Paradise Made

#?: Chaos

What appeared to be a man stood on a gravel rooftop, the toes of his needlessly expensive leather shoes sticking out into empty space. He had no fear of falling. Below him humans fought each other and the demons he'd ordered into their midst. Their world was burning and he could not remember a time when he'd been happier. He stood with excellent posture, thumbs tucked into the pants pockets of his three-piece white suit. He could feel her below him: Sara. They would speak soon enough.

Behind him a hatch in the ground opened and a blond boy heaved himself up onto the roof.

"Fancy finding you here," Penemue said, "of all places."

Even Penemue usually held a healthy fear of the devil, but everything was coming to an end, one way or another. All the pieces had been set in motion and he had nothing but curiosity left. Lucifer noted Penemue's reckless cockiness, and reminded himself not to allow the Watcher to provoke him, not at a time like this.

"Here for the view?" Lucifer asked, turning away.

"I don't want anything, if that's what you're wondering."

Penemue stood beside him, and for a minute they watched in silence, two beings of chaos.

"I wonder sometimes, Penemue, how you can look out at the ferocity of man and still hold them in the esteem that you do. With pointless fire they tear apart their society just to rebuild it in another form, then tear it down again. It has repeated since their creation. Pointless cruelty."

"You see pointless cruelty when I see the fires of change. There's nothing that bores me more than things staying the same. Always they are fighting for something better, never content. And that is their strength. They push, and claw. They're always exploring the uncharted territory. Contentment kills creativity, and if there is one thing human nature prevents it is contentment. I am a fan of chaos, myself. Without shaking things up every once in a while we'd never get new patterns among the pieces. Also, to be fair, it isn't really their fault this time, is it?"

"You have an interesting way of looking at things; different. In a different universe you and I might have made a good team."

"I thought I'd heard down the grapevine that you'd stopped trying to recruit me."

Lucifer laughed. "I have. I still find you curious, but I've cured myself of the delusion that you have something. You're barely a player, a Grigori with a sharp tongue."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"I don't know why I thought... In my head you had a plan so good you'd sacrifice your brothers for it. Of course I of all people should have seen that you don't care about them either way."

"We're all players, Morning Star. All I know for sure is that whatever the outcome of this war is going to be, it will be decided soon."

"Then I wish you luck, in whatever you're attempting to do. I have my own plans now. Why would He lock himself in a vessel so confused, so human? It's like He was trying to make it easy for me."

"For someone," said Penemue. "Tell me, do you really think you'll win? Or are you just playing your part?"

"You doubt me?"

"I told Azazel to tell you. You've already lost. The story's already been written. The universe is a circuit. It's been explained in minute detail in countless books exactly how you'll be defeated."

There was a sharper edge to Lucifer's voice this time. "If you really believe the future is set in stone, then what are you fighting for?"

"Like you said, I'm barely a player. There's one passage about me in one obscure book. My story's not written down so how do we know what happens to me? I could be God for all we know."

"You know what?" Lucifer looked down at Penemue through slitted eyes. "I change my mind. You're way of looking at things isn't so much interesting as..." He began to search for a word Penemue did not allow him to find.

"I'd say I'm sorry to hear that but really I'm ambivalent. Our conversation was coming to a close anyways. They're all in the room below, I think it's time I made my entrance. You should probably be preparing for yours as well."