Topic: Playing With Fire

Rhys Bristol

Date: 2011-03-05 22:49 EST
An empty warehouse on the WestEnd, about three weeks ago...

It had taken some doing, but Rhys had finally gathered together all the materials he needed to perform the summoning, waiting until David and Riley had left for their honeymoon before putting his plan into motion.

Luke had tried to help as much as possible, but Luke knew nothing about hunting, and secretly Rhys wished Adam was there or even Kellie, though he doubted she had much experience with demons.

He had all the materials gathered, Blue Oyster Cult blaring through the warehouse, his jacket discarded and laying on a rough wooden table, his gun shoved into the back of his jeans. He'd taken all the necessary precautions to keep himself safe from demons, but he had no way of knowing how to protect himself against fallen angels. Rhys could draw the Devil's Trap from memory in his sleep. First came the circle, then the pentagram, creating a pentacle. He moved slowly around, focused on the task at hand, shaking the can of paint every now and then before continuing. Next came each of the symbols that fit between the points of the pentagram. For those he took a fresh can of paint, carefully spraying each one onto the floor.

Humans were interesting to watch at times. Others they were little more than insects, waiting on the boot of a greater being. He watched the man working, waiting for the right time to strike a little fear, and offer a deal. Lilith for the sword, a fair trade he thought. He stepped out of the shadow, borrowed suit of course, as a non threatening, salt and pepper haired homeless guy. "Good evening, Rathanael." His hands were at his sides, and he was trying to show that he was unarmed at the moment. Startled by the voice and the sudden appearance of someone other than Luke in the warehouse, Rhys spun on a heel, dropping the paint can and reaching behind him to tug his handgun from the back of his jeans, pulling it up to level it at the intruder. "Who the hell are you?" The only ones who had called him by that name were those who knew of his supposed angelic side, of which he was still slightly doubtful. "We are old friends, you and I," he smiled and looked uncaring of the firearm pointed his way. "Nice work," noting the traps on the floor. "I assumed your friend would be helping you, but it's nice we have this time alone, Rathanael." He kept the smile in place and put his hands into his coat pockets. Rhys narrowed his eyes, trying to determine just who it was that had intruded on his preparations. There were only a few explanations. Whoever it was wasn't a demon. He'd taken precautions against that until the time was right. There was only one possible answer. The being before him couldn't be a demon, which meant that he was probably an angel. "Rhys," he corrected, holding the handgun steadily in place and pointed at the being's head. He didn't want to shoot him, but he would if he had to. "I assumed with the return of your memories, you'd recall our past meetings." his smile was cocky then. "How many times have you killed my borrowed suits?" He stepped closer. "Rhys" What sort of name is that' Almost as boring as," he pointed to himself, "Fred." Rhys stood his ground, unmoving except for the tensing of his shoulders and the clenching of his jaw, his hand firmly gripping the gun, ready to squeeze the trigger. "Abaddon," he said with sudden realization. He could be no other. "What do you want' I assume you didn't come here to swap insults." The smile bloomed then, "Ah, he remembers!" he clapped his hands then, before a sudden stop. "I want your sword." A small smirk drew Rhys' lips back into what almost amounted to a snarl. "I'm flattered, but you're not my type. You can tell that bitch Naamah she isn't either. I prefer flesh and blood women, not whores from hell." "Comedian now" And you used to be so serious..." he clicked his tongue.

"I'm here all week."

"Your Angel Sword for one Lilith, delivered in gift wrap if you so wish." Cutting straight to business. "I will even tip your wait staff," he smiled again. "Well, that's real friendly of you, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't have an angel sword. So you're shit out of luck. Sorry. Now piss off. I've got work to do." "But your friend says you will have one when you need it." He always enjoyed sticking his nose in places it didn't belong. "My friend." Rhys paused, brows drawing downward, realizing he must mean Lailah. "What the hell do you know about that" "Come on, Ratha...Rhys, we are not much different, you and I." He stepped forward again, slowly closing the distance. "I know she's talked to you, and what you are up against." Rhys backed up a few paces, the gun remaining leveled between him and the fallen angel. He knew it wouldn't do him much good, but it was all he had at the moment. "What I'm up against?" Rhys laughed dryly. "I'm up against you. You and your cronies. You know why' Because I made some kind of assinine deal to become human. But the joke's on me there, isn't it?" "Honestly, I can help you, you can help me, and we can go our separate ways. You want to be human, spend time with the blonde" I won't interfere." "Help you how" By giving you a sword I don't even have" And in return, you're going to give me Lilith. Big deal. What about Naamah' Think I want that bitch following me around for the rest of my life?" "Lilith is the only one I can assuredly deliver, Rhys. You can even keep your unused, uncared for weapon until you deal with Naamah, then I will return for it." He carefully stepped over the painted circle, as to not get any on the worn out shoes of his meat suit. "The blonde..." Rhys' wheels were turning inside his head and he realized he must be talking about Kellie. "You stay the hell away from her." "Or you will what? Please, follow through with your threats. I really must know what you plan on doing to one of your own kind." "You're not one of my own kind. Not even close. I don't know what you are, but I'm nothing like you." "We fought together, brothers in arms!" He laughed then, "Thwarter of Demons they called you. Every plan they laid, you laid waste to." He looked at the other man, "Don't you remember?" A puzzled look crossed Rhys" face, and he lowered the gun just a fraction of an inch in that moment of confusion and doubt. There was no memory anywhere of his angelic past, name, title, sword, nothing. He might as well be talking about a stranger. "You're lying." "Why would I lie?" His facial expression went serious then. "I think you know I'm not." Was that why he was here" Was that why he'd been chosen for this task" Was there to be any reward at the end or was he just a soldier, with no hope for a future other than that of an endless and fruitless struggle between what was perceived as good and evil" "Why do you want my sword" What happened to yours?" He started pacing lightly. "The battles we fought. Good and Evil, Heaven and Hell. Side by side, covered in the blood of our enemies, and laughing our way through it." He stopped pacing and looked at Rhys again. "They took my sword when I fell." Rhys lowered his gun finally, finding the other no threat at the moment. He only watched him while he paced, trying to harden his heart at the other's story. Whether he felt any sympathy or not, he'd been responsible for his parents' deaths and that he could not forgive. "You killed my mother. You tried to kill me." "Your Mother?" He chuckled at that. "You were created, not born!" Rhys narrowed his eyes again, expression darkening. "She was the only mother I knew." "I needed you, Rathanael. Your sword, your head for tactics against the legions," Abbadon turned and leveled a gaze on Rhys then. "How can you, of all...people, not know this?" It was Rhys' turn to laugh. "I was just a kid. What tactics did you think a nine-year-old would know" You killed my mother. I remember what happened. I saw pictures. You....they....she was ripped open and..." "It is still who you are, and were, even then." Rhys felt a pain in his chest at the memory of all the blood. They'd ripped her open and killed her, along with his unborn sister, just like they'd done to Riley and Patrick. "I feel your pain, and it saddens me, truly."

Rhys Bristol

Date: 2011-03-05 22:49 EST
"The hell you do." He started pacing again. "You think I do not?" "I know you don't." "And why do you think a brother can not share his brother's pain" Do you think I have lost nothing in all these years" Are you that close minded to think that you are the only being that has loved and lost?" "You're not my brother." Rhys raised the gun again, getting ready to put a bullet in the man's brain just to shut him up. Overcome with grief and rage, he didn't want to hear anything else he had to say. "I think you're a liar." He reached up and pulled the knitted cap from his head to scratch lightly, and then push his hands through his hair. "Deep down, you know I am not." He sighed again, looking at the gun. "You prefer the gun to the sword now. You've chosen a human life, the cat has married, the blonde seeks. Let me help you, Brother." "Help me what? Kill Lilith' If all I need is the sword, then I can do that on my own. So far, you've told me nothing useful. Lies, sex, and videotape. That's all it is." "How can you get her where you need her?" He pointed at the circle. "In your precious little trap" How do you know that old, moldy tome won't bring forth Lilith and her dinner party?" Rhys shrugged. "You let me worry about that. She killed my son. Her days are numbered." "So, that means she comes through, they kill you, the detective, the blonde out of spite, and I have you in Hell with me anyway." "I said to leave the blonde out of this. She has nothing to do with this." "Chances are she will then go for the cat, her mate, and any other friends you have here." Rhys paused a moment, that little bit of doubt creeping into his head again. "How do I find the sword?" "If my brother chooses a human life, I can wish him the best, with someone that has the ability to make him happy, and give him what he wants." He smiled then, as he asked about the weapon. "She said you would have it when you needed it, yes?" Rhys paused a moment and nodded, lowering the gun again. "Did you ever stop to consider it could be with you, all the time" Or did you assume The Guardian would come down, wipe your blood soaked face and place it in your palm?" "I don't know." Rhys had sort of assumed the latter, but he wasn't going to admit it. "If I already have it, then where is it?" "If she had to do that, she would collect your sword for the next of our kind." He stared at him for a long time, not answering that question. Rhys stared back, searching his mind for the answer and not finding any. "Why do you want to help me" And don't give me that brothers in arms crap." "Rathanael, how you've changed. You even called yours Demon Slayer, lovingly sharpening and oiling the blade over the centuries." he sighed. "Your love of the blade was nearly Idolatry, you know?" He ignored the question for a few minutes. "Lilith wants Lucifer freed." "Are you sure I didn't call it Buffy because..." Rhys broke off suddenly, a muscle twitching in his face, turning a shade paler. He was reminded of the dream he'd had where Naamah had told him that very thing. "That can't happen." Angel or human, he knew setting Lucifer free wouldn't be a good thing for anyone. "I don't want it to happen, fallen though I am. Lilith wants to carve your skull into a drinking vessel, and she needs your sword to free him. Naamah is a distraction. I want your sword, to make my reign absolute. You will have your life, and never hear from me again." "You want to kill him?" Rhys asked, somewhat incredulously. "You want to kill Lucifer. So, you're willing to give me Lilith and Naamah in exchange for the sword." "If I need to kill him, so be it." He up righted a knocked over chair and sat down finally, since his host hadn't offered a seat. "But remember, Lucifer was also one of us. I'll keep him locked away, as long as he behaves himself." Then a single nod was given to answer his question. "Right on the nose." "What do you need the sword for if not to kill Lucifer?" "The Demons, Rhys," he chuckled then. "There are some that do not wish to see me in a seat of power." Rhys' gun had been lowered but was still held in his hand, as he stood watching the other take a seat and carry on a conversation like this was an everyday event. "If I give you the sword, you could kill Lilith and Naamah yourself. But without me, you don't have the means to do it. Lilith will stand against you, so you want her out of the way. And Naamah..." he paused, sorting it out in his head. "....is an irritation. Lucifer won't want you in power either, so there's that. You get rid of Lilith and Naamah and Lucifer and you're the Big Cheese of the Underworld. What then" You have a barbeque to celebrate" Make smores?" He nodded with a smile. "You catch on quickly, it's almost like the old you." He leaned the chair back on two legs against the wall. "Lucifer does not matter, he's locked in a cage that even he can not get free from. Naamah has been an irritation for far too long, and yes, Lilith is a pain in my ass." "Must be a lot of smore making going on in hell what with all that fire and brimstone." He listened to the snarky remark and smiled. "Then, I wage my own war. They will side with me, or die. And Kumbaya is generally frowned upon if sung in hell." "And what happens when you become the Big Kahuna?" "Then silence. The pit goes on operating, under new management of course, just like it has for all these years." "You just sit happily on your throne while souls keep pouring in. Doesn't sound like much of a life to me. Unless..." Rhys shrugged. "...you like roasting human marshmallows day after day until the end of time." "Oh but it is quite the life. I can still make the occasional appearance up top, take care of business, and be back in time to be certain no one has intention on usurping my rule. So many people in the world that love to say how they do things for Satan, only he's not the welcoming type." Rhys arched a dubious brow. "And you are" You gonna roll out the red carpet for new arrivals and feed them champagne and caviar" Kinda defeats the purpose of hell, don't you think" Anyway, I'd rather have beer and pizza." He just smiled, allowing Rhys to make the jokes. Rhys rounded the table, standing across from the other, the table between them. He wasn't sure he liked that smile, and he sure as hell didn't trust him. "So, what are you gonna do' Dump Lilith off on my doorstep, gift wrapped and wearing a ribbon?" "Is that how you want her?" "I want her dead. That's all I care about." "You've the means to kill her, I've the means to deliver her to you." "Fine, say when." "Well, you are preparing now." "Are you gonna deliver her ass to me or do I have to go ahead with my own plan?" "You need the traps, the salt, and all of the other precautions, Rhys." "Yeah, so?" "Open the gate, and I'm sure it's her coming through, not a legion of blowflies or worse." "Tell me how to call up the sword." "Think about it, Rhys."

Rhys Bristol

Date: 2011-03-05 22:50 EST
Rhys had a feeling if he didn't have the sword, summoning Lilith would be suicide. He'd just have to do what he'd always done, exorcise her ass back to hell to fight another day, and he didn't want that. He wanted her dead. "Think about what?" "The sword," he shook his head. "I can't believe you've forgotten." "How do I know this isn't a trap" I summon Lilith and then nothing. No sword. She kills me and that's that. But then if you wanted me dead, you'd have killed me by now." "You are right, if I wanted you dead, we wouldn't be talking." "I need your word you won't harm those I..." Rhys trailed off, licking his lips. What the hell was he doing" Bargaining with a....a what? A fallen angel" He set the handgun on the table, along with the other items he'd gathered. "I told you, give me the sword. You won't hear from me again. My word as a brother." "Not yet. Not until Lilith and Naamah are dead." "Exactly. You will need it to defeat them both." "I never hear from you again. My life is my own. And you and your....cohorts....stay away from those I love." "The Cat, The Blonde, the Native American...Anyone else?" "Those I love and those they love." "Deal," he smiled, and offered his hand. "I never want to see another demon for the rest of my days." The hand remained outstretched. Rhys glanced at the outstretched hand, but didn't reach for it. "Let's just say it's a deal and be done with it." He looked at the borrowed meat suit's dirty hand. "I can't say I blame you." "One last thing." "Maybe I will make him take a shower before I return his body. Hmm?" His gaze leveled on the man again. "Tell me how to call up the sword." "I told you, Rhys." "I just think about it and it appears. I'm thinking about it, but I don't see anything." "How many pictures of angels do you ever see sheathes" You aren't in battle." "Artists' renderings." "Did you notice they do not have anything strapped to their belts?" "All these years and I've had it all along" Why didn't they tell me?" "I think, they thought as I did. You knew it once, how could you forget?" "Yeah, well....they were wrong." "Well, for the rest of our brothers and sisters, let me offer an apology." Rhys glanced at the gun, guilt filling his heart for all the lives that were lost that might have been saved, if he'd only known how. "I don't want any apologies. I just want revenge." "You shall have it, when would you like it?" "Tonight. The sooner the better." "Oh, revenge in a hurry. I like how you think!" Rhys still wasn't sure about the sword thing, but he'd worry about it when the time came. It wasn't like it was something he could practice. And he'd make sure Luke was there for backup in case something went wrong. "Call your friend, while I sit Fred down to a hot meal. Open the gate, you shall have your revenge." "One last thing." He bent down, placing his palm into the middle of the trap, a new and strange symbol appeared, a mark of unknown meaning. "You said that with the last thing." "Yeah, well, indulge me. When this is all over, I wanna go home. Can you arrange that?" "That is it?" "I have no life here." "I thought you liked it here." "You thought wrong." "Passage when the sword is passed to me." He nodded his head, looking both serious and determined. "Fine." "Your page for summoning, can I see it?" Rhys reached into his jeans and pulled a folded sheet of parchment from his pocket, unfolding it and sliding it across the table. He reached across and pulled it to himself so he could read it. "Do you have a pen?" Rhys had a bad feeling about the whole thing, knowing he'd done something he shouldn't, but he hadn't heard from the angels in weeks, and he felt he had no choice. He wanted his revenge and he wanted it now. "Don't you usually write in blood or something?" Rhys grabbed a pen from the table and tossed it over to the other. "Do I need to do it in theatrics?" Rhys shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's your show." He picked up the ink pen and jotted another line to the words already there, "This seals our deal, Rathanael." He said as there was a rolling thunder in the distance that seemed to roll toward them. "Verbatim, everything I have written in addition to the words, the symbol to your trap, you will have Lilith." Rhys glanced at the warehouse windows when he heard the thunder, reminded of something from his past, forcing himself not to shudder. He reached for the piece of parchment, looking over what was written there. It was, like the spell, written in ancient Latin. Rhys nodded in agreement as he read over the words. "Verbatim, Rhys. No screw ups." "I kill Lilith and Naamah, you get the sword. What's to screw up?" "You do not want to know, Brother." "You want a piece of me" Get in line. And we are not brothers." He let the chair back down on all four legs before standing. "Events are set in motion, and the night is wasting away. "We've had this discussion. If I wanted you dead, we wouldn't be in a deal right now." Rhys picked up the pen, hovering over the parchment a moment, before scrawling his name onto it. "There you go. Surprised you didn't make me sign it in blood." "What is your fetish with blood?" "I've seen a lot of it. Too much." "And we are...were Brothers."

Rhys Bristol

Date: 2011-03-05 22:51 EST
"Are we done here? There's a burger and fries somewhere with my name on them." "Midnight, the symbol fades, and you are screwed. So, stuff your face, get your friend, and get started." "And don't lurk. I get nervous when I'm being spied on." "As I said, The Meat Suit gets a hot meal, and I am gone, for now." "Witching hour. Scary. Thanks for the warning." "I thought you would appreciate it, since you have a flair for the theatric." "That's big of you, Abby. The hot meal, I mean. I'm sure Homeless Harry here will appreciate it." "Well, it's not his time, and it's cold out there. Fred." "Whatever." "Be seeing you, Rhys." "Yeah." He turned and walked back toward the door he entered through. "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out." "It's good to know you've not lost your sense of humor." "I wasn't aware I had one." "You were the funniest one of us." And with that, Abaddon was out into the dark, cold night, leaving Rhys alone to ponder his next move.

(Continued in "Evening the Score".)