Circle7: World on Fire Ch. 03

"Quite an entrance, Lucifer! You look right at home on your knees in front of me."

As Luke picked himself up, he looked around. He had been dropped straight past the 8^th Circle, the Malebolge. He had even fell through the 9^th Circle, and found himself in the center of Hell itself, his old throne.

Sitting on it, looking smug as ever, was Michael, the Archangel draped casually over the ornate chair. But that drew Luke's attention for only a moment. Behind him, strung up between two massive pillars, was Britney. Her elegant dress from the party was torn and muddied, her beautiful face bloodied and bruised. But what caught Luke's breath was the long rod driven through her chest, connected to odd wires that were in turn attached to the throne Michael sat on. The wires seemed to be pulsing sluggishly, throbbing almost as though they were alive. But Luke had little time to take in the scenery before Michael spoke again.

"Just in time for the end, Lucifer."

"Let her go, Michael. Now."

"I can't do that, Brother. She's necessary, you see. The power of a Nephilim is the last missing piece."

Luke growled, the deep, bass sound coming from his chest. Without another word he charged Michael, morningstar held high. Michael barely seemed to pay attention, a casual flick of the wrist all he needed to send Luke sprawling across the floor, well short of his intended target.

"Lucifer, what are you thinking? I have the power of the Sword of God at my disposal, and your pet half-breed makes me stronger still."

Luke gasped for air, the invisible chains Michael had thrown around him compressing his lungs as he fought to continue on.

"Why, Michael? You have plenty of power, and now you have me. Leave Britney out of this."

"She's already involved, little brother. Unlike you, unlike Metatron and Gabriel, I alone have not wavered! If I can't wash away the filth humanity in another flood, I will break down the Gates, bring Hell to Earth, and laugh as the world is burnt to ash!"

Drawing on some unknown reserves of strength, Luke managed to stand, wavering on his feet as he did.

"That's how you got demons to follow an Archangel. You promised them Earth."

"Of course. And they gladly fell in line for a chance to wreak their vengeance on humanity. Earth will be a hellish playground indeed."

"Michael, think this through! You're talking about war on God! Trust me when I say I have firsthand experience, and that is not a road you want to go down!"

Michael rose from the throne, flaming sword in hand.

"I only suffer your fate if I lose, Lucifer. And I have no intention of doing that."

Then the battle was joined, Michael swinging the Sword of God high, clashing with Luke's morningstar in a fiery explosion. Luke was sent reeling once again, skidding across the ground. He knew that he was in trouble. Luke couldn't have fought Michael fairly even before he had come to Hell and siphoned Britney's power. He had only managed to hold his own in Circle7 because he had drawn on all of humanity at once. He had pulled from their courage, their strength, their resilience. But the closest humans were on Earth, too far to reach for Luke's meager power.

Michael struck again, and Luke barely managed to roll out of the way. He parried blow after blow, barely able to keep up his defenses, let alone press any sort of attack. Michael pursued him effortlessly, taunting Luke as he played with him.

"There is no one to help you this time, Lucifer. You betrayed the demons for the greenery of Earth. The angels still regard you as the Great Enemy. And your precious humans are too far away to help you. You will remain here with the rest of the damned, but as a prisoner, not their king."

The damned.

Luke could have hit himself. Of course there were humans around. They were everywhere, in every Circle from here to Limbo. He braced himself, even as he weakly deflected Michael's next attack.

This was really going to hurt.

Luke reached out across all of Hell, into the minds of every denizen, every human that had been thrown into the Pit since the dawn of time. There was no strength to draw on, no courage or will to continue. Luke drew on their agony. He absorbed their pain, their self-loathing, and their regret. He took on the weight of billions of souls, the magnitude of their pain beyond even the scope of Divine comprehension. Luke took that pain and sent in a searing lance to strike Michael dead in the chest, forcing him to stumble and fall to one knee.

"You think I can't endure this, Lucifer? You think that your will surpasses mine?"

Still, despite his bravado, Michael could stand for only a moment before crumbling under the weight of Luke's double-edged attack, dropping back to one knee. The Archangel was shocked to see Luke able to stand, albeit shakily.

"I've endured their pain for eons, Michael. I have carried this burden since I was made to Fall, and you haven't. While you have enjoyed the niceties of Paradise, I ruled here in the muck, in the squalor and despair. Pain is a blanket I have wrapped myself in for millennia, and you don't have the stomach for it."

Despite Luke's grueling attack, the Archangel was still a force to be reckoned with. With a roar, Michael forced himself up to renew his attack on Luke. Now, however, it was Michael that was pressed, Luke's morningstar swinging wide, loping circles that knocked Michael off his feet whenever he attempted to block it. But the Archangel was fast, quickly rolling back and sidestepping Luke's blow before ducking into his range. Michael didn't have the room to wield his sword, but instead struck Luke full in the face. The blow sent Luke reeling, his morningstar leaving his grip to go skittering across the floor.

Defenseless, Luke tried again to use the denizens of Hell to his advantage. But Michael had seemed to adapt to the withering attack, shrugging it off as he smashed the side of Luke's face with the pommel of his sword. Luke fell heavily as Michael crossed the room to pick up Luke's morningstar.

"Only fitting, I think, that the former King of Hell should be killed with his own weapon. I'll mount what's left of your head above my new throne...if I don't turn it to pulp first."

Michael tossed his flaming sword aside, the blade guttering and going out as it hit the floor. He hefted the morningstar menacingly as he advanced on Luke.

"No, no I think I'll keep your head intact after all. Everyone will see what happens when you challenge the Sword of God!"

At that moment, a hum sang through the room, the throne behind the two warring angels brightening. Turning to face his macabre contraption, Michael crowed his triumph.

"And now the last piece is complete. Earth will burn, and my new Kingdom will be born."

He turned back, intent on finishing Luke once and for all.

And Luke ran him through with his own sword.

Shock registered on Michael's face as he fell heavily to his knees, trying desperately to staunch the gaping wound with his hand.

"The damned cannot...touch...that belongs to the Sword of God."

Luke grinned wickedly, his brutalized face twisting his once-bright smile.

"You're not the Sword of God anymore, Michael," Luke said as he pushed himself to his feet to stand over his brother. "I am."

With that, the sword burst into a pillar of white light, so pure in its intensity that it lit even the darkest corners of this, the deepest Pit of Hell. Luke brought the sword down with all the strength left in his body, shearing off the former Archangel's wings in a single stroke.

"You want Hell so badly, Brother? It's all yours."

Michael shrieked, a cacophony of sound escaping his lungs as he endured a pain that no angel before him had. Luke may have taken the mantle of the Sword of God as Michael abandoned it, but that didn't mean he had lost his taste for punishment. As his brother rolled on the ground suffering, Luke raced to the pillars that held Britney aloft.

It took only moments for Luke to cut Britney down, but he feared even that might be too late.

"Britney...Britney, come on now, love, we won. Britney?"

But she didn't stir. Luke knew it wasn't likely. The rod that had been implanted in her chest had effectively skewered her heart, and Michael's draining of her power left her unable to heal.

Luke clutched Britney to his chest, tears running silently down his face as he did something completely out of character.

Lucifer Morningstar prayed to God.

"Please, Father. Please. I know you're not as fond of bargains as I am, but I'll do anything. Anything. Just don't let her die. Please."

The air sizzled, and Metatron appeared, keeping her distance.

"Give me the Sword, Luke."

"Go fuck yourself, Metatron."

"Excuse me?"

Luke rounded on her, his eyes ablaze with light. The sword in his hand stirred, white flame whipping and crackling all along the length of the blade.

"I said, go fuck yourself, you alcoholic, smarmy, arrogant bitch. The woman I love is cold on the ground, and you care about the Sword. I picked up the mantle. I'm the Sword of God. That's the way it works, isn't it?"

Metatron eyed him warily. "You know it is."

"Then I'm done playing Father's game. You want the Sword, scribe? Nothing's free. Give me what I want, or I'm the Sword of God forever. You tell me how the choirs of Heaven would respond to that."

Metatron gave Luke a dark look, but Luke knew that even the Voice of God couldn't harm him now.

"Very well. The Sword, Sammael, and she will be returned to you."

As soon as Luke handed the sword to Metatron, the world was consumed by a brilliant flash of light.

Luke was standing in Circle7. Alone. Furious, he bellowed to the heavens.

"Metatron, you skinny son of a bitch, when I get my hands on you, I-"

"Calm, my son."

Luke knew that voice. Turning, he was greeted by the same old man that he had fed the birds with in Central Park.

"Father."

"I must admit, Sammael, this was an interesting experience."

Luke snorted in derision.

"Well, I'm glad you thought so. It's actually been a rather rough few days for me."

"I suspect so. I have to admit, I didn't know if you would give up the Sword."

Luke's anger was beginning to rise again.

"Was this another game to you, Father? Another test, another challenge for me to overcome? I have to be honest; I'm growing rather tired of them."

"No my son this...this was damage control. Metatron did explain the circumstances, didn't she?"

"Yes. I still don't understand why I'm the one that needed to be your errand boy, though."

"Well, you had a vested interest in seeing things through, and yes, Sammael, she will be returned when I leave."

Luke let out a sigh of relief just before a thought occurred to him.

"Father, what about my wings?"

God smiled faintly, though the humor didn't reach the depths of his soulful eyes.

"I'm afraid even I can do nothing for you in that regard, Sammael."

Luke started. "What do you mean? You're God."

The hazy light began to fill the room as Luke's Father smiled warmly.

"Yes, but even I don't interfere with free will."

Luke blinked, and Father was gone.

"Luke!"

He whirled, only to have Britney collide with him, kissing him deeply, her lips full of the relief her words couldn't convey. It took them a long time to stop, Luke's own relief magnified by the fact that he had held her broken corpse only minutes before. She kissed Luke hurriedly, almost frantically, as though when she let go he would disappear. Their clothes were gone in seconds, tossed aside haphazardly. Although Luke was now almost completely devoid of strength, whatever God had done to bring Britney back seemed to revitalize her. She climbed Luke like a tree, happily guiding him to the ground and laying atop him. She fed Luke her energy as she sank onto him, hips rolling slowly, unhurried now that they were joined. Britney rode her lover rapturously, every fiber of her being totally focused on Luke.

Luke was so weak from his ordeal in Hell that it was an effort to even buck his hips in time with Britney's languorous pace, so he opted instead to just watch and enjoy the view, his beautiful Nephilim restoring Luke the only way she knew how. She began to buck faster, hips circling and gyrating in a mesmerizing pattern, her muscles massaging Luke into a state of exquisite pleasure. As her power poured into Luke, he fed it back, first absorbing, then siphoning the energy. Neither of them was becoming stronger, not by one iota, but for one, Luke didn't care about gaining power. He was content simply to have Britney in his arms again.

No, not content, Luke realized as they reached orgasm together, locked in sync by the constant loop of energy flowing through them both.

Happy.

Finally, they broke away for breath, both their eyes watery with emotion. Britney was the first one that managed to speak.

"Is it over?"

"Yes, yes I think it finally is. Are you alright?"

I think so. Luke, I was so scared. We were at the party, and Amy got knocked out, then two of the angels grabbed me and told me that if I tried anything, they'd kill you."

Luke held her close, relishing her heartbeat, warm and alive against his chest.

"It's alright, Britney. You're alright. Michael is trapped in Hell, the Sword of God is safely back in Heaven, and Father is finally done testing me. I think...I think I'm finally free."

"What now, Luke?"

Luke paused. It was a good question. There was no great threat, no real place Above or Below that Luke could go. He was unique, formed neither of the indomitable will of humanity, nor the unending power of the Divine, but a bridge between both worlds. What was a deposed Prince of Darkness to do?

As if in response, Luke's phone began to ring. Britney and Luke looked at the Caller ID to see 'Jake Williams' appear. Luke looked at his companion, emerald eyes twinkling with excitement.

"How about a vacation?"

******

THE END.

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