The Coup- Part 12

DOMINO EFFECT

As Michael walked into the corridor, all the conversations between lustful centaurs and passionate fairies, between angry cupids and rude smiling goblins died. Standing a little over 6 foots, with wavy blond hair, coal black eyes and a body chiseled out of stone, Michael was the the Commander of God's army. The part of God's erstwhile quartet of power.
Gabriel,the messenger was considered to be the closest to God while Raphael,the healer God's most favorite but it was the cool, calculating, detached Michael who held God's most terrible secret.

Everyone knew that, that the fourth angel of the quartet, Lucifer had lead the Great revolt of Angels against God and subsequently was defeated and thrown into the underworld by Michael but the truth behind all the facade was known only to the three of them- him, God and Lucifer. Only he knew that it was all a smoke-screen for 'Project Divine' and Lucifer was still in God's service since then.

And now the secret was out because Lucifer had blabbed it to a dying angel in his adrenaline rush and by some incomprehensible logic all of this was known to the lover of his. And now it became Michael's responsibility to get it all sorted out.

Lost in his thoughts he suddenly found himself in front of God's office.


-----


'There is something in the cup.'

Aris' line of thought broke and he threw a lost look towards Archie. 'Huhh??'

'I said something is in the cup. Seems like a fly and it is getting biggereerrrr....aaaaggghhhh'

Despite the thoughts that had gripped Aris' mind, he came back to his senses as a figure leaped out from the cup and flew away. He could catch only a glimpse as the figure rushed past him.

'It's another attack' the thought raced through his mind. 'Archie hide somewhere. I'll take care of it' he said, taking flight.

The full moon bathed the whole landscape in its light. The lack of wind and the utmost silence sucked all the feelings of comfort from one's soul.
But Aris had left the feelings of security and reassurance a long way behind him. Anger fueled him right now and the realization of the fact that he was almost at a touching distance from his final move pumped in adrenaline through his system for good measure.

All sorts of attack and evade maneuvers raced through his brain as his eyes locked up at the figure flying ahead of him. Suddenly the dark winged figure stopped and turned back. Aris could make out the silhouette of an angel with the moon as the backdrop but the fact that this figure was someone from his own brethren didn't comfort him. He knew sooner or later, the best avenging angels would have been ordered to hunt him.

With a silent battle cry and a mighty push of his wings Aris increased his momentum to ram into the figure. At the last moment the figure changed his position to float horizontally with respect to Aris and grabbed one of Aris' hand. Before Aris could understand what this figure was upto, the figure caught the front of Aris shirt with his other free hand and gave a mighty push of his own wings.

From the ground Archie saw horrified as the two angels locked in a death grip accelerated towards the majestic forest like a free falling stone dropped from the Eiffel Tower. A row of tall mighty Redwood trees stood as sentinels at the edge of the forest, preventing the moonlight to expand the kingdom of light to the last of the grounds and casting long shadows throughout the forest.

With a loud crash the figures collided with the Redwood's and uprooted several of them as gravity did its work on all of them.

Archie started running towards the death still figures lying on the ground.


-----


'The remains of the carcass of the Sea Rhino was found at the edge of the Bermuda triangle and I suspect he has taken refuge in the underworld sir.' Michael said. 'I think it would be better if Lucifer is asked to look for him over there.'

'I don't understand Michael.' said God. 'Why was Donovan heading towards the gateway to hell? He didn't know he was being looked for in the first place?'

'I...I don't know sir.' came the curt reply of Michael. 'But Aris has also disappeared. There is no news of him anywhere.'

'Lucifer failed too Michael.' God's voice held bitter disappointment and sadness in it. 'Aris succeed in taking away Raul's human with him. you know utmost secrecy is required for finding them that is why we have to use simple minded creatures to find them but day by day it is getting difficult to do so. Rumors are flying about the heavens that a second Great revolt is in the making.'
God laughed,'Ironic isn't it? There wasn't ever a First revolt to start with and now we are facing an actual danger of having a Coup d'état at our hands.'

Michael looked at God and suddenly he didn't see the charismatic, all powerful being. He saw an old man, tired of spreading the message of love and peace and harmony through the ages. An old man who has lost all hope and zeal to work further for the cause.

'Don't worry sir. We know where they are ultimately headed for. I'll set up the ambush for them. If we are unable to find them before that, we will still find them there.' Michael said.


-----


Aris stirred as he felt a soft hand on his forehead. Suddenly everything came back to him and he opened his eyes. Archie's face loomed in and he saw a trickle of tears dropping from her eyes. His ribs were definitely broken and he could feel a throbbing pain in his right leg.

'Don't worry Archie. We Angels recover quickly given time. We have the blessing of Raphael the healer.' Aris said through gritted teeth as a pang of pain ran through his spine.

'That means he'll be alright soon?' Archie asked with concern and fear in her voice while pointing towards the figure sitting beside a tree.

He was in as bad as condition as Aris, if not worse. he had a nasty cut on his forehead and his face was matted with dust and dried blood. One of his eyes had clamped shut as the blood had coagulated on his face. His left hand was twisted at an unnatural angle and half of his left wing also had a bad tear which slitted the wing almost in two.

'Hello Aris.' the figure spat some blood on the ground. 'My name is Donovan.'


-----


Reaper was in a foul mood. He didn't know where Donovan is and had no idea what he ought to do. And now he had an unknown message lying in front of him.
'The opportunity you strive for will be presented to you in the Garden of Eden. Very soon.'

It could be a trap he thought but at the same time he didn't had anything to loose now. He had come so far to fulfill his desires that going back now was not an option anymore. He also could never live serving Lucifer anymore. 'I will go' he decided.

And with that the first of the domino pieces began to topple, the effect of whose was going to change the course of the three worlds.

The Coup- Part 11

OLD LOVE

Donovan woke up from the depths of darkness, to find a dolphin examining his face up close. Any other day, he would've sat right up and his initial reaction would've been to push the mammal away. However, at the present moment lifting even a finger seemed to him like carrying the world on his shoulders, just like Atlas.

He shook the cobwebs out of his mind and with the support of the dolphin slowly tried to sit up. His wounds had healed and the bruises were fading but every part of his body still ached. With every movement he could hear his bones crackling like logs in a fire. If he hadn't lived his whole life in heaven, he might have had easily mistaken this place to be it.

He was inside an underwater cave, every inch of whose surface was covered by moss giving the place a dark green colour. The place was decorated with small multicoloured pieces of corals and small starfishes. Donovan could see the marine life in full bloom outside and the light of the sun being filtered by the surface illuminating everything. Schools of fishes were busy making a rainbow underwater and for miles and miles the white sand could be seen as if carpeting the bottom of the sea. A blue stingray floated just above the white carpet while a family of sea horse nibbled at the corals. From far, the songs of whales reached Donovan and he was reminded of the music composed by a human spirit named Mozart, who currently was the official composer of the Hall of the Heavens.

'Life here is so peaceful' Donovan thought touching the bubble which enveloped his face, enabling him to breathe.

'A sea shell for your thoughts, and I wouldn't be playing with that if I were you, but then again I don't need to right? I can breathe underwater. Perks of being a mermaid' someone shot the words at rapid speed.

Donovan turned around and his jaw dropped.


-----


She was wearing the pearly white gown, the sword lying feets away but attached to her armband with a chain . Her greenish hair flowed around her shoulders and a rainbow parrotfish roamed around her. The silver scales on her tail gleamed because of the reflected light but it was the spark in her eyes which dwarfed everything else. Her eyes held the light of a thousand suns, of all the joy and happiness that was filled in her soul. She radiated warmth and love but at the same time confidence and boldness. She was a live wire- full of life, liveliness and spunk. As she moved towards the dolphin, to adorn on it's neck a necklace made up of pink and black pearls, one couldn't help but notice her graceful movements. A sweet, disarming but playful smile resided on her pleasant face all the times.

'So we meet again dark one.' her mischievous grin widened,'and you should be thankful for that, else right now you would've been in a worse state then the wreck of the Titanic.'

'Tishu??'

'Princess Tishu servant. Don't forget, I'm the daughter of Triton, granddaughter of Poseidon, the God of sea. Next queen of the Atlantic' her jazzy laugh filled the cavern.

'I'm sorry my lady. Thank You for saving my winged ass, and now without intending to cause you further trouble I'll be taking your leave.' Donovan snapped back.

The sudden tension increased the density of the water. The fish stopped moving and even the Atlantic current made a brake on it's movements. Tishu's smile faltered a little while anger swept over Donovan's exhausted features.

'God still didn't give you a sense of humor.' she said finally.

She smiled back at Donovan, a smile that had captured his heart a long time ago.

She moved into his arms and they kissed.


-----


'It's been too long Donovan.' she said gazing into his eyes 'Too long.'

Donovan looked back into her green eyes and saw his own reflection in them. 'Yes damn it. It's been ages.' he thought.

'And nothing has changed since then Tishu. There were no options then and things are even worse then before, for me at least.' Donovan said loosening his grip around her.'You are a mermaid, me an angel. You are royalty and me, well I'm not even an archangel anymore.'

'and still in love with me?' Tishu couldn't keep the optimism out of her voice.

'Yes.' Donovan kissing her forehead. 'It has always been you and always will.'

'That's good.' she said happily. 'But you have been a very bad boy. I know. What did you do?'

'I guess I attract trouble.' Donovan's voice was flat but the shadow of mischief in his eyes betrayed what he meant.

Tishu turned to a light hue of red and continued, 'And what deal have you made with Devil that God wants you dead?'

'What are you talking about Tishu?'. The edge came back in Donovan's voice.

'Do you really think I was just out for a stroll in this part of ocean silly?' she said playfully ruffling his hair. 'I heard Michael, Commander of God's army telling grandpa that God wants you dead and he ought to send someone to kill you.' she shuddered. 'I couldn't just let him do it, so I followed.'
She continued,'He was grandpa's own and I can't control magical creatures. When I got here I saw a Sah-Raaki taking you away from the Sea Rhino. Sah-Raaki is a creature of the dark, a subject of the Devil you know? The Sea Rhino caught up with him and killed him and I, well killing fishes and killing a warrior princess are two different matters, the bully found it the hard way.' she laughed.

She stopped as soon as she saw the somber expression on Donovan's face.

'It doesn't make any sense' Donovan finally broke the silence and told her everything from the start. The death of his human- Jack, his resignation, and the attack by the earth demon.

'Why would Lucifer try to kill me first and then send one of his minions to save me? And why would God wants me dead?' Donovan thought aloud.

'I can't answer this but I think I know who can. There were rumors floating around that one of the angels has turned rogue and has risen against God. At first I thought it was you, given your friendly nature,' Tishu said sarcastically ' so I found out more. Seems there is another one like you. His name is Aris. I think you should talk to him. Birds of a feather flock together, you know. The only question remains is to how to find him. Skies are not safe for you.'

Before Donovan could say anything Tishu opened one of the shells of her necklace and a portal popped out of it.

'This portal will take you to the nearest water body around him.'

Seeing the puzzled expression on Donovan's face she laughed and said,'By magic silly. Grandpa gave me a gift on my 18th, the other side of this portal opens anywhere I, want provided there is water there.'

'I don't know what to say, I can't thank you enough Tishu. First you save my life and now this...'

Tishu leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on his lips, disallowing him to complete his sentence.

'I love you too Donovan. I just hope that maybe someday we can be together.'

They held each other tightly. Donovan broke the embrace and disappeared into the portals.

'I'm sorry Donovan' sobbed Tishu, tears welling up her eyes.

'He believed you?' A bold and clear voice filled the cavern.

'Yes' whispered Tishu between her sobs.

'Good princess. Your beloved baby seals will be returned safely and their habitat will not be harmed' the same voice said.

Tishu turned back to face him, anger burning in her eyes but he had already turned his back to her. She could only see a black cloaked figure with a pair of big white wings projecting from his back.

'You'll make a good ruler princess. You are caring, compassionate and practical. Sending the only person you love to death to save a forest, to save the lives of the animals living in it. You care for your subjects.' he said while leaving.

'Go to hell' said Tishu throwing a shell towards him but which only met the empty space.

'I will princess, I will.' thought the cloaked figure while swimming towards the surface. 'After I've destroyed God and extended my rule to all the heaven, hell and earth, I'll take a vacation in hell.'

The Coup- Part 10

ANGELS' ANGEL

As the mangled remains of Sah-Raaki dropped to the ocean floor, to be consumed by the bottom feeders, the Sea Rhino started searching for Donovan again. Without much trouble it spotted his silhouette mixed with the black sand of the ocean.

But something was amiss.

A group of dolphins were trying to nudge him back to consciousness and had formed a protective circle around him. Donovan's head also was contained in a bubble and he seemed to have no trouble breathing. Like a bull in the Spanish arena, the Sea Rhino showed his fiery temper and tried to intimidate the group of dolphins by circling at the place where he was, but without a doubt he was taken aback by their audacity. With a loud grunt, which though couldn't be heard underwater but whose vibrations could be felt, he lunged towards them.

He was ready for the kill this time, to mix the remains of the bird with the sands of the sea. But again someone decided to lay ruin to his plans.

The Sea Rhino dropped dead in his tracks as something passed in front of him at rapid speed. Distracted he searched for the one who had the nerve to challenge him.

His eyes finally stopped at the figure who was just turning back to face him. Her white gown gave out a faint pearly glow and her silver scaled fish tail was expertly balanced on the glass surfboard she was riding. Her hair had a black-greenish tinge to them, cradling her pale oval face and complementing her ocean green eyes. But it was the sword in her hands which was a sign of the steely resolve and daring nature which resided inside her beautiful body.

Sea Rhino shook off the spell and took off towards her for a head on collision. Without missing a beat she just smiled and nodded as if accepting his challenge. She tilted her surfboard back to gain acceleration and zoomed towards him. The Sea Rhino dropped his head so that it's 7 foot long horn could do the maximum damage but as a trade off he lost sight of his opponent. For a head on fight the Sea Rhino was unparalleled and unmatched. Just one strike meant doom for the opponent, but it was essential that they both meet following a linear straight line course.

The smile on the gowned figure's face didn't even decreased an inch as she approached the massive, accelerating figure of the Sea Rhino. Seconds before the impact she jumped off her surfboard and moved towards the Sea Rhino's right side while her surfboard took the opposite direction and went for his left side.
As she inserted her gleaming sword in the body of the Sea Rhino, the blade of her surfboard entered the Sea Rhino's gills. She kept on swimming with the sword still inside the Sea Rhino's side and made a large cut in his body running across till his tail. The Sea Rhino bellowed in pain as the water around him started turning crimson. The figure again mounted her surfboard and clapped her hands. Instantly many sharks and a battery of barracudas made their way towards the bleeding carcass of the Sea Rhino.

'That will be a fast death for him' she thought and forgot all about him as she took her eyes off the feast she had just provided to her servants.

She swam down towards the battered and bruised figure of Donovan.


-----


'Drink this, it will make you feel better' Aris holding a sweet smelling green coloured broth.
Archie was still shaken by the attack and the sudden appearance of her supposedly 'guardian' angel.
They were sitting in a forest clearing, under the shadow of a mountain a blue flamed firing burning between them.

'Where are we?' she finally asked.

Aris looked around and smiled. 'Beautiful isn't it? You are only the second living person after Dante to visit this place, mind you there was a lot of furor when Dante went back to earth and wrote down The Divine Comedy describing hell, heaven and purgatory, so be careful about what you tell people back home.' he smiled widened.'You are on the better side of Purgatory. The door to hell lies behind that mountain and that my dear is a twisted place, the side we are on is relatively much better. It leads to the gateway of heaven.' he said while pointing into the forest

'Purgatory?? Dante??? Divine comedy??? What are you talking about? Dante as in the main character from the video game 'Devil may Cry'??'

It was time for Aris to be puzzled. 'Google it later.' he sighed and looked at the full moon bathing the whole landscape in it's white light.

Suddenly anger flashed across Archie's face. 'And what about that bat thing? You swooping in from no where?? Am I supposed to google it too??' she hissed.

Aris weighed his options before speaking. Should he tell her the truth and to what extent?? or just lie to get her on his side?? She and her kind were conditioned from birth to think of God as a holy, all powerful, compassionate, righteous being. 'Even we angels thought of him being just that' he thought bitterly. Making her believe would be almost an impossible task.

At last Aris made up his mind that the best course of action would be for him to tell her the truth, but he decided that he would withhold half of his own motive from her.

In order to gain her trust and cooperation Aris decided to tell her that he was out to destroy Lucifer and her help is essential for the same but he decided against telling her that he would be also using her to annihilate God.

'Tell me Archie,' he started 'Have you ever loved someone?'

The Coup- Part 9

NAILING THE PROTECTOR

Sah-Raaki swam through the strong Atlantic currents towards the floating figure of Donovan. He could make out the Sea Rhino making room to strike one final time and finishing it all up.

The Sea Rhino was actually only an enlarged Rhino head on the body of a Blue Whale, with the world renowed meanness and short temperament of the Rhino present in it.
It backed up a little, blew a school of bubbles from it's nose and charged towards the half dead figure. The calmness of the sea took a turn for the violent as if an underwater volcano had erupted. The disturbance due to the rush of such an gigantic body accelerating through, caused havoc in the underwater world. Fishes and other marine animals flew across the water and a layer of slime started to raise it's ugly head from the bottom, as the body passed it. Producing a cloud of foam behind it, the Sea Rhino zoned in for the kill.

Sah-Raaki was momentarily faster then the Sea Rhino and this fact became a life saver for Donovan. Just before the Sea Rhino could reach him, Sah-raaki grabbed Donovan and took him away from harms path. The Sea Rhino whipped around and his mean little eyes focused the fleeing figure of Sah-Raaki. With double the intensity he swam towards it to claim it's prize. Sah-Raaki could sense that Donovan's body had some signs of life left in it but couldn't mend to him until their pursuer had left them in peace. Fighting the Sea Rhino wasn't an option, with the strength of the Sea Rhino clearly tilting the scales in it's favor, swimming away was. But Donovan's body was causing a hindrance. His large black wings were ruining the 'streamline effect' further reducing the speed.

With a mighty push of his tail, Sah-Raaki ducked into a 19th century shipwrecked remains of a large ship, in the hope of loosing the Sea Rhino.

As he swam through the maze of tunnels and rooms, the whole world suddenly decided to go Topsy-turvey.


-----


Not to be outdone, the Sea Rhino had struck the broken ship right in the middle, breaking it's back and splitting the whole ship into two. Sah-raaki swam out through one of the opening cracks but just as he was getting out, the half rotten mast of the ship gave way and went straight for him.

Sah-Raaki had been through many fights, completed a lot of impossible tasks for it's master and eaten a lot of bigger and meaner opponents, it might have had even beaten the Sea Rhino right now.

But he died instead. And all because of a rusted nail.

As the mast struck Sah-Raaki's back, a protruding nail went through his dorsal fin and teared half way through it as Sah-Raaki swam forward. He dropped Donovan and stopped dead in mid water. He tried fanatically to move forward but failed with every effort, panic swept through him as the picture of the impending death loomed in front of Sah-Raaki. Like most marine creatures Sah-Raaki needed to keep moving so that it can actively pump the water through his mouth and over his gill slits.

Slowly his oxygen starved brain started to go numb and every part of his body spasmed in agony,as if he was on fire. Just before dieing he saw the hazy figure of the Sea Rhino coming towards him to take out it's frustations. Welcoming death, Sah-Raaki closed its eyes and thanked his master, the Angel of Death, for saving him from the pain of the mauling which was soon to be inflicted upon him.

The Coup- Part 8

WATER AND BLOOD

Donovan flew just inches above the surface of the sea. He could feel the cool breeze meeting him head on, the shimmering sun being reflected off the surface and the salty flavor of the sea in his mouth. Once in a while he would dip under the rising swells to cool down. Taking rest was not an option for him anymore, besides the place he was heading to was known for its high temperatures.

He saw a few Albatrosses flying overhead and dismissed them as his only companion for the journey.

Once again he missed the Grey vulture following him.


-----


The Reaper sat in his cave, contemplating what to do next. He saw Donovan flying over the Atlantic ocean coming towards the Bermuda Triangle, the only gateway to hell.
Sending the earth demon to attack him had been a stroke of genius, the plan was to make Donovan believe that Lucifer wanted to kill him and direct his already seething rage for a direct assault on the Fallen One. Reaper's main motive was to seize hell in the subsequent confusion. After being the harbinger of death for so long, being the Angel of Death, a new zeal to achieve greatness burnt the Reaper from the inside. The fire to prove himself and the greed for greater power fuelled his ambitions to no limits. And he knew Donovan was the only one capable enough of taking the Satan down.

But the conversation his vulture had overheard in Rebus' office had changed everything. The fact that someone else was also plotting against Donovan was his main concern. He couldn't afford to let Donovan loose his focus, but without the knowledge of who he was against, planning the next move was almost as difficult as finding his robes in the pitch dark cave.

He glanced towards the vision being sent by the vulture. Something caught his eye. Not more then 10 feet in front of Donovan, a shadow had started approaching the surface from beneath.


-----


Donovan sensed something wasn't right. The albatrosses in front of him had suddenly screeched their heads off and dispersed as quickly as possible towards the horizon. The swell had changed it's rhythmic motion and had started churning as if a vertigo was forming inside the sea. Donovan scanned the sea for any immediate signs of danger but for miles he saw nothing but the blue of the ocean staring bleakly back at his face.

SPLASSSSHHHHH !!!!!!

The horn of the Sea Rhino missed Donovan by inches, or else the it would have had certainly converted all of his ribs to bony pulp. Still Donovan struck to the side of the rhino and the impact resulted him attaining a height of more then 25 feet without the aids of his wings. All the breath was knocked out of his lungs and he could already taste the sourish blood mixing with the salty water in his mouth.

As Donovan tried to control his senses four water streams shot from the sea and tied his hands and legs, stopping his rapid ascent abruptly. This sudden stoppage made his head go dizzy and before he could think of anything else the four streams started pulling Donovan down to the murky depths of the sea. A fifth thicker stream shot out and struck him squarely in the back. As the two opposing forces of the two sets of stream ravaged his body, a scream filled with agony escaped Donovan's lips. He could feel his back and his sockets crumbling under the dual force of the streams and his capillaries ready to explode due to the resultant pressure.

He opened his eyes and saw the sun, before a rush of sea water entered his lungs to push out whatever life was left in him. The mighty orange ball of orange had a azure colour from within the water. The surface gleamed as the rays of the sunlight penetrated the water to some extent. Donovan stopped struggling as the last of his strength left him and prepared to die in a cold chamber made of water.


-----


The Reaper got furious as he saw Donovan disappearing down into the sea. He could see all his plans crumbling to rubble in front of him. A golden opportunity to get what should've been his, slipping away.

No. Not yet. Reaper faced the portal and a shark demon appeared on it. The creature had a face of a shark but with arms and legs protruding from his body. A brilliant shade of blue adorned his back.
'Go Sah-Raaki. Save my instrument.', he commanded the demon and directed it towards the mammoth figure of the Sea Rhino.