Obscenus Obscuritas

by [Miss Pirate] AKA Luke-Warm Predator

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"What do you mean I get to go back?"
"I mean, Gabriel that you get to go back up."
Gabriel, archangel of death (AKA Supposed-to-be-Fearless Man), sat in a plush black chair of suede feeling a little more than skeptical. It had been anywhere from three, to five, years since he'd been up there. He'd left everything behind: an alternate life, a home, a lover. Why, so suddenly, would he be permitted to return? Was it something he had -- or hadn't -- done?
"I heard what you said, you idiot. But why? What's the catch?" The darkly dressed immortal shifted uncomfortably in the soft chair.
The slender woman across from him sighed. "Must there always be a catch, Gabe?" she inquired.
"With Lucifer? Did you really just ask me that, Demona?"
Closing her eyes, the youth gave a resigning "Fine," and sucked in her breath. "Lou's finally decided to make his move against Father."
Gabriel chuckled deeply. "You never cease to amaze me. Here you are, the daughter of Almighty God, Himself, and you're backing The Fallen Angel."
Demona rolled her eyes. "You didn't honestly expect both of his children to better mankind, did you? And if you say yes, I will be very, very disappointed."
"Actually," the angel began, "I was seeing you and your brother --"
"Half brother," she growled in utter distaste, interrupting his response.
"Switching places," he finished, dismissing her correction in a smooth manner. "I rather expected him to play betrayer and you savior."
Her face dropped in anger. "Is it because I do not have a penis, or simply that I was raised behind the prison bars of Heaven?!" she barked furiously.
"Neither," Gabriel snarled. "It was because you and your father were -- are -- so terribly different." The angel forced himself to calm before he spoke again. "If anything, I expected neutrality on your part. You always hated taking sides when you were little."
Collecting her manners, Demona gave him an all too-serious look. "Gabriel, the last war is about to begin. This is one fight that cannot afford a line of neutrality. However, this assignment of yours will be the start of it all. This mission is optional, though."
"Quit being ominous, Dee! You've strung out this meeting far too long as it is."
"Fine. If you prefer me to not sugar-coat it, I won't. You, dear Gabriel, are to bring about what some would call an Apocalypse. Kill and take souls like your title entails. Every mortal on that... mess named Terra. This is Lucifer's move. An ultimate game of chess will begin the moment He notices irregularity."
"That's one hell of a catch, Dee. You're asking me to choose. If I agree, it will strip me of His trust, His respect."

"Yes, I understand. That is why we give you the option to turn to him, walk away from this. Lou's already said that he will hold nothing against you if you leave. You will always have a place here. Even in the middle of the war."
Talking to Demona was just as effective -- if not more so -- as talking to "Ol' Lou" himself. Dee had a certain patience the Dark Prince lacked. That little tidbit was what always surprised most people upon first meeting.
“Will I be allowed… leisure time?” he asked, mulling over the offer.
“If you bide your time and use it wisely, I don’t see why you cannot enjoy the trip while it lasts. Maybe rekindle an old flame for one last go?” Demona’s very slim eyebrow arched high as she quirked her lips upward. She was one of the few that knew of his once-upon-a-time love affair with a beautiful mortal. The young demon half-breed leaned forward. “I promise not to tell if you save him for last. Neither Father nor my employer know of before,” she whispered so low the walls could not hear.
Growling, Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “How dare you even say that? Saved for last?! Do you think me a monster?” He stood violently, tipping the large chair onto its back.
“Yes! As a matter of fact I do,” she screeched at him. “You kill people, Gabriel! You kill people and bring them back here to suffer a thousand deaths! For the rest of eternity, these souls die over and over; able to feel every second.” Her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
“I will take your proposition, Demona. Keep in mind that it is only so that you can watch these souls go through lifetimes of torture from your boned terrace! Let their screams of agony lull you to sleep at night. It will serve as a constant reminder that not only have you helped make this place what it is now, but you have betrayed your Father, killed your mother, all to sit in that very seat!” With a harsh growl, and an insulting flash of pointed canines, Supposed-to-be-Fearless Man left the glass office feeling more fearful than he had in his entire existence.
“Demona?” the intercom buzzed.
“Yes, Sir?” she replied, her slender finger pressing hard on the little white button.
“What was all that annoying bickering?”
“He’s taken the assignment, Lou.”
“Good. This should all go down without a hitch.” The phone clicked, signaling that he’d left her in silence.
Cautiously, Demona—daughter of God Almighty and the demoness Train—silently cried in apology for her betrayal, murder, and treachery. That night would be the first night in which cries of the sinner would keep her awake. That night, her silken sheets could offer no solace.
:

“Clothes, money, tooth brush and paste, hair brush, deodorant. Wow. I think I’ve everything.” Gabriel heaved a breath and stared down at his open suitcase. Thanks to Persnickety, the inside was meticulously arranged. Her name implied everything she was: picky, fastidious, and hard to please. She was, by far, his closest friend in the rings of Hell.
Persnickety just laughed softly and shook her head, watching her long-time friend pack his bags for another world. “You sound like you’re packing for grandma’s house or something.”
“Grandma’s house would be wonderful compared to where I’m packing for,” he smirked her direction. Taking one last skim over everything, he sighed and closed his bag, peeking through his long bangs at his “other half.” His brows knit at the sight of her neat tears.
So like her name, even her tears fell in a straight, clean line all the way down to her chin and dripped off in such a pretty manner. Ashamed that her even makeup may smudge, she placed a hand over her eyes a bit shyly.
His large hand enclosing her delicate one, Gabriel lowered her pale flesh and wiped at her salty drops. “Don’t cry, Snick. I am not just dropping you. You have free passage to me whenever you please.”
Abruptly, she shoved at him, pushing him away and re-smoothing his shirt at the same time. “You’re going to look unkempt if you don’t leave now. I will go insane trying to deem you presentable. Now just leave. But we’re having coffee before this whole,” she waved her hand around, still hiding her face with the other, “End of the World bit. You understand me?” She pointed blindly and missed him, but he knew what she was talking about.
Taking a final few steps at her, he kissed her forehead and smiled. “Only for you, Snick, would I have coffee surrounded by piles of dead bodies.” With that, he picked up his suitcase and left the room.
Persnickety watched him leave from the balcony. She watched him walk away through the fires and raging heat of Hell as he was stalked carefully by different grotesque and gruesome demons. Their hunched forms followed him slowly, leaving several paces between them, as they memorized his unique scent. He was a demon like them. He was not to be corrupted as other mortals are.
Turning around to the vanity behind her, Persnickety picked up the black-tipped bone fragment from the table. She flipped a switch, turning on the light bulbs for better lighting. Carefully, she tugged slightly at her lower lid and applied the acidic substance to the underneath of her eye. Smoke rose in small, thin streams as the smell of burning flesh filled the room and wafted out the open balcony. As the black substance scorched itself deep into her pale, delicate flesh, she thought back on everything that had happened to her since she came down to this obscene place.

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[More will come as I write it]