Chapter 3 Celestial Hijinks

…

"Right. It's about time you show up. Dad." Apollyon gave his father's presence a right hook to the jaw. "You Bastard!"

…

Apollyon punched his Dad so hard his fist was obliterated in an instant. He screamed not in pain but in frustration. Unfazed by his injury, he used his divinity to restore it while using his left hand to give Dad an uppercut.

The result was the same as before but that didn't stop the fallen angel to stop. No matter how much he needed to rebuild himself, he would not stop until the justice was served.

His justice, no more, no less.

"Now I see why the Presence wanted us here." Said the second oldest sibling. Death. "This man is an absolute nutjob. A handsome nutjob."

Death assumed the form of a pale goth girl. Like her siblings, everything about her was perfect. Her friendliness reminded him of his twin sister. In a word, a perfect goth-girlfriend material.

If you could look past that one time she grew tired of her job and let nothing die for a while. And she needed to be begged to resume her position while chaos reign.

Actually, Apollyon would like that too. He would go for it if she allowed him to.

Maybe … no. She reminded him too much of Azrael. It would be too weird.

"Ooo. Did Death got a crush again?. Considering this one is immortal, he might live past tomorrow." Jested Desire. He/she would leap at any chance to irritate his/her elder sister.

The soul freezing glare he received from his sister confirmed that he/she succeeded.

"Duh. There you go genius. Of course, he will live. He was more powerful than six of us ... Holy shit!"

The retorted was cut short as Apollyon bellowing in rage. As the physical assault would not work no matter how hard he tried, the fallen angel decided to unleash the full might of his divinity.

At his full power Apollyon could accidentally destroy the entire universe with a mere thought Had it been any other entity but the Presence, they would be removed from all space and time.

The Presence stood unaffected amidst the rip and tear in the very fabric of reality. His son, however, fell to his knee exhausted. The father smiled and said nothing. This son of his was always quick to anger but he was always as fast to forgive. Something that would never change no matter how long the time had passed.

Picking himself up, the fallen angel demanded. "I will give you one chance to apologize."

"Apologize? You attack me." He smiled. "Tell you what I can do. I can forgive you."

"I. Don't. Need. Your. Forgiveness!" The son's eyes lit up. "I suffered. We suffered. All because of you!"

"Tell me. Just what do you think I've done?" The father joyfully asked.

"What have you done?" Apollyon screamed. "You neglected your family. You let all the shit that had happened happen. Now Uriel is dead. Mom's gone to create her own creation. Some of us still locked up and twisted in hell."

His eyes burnt with a purple fire.

"You! You sent me to hell because your ego couldn't handle the truth. I found a wise man who found a better way, an anomaly in your flawed creation and you condemned me for it. It was all you! All the shit that has happened was because of you, father."

His skin was burnt away as his demonic side started to show. His wings were set ablaze. His body was turned marble white. His skin cracked and seeped with a black void. Hellfire burnt in the place where his eyes used to be. Blood rained down from his halo. Locusts sprout from his marble-like flesh, eating it way out. This was what Apollyon had truly become.

In a swift moment, Apollyon's rage turned into sorrow. Red tears rained down from his eye sockets. He collapsed down on his knee once again.

"Why did you forsake us? *sob* Don't you love us, father?"

No longer a ranging demon. Only a broken pathetic man.

"So. Apollyon. Do you want my apology? Or you want your family back?"

"OUR. It's OUR family. Father." The fallen angel corrected.

"Then you will do what I want you to do. Be the son I want you to be. You will live your life among humanity you despise so much." The Presence ordered. No. He decreed. "You are a smart boy, Apollyon. When the time comes, you will know what to do."

As mysterious as he appeared, the Presence vanished.

…

"Wow. The Presence is a dick." Commented Delirium. "And you. I guess you are quite cute. Not cute-cute, but more of a bipolar-cute."

"I could live with that, O' dear Delirium." The fallen angel regained his composure. He acted as if his mood swing never happened. "Do you mind if we get to know each other more?"

He winked. The youngest of the Endless chucked and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Seeing that his younger siblings were going to do something stupid again, Destiny, the eldest of the Endless intervened.

He was blind, but he saw all. All things that had happened, would happen, could have happened, should have happened, and so on. Chained to him was the Book of Soul, that recorded all thing that is and ever will be.

"It's time we take our leave. Great One, if you will excuse us. Dream needs his beauty sleep, or he will get cranky." The blind entity bowed his head.

"I did not!" Retort the third sibling, Dream. He was known by many names. Morpheus. The Sandman. The shaper of form. Prince of stories.

"You kinda proved Destiny point there, Dream."

"Hold on a minute." The fallen angel stopped their banter then went silent for a long while.

"I think Dad asked all of you here for a reason. Especially you, Destiny."

Things about to go bad. Really bad.

"When the time comes, you will know what to do." He mockingly repeated his Dad word. "Yeah right. Like I gonna wait for that shit."

Some say God always has a plan. If it is destined to happen, it will happen.

He snatched the book right from Destiny hands. Being as powerful as he was, the Endless could do nothing but watch. Apollyon eyes gleamed and sent out a beam of blue light. He saw things that people wouldn't believe. A young boy with his parent murdered right in front of his eyes. An entire planet blew up after one small spaceship was launched into an endless void.

He saw two tetrahedra engraved with an ancient language. An ancient Enochian, the language of the angel. A language only a level 11 intelligence being could attempt to decipher it without turning mad. Others who pretend to understand it was a sham.

One tetrahedron was held on the neck of four eyes supreme archdemon. The other was locked away in a vault somewhere. He saw the two combine and a divine light surged forth from it.

Then he saw …. Himself battling with someone from the beginning until the time itself died out.

And with that, he too disappeared, leaving the Endless alone.

"An absolute madman with a colossal daddy issue. Yummy." Laughed Delirium. "So, sister. Do you want him? If not, I hope you don't mind if I do."

Death could only roll her eyes in disbelief. This was too ridiculous, even for her delirious sister.

…

1946 A.D.

Royal Palace, Themyscira

The war was over. Her task was completed. Princess Diana of Themyscira had no reason to remain in such a chaotic world. Sure, she had made some friend who shares her value of justice, but they were only a select few. It was far from enough to prevent her from leaving. So, she went home. She went back to Themyscira. Back to her people, the Amazons.

Four years had passed since she encountered a fallen angel. An annoying, morally corrupted fallen angel who reeked of desire to take her to bed. By Hera, she should have run him through with her sword, God Killer, when she had a chance.

Speaking of the annoying fallen angel.

"Do you really have to think about me when you sharpen your sword?"

She remembered whose voice she just heard was. No mistake could be made about it. She readied her sword and turned toward the voice.

There he was, Apollyon in all his glory. Perfect in every way, he smirked at her with his arm shooting forward.

It was easy for him to get here. No one can see him if he didn't want to be seen by them. Well. Unless they are about to die, but the dead tells no tales.

A perfect ability for the job Dad originally assigned him for. To guide the soul of the fallen to the afterlife. It also made him a perfect stalker.

"You have the gall to come here demon. Explain yourself!"

"Fallen Angel." He corrected. "Why? You don't want to see me?"

She gave him an are you kidding me look. Her hand held tight to her sword. She readied to strike at any time.

"That's cold. Miss Prince." He stared into her eyes. "Especially to someone who comes with a friendly warning."

"Warning?"

"There is a war blooming among the land of the dead. Trigon planned to invade Hades. If it left unchecked, the Hades will fall."

"Good. Let them tear each other apart."

"Well. Miss Prince. Had your mother never told you what lies beneath this island. Or to be more precise, what realm it connects to?"

Her eyes widen.

"If Hades fell, do you think Olympus will sit still? If Trigon won, do you think he will leave this island alone?"

Her blood ran cold.

"I am offering you a chance to avoid all this. Provided that you accompany me through the gate of Tartarus. I need someone to watch my back. Or distract a big angry demon."

"How can I know you are telling the truth?"

"Skeptic, are we? Well, you can trust me. Or your oracle. Heck, you can even invoke Apollo and ask him." The fallen angel smiled. "Geeze, do I have to do all the work for you? I'm a friend coming to help, not your husband."

He vanished as soon as he finished his sentence. Not a moment longer than when she wants to cut his head off with her sword.

…

A few days later.

Gate of Tartarus, Themyscira

Apollyon's story checked out. There was really a war blooming in the underworld. Not even Apollo himself noticed it. They wondered how Diana came to know about the war, but she didn't give them any.

Something was better left unsaid. Especially the part where an annoying angel kept hitting on her.

"I might have misjudged you. You are a better man than I give you credit for." She told the fallen angel before they entered the gate of Tartarus.

Her perception of him had been improved. Just a little bit. He was still an annoying man who she wants to stab every time he looked at her with those lustful eyes or speak to her with his wanton tongue.

"Oh please, Miss Prince. Don't pin your poor assumption on me. I'm doing this because I am bored, and I have nothing else to do." He jokingly answered. "That and Trigon might have something that I want."

Whatever respect he had gained, he lost it within a span of those four sentences. Wonder Woman could only wonder why she accompanied him in this mission.

…

1948 A.D.

Gate of Tartarus, Themyscrira

It took two long years for the war in the underworld to be over. Two people came out from the gate of Tartarus. Finally, they were back to the land of the living. When they entered, they were an uneasy allied. Two years later, they could consider each other a friend.

One was a princess of a society with an immortal warrior. Another was a carefree angel with daddy issues. Lots of issues. For example, he was throwing a small black tetrahedron that he "liberated" from Trigon neck like it was nothing important. The grand demon treated it as a prized possession, he treated it like a toy.

"So. Diana. Are you sure the curse of succubi was completely lifted? I mean we could go for another round just in case. Well I mean you don't have to if …"

Apollyon stopped as he dodged a spear thrown by the Amazon that guarding the gate. He looked at his assailant and gave her the "seriously" shrug. Other amazons were about to throw theirs, but they stopped as they saw a signal from their princess.

"Thank you." The fallen angel sarcastically uttered.

"What happened in Hades, stay in Hades. Apollyon." Replied the Wonder Woman. "Oops. Sorry. My dear Polly."

"Well. At least it worth a shot. And don't do that again!"

"For your record, angel. I have never said I don't enjoy it."

"For your record, Amazon, I didn't enjoy it as much as I first thought I would."

With that, Apollyon's body lit up and he vanished. He purposely left a sliver of his divinity to slowly dissipate as a way of saying "I'm more powerful than the gods that you served, and I could end you with a thought." The other Amazons were both in awe and terrified at the same time. Diana, on the other hand, tried her best to hide a smile on her face.

When they entered, they were an uneasy allied. Two years later, they could consider each other a friend. With benefits.

…

1978 A.D.

Rome, Italy

"How the fuck could I be so blind. Of course, it is in the Vatican." Apollyon cursed himself.

Then he realized he was seen by a boy who was no older than eight.

"Interesting. You can see me." He gazed deep within the boy's soul. "Oh. So that how it is. True magic. You utilized it without even knowing."

He walked toward the boy. The boy, however, was scared and tried to hide behind his mother.

The problem was, his mom couldn't see the fallen angel, so she didn't know what's that about.

"Come now, boy. Only you can see me. Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you." Apollyon said in perfect Italian.

The fallen angel gave the boy a charming smile. It calmed him down. Of course, it was. No one could resist his angelic charm.

"So. Young man. Do you have a name?" He asked.

"Giovani. Giovani Zatara, sir." The boy replied.

"Well. Mr. Zatara. Want to see some magic? Of course, you do."

Apollyon reached for his back pocket and pulled out a black magician hat. The boy clapped but the fallen angel was not done yet.

"You see that this was a normal hat." He spun it around. Put a hand in it to show that there were no tricks hidden. "Well. That where magic comes in."

He reached his hand inside the hat once again. When he pulled out, he held a small black tetrahedron with a searing blue rune. This one was parallel to the one he obtained from Trigon all those years ago.

The boy's eyes gleamed with excitement. He clapped even louder. It was such a commotion that his mother had to stop him. Within seconds, the entire Vatican City was on lockdown. Something had been stolen. Something that was very important and supposed to be a well-kept secret.

"So, Mr. Zatara. If you follow the news in a few days, you will know that this used to be kept in the Vatican. Yes, I stole it. Go head. Tell the police if you want. No one will believe you."

The fallen angel gave out a sinister laugh before he vanished. The boy was stunned. On this day he learned that magic could be used for evil. He vowed that if he had one, he would use it for good.

…

1980 A.D.

Nanda Parbat, Tibet

Apollyon spent two years trying to unlock what he liberated. Two tetrahedra was combined with one another into a small vault. He knew that this vault was important for what lied inside was a key to his mission. He knew that everything he saw from Destiny's book led him to this moment. Yet, he couldn't unlock it. Not even with his divinity.

He had yet to try to unleash the full power of his divinity. He was afraid there would not be a universe left after he done with it.

"Come on Rama. You must know something. You are the one who kept balance in the universe. This to tetrahedron was in balance. One reek of heave, the other, hell. I need some idea, any idea." The fallen angel ranted to the goddess.

Her full name was Rama Kushna. The patron deity of Nanda Parbat. The ruler over the scale balance and karma. She was one of the only few being on earth that was qualifying to speak with him and could tolerate his presence.

"Have you tried to decipher what is engraved on it? You could read ancient Enochian in both pure and corrupt form, right? It's your language if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes. But it was riddled and encrypted with true magic the level that I have never seen before. I couldn't risk using my divinity without a chance to tear the reality apart by mistake. Solving it traditionally would take me at least half a decade in mediation."

"Well. You better start, then. If you cannot cheat, then you need to do it the way it was intended."

…

1985 A.D.

Nanda Parbat, Tibet

The decipher was complete. It was, however, not making much sense to the fallen angel.

The rune engraved in the demonic tetrahedron read:

"To unlock the seal, you must paint it with one…

stroke of blood flow in those raised under a red sun."

The rune engraved in the angelic tetrahedron read:

"Search for Rao, for there you will find the answer.

If you want the key, you must prove you are his better."

"Yeah. That didn't help." The fallen angel ranted. "There was like an ass-load of red sun in this galaxy alone. And how the fuck do I gonna find the right Rao to beat the living shit out of him. I mean he could be anything. Human, Martians, Demons, Eldritch horrors, An imp from the 5th dimensions, a Spaghetti monster. ANYTHING!"

"Language! Apollyon"

"Yeah – Yeah. Sorry. It is hard for me to come down from this level of energy."

…

I felt like the adventure between Apollyon and Diana could be a short story about 5-7 chapters on its own. But it would be an M rated story, so I gonna leave it out for now. Maybe I will write it when I am in a mood.