Chapter XV
Final Battle
HDM: end of the semester, and I finally figured out how I wanted this story to end. Thank you for the reviews, I'm sorry that this took so long...over a year in the making. At first I didn't like the idea but with some pushing and refined abilities I am actually proud of this little piece of shit...I didn't want to finish...don't know why. But I hope you enjoy.
PEPITO'S POV
I have this sudden notion to wake up. I look at the clock. It's ten of three. "Fuck!" I yell. I forget Todd is sleeping soundly as I almost fall out of my covers. Oh shit...I don't feel so hot. It feels like something's trying to push out of my back...like in that Alien movie. "Pepito...are you ok?" Todd asks me. I ignore him as I slip on my old pants and stagger to the bathroom. I can hear Todd follow me. I pull myself up to see the mirror. I feel so weak; why can I not pull myself up? Everything is going black; I can only hear Todd's screams.
Happy Fucking Birthday...
TODD'S POV
Oh God, what's happening to him? He feels so hot, what's happening? I pull him out of the bathroom but something sharp and hard pushes against my chest with such force I am actually thrown back. I look at Pepito with awe; he's floating. I try to get close but he's emitting some kind of energy that barricades him from me. I look to see what jabbed me and it looks like...wings? Out from behind him are two giant bat wings that engulf him. Electricity surrounds him and gives off this bright light. It's so powerful; I cover my head and ears. I feel rumbling; what's going on? Oh god, am I going to die?
I look around to see that there's rubble everywhere. There is no evidence of a house what-so-ever. The floating cocoon is still glowing but emitting now a black color. I look and I see Satan emerging from the rubble with such a preeminent force it's frightening. "Come now and behold my ticket to domination!" he booms. He grazes his finger on the cocoon and it bursts open to reveal someone that is not Pepito...but a monster.
His skin is a dark indigo blue and he now has a muscular abdomen and torso. He has varied silver colored letters written all over his body. His horns are much longer and even curled a bit like a ram. There are metal hoops on the horns. He opens his eyes, one color is neon green and one is a bright scarlet color.
His wings must have at least a five foot wing span. He sprawls out his arms and legs and starts glowing purple. Satan points to each of the letters and speaks as if there's an audience listening. I look to see that there is...hordes of demons are crawling out of the ground and gathering around him and ignoring me, as if they're transfixed on Pepito.
"Listen and see my glorious Son! He bears the marks of all Vices to mock those Righteous and Glorified!" he begins. Then he pointed at the 'L' that's marked down near his lower abdomen. "Luxuria, the joy of pleasure and no ethics to restrain his appetite!" He then points to a 'G' on his left arm and an 'A' near the center of his chest. "Gula, the appetite of fine food and drinking constantly! Avaritia, the craving of material possessions and wealth to become successful always!" he screams with such ferocity.
He points to another 'A' on his right arm. "Accidia, idle hands are the devil's workshop grows strong within him!" He then points to two 'I's, one on his heart and one printed on his right green eye. "Ira, so he feels the wrath in his heart and uses it against his enemies! Invidia, jealousy against those 'better' will make him stronger and more powerful then ever!" At last he points to an 'S' on his forehead. "And the worst of the Vices, Superbia, he may ever think that he's better than all things, even that haughty God!"
The crowds of devils and demons scream victoriously. I start feeling shaky and cold. I push through the crowd, trying to get away from them. They look at me but still ignore me. The sky turns from a navy blue to a blood red. It...is the Apocalypse. I can hear Lucifer urging his army to gather their weapons fore Heaven is descending now. I look and see a bright light.
PEPITO'S POV
Where am I? Why do I feel so strange? I look and see armies of crimson demons and ugly devils surrounding me. I look up at my Father; he's beaming. This is what I've been awaiting for this whole time. This is it...I am just an implement of the Devil but...I don't know why but I feel so good. I feel strong and powerful, like I can take whatever I please and...and kill whoever comes near me.
I look and I see Myra walking toward me. She doesn't look totally different; she has '666' imprinted on her forehead and longer horns. She has smaller red feathered wings. She's exuding a blue energy and her fists are engulfed with blue flames. "My Daughter, Princess of Nightmares and Souls, will lead you along with my Son, until he must battle!" he yells at the demons.
I start flapping my wings and ascend into the air and Myra follows. "This is wrong..." she mutters. What is she talking about? This just like the stories we've been told many times before. Oh well, she's probably pissed because I'm the shining star. But look at her; she's been Father's shining star for so long, I've never had that attention. God that makes me so mad! She's not better than me! But...why should I even care, I know I'm better but now I feel like not caring what-so-ever. Hey look, that's a nice car...I want that. Oh look, a beer distributor...maybe I can stop in and get a beer...or two...or a case. Hey I wonder if there's a strip bar around. God, that's weird...so many voices are going through me...is this really me?
I look ahead and I see Michael and his angels flying down from Heaven. Where's their Almighty God? Probably cowering in fear. "Thou aren't the abomination that spawned from Hell? Thou shan't cometh closer!" Michael yells at me. He unsheathes his sword and a round of angels take aim with their bows and arrows.
"For Hell!" I scream and the demons back me up with their roars. I lead the charge while dodging arrows. I slice through the angels, snapping necks and tearing through. I take out two daggers and start gutting two of them at a time. I can hear my army screaming, whether it is out of joy or pain is a mystery. Myra throws blue flames at one unlucky angel as his skin begins to melt off of the bone.
I see humans emerging from all over. Less than half of them have the Aries sign and are glowing. More than half...actually it's like almost all of them have the Capricorn sign and have a casted shadow over them. I see a lot of kids from school. They go to their separate corners and started to either ascend into Heaven, just to be brought back to battle and the others descend into Hell to reemerge as devils. "Pepito, we need to find Adrianna and Keeran! If we don't get to them they'll assume throne!" Myra yells. I look around to see a giant Coliseum emerging out of rock. Coincidence?
We arrive at the amphitheatre shortly after it is 'constructed'. I see a lot of dark shadows and devils cheering. Why are they not fighting along with their fellow demons? Father emerges and the whole theatre blows up with roaring screams. He waves at the lowly devils and he begins yet another speech. Jesus, he is a blowhard. "Come downstairs Myra, your opponent waits." Myra gives a look but starts walking away.
"Good luck..." she says to me before descending the stairs. Luck...I don't need the luck. "Pepito...your opponent ran into an accident and will not be able to challenge you." my Father says with a wicked grin. He throws me the head of Keeran; he had a shocked and distorted expression. Blood seeped from the neck; it must have happened recently. I pick up the head but it instantly combusts into flames.
"Instead, your opponent will be this fine specimen of a demon. He's been one of my trusted figments for so long, and I just had to give him one favor." he says with such wickedness. He looks at him, what demon or rather figment could be so arrogant and just stupid to challenge me? Out comes out the shadows in front of me is...Shmee.
"SHMEE!" I scream. He gives me a grin. "Yup buddy! I'm your opponent. That red oaf was cake work but hopefully you'll be a better challenge...probably not." he sneers. I clench my daggers and start exuding purple energy. He starts emitting red energy and two daggers from his arm bangles. "Oh, forgot to tell you. There's a prize involved." he points upward and a cage floats down. It's Todd! "Pepito!" he screams. He looks terrified. He has two black wings flapping franticly and he looks so distraught and terrified. "TODD!" I scream.
I fly and try to grab the bars but they shock me. He starts yelling and bangs the bars with no avail. "Pepito, I don't want you to die or fight or whatever you being killed!" he spazes. "I won't die, I'll live and we can be together again." I reassure him I fit my hand inside the bars and stroke his cheek. He kisses my hand. The cage starts moving again. "PEPITO!" he screams. "TODD!" I yell back but the cage sits next to my Father.
"YOU!" I scream at Shmee. He cocks his head and gives me a grin. "Touching moment but I really need this wrapped up. After I kill you I'm taking my beloved Squee and make him realize he is mine alone." he sneers. I lunge for him and tackle him to the ground "I'LL KILL YOU!" I scream. He continues to laugh and then breaks from my grip. He starts swinging with his blades and I dodge one of them narrowly, snipping one piece of my hair. Shit, he's really good.
He continues to swing; he makes an 'X' across my chest. I grab his shoulders and flip off, pushing against his back so he's thrown off. I throw one of my daggers and it slices open the left side of his face. Blood oozes out of the cut and he just smears it and licks it off of his fingers. "Let's lose the weapons, use good ol' fashion demonic abilities." he proposes as he throws off the bangles. I throw the other dagger aside and gather lightning in my hands.
I ascend into the air and he follows. He must be just using telekinesis. He throws a ball of fire and I spin away. I go in and slice his arm but he knick one of my wings. I flap my wings, trying to shake off the damage. He pelts me with a barrage of flame bullets and I get hit by a couple. I send a surge of electricity through him but he blocks some of it. I descend back down but he lands right on top of me and slices my left eye with his claws. "AAAGH!" I scream in agony.
Roaring continues from the crowd. I kick him off of me and try to fly away but he grabs hold of my wings and throws me down. He rips off my wings with one thrust; I scream in agony. "Holy fuck!" I let out as he just laughs. "The bat out of hell just lost its wings..." he muses aloud. God, enough with the clichés already.
"You've lost Pepito, Todd is mine and I'll be crowned ruler of Hell." he goes on, "Your Father will get his soon enough by the end of the day. Remember, we're still mortal until noon." He kicks me on my back, the dirt and minerals enter into the back wombs, it's so painful. "Goodbye Pepito...see you in oblivion." he takes aim with one of my daggers. I quickly look to see his bangle is near. I grab it and a split second he goes into his gut while the dagger goes into my chest. He coughs up blood on my face and he falls right next to me. "You talk too much." I spat. He curls up into a ball and dies there...and the crowd turns silent. Or, is it just me? Can I rest now?
I am so weak...so cold.
TODD'S POV (going back in time for a bit)
Two angels pick me up from the ground and look at me. "You are the Rose?" they ask me. I cannot even move, let alone give an answer. What are they talking about? Oh yeah, that's me. I just nodded as they grab my arm and pull me up into the air. They fly me toward this figure in this chair. The figure lets out a yawn and scratches his belly. "My Lord, here is the Rose like promised!" one of them tell the little guy in the chair. He opens his eyes and gets off the couch. He stretches a bit and takes a look at me. He comes about to my shoulders and looks like a baby doll. Is this God?
I feel dizzy. Why am I shaking? "Join us, or you will be damned forever!" the other angel told me. I'm tired of people and demons and now angels tell me what to do! I fall to my knees. The little God touches my back and I feel something on it. I look to see two big black wings on them. "I- I want to be with Pepito!" I tell them. The two Angels gasp but God puts up his hand. "That is your decision..." he said with such wisdom...or is it grogginess?
Later...after the Battle scene
The theatre disappears; there's just dead grass, towering rock figures, and a cliff. The sky is turning black. The demons are retreating, Heaven is winning. I look around and Satan is no where to be found. Oh god, Shmee is dead. Does that mean Pepito is alive as well? I look around and I see him on the ground bleeding. I run to him and pick him up. He coughs up some blood and looks up at me. His horns are retracting into his head. I hug him against me. Why, why does this have to happen? He looks up at me and smiles. Tears rolls down my cheek. "H-hey Todd. Did I win?" he asks. I nod while trying to dry my eyes. "You...kicked ass..." I say to him and he just laughed.
"I wonder where I'm to go...no heaven up there...no hell. But wherever it is...it won't be anything as magnificent as you..." he rambles. I see him tearing up. "NO! You w-won't die Pe-Pepito!" I tell him, almost shaking him. The wombs keep bleeding and he's turning cold. I kiss him fiercely on the lips. "I do love you...you know that right?" he whispers hoarsely. I nod my head, biting down on my lip. He closes his eyes and let out a gasp of air. He falls limp in my arms.
"NO! Please God no! Please don't die, please oh please! You're fine, you just have a scratch! Just a scratch!" I yell. But he doesn't respond, no reaction. "Stop pretending you bastard! You're alive! Stop it!" Suddenly, I feel a shard of pain. I look to see an arrow through my chest. I cry out in pain. I cough blood and drop Pepito on the ground. I curl up on the ground. Is this what dying feels like? Is it this agonizing, this lonely?
I...don't want to be alone...
THIRD POV
Satan puts down the bow and looks at his handy work. He laughs at the pain of Todd as he slowly dies. "Ha! Now Heaven lost its best defense! We can still overtake this filthy rock!" he screams. He does not realize that Heaven, in fact, is winning and the demons are running back down to Hell. Myra walks toward her Father with the head of Adrianna. "Daughter! Thank Beelzebub that you came! Quick, grab your sword and fight the angels! We can win this!" Satan starts frantically commanding his offspring.
"Look at what you done...you killed the Rose when he tried to save your Son!" she gasps in disgust. "Pepito was meant to die! You were supposed to really take over his position, unless I died of course then you would be the next Satan but that's not going to happen! Don't you want that? Power?" he rambles on. She shakes her head. "You're disgusting..." she spats as she throws the head down at the ground. She starts walking away.
"FINE! I don't need you! I don't need anyone! I am Satan, Lucifer, and the fucking Devil! I am the one humans tremble when they see me! You don't know my power, my greatness, and you never will! I am all- gack!" He drops dead on the dirt floor with a thick dagger through his head. A man comes out of the shadows with a wicked grin. "Remember me, Satan? I was that waste lock" the man we know as Johnny states. He shoves the dagger down with his boot.
"...I guess you really can kill the Devil..."
End of Chapter XV
HDM: Epilouge in a couple of days. Review please:-D