Fate's Design

Talk of the Apocalypse

Lucifer turned and walked away, leaving Abaddon facing a large bedroom filled with his own clothing. Abaddon threw his bag on the bed, grabbed a pair of charcoal sweatpants and a burnt orange t-shirt and ant down to the kitchen. He didn't have to eat, but he rather enjoyed it. Abaddon loved to cook large, fancy meals, or little simple meals for himself and indulge in his culinary creation. He was happy to find that the fridge and pantry were loaded with the most amazing ingredients. He found a wine cellar and grabbed a red blend. It wasn't the fanciest bottle in there, but one he rather enjoyed. He opened the bottle and let it breathe while he got the rest of his ingredients together. He quickly whipped himself up a light dinner and poured himself a large glass of wine. He headed to the large, comfy couch to sit down and enjoy his meal in the living room.

"Let's see what's on.”

He picked up the remote and clicked the power button. The entire wall across from him burst into life.

“f**k”

Abaddon jumped when the wall flashed with color. He hadn't realized that the television was the wall. He had been wondering why it remained unadorned.

"Way to go Lucifer! This is a bachelor pad to be proud of."

He slid back onto the couch, remote on one hand and forkful of food in the other. He munched on his dinner while flipping through the channels, every few channels he'd take a sip of wine. He finally landed on something he was happy with, set the remote down and focused some more attention on his food just in time to bite his lower lip.

“Every goddamn time!”

Abaddon gulped the rest of his glass of wine and refilled it. He finished his meal before it got cold and sat back, wine in hand to watch his show just as the intro started. As the intro wound down, he repeated the final line along with Rod Serling.

“There’s the sign post up ahead! The next stop…the Twilight Zone!”

Obviously, he had watched far too much television over all these years, but there were some shows and movies he particularly enjoyed. The Twilight Zone was one of those shows that he could continue watching and never get tired of it. The episode that was showing was the one with the astronauts who are stranded on a cemetery planet. These old shows made the demon happy because they pointed out the craziness and inconsistencies of human life, along with whatever grief they caused themselves. He continued watching through a few more episodes. He watched the one where the writer made his characters come to life, the one with the Western Pioneer who went forward in time then raced the police to get back to his son with antibiotics, and the one with the pig-nosed people and the “hideous monster” people who were actually the normal ones. Shows like this pointed out how horrible people were to themselves and others, their desire to control each other, and the danger of hope. Abaddon loved that humans could pinpoint their very own flaws and downfalls but were still so blind to them. If people couldn't see that they were really as bad off as they made believe on the screen, then they didn't deserve everything they had been handed. Abaddon drained the bottle of wine, clicked off the television and went upstairs to sleep a while.

The days went by quickly in the Manor as Lucifer and Abaddon continued planning for the apocalypse. Lucifer wanted an old-fashioned battle, but Abaddon persuaded him into a more modern way of thinking. Abaddon lived through and possibly had a hand in the Red Scare and Hiroshima. He knew what type of devastation an all-out; no holds barred nuclear war could lead to. The global leaders were already only moments from blowing each other into oblivion, and many potential leader candidates were ripe for easy demonic corruption. One in particular, a pompous piece of fetid refuse, had already been tampered with demonically and proven to be useful in the ignorance and fear he spewed from his putrid mouth. He had gained favor with the simple-minded zombies of his home country. He and his followers called for blood and bred hatred for all others that were not like them. They demanded fences and deportation, internment camps and nothing but the most fiercely prejudiced of so-called Christian beliefs. It was a little-known fact that Abaddon, along with a handful of lesser demons had created quite a few “Christian” religious sects. They had been impressed with how much hatred a group of people who claimed to follow a peaceful Christ could manifest. It was thrilling.

“So…our candidate, when he comes into power, will start the largest nuclear world war imaginable.”

“Yes. The destruction, fear, and hate will be palpable. I like your idea, Abaddon. This could be easier than I had anticipated. The humans have already destroyed most of their world. The environmental destruction is all but irreversible. You've been doing your job well all these years.”

“And the best part about it is that the ones who support our cause with the most fervor are the ones who think their doing what their God wants them to do! It is the perfect plan.”

“And it is all thanks to you, my friend. We never would have gotten this far if it weren't for you. As a way of thanking you, I have a present for you.”

Lucifer left the room, leaving Abaddon to wonder what he was receiving. With Lucifer, there was never any certainty that a present would be something beneficial, or even benign to you.

Lucifer returned, followed by a young woman. She was about 5'5" and lean with long legs accentuated by a pair of spiked Louboutins, well-toned arms, nice breasts that were firm and perky with cleavage clearly visible from her daringly low buttoned shirt, the perfect peach ass was hugged by a tight black pencil skirt, and an oval face with slightly pointed chin. Her hair was mahogany with extra emphasis on the copper highlights throughout. Her hair frames her face in loose curls that bounced softly down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a startling amber like pure honey, glowing with a warm light from deep within. Her mouth curved into a crooked half smile, but not before he'd had a chance to admire her perfect bow-shaped lips. It was that smile that made him realize he'd been staring at her in awkward silence for a while now. He cleared his throat.

“Hello. I’m Abaddon. Pleased to meet you.”

He strode across the room, took her hand and kissed it lightly.

“Pleasure. I'm Bast.”

She purred as she introduced herself. Her voice was pure velvet and midnight. She was very obviously confident with herself. She carried her chin high and her shoulders back. She ignored however much skin she was showing, as if it were no consequence to her. It was there to be seen. What else was the purpose?

“Bast huh? Like the Egyptian goddess?”

“The one and only. I wanted to join in on the fun. My brothers may come to play later but I had to get involved as early as possible. I've been talking with Lucifer here for a few centuries now and I'm ready to dig my claws into this.”

“I always thought you Egyptian types were more proponents of the other side? Why the flip?”

“That damn Christian God always made things about himself. He went so far as to take away our followers; my followers! My people worshipped me and for that they were persecuted. His cult has all but destroyed all of the older gods and we are willing and ready to exact our revenge. Angels and demons, gods and God? Why do we need to fight for what can easily belong to us all? I'm not above sharing hot stuff. I just want what is fairly mine.”

“That sounds like fun. I'm happy to have you and whatever other gods are interested join us. Your power can really help us out here.”

“If we destroy it all we can rebuild everything. We can rebuild our own utopian paradises. Maybe we can each have our own world. There is no limit to the possibilities. Sometimes, in order to create, you must destroy.”

“On this, we are all agreed my dear.” Lucifer spoke his mind for the first time in the conversation. His gray eyes betrayed no hint of a lie or concealment. He was genuinely excited to work with the old gods who had, like himself, been cast out of their homes by the all-knowing much beloved God of Heaven. Abaddon smiled. This would give them an even greater advantage than the obscene amount of souls they had collected. Yes, these souls increased demonic numbers and padded the front lines, but the type of power wielded by the old gods, the gods of myth and fairytale, was a strong and ancient power that had no equal. Hell, combined with this power, would be unstoppable.

“I'd best inform my brothers of what we’re planning. Do we have any other allies on the fence?”

She directed the question at Lucifer. Abaddon knew that this must have been what he'd been working on all these centuries. He'd been gaining the trust and backing of the ancient gods who'd been just as dismissed and displaced as he had been.

“The ancient Greeks and their Roman and Norse counterparts stand with us. We have the backing of the Hindu gods, the gods of the Picts and even more ancients than that.”

“What of the Titans?”

“They remain, as ever, locked within their prisons. There is no need to include them. They have no alliance with anyone and will fight on their own side. There is no victory on either side that can be attained with the involvement of those foul beasts.”

“Good. As long as we are in agreement on their involvement then it will be no problem convincing my brothers to join us. Anubis, Horace, and Amit have been waiting a long time for a chance to reclaim their glory.”

With that, she pirouetted gracefully and slid softly out of the Manor and into a jet-black Tesla.

“Delightful isn't she?” Lucifer's excitement was palpable.

“That sure is one way to put it boss. That girl knows what she wants and exactly how to get it.” 

“That she does. It's a quality all women possessed at one point, long ago, and have slowly lost over time. Bast wishes to bring that back to the women who would follow her.”

“I could follow her through all of the tortures of Hell. She is absofuckinglutely amazing!”

“I'm sure it won't be long before you get to test out the goddess in bed. You've always had a gift that way.”

 “Hell yes I have! On that note, let's eat!”

Lucifer and Abaddon headed into the kitchen, where a large pot of risotto, a crusty loaf of garlic bread, a simple green salad, and a nice bottle of wine sat waiting for them. The two friends ate, laughing and telling stories of the women they'd seduced over the centuries. Lucifer always brought it back to the time he'd seduced Eve.

"And it wasn't just the apple she got her lips around, you know?”

That's always where this conversation ended. They'd both laugh until they spit some wine on the floor or on each other and then they'd get more serious. They'd discuss how the plans were coming, what they'd done and what still needed to happen. The two of the. Never took long to fall back into a rhythm. Their friendship and the understanding they had of each other was timeless.