Chapter 5
Lucifer's Perspective
We marched, swords at the ready. I couldn't believe what I was about to do; I was about to rebel against my father, against everything I knew. Michael would be so ashamed of me, but I couldn't be afraid of him; he was always on my father's side and would do whatever it took to be a good son and always followed his rules. I blasted open the doors with my powers and drew my sword, waiting for the first of many blows to come. My father rose from his throne and looked at me, confused. Michael immediately jumped from his seat, drawing his sword.
"What is the meaning of this?" Father asked.
"The meaning? Do not pretend you are unintelligent, father. You know what this means," I said, anger filling my voice.
"Lucifer, what…?" Michael asked.
"Michael, I'm so sorry. I can't do it anymore," I cried, tears falling from the corner of my eyes. Michael had always been there for me, and now I was betraying him, or at least I felt like I was; I spoke to father directly again: "We cannot sit idly by while you let the monsters on the surface go out of control. We cannot stand here and let you watch them kill their own young or rape their own women; it goes against everything we believe in, everything we thought that you believed in."
Everyone in the room stopped dead; their prince was defying the rules, defying his father. Everyone knew me to be a good son, but today they saw a different side of me. Father stared at me in disbelief, his eyes beginning to water. For the first time in a long time, I saw sadness in his eyes.
"Michael, it's time," he said, turning away from me.
"What's he talking about, brother?" I asked, but after the words left my mouth, I knew what he meant. "HE KNEW THIS ENTIRE TIME! HE KNEW I WOULD DO THIS, MICHAEL! DON'T YOU THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT STRANGE THAT FATHER WAS PREPARING YOU FOR THIS? IF HE DIDN'T DESTINE THIS TO HAPPEN, IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED! STAND UP TO HIM, BROTHER!"
"Lucifer, I can't…You know as well as I that I have to obey him. I cannot be a bad son as you are," Michael cried.
"Michael, you don't have to do this. Who says that standing up for what you believe in is being a bad son?" I asked.
"You clearly don't know me at all, Lucifer. I live for being a good son."
We stared at each other for a while, waiting for the one of the other of us to strike first. My people all stood behind me, waiting for my orders. My hands were shaking; I was shaking with anger, with fear. I knew that if I didn't have Michael on my side, there was no chance of winning.
Gabriel all of a sudden appeared by my side, Raphael by Michael's. Gabriel's chubby little right hand grasped mine, his chubby left hand pulling his sword from its sheath. Gabriel was crying and holding onto my hand so tightly that it was beginning to lose circulation. Father, Michael, and Raphael looked at us in disbelief, or at least the disbelief that Gabriel was standing by me instead of them.
"I always knew you were a daddy's boy, Raph," I joked, trying to ease some of the tension.
"I always knew you were an asshole, Lucifer," Raphael said, completely serious.
"Please, be reasonable Gabriel. Are you really going to stand by someone who defies our father?" Michael asked.
"Lucifer is my brother too, and he's been there for me more than Father ever has. He's taught me everything he knows and he cares about me, and that's more than I can say for you, Michael," Gabriel cried.
"Do you really want to be cast out? How long do you think you will survive in Hell? Do you really want to die, Gabriel?" Father cried.
"No, I don't want to die, but I can't watch you guys fight!" Gabriel cried. I admired his courage, but even I knew that he wouldn't survive the fiery lake. He was tough, he was brave, but he wasn't strong enough for that. I couldn't ask him to do that.
"Gabriel, it's ok. You don't have to choose because I'm going to choose for you. Go with them, Gabriel," I said, patting my dear little brother on the shoulder and giving him a slight push in Michael's direction. He looked back at me with sad eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks. He ran back to me and gave me a hug, his tears soaking my robes.
"I love you, Lucifer," he said before running into father's arms and giving him a hug. "I love you both, but I'm not going to be involved in this. I won't fight with either of you," and with that, my sweet little brother disappeared. I closed my eyes to try and keep more tears from falling, but I couldn't.
"Is he ok, brother?" I asked, looking at Michael.
"He's somewhere on the surface now. He'll be alright," Michael said silently.
"Michael…"Father said.
"I know, Father," Michael said, drawing his sword. "I'm so sorry about this, Lucifer. But it has to happen."
Michael and I began circling each other, swords at the ready. My warriors and those of the heavenly host drew their swords, awaiting the first blow. It seemed like hours before either of us made a move. We swung our swords into the air at the exact same time and as they struck each other, our respective armies ran at each other.
Swords clashed, shields flew through the air. Blood sprayed all over the beautiful white carpeting, and the first time Michael and I drew blood from each other, Father disappeared from the room. We moved outside after that, continuing the battle where we wouldn't be destroying the second most beautiful place in Heaven.
"Give it up, Lucifer. You know you will never succeed, not against me," Michael cried, swinging his sword and slashing my shoulder open. I screamed in pain, clasping my shoulder and trying to stop the bleeding somehow. At first I thought I saw a glimpse of concern on Michael's face, but I was mistaken, for he swung his sword in my direction again; I barely dodged it. We continued to battle, moving all over the field. I stepped over the bodies of my comrades and my enemies; there were still so many fighting around us. We fought our way to the edge of Heaven, my shoulder bleeding so much that I was beginning to feel dizzy.
I began to fall over the edge, but Michael grabbed my robes and held me up.
"It doesn't have to end this way. I don't have to do this, Lucifer," Michael said.
"I won't bow down to them! I won't stand by while father watches them kill each other!" I cried.
"Then I'm sorry, Lucifer. I really am. But I won't let you destroy Heaven for this," Michael sobbed. I had never seen my older brother cry this much before. There had been a few incidents before where Michael had cried, but never like this. I felt myself begin to slip further over the edge.
"I love you, Michael. I'm sorry," I cried, preparing for my fall. And with that, I was thrown over the edge.