《After Megiddo》After Megiddo: Submission - Gideon

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Unknown Dusk moon

Gideon

He dreamed.

He gripped his left arm, feeling the echoes of phantom pain. With a cry, he dropped to his knees, grasping his hand. Within moments, the pain reverberations ceased, leaving him trembling and alone. He controlled his breathing, slowing the shallow breath, calming himself. He was dreaming which meant one thing. He was still alive. He glanced down at his clothes, finding himself garbed in his usual jumpsuit. The light of the room caught his eye. He saw and trembled.

He felt the air as thick as steel, weighing in on him. He felt the spiritual presence and power. Overwhelming power. A tear escaped his eye, flowing down his cheek. The awesome wonder of this place enraptured him. He felt himself in heaven. It couldn't be anything else. He found himself kneeling down on a crimson carpet, surrounded by pillars of white marble tinged with gold, as if one could carve and craft raw veins of mineral. It was a majestic room of massive fifty-foot pillars, standing like sentries, guarding the main walkway to a large pair of doors. He placed a hand down on the carpet, feeling the soft warm moistness. He heard the squelch, pulling his palm back to inspect it.

Blood.

He gasped, falling back on his rear before gathering himself to his feet, staining his jumpsuit crimson. He tried to stabilize, the shocking feeling of gore and mortality shaking him. The entire carpet was red, glistening in the light, soaked into the carpet. It traveled as far as he could see down the hall to the golden doors beyond. He was a tiny being in a temple of giants. His breath came out fast and shallow.

He had no time to process as a large hand firmly grasping his own. He felt the sudden surprising warmth, felt the tender care, felt the compassion.

He turned and looked up, staring into her eyes.

Eyes as depthless as the sea, eyes as vast as the sky.

They described horror and beauty, fire and passion, rage and bloodshed.

He was not in Heaven.

“Oh, my love. You’ve found me!”

He was staring into the smiling face of Lucifer. She had donned the mask of a loving mother. His heart stopped. His stomach lept. He felt the sudden urge to chew his own hand off and run.

He needed to love her, needed to dedicate his very existence to her, he needed to be lost in her passion-

The Seal on his hand flared, a needled spiked into his brain. A flash of light flashed and a clap of metal resounded inside. He felt the control that attempted to weigh atop his mind voided. She gripped the right hand she held tight, kneeling to inspect it. Her lips curled as the mother’s mask dropped. Annoyance flashed across her face for a brief second before a new mask was donned.

She smiled.

“You. You bear His Seal. Wonderful.”

Her hand trvaled down to his wrist, locking tight as a vice. She stood, walking down the hall and he dragged along, hurriedly taking four steps to her one as she sauntered across the squelching carpet, like a mother taking her child to school through a route of blood.

“I always knew you were special when we first met,” she commented warmly. She donned the mask of a close friend.

He was suddenly walking the razor’s edge of death, torture, or oblivion. He made the only move; play along.

“It seems I’m well-loved by everyone.”

She turned her head, smirking at him. Like a mother catching a child.

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“So you’re not alone, then?”

Shit.

She let out a platinum-bell laugh.

“Do not worry, yourself, my love. You can hide nothing from me- I’m here to help you.”

Careful what you say. Remember the other Lucifer.

“It matters not how guarded you may think you are. I will know.”

She paused, gracefully kneeling down in front of him. She wore robes of white and her hair of gold down, both unstained by the blood of the carpet; a small matter compared to everything else.

“What is your name?”

The question hung as a knife above his head. He saw the brief smirk of her eyes. Did he lie? He had a sinking feeling that he needed to be honest-to-a-fault with her. If she could lie without effort as he remembered, she might be able to pick up on lies without effort. He thought better than to test the theory. Gideon felt his wrist being squeezed, an unmistakable implied act of aggression; it was just enough to pinch. He needed to speak. Now.

“My name is Gideon McDonough,” he replied, his voice cracking under the intense pressure.

She tilted her head, cocking an eyebrow to continue.

“My father is the head of Primetech-”

“Primetech! Now I know where I’ve heard that prestigious name before. Do tell more.”

She rose to her feet, continuing to lead him. Those last words were not a request. Did he really need to be careful? After all, this was only a dream, a waking nightmare based on his fear of the Dusk mixed with the religious. And possibly influenced by the exes.

But then he remembered Deborah, the demon, and their failed flight. His theory had holes enough to declare it delusional denial.

“Have you had many visions before, Gideon my love?”

She popped his theory before it could fly. Visions and dreams were supposedly different, but the way she said it was telling. She knew of this.

“Yes, I do dream. I am the eighth son- I’m one of nineteen siblings. Or I had siblings…” he attempted to divert, focusing on family.

“Not very many prospects for one born so late, hmm?”

“I suppose so-”

“And then what?” She spoke over him, dominating the conversation.

Or interrogation.

“Well, I found the opportunity to direct my future by becoming a test pilot. I was on Karmmrak’s facility, piloting the Decima.”

“Were there dreams before or after?”

“Before.”

She nodded, narrowing her eyes in thought.

“I do say that He may have planned to choose you from the start.”

He felt her thumb rub against the Seal.

“I suppose-”

“What an inconsiderate asshole,” She replied, her voice dropping low.

The words caught him off guard, his heart rate increasing.

“What happened on the flight?”

He breathed a quiet sigh. She was honing in on something. He had to be cautious.

“The flight went south, sending us to an unknown Dusk moon.”

“Dusk?”

“You’ve never seen them? Creepy black robes, tall, telekinetic.”

His wrist blossomed with pain as she squeezed hard, a discouraging look on her face.

“Sarcasm is never attractive,” she chastised him, her eyes narrowing to slits.

He felt like prey stumbling into the lair of the beast. He nodded quickly.

“Good. Those robed beings sound like the pathetic Watchers. His most recent additions, that shitty fool.”

Gideon blinked at her bitter venom. The Watchers?

“Who are the Watchers-”

“Tell me more, Gideon my love, describe this planet.”

His heart leaped. She was here. She was real. She was looking for him. Denial would kill him.

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“Well, it’s hard. I don’t know it-”

He felt her hand grip his throat, forcing him to stare into her eyes.

“Describe.”

His breath halted in his throat. He felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead.

“I said it’s hard to describe because I can’t see the stars! It’s a wasteland covered in ash and albedo!” He rasped hurriedly.

“Oh Gideon, why didn’t you just say so? Here. I will help you.”

She knelt down to her knees, still needing to stoop low to look him in the eye. She gripped the sides of his head, engulfing it in her palms. He felt an intense pain lance through his skull down his spine. He couldn’t cry out in pain; he lost control of his body.

They stood on an ashy wasteland of the Dusk moon. She released him, glancing up to the sky.

Oh. Shit.

She had somehow traced him back to his origins. Lucifer was on the planet he was marooned upon. She gazed up into the overcast sky, squinting her eyes. He spotted familiar Rumblers along all four horizons.

“Ah, a quandary indeed. Let me show you something wonderful.”

Lucifer rolled her shoulders back. Elegant phthalo blue shards flowed from behind, spreading wide to the silhouette of two fifty foot wings. The polished mirrored fragments glinted and flickered in the light. She grasped Gideon’s wrist, pulling him close; he was powerless to resist. He was in trembling awe and fear of her majesty.

She carried him like a fallen princess.

She gazed down at him, a new mask dawned. It was one who was in authority over him. And then she ascended, the shards moved together like two sets of wings. He felt his stomach lurch, the ground beneath him left behind in a blurry rush.

Oh my God...

Her eyes showed triumph. Rage. Passion. The eyes of one that would rip his soul apart just to see. She broke through the cloud cover, the scattering albedo bent to her will. He felt the roaring rushing noise dim down to nothing as they broke atmosphere. And then the moon’s gravity well. She gazed far into the universe, her eyes taking in the stars. Lucifer ignored the laws of physics, speaking clearly to Gideon.

“Ah, you’re on that planet,” she announced.

“You know where we are!?” he mouthed back.

She gave him a malicious grin.

“And you don’t?”

She teased him as she laughed. It was the laugh of a malevolent being.

She spun around and then released, sending him hurtling back into the moon's gravity well.

“Stay right where you are- aw, you're so adorable, I just want to cut you up into cubes."

"I'm coming for you."

He fell, drifting back to the moon. Physics simply bent to her will and he with it. His mind roiled at the revelation. She had found him. The dream began to fade away, leaving him in a panic.

Another voice interjected, giving Gideon the final word. It was the voice of a loving Father.

“She does not have the authority to find you here.”

“Find me? Where the hell am I!?”

"Soon."

He awoke at those words, hearing the whir and beeps of medical equipment. He thought back to the battle. They had lost. Or did they?

What happened..?

“...She’s stable. Fascinating that Angel’s are easier to work with than humans!”

Shindow…

“Is Gid just okay??”

Baxter...

“Yes, Baxter, he’s just resting.”

What are they doing? What the hell happened?

“The patient is stable.”

“And her arm is set right once again.”

Steak and… Wait- who's that? Pat?

He opened his eyes, glancing up at the ceiling, confirming his presence on the Ferrum. He let himself relax at that. Somehow this horrific nightmare ended the battle with the demon was won. Shindow had collected him. He had breathing room for but a moment.

He introspected.

Wait. Shindow was caught. You know what, I don’t care. She must have escaped.

He thought back to his family and luxurious life. He missed them. The test flight was to carve out a slice of glory he thought he so deserved. To compare himself to his brothers without falling short.

It’s about the family as a whole.

His father’s words rung out in his mind. He had been focusing solely on his own glory, his own performance. His family was left behind in that pursuit. And he was successful. No doubt his family would remember who he was. It was a shame he'd never live to enjoy it. In a roundabout way, he missed what was lost.

Buyer’s remorse; the planet’s always greener; you miss what you know…

He ran through the cliches in his mind, proving to himself they were anything but. Would he return to what he was before? Possibly. Did he miss everything of his old life? Definitely.

Where are you? I was so selfish… Forgive me.

He thought of his sisters and how they supported him. His father moved heaven and earth to create the best vessel possible. Almost everyone contributed that could. Even his step-mother Tangence, the Machine Mother had assisted in her own way by getting Shindow a spot on the Karmmrak team. His birth mother… he never thought much of her after she had left them.

Demons. Angels. Armageddon. All of it was real. Did that mean the Empire of Dusk was consigned to hell then? Afterall they had done terrible things and were generally soulless aliens. Were they demons?

"There! Her wing is patched up. All complete. Wow, Angel anatomy is ludicrous!"

Deborah's wounds… she must be alright, too.

He just stared up at the dim lighting as he tried to wiggle his left fingers, feeling them stiff inside a molded plasticine cast up to his shoulder. While it was worse than the Rumbler's visit, he felt fine apart from the dream.

Can one get used to madness? I feel pretty good apart from the third or fourth looming doom I've experienced this morning. Marooned, Dusk, demon, Lucifer. Armageddon.

He realized it was an understatement.

Ok, I've lost count. Hopefully that Anform Sol is doing better than I am.

He gripped the medical stretcher's railing, easing himself up. He stared into the eyes of a sad gargoyle demon. It was leaning up against the hull, wings propping it up as it glared at him, arms folded casually. His heart stopped. He instantly went into flight mode. There was no fight.

Oh, hello, boy," the elder demon scoffed a greeting.

"Oh- Jesus Christ!"

He moved too quickly, the blood rushed to his head as he suddenly lost strength, falling back atop the stretcher. He thrashed, swearing up a storm before the whole room became alerted.

Tap-clacking rang out as Baxter rushed at the demon.

"You are bad! You be a good boy right now!"

The demon craned his head to the charging dog. Gideon halted, the scene too ridiculous to do anything but witness it silently.

"But master Baxter, I did nothing-"

The dog lept high, going limp in midair as he impacted against the demon's gut, slamming him flat with a raspy squeak into the Ferrum. Gideon's eyes widened to saucers at seeing the diminutive corgi thrashing the sin from the elder demon. Baxter struggled and squirmed, the two were a tangle of limbs as the dog bit down hard on the Demon's chest. Baxter shook, with the demon bellowing at the assault as he attempted to defend himself, but never to fought back.

"You -e goo- -oo gi-ion!"

Shindow rushed from the strange tent with Excertius armed and in tow.

“Baxter, what the hell is going on!?" Gideon shouted over the scuffle, with Saddiffer on the ground and Baxter sitting on top of his back, barking into his ears.

"Baxter!" Gideon shouted again. The dog sat at attention, wiggling his rump.

“I ate his paper! We fought him and made him sign my paper. I named him Saddiffer. He is my pet," Baxter explained with a chuff.

"What!?"

Shindow rushed over to Gideon standing atop the railing, "Gid, he's right. This demon, Saddiffer, lost to Baxter. That dog made him sign a contract! Not only that, but as you can see… Baxter is now really strong," She eyed the demon with well-placed mistrust. The demon just lay on his belly, being sad.

"Kill me," he begged to Gideon.

"I have an idea," Baxter announced. Trouble instantly brewed whenever he spoke those words.

"-Saddiffer you are too scary. Be so much smaller!” he ordered.

Gideon caught the look of pure dejection mixed with hatred as the demon complied. The Saddiffer shrunk in size, his proportions similar to Shindow. Its proportions were off, with its head being too large, its limbs and body were too tiny. The proportions of his sad gargoyle face changed to make the eyes larger. Gideon didn't think it possible something so sad could look even sadder.

And then Baxter proceeded to grasp the scruff of Saddiffer's neck, shaking him furiously. The demon let out a strange high pitched squeal as it shook. Baxter tossed the limp demon to the deck. The dog trotted to Saddifer, poking him with his nose.

“There, he is now not so scary. Saddiffer is a good boy," Baxter praised with a chuff, tongue out and ears relaxed.

Gideon protested, his eyes wide with fear, “that still doesn’t change we have an armed solar bomb aboard our vessel! Named Saddiffer!”

Shindow interjected, floating over to the dog, "Baxter," she poked his nose before sitting atop his head, "based on the stories, this demon will try to subvert and eventually betray you. You may die and we with you!

Baxter yawned at that.

“Saddiffer, be a good boy and tell us,” Baxter ordered, staring right at Shindow. Saddiffer animated suddenly, going into the air and flapping his wings furiously.

"The glowing one is a hideous and cowardly trow. One who only plays at being His chosen. A hollow imposter. And if she's the best fighter, we're all done for! The boy is a weak liability; the very worst thing about this pathetic crew! The metal cans are at least useful for entertainment, but what is your purpose, boy? For the orange blip, I can scarcely say I have never seen such a more pointless thing in all of my lengthy existence! And you, master Baxter, are a supreme idiot. No demon deserves such hell, being under your authority!" the demon explained to each of them, venom and bile spitting from each word.

The room went silent at his insults.

And then Baxter jumped and bat Saddiffer from the sky, crashing him to the floor. Baxter sat on him, digging his rump into the demon as Saddiffer gasped and bellowed in protest.

“Now, be a good boy, how will you do an 'eventually betray'?” Baxter asked, butchering both the word and concept.

"By being mercifully destroyed by a stronger entity. Based on master Baxter's supreme intelligence, possibly in a weeks time," Saddiffer explained under the dog's weight.

Baxter shook his rump, crushing Saddiffer harder before getting off him. Saddiffer continued, "Anything I do must be run through a filter. Baxter is the best doggy is the contract filter.”

Gideon spoke up, trying to clarify an important point, "wait, 'Baxter is the best doggy is the contract?"

Saddiffer nodded, letting out a droopy-eyed sigh.

“If I try to betray him, master Baxter’s intended inference would break and I am then destroyed as the contract dictates. Master Baxter's contract may be 'exceptionally long' for one so brilliant, but the emotional implication is as strong as the contract itself; the real meat, if you will. If I attempt to harm any of the people master Baxter so much as particularly likes, I claim he is not the best doggy and thus crumble to ash.”

Gideon blinked in stunned silence. This was too stupid to be real.

“If I act of my own accord, I imply that he is not the best doggy and I then cease to be.”

Shindow glanced to Gideon. This was all too surreal.

It continued.

“If I resist, I cease. If I am passive and allow mishap, I cease. If I actively or passively attempt to undermine master Baxter or his family, or party, or friends, or acquaintances, or strangers, or beings, or objects, or ideas, or abstracts; I cease to exist.”

The room went silent for a time as everyone soaked in the bizarre news.

Saddiffer added one last explanation with a tired sigh, "with master Baxter's supreme intelligence, he no doubt understood why he wrote what he did. Even an Elder such as I is baffled by the logic."

"But why Saddiffer?" Gideon asked. Following the dog's logic, the demon should have been named 'Naps'.

"Oh! Yes. He is named Saddiffer because he is sad, he is different, dif means no, and he has no fur!"

Gideon thought that over. Sad different. Sad no fur. Dif was Bordeauxian for no, his mother's language.

"As you can tell, master Baxter's supreme intelligence is without fault. Or mercy."

“Okay you talk too much go away,” Baxter ordered.

Saddiffer breathed a sigh of relief as he stored himself back in the black gem adoring Baxter's chest.

"I had no idea that it was all so complex," Shindow commented dryly.

"A strange turn of events," Pat added.

Everyone glanced at her.

“Why does Pat sound different? Baxter, what did you do?” Gideon asked as he shot the dog a glare.

“Saddiffer. Come here! Where are you? He must be missing. I need to go find him- goodbye,” Baxter chuffed as he trotted away behind the captain’s chair, peeking out.

“Gideon, Patricia inferred that her shorthand name ‘Pat’, was actually female-"

"But Pat is short for Patrick- I meant they were both good boys when I named them!" Baxter barked back from behind the captain's chair.

Pat turned her head to the dog, "incorrect. Your inferred naming ritual involved naming a male and female. Your 'good boys' comment was a broad brush, similar to 'hey guys'. Pat is short for Patricia."

"Oh. Saddiffer! Where are yooou?" Baxter sniffed as he scurried back behind the chair.

Shindow shook her head, continuing her explanation, "Patricia also decided upon seeing the wreckage and our lack of expertise as a critical role to fill. She has decided to become a tech. What sort of tech, I am unsure.” Shindow explained.

"Whichever is needed," Patricia answered with a nod.

They were in desperate need of an engineer. Gideon nodded, unsteadily getting to his feet.

“That's actually… not bad!"

An Anform poet would have made matters more controversial.

“Exactly!” Shindow said as she floated onto Gideon’s shoulder.

“Can you move?” Shindow asked.

“Yeah, I can. Why?”

He had a bad feeling about that question.

Shindow sported a guilty look on her face.

“Well…” Shindow began to explain their new situation.

He heard the news of what had happened while he was incapacitated. He said the one word to sum up his whole day.

"Shit."

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