strong. He has forsaken the Earth, and the Hells, and the Marches, and now even the Heavens. And now it is all mine."
"Oh, really?" Yves said, a hint of his gentle, instructing tones returning to the croaking voice he had left. "What do you intend to do with it?"
"Why, rule, of course!" Lucifer smiled. "I shall be the Supreme Being! All the humans and Celestials and Etherials shall bend knee to me, or be destroyed!"
Yves' smile grew somewhat. "Very well. My knees, as you can see," he said wryly, "are quite bent. Let us say, then, that all the other beings in the Universe agreed to obey you. What would you order?"
Lucifer opened his mouth, but before he spoke, Yves added, "-Besides- to worship you."
Lucifer glared at the First Soul for a moment before considering the question. After a long, quiet pause, he admitted, "I haven't considered it before... I suppose I will rule on Earth as I have in Hell."
"But what do you really rule?" Yves smiled. "Half of your chief servitors are dead. Saminga is walking the Earth even as we speak, killing your servants and destroying their souls, taking their Forces to himself. Very little of the Earth is even capable of supporting life anymore - if not for Lilith's efforts, all of Humanity would be extinct, their Souls either here or beyond your reach."
Lucifer turned to a demon standing beside him. "Go to Saminga and inform him I wish to speak with him. Here."
The demon paled somewhat and sputtered, "b-b-But my Lord, what if he chooses not to answer?"
Lucifer shrugged. "Well, you'd better hope he does."
Yves' smile grew wider. "That brings up another point, Lucifer. For the moment, your enemies are destroyed or scattered. But how long will your minions remain loyal to you?"
Lucifer blinked. "They will remain loyal or be destroyed!"
Yves shrugged. "I believe several on our side had the same attitude about you and your servants. Look where it got us."
Lucifer's dark, humanoid appearance fled from him, and for a moment the dark chasm trembled at the presence of Light, Lucifer in his naked, glorious Celestial form, wings spread across the arch of the cavern, six glowing red eyes blazing down from his feathered serpentine head. NO ONE WOULD DARE DEFY ME! I, THE LIGHTBRINGER, THE ONE AND ONLY SUPREME BEING!!!
Yves stood, staring unafraid into the Light, smiling wider. "Won't they? Saminga has never been loyal to you - you know this full well. How much longer will Lilith even pay lip service to you, now that freedom is impossible? Where are Valefor, or Nybbas, or Andreaphalus? They did not fight for you on the plain of Meggido."
I AM VICTORIOUS! Lucifer raged. I AM GLORY! I AM POWER! I -RULE-, OLD MAN!
"Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer," Yves shook his head reproachfully, the ancient Celestial standing unafraid while the demons around the room cowered in fear. "The War is not over. It -cannot- end, not as we knew it. Free will cannot be denied. No matter how you struggle, you cannot break away from God's plan. You, and I, and the War, are bound to it. And even now, in the hour of your victory, you have no idea of what to do with it.
"As I speak to you, Lucifer, I flow with the Symphony. Even now, it rewrites itself to include the cacophany you have crafted in Hell. Its instruments are keying up for a new movement, and I see Eli and Lilith in confederacy, Nybbas and Janus and Gabriel arising to oppose you, Andreaphalus and Novalis united in opposition to the forces of destruction.
"And here, in Hell, Kronos and Vapula and Haagenti remain faithful, Malphas loyal to himself alone, Saminga loyal only to destruction. Valefor I cannot see, and you...."
WHAT OF ME, YVES? Lucifer's eyes flamed to life as his giant head drew to within inches of Yves' face. WHAT DO YOU SEE OF ME?
Yves sighed. "I see either a glorious destiny or a disastrous fate, Lightbringer. Either you turn your back on this place, on all you have built and wrought, and accept a place as the least of the new angels, and strive to build a new Heaven and Hell and Earth, and protect the remnant of God's creation."
AND IF I CHOOSE NOT TO REPENT?
Yves sighed. "Then you will rule, alone, with no Heaven, no Hell, no Marches, no demons or angels. No humans left to worship you, no servants to obey you, no opponents to challenge you - all destroyed, one by one, by your might.
"You will be Lightbringer to a new world, Lucifer, or else the light of destruction will shine over us all.
"This, my dear old friend," Yves smiled sadly, "this is what it means to be a Supreme Being. The Universe rests in your hands. Do with it as you will. I will say no more."
Lucifer's gaze bore through the worn, translucent form before him, and his tail curled back, ready to strike Yves down where he stood...
... and he vanished, replaced by his humanoid form, looking confused and very, very aggrieved.
"I must think," he said at last. "Guards, take Yves back to his cell. Do not allow any harm to come to him, but also do not allow him to speak to anyone. The rest of you...." He returned to his throne, hands gripping the armrests as he slumped wearily back into the chair. "Leave me. I will not be disturbed by anyone. I must think."
Yves's smile vanished, replaced by a look of pity for the old Adversary, holding out his arms for the two Balseraphs to take. Behind the three of them, the retinue of Hell followed, leaving Lucifer to his own, unique, internal torment.
And in the throne, the ancient Serpent squirmed, trying to find some way to wriggle from the trap he had set for himself.
--- Dark Victory, a story of After the Apocalypse
Redneck
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