A Bridge Between Worlds Ch. 06

"Ok... I think I get it," Mike said. "Basically, Heaven and Hell have opted to play chess for the time being, harming as few innocents as possible, but if Lucifer throws the chess board on the floor, You're allowed to fight back directly."

"Exactly," Jesus said.

"So how exactly does Edward plan to accomplish all of this? What's his next move?" Melody asked.

"His first goal will be to achieve full Antichrist status," Jesus replied. "He knows that he's close, so he will likely attempt to spark some large-scale disaster that kills thousands of innocent lives. The more evil he does, the more easily and quickly he can absorb Lucifer's power, so something like that would easily put him over the top. Such a tragedy would cause the world to be starving for leadership, which is a void he would try to fill himself, arising from the ashes of the disaster to supposedly provide order and stability. However, your pursuit of Persephone will likely distract him and put a hold on those plans, buying us the time that we need. The rest is up to Mike, as I'll show him here shortly. Anyway, we've been talking long enough as is. Melody, are you ready to get started?"

"I guess so," she said, glancing at Mike for several long moments.

"Don't worry about a thing," he said, kissing her sweetly on the forehead. "You'll be fine. We both will."

"I know, it's just... we don't know when we'll see each other again, do we?"

"Comes with the job territory," Mike sighed. "Now, get down there. They need you."

Melody gripped her husband in a tight hug before departing, whispering, "I love you."

"I love you too," Mike replied. As she turned away from him, Mike playfully swatted her ass, saying, "Go get 'em, tiger!"

She giggled in reply. With a flash of white light, she was gone.

*****

"Do you have any idea what may have happened?" Farzan asked.

"None," Selena replied. "Whatever has happened to cause them to disappear like this, it is certainly not Jinn related. If it were, we would be able to detect such power."

"What of Persephone?" Salim inquired. "Why would we also be unable to track her location?"

"That, it seems, is an even greater mystery," Selena said. "I could certainly believe that Mike and Melody's disappearance might be in some way related to their status as citizens of Heaven, though that is merely speculation at this time. Persephone, on the other hand, should have no ability to hide her location from us whatsoever."

As soon as she finished speaking, the globe began to glow slightly in the center of the room.

"Hold on, we're getting something," Farzan said. Examining the globe, a faint point of light appeared in the vicinity of London. "Well, we've found Persephone, at least. I suppose we should speak with her about finding Mike and Melody."

"Perhaps... wait! Come here, look outside!" Selena exclaimed.

The trio approached the window and gazed out, spying a small cluster of black clouds in the distance. As they drew closer, they began to flash and spark as electricity was charged within them. Finally reaching the palace gates, an enormous bolt of lightning struck the ground, leaving a smoking crater in its place.

"What was that?" Farzan asked.

"I have seen such lightning before," Selena said with a huge smile on her face.

Selena immediately rushed down to the courtyard, heading for the front gate, Farzan and Salim following right behind her. Panting heavily as she reached the entrance, she commanded the guard to open the gates. As they slowly opened, she was overjoyed at the person waiting for her on the other side.

"Melody! You're alright!" Selena exclaimed, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Woah, easy! Down girl, I'm fine!" she said, trying to pry Selena off of her. "I'll explain everything, but we should probably get more comfortable; it's kind of a long story."

The group made their way to Farzan's quarters, where Melody began to explain what had transpired. Mike's safety was among their first concern, but their fears were quickly alleviated upon Melody's assurance that he was safe and sound back in Heaven. More shocking, however, was the revelation of Persephone's rebellion and Edward's goal of becoming the Antichrist.

"Clearly this power Edward has gained is foreign to the Jinn," Salim mused. "How strong would you say he is with this power? If he can allow Persephone to practically declare war on the Council, what else is he capable of?"

"He's completely out of my league," Melody answered. "After I subdued Persephone, there was no warning whatsoever when he moved to attack me, and none of my healing abilities had any effect from the wound he inflicted. I would dare say that not even a King Jinn would be a match for him, based on what I've seen so far."

"At this point, I do not believe it matters," Farzan said. "He and Persephone have declared us their enemy, so we must treat them as an active threat. After this meeting, I will update Kings Ardashir and Nadir. Each of the four tribes must have their armies ready to face this threat."

"King Farzan, surely you know that those armies would be marching towards certain death, right?" Melody asked.

Chuckling, he replied, "I cannot speak for the other tribes, but my soldiers will be well aware of the risk, and I can guarantee you that they will wish to fight all the same."

"As will mine," Salim agreed.

"That's... incredible brave of you," Melody marveled. "Still, we may be able to avert open war. Tell me, were you able to detect Persephone's presence during my fight with her?"

"No," Farzan answered. "It was the strangest thing; she, for our purposes, did not exist for that time."

"I believe that may be a side effect of the power Edward is sharing with her. It may allow her to conceal herself from you, at least for a time," Melody said. "Still, that may end up being a good thing. As it was explained to Mike and me, the more of Edward's power Persephone uses, the longer it takes for Edward to achieve his goal. My thought is that Selena and I will need to go after Persephone directly, forcing Edward to continue empowering her. If we can subdue her, we may be able to figure out what he is planning to try and start the End of Days."

Selena nodded in agreement. "If you were able to defeat her before by yourself, then the two of us together should not have enormous difficulty. With her declaration of enmity to the Council, I am allowed to assist you in subduing her."

"One other consideration," Farzan chimed in. "Do you know whether Edward knows if you are truly dead or not? If he thinks you and Mike are gone for good, we should not waste that element of surprise."

Pondering for a moment, Melody replied, "I don't know for sure. However, if absorbing this power means that he has some form of contact with Lucifer, I think we have to assume that Edward knows of my true nature. It's only a gut instinct, but I think he knows Mike and I will be after him."

"Then the two of you must take great care," Farzan said.

"Agreed," Melody said. "Selena, if we do encounter Edward, get yourself out of there immediately; don't try to take him on. He'll likely try to kill me, but as we've seen, that only serves to slow me down."

Sighing in frustration, Selena replied, "Very well... though I detest running from a fight."

Chuckling, Farzan said to Salim, "I've always loved that about her."

"It seems the plan is set, then," Salim stated. "Melody and Selena will go after Persephone, who is currently in London. Meanwhile, Farzan and I will alert the four tribes to these events and begin overseeing the preparations of our armies."

*****

"Yeesh... what a wasted night," Anthony muttered.

"I'm sure they had a good reason for not coming tonight, my love," Apollonia said reassuringly.

"We had a deal! But apparently, that don't mean much to them."

As they walked from their car up the walk to their home, Apollonia headed inside while Anthony stopped at the mailbox, noticing that the flag was up. Still fuming from Mike and Melody standing them up, he grabbed the small stack of envelopes and slammed the mailbox shut. He began sifting through them as he entered his home, seeing that most of them were the standard ads and credit card offers, which he promptly shredded at his desk. The final envelope, however, was a small one simply addressed to "The Trapanis."

"Apollonia, what do you make of this?" Anthony asked.

Inspecting the envelope, she said, "I am unsure, though I sense no danger within it. Let's open it."

"Alright," he replied, grabbing his sword-shaped letter opener. Sliding out a piece of stationary, the pair began to read the note.

Our new friends,

Please know that we are extremely sorry for being unable to join you for dinner tonight. Regretfully, an urgent matter has arisen that requires our immediate attention. As much as we wish things were different, duty calls. Sadly, it will be a little while before we can see you again, but don't worry about us. The very next time we're available, we will make it up to the both of you. Until then, please take care of each other, and don't ever stop loving your family. We know, just as you do, they are the greatest treasure you'll ever have. Until next time.

Mike and Melody Braxton

"Such kindness..." Apollonia marveled.

Sighing happily, Anthony said, "Guess they're decent, respectful people after all."

As the pair relaxed on the sofa together, Apollonia asked, "Do you think they are alright? I'm... a bit concerned by their wording. 'Duty calls.' It seems... a bit unsettling."

"I agree, but those two are clearly in a league of their own," Anthony replied. "Besides, we've seen that Melody can take care of herself."

"Very true!" Apollonia said with a sweet laugh. "I suppose they will be fine."

"And if they need help, they know they can ask us for anything," Anthony agreed.

*****

Relaxing on a sofa underground, Persephone sat in quiet meditation with her eyes closed, replaying her previous battle in her mind. Over and over again, she formulated things she could have and should have done differently, things that would have resulted in her victory. Still, Master Edward's words rang true; the Braxtons were indeed unique specimens. Thankfully, he was far stronger than either of them, and the threat they faced from them seemed to have passed. At least, she hoped as much.

Master, have we seen the last of Mike and Melody? Persephone asked.

I have been in contact with my Lord. He confirmed that, while my attack would have killed both of them, they were in fact already dead, Edward replied.

Already dead? What does that mean?

It means they will be back. Even as we speak, my Lord's enemies have allied with the Braxtons and are working to undermine him. Mike and Melody are the proverbial queen and knight in this grand game of chess. How they will be played, however, remains to be seen.

I understand, Master. What do you wish of me?

As best I can surmise, they were able to find us by tracking your whereabouts, knowing that I would be near to you. Thus, we must remain separated until such time as the plans can be put into action. They will surely come for you, and when they do, you must be ready to retaliate with all your might. I suspect they may involve those fools on the Council of Four in our affairs.

The Council... is powerful.

Fear not, Persephone. Together, we are invincible. Together... we will accomplish my Lord's dream. We will become the rightful rulers of this world, and all will know my Lord as their savior.

I truly cannot wait, Master. Have you found any leads on the next step of the plan?

I believe I have... however, I feel it best not to tell you where I will be traveling to next, to prevent the Council from interrogating you for that information.

Understood, Master. I must go now... I believe I may have visitors.

As soon as her eyes opened, a knock came at the door of the abandoned junction station...