AN: 1. This chapter is not intended to tear apart or dishonour the Genesis story in any way; however, parts of the "reveal" that Stoic does mention has been debated by Christian scholars as to what happened in the garden of Eden, and if any of you know about Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Graham's daughter), she did do a study on it as well and mentioned the case about how it's indicated that Adam was more or less standing right next to Eve as the serpent tempted her (from what I recall of the study) - anyway, before we go into theological debates, please remember that this is also just a story. I felt it important to put this disclaimer(?) here as theological/biblical debates are best left for elsewhere and not in a story meant to entertain.
2. This chapter was a bit harder to write as a lot of it was happening is at the same time, if you understand what I mean, so I hope it works out well.
Enjoy.
Chapter 16:
As the four adults, well, three adults and one demon were downstairs dealing with Demon Mike, the four teens, well, three teens and one child were all upstairs.
"This is bogus," Santana said as she flopped onto the couch and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, bogus," Rachel said as she copied Santana and flopped onto the couch and crossed her arms.
Brittany giggled at the two, "Look out Sanny, you're being a Mama Duck,"
Santana looked over at Rachel who looked back at her. She uncrossed her arms and sat up, so did Rachel. She leaned back again, so did Rachel.
She sat up and glared at the little brunette, Rachel did it too, except when she tried to glare she ended up wrinkling her nose in that adorable yet I wanna slap you (playfully) kid kind of way.
"Are you copying me?" Santana asked.
"No," Rachel said with a grin.
"Cheeky monkey,"
"I'm not a monkey, QUINN! Santana called me a monkey," Rachel pouted as she looked at the blonde.
"Well, you can be a bit of a monkey," Quinn said as she held Rachel in her arms; Rachel pouted at that as the blonde continued, "But I like monkeys,"
That made Rachel smile, "That's good," she said as she hugged Quinn, "Quinn, can we play a game, I'm bored,"
"Um, okay, what would you like to play?"
"Hide and seek,"
"She seriously wants to play hide and seek with all these creepy things happening to her?" Santana asked Brittany quietly.
"Shush, she's a child, she's fearless," Brittany said, "Can I play too Rachel? PLEASE!"
"Yay, you can play, and Santana too, I just wish Tina was here to play with us, we should ask Tina to play with us," Rachel said happily as the other four looked to the ground, "Where's Tina?"
"She's in the hospital, remember?" Santana said softly.
"Why?"
"Because someone tried to hurt her, but we saved her so she's just healing, okay, I promise she'll get better," Santana said.
"Okay, I trust you, let's play, Brittany you count and we'll go hide,"
"Will you guys clap when I ask you to?" Brittany asked.
"Yeah,"
"Santana," Quinn asked as she walked over to the Latina.
"Yeah?" Santana asked.
"How safe is your house?"
"As far as I know it's sealed, it should be completely safe, after Abuela, after she, when she,"
"I know, I'm sorry,"
"Yeah, after she passed, Mami went overboard with spells and incantations, she's even hidden herbs and sigils around the house, it should be safe, the only reason that demon using Mike's body was able to pass was because we allowed him in, as for Stoic, I think it's because he's good,"
"Right, so we're good to play,"
"Yeah,"
"I'm hiding with you Quinn," Rachel said.
"Sure thing," Quinn said as she took Rachel's hand.
"Make sure you don't have sexy times in the closet," Santana teased as Quinn gave her a disapproving look.
"What does that mean?" Rachel asked as Brittany started counting.
"I'll remind you when you're older," Quinn answered.
-page break-
Meanwhile downstairs Stoic was glaring at the demon inside the body of the deceased boy.
"You look pissed," Demon Mike said.
"I am pissed, you killed an innocent boy, and for what? Tenebris? What the hell did he offer you?" Stoic asked angrily.
"He was always the better son, always followed his instinct and my request, you are a disappointment,"
"And I'm glad I am, why'd you follow the girls at camp?"
"Oh you know about that huh?"
"Rachel told me while I was still stuck as that bunny,"
"I see, well, it was to scout for a new body and I saw how much that little girl loved that Asian boy, though in retrospect I should have taken the tall oaf she kept riding on the shoulders of, he could have strangled her for me, made her weak and use her powers and then Tenebris could have destroyed her then and there when I called for him,"
"Monster,"
"You are the monster, betraying our family, killing your best friend that fire demon,"
"He was no friend of mine,"
"Is that so...ABEL,"
Stoic froze.
"Wait, Abel?" Judy started as Jenny looked at Stoic as did Maribel.
"Oh this is good, did you not tell them who you really are and why you're so angry at me?" Demon Mike asked, "Of course Abel is just the English version of your former name, but still, this is so good, you are the little liar,"
"Shut up Trexes," Stoic said angrily making Demon Mike clamp up.
"No, no, no secrets, what is he talking about?" Maribel asked as she leaned a bit forward from her standing spot and looked at Stoic with a bit of confusion.
"It doesn't even matter to the whole thing, nothing about who I really was, or who my brother really was will affect how we can help Rachel nor is it a game changer, he wants you to get distracted and upset for nothing so he can bide his time longer and not die by my hands," Stoic said.
"No, I want to know, what is he talking about? Tell us about the real you, all of it,"
"When I was alive, when I was human, my name was Abel,"
"No, the Abel?"
"The one and only, I wanted to be like brother, Cain,"
"Is Cain the one trying to get Rachel?"
"Yes,"
"Anyone else feel like they're stepping into a Soap Opera here?" Jenny asked as she raised her hand and Judy agreed and partially raised her hand.
"Tell us the truth, the whole truth right now, no more games, no more lies, puto you hear me, this family game of yours cost me my mother, and cost Julia Chang her son, it nearly cost Jenny her daughter, you tell us now puto, no more lies," Maribel said angrily as she shook Stoic by his shoulders.
"I wasn't lying, okay, I am a demon, or a fallen angel, however you want to view it,"
"How can you be both human and a demon?"
"Because I became one when I died, okay," Stoic said angrily as he looked at her, "Cain and I, I wanted to be everything like him, my father Adam loved him more, always loved him more than me, so I wanted to be just like him, because while I hate my father I also love him, when Cain burnt his offering of the produce; I thought maybe if I did it too with the first of what I got, because I thought it was right, he'd be happy that I was trying to be like him,"
"But, the fall, you said he fell,"
"You're thinking about the fall of humans in Genesis, I'm talking about the fall of the heavenly beings and that came a lot later,"
"What?"
"Genesis, the story of my earthly father, Adam, came because he was too curious to stop my earthly mother from eating that forbidden fruit, the serpent was nothing more than a snake who wanted to see what would happen, your Christian scholars have even debated that story, when the fall of man happened, I just, I learnt from my mother what my father did and I hated him for it, he was standing right there next to her, right there, and he said nothing, did nothing, he should have stopped her, he should've, he was a coward and I'm nothing like him, I would never blame someone else for my own actions and that right there is truth,"
"So when was the fall of the angels?"
"I don't remember when you classed it, but it was sometime later,"
"So, this demon that has Mike, is he Adam?"
"No, he was the angel who made us what we are,"
"This is so messed up and hurting my head, why? Why would God allow this?" Judy asked as she held her hands to the sides of her head.
"Free will, we have it just like you do, but we are cursed with seeing and knowing God exists, you are not, for all your powers, for all your knowledge, all you can ever have is faith, even if I told you God is real, you'd still have to have faith in the words I say, that's why the supernatural are cursed when we rebel because we know, and we've seen,"
"But, your brother, he was Cain, and he's now a... how?"
"I thought Cain loved me, like a brother should, but he was always so angry, so blood thirsty, when he saw the chance to kill me he took it and claimed that he did it out of anger and jealousy that God liked my offering better,"
"But, why?"
"I don't remember much, I just remember turning and seeing his face, he was smiling as he struck me, and then all I saw was darkness, next thing I know this asshole was in standing in front of me and was offering me a chance that no other human could get, so I took it, I became an Angel and chose water as the element I'd associate with because it had healing qualities, the name I have now is my true name because it's the name I picked when I became this; when my brother was eventually murdered, he too was given this chance and he too took it,"
"Dios mio,"
"When the rebellion of the fallen happened, he convinced me that what I was doing was right, that it was good to fall back to the Earth that we so loved and that I was depraved of in his jealous rage, that it was right that as the first humans on Earth we should have what is rightfully ours and make sure out descendants weren't messing it up, but it was a lie, he just wanted to manipulate me, to use the power that I was given,"
"I saw your potential and I plead my case to let you be what you had become, not my problem that the almighty let you be nor is it my fault that you denied your true self after the fall," Demon Mike sneered.
"I should have stayed by his side like my gut told me to, I should have followed his rule because I always felt it was right, but you,"
"You said he was your father, he called you his son," Maribel said.
"He is if you think about it, he created me, birthed me, therefore he took the rights that I am his son, he taught me about being a heavenly creature, how to use my powers, I ceased to be human, Cain started calling him father and I just followed,"
"And you chose to be a water based demon, something to help humanity, your brother chose right, he chose power in the darkness, because who really can fight with the shadows?!" Demon Mike said, "But that is not the only reason why you hate me now is it?"
"Light can always fight the darkness and don't you dare go into the why of why I hate you," Stoic said as he crossed his arms.
"You want to know why this demon reject is who is he is, why don't you ask him who his wife was? Hmmm,"
"I said DON'T,"
"Oh your anger is delicious,"
"Stoic, tell us, get it out," Maribel said, "As a mother I'm asking you to share,"
Stoic's bottom lip trembled as he spoke, "When I was walking around on earth, this was just after the fall, the Watchers were talking to a girl and she was, I tell you what, she was beautiful, feisty, head strong, always knew what she wanted, and I, I just,"
"Fell for her?"
Stoic just nodded his head, "I figured that I was already damned anyway, what difference would being with her make?" he continued, "She made me see the betterment of the world, she made me see that sometimes things happen and it's how we react to the situation as opposed to the situation itself, she just made things that I forgot should matter matter again, she also knew who I was, she knew I was a fallen, she knew that I was once human, and she didn't care, we married and I remained human helping people with my powers as I needed to, I promised her that I was going to be by her side always,"
"Why don't you tell them her name, hmmm," Demon Mike said as Stoic glared at him.
"Her name?" Maribel asked Stoic as she looked at him.
"Rachel," Stoic said.
"This is disturbing and complicated," Judy said, "You already have brownie points against you for stalking a child, now we find that you even had a wife who had the same name as her,"
"Your Rachel was a baby when I first saw her, and if you're talking about me at her home, I was walking around her house to make sure I patched up potential holes in the dimensions to make sure she was safe, it's not really my fault that she saw me,"
"Yeah, still stalking a child,"
"What you're trying to imply is ridiculous, okay, it's coincidental that her name happened to be the same name as my late wife," Stoic said in great annoyance, "Rachel my wife is not the same person as Rachel the child I'm protecting, I already know this,"
"Tell them why you're protecting her, let's do some psychology hmmm," Demon Mike goaded.
"You shut up you fucking son of a bitch," Stoic said as he punched Demon Mike in the face, hard, "You're a fucking bastard and I hate you, you took everything from me,"
"Your feelings for her, they aren't real, they were the semblance of who you once were, you should have continued being the demon that you were supposed to be,"
"It doesn't matter what you think, they were real and I loved her with all I had,"
"Still doesn't make it real, this reality you thought you could create to be human again? Still doesn't make it real,"
"THEY'RE REAL TO ME," Stoic yelled as he changed and angrily glared at Demon Mike, "Rachel never hurt a soul, none, she was the perfect wife, the perfect person, and you ordered her death and made sure my "best friend" did it and I hate you both for it, you burnt them alive slowly, WHY?!"
"She was reminding you of why you should be good and humbling to people, they should be our slaves, they should bow to us, the power they get, pwah, that power is nothing and yet the almighty wants us to bow to them, revolting, I had to make an example of her, to show you that they are weak and pathetic creatures who should bow to us, though I suppose she bowed to you in some way,"
"You shut up about that,"
"I gave you anger, I made you remember that you're a demon, she may not had died had you not been with her,"
"She was my wife, she was everything I thought I could never have,"
"Is that so?"
"And so was my daughter that you took from me,"
"Oh yes, I hear that she was a delight to destroy,"
"My child was pure and perfect, she did nothing to deserve her fate,"
"You are at fault, we told you, warned you against falling for those things, warned you about having sex with these, these below average beings, these apes, but you just had to fall for one of them, you had to have love and become "human","
"Because she was a good person, because she made me believe that there was goodness in humanity amongst the bleak darkness of what humanity had become,"
"You only want to protect that child Rachel now because she reminded you of your daughter,"
"Her power drew me to her, I have seen countless children before and helped them, but something about her was different and like a good father I had to protect her from the likes of you,"
"You feel that she's your child then,"
"I treated her like she was my child because those fathers of hers would sometimes forget that she was there, I helped her grow, and if it wasn't for that one ignorant woman and Rachel's father Hiram, I would have been able to keep her happy and safe, if the damn fool didn't think he knew better I would have moved on once Rachel was of age and learnt more of her powers, but no, humanity is what it is, trying to find wisdom in their folly, but that child Rachel made it all worth it in the end because I knew that her goodness and her power was some light that will destroy the darkness and I will gladly watch as Cain burns like he deserves to for all the people he killed, for all the lives that he had destroyed not just my own,"
"You deserve your punishment then with the deaths of your wife and child and hey, tell you what, it was fun to watch them both writhe and scream as the life was slowly being drawn out of their weak bodies, I loved IT,"
Stoic roared with such anger and ferocity as he punched Demon Mike again and again.
"Hey, hey, Stoic, stop, remember that there's a human boy trapped in there with that demon and if you damage the body," Maribel started.
"I can heal it," Stoic hissed out.
But clapping and knocking made him pause as he looked at Demon Mike, he realised then that he fell for the trap, he took too long and he let the cracks that shouldn't have been in the house widen.
"What are the girls doing upstairs?" Stoic asked.
"They're probably playing a game upstairs, why?" Maribel answered.
Stoic just listened as he looked upstairs, "When this battle is over, I will kill you," he hissed back at Demon Mike, "And that boy in there with you will have the pleasure of burning you alive, that I promise you,"
"You could have had power Cataracta, you could have had it all, hell I would have helped you against your brother and you could have married that brat upstairs and taken her power from her, make her see our cause and our purpose, but no, you had to follow heaven's rule instead of your own," Demon Mike tried.
"Firstly, Rachel is a child and I see her as my child, I'd never take her as a wife, ever, secondly, I did not want power, I never have, I just wanted love and that was given to me by a human and stolen by you, thirdly I will not fall for this routine again, this distraction, I will see you dead by the end of this,"
Stoic's turn became a run as he bounded up the stairs and followed the sounds of the girls screaming upstairs.
AN 2: Okay, 1. I hope you enjoyed learning that last piece of Stoic's history.
2. I am on a mini roll again, hence why the chapter is up quite quickly. It would have been up sooner but I needed sleep and I need to be at work later on in the day and staying up until three a.m. is was not the smartest thing to do. But oh well, I wanted to write more.
3. And yes, to those of you who are Star Wars fans, the line of "Your feelings for her are not real,"..."They are real to me," is from the game Star Wars: Force Unleashed 2.
Anyway, next chapter is in the works, we will be jumping back to the same time the conversation was downstairs was taken and see how the clapping game went as we go to the next battle. And for the sake of future warnings, yes, there are more character deaths to come.
Until next time team.