Chapter Text
“I won’t do it.” Adam’s words were followed by such absolute silence that it seemed the crickets had stopped chirping. Because they had.
All life outside the airbase had recognized the importance of that simple statement and just...stopped. Or at least, that’s what would have happened if this were a romanticized version of events. Actually, Adam’s powers had materially helped things.
But he couldn’t freeze all the beings inside the airbase. No amount of inhuman power can stop the Four Horsepeople of the Apocalypse. They’re a human problem.
Right now, they were laughing. Laughing so hard they could barely keep their human forms.
“That-that’s a good one!” Famine managed between breaths. “You can’t not do it-”
“Yeah, I know all that, “ Adam said in a tone the Them knew well. It was the one he got when he had a new idea and Wensley insisted it wouldn’t work. Adam invariably won those arguments. In spite of everything, the Them grinned at each other.
"It’s just, the world's fine like it is,” said Adam. “And grownups like you are the reason I don’t want to grow up.”
War, Famine, Pollution, and Death were not thinking creatures. But they all had a keen understanding of where to strike to do the most damage, and they all knew what to do next.
WE ARE NOT FRIGHTENED OF YOU, LITTLE BOY. came resounding out from the tall figure in the black cape. BECAUSE THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME PART OF YOU THAT IS GOOD, AND GOOD PEOPLE ARE SO EASILY MANIPULATED. IT IS YOUR DESTINY TO REND APART THIS WORLD. IF YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT IT-
“Great. I don’t. We’ve been through this,” Adam said.
DO IT.
Death’s underlings dissolved into their true selves. Now they were slightly glimmering patches of air. Death remained as he was. Pepper, Brian, and Wensleydale each felt a sudden urge. It was like when they were children stuck in a museum with their parents, the “Don’t Touch” signs all around them. They knew they shouldn’t, but the desire was too much. As Adam-- who knew perfectly well what was going to happen-- watched in mute horror, his friends reached out and touched the shiny patches of air.
Two identical red patches flew up Pepper and Brian’s shirtsleeves. For a split second their eyes glazed over in confusion… then they turned to each other with a ferocity completely foreign to them-- and, it must be said, with quite creative battlecries-- and began fighting barehanded. A black particle flew up Wenslydale’s arm. He groaned and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. As if he were a video on fast-forward, he grew thinner by the second.
“Adam, help me!” He could scarcely speak from the pain of his hunger. He looked up, and his face was streaked with tears where so often dirt had marred it.
YOU MAY BE VALUABLE, BUT YOUR FRIENDS CAN WELL DIE IN YOUR PLACE. AND TAKE HEART. SO MIGHT YOU. ALL IN THE NAME OF THE BALANCE WITH WHICH YOU HAVE FALLEN IN TOXIC LOVE.
The worst part…no, that was wrong, the most unbearable part, was that even as Death advanced, Adam knew he was right. He was needed. This was right, in moderation. This was natural, in moderation.
Was this moderation? If so, he didn’t think much of it. In fact, he thought nothing of it but one word: Please.
Adam was growing angrier and more desperate every moment. He couldn’t do anything for his friends. These beasts were too powerful. And the more his emotions overtook him, the more his dark side showed up and said, But there is something you can do. A world with rotten people like this deserves to die. Call them, they’re right here. Call them and everything will be alright and it can all stop.
Adam opened his mouth. He could feel the words heavy and hot on his tongue: Let the war begin. But some small part of him was saying No, don’t! He chastised it. He drew breath to say the words-
“ADAM!’ Wensleydale screamed. He was skeletally thin now. Death was hovering behind him. Gray mist posited to envelop him. Tendrils were extending toward Pepper and Brian too. Adam stared at them. And suddenly he scowled as he would do if he was told to go to bed at 8 o’clock sharp. He said, “This isn’t a game, or, anyway s’not one I want to play.”
There was no fanfare. The three lesser Horsepeople simply vanished, and the moment they did, the glazed looks disappeared from the faces of the other Them. Wensleydale stood up and straightened his spectacles. Pepper ran to the place where the Horsepersons had been and began punching the air. Brian just lay there, shell shocked.
“Brian, it’s alright, come on up,” said Adam. “Pep, leave it be, they’re not commin’ back for a while.”
He felt like sitting down. He felt like falling asleep. His head hurt like he’d bitten into ice cream. What had he just done?
He faced the Them. “Go on home. I’ll meet you.”
From the ground, Brian said, “No, we have to-”
“Go home. Don’t worry, I’ll meet you.”
They got on their bikes and rode away, mumbling goodbye, and keeping their eyes on Adam longer than was safe.
Neither Adam nor Death were much more inclined to start a casual conversation now that they were alone than they had been with company, but neither moved off from the other.
At last, Azrael said, AREN’T YOU FORGETTING SOMEONE?
“No one’s dead here, so I reckon you should wait your turn,” Adam said.
His companion laughed. OH, I DON’T MEAN ME. LOOK UP.
Adam did, just as every soldier in the armies of Heaven and Hell landed before him.
The only help he received was a mocking whisper, lingering on the air as Death vanished: LOOKS LIKE YOU’VE GOT BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN ME.
At this point, even Adam’s bravado was wavering. He was an optimistic person, but he didn’t like his odds here. That just made him feel worse. Wasn't he the one who was supposed to protect them?
“We thought this might happen,” said the angel who looked like he was in charge. “Earth is toxic. It confused what was meant to be.” The angel cleared his throat importantly. “Clearly, your impudence changes nothing. You must begin the war-you can't order us all away. We’ll wait as long as it takes.”
Adam knew his only option was to stall.
“It’s true, I can do just whatever I want,” he said, scanning the angels and demons before him. They looked normal...but then, so did he. They had to have some weakness.
“Your power only comes from our master,” said one of the demons. “He’s powerful, but you’re not him, and there are millions of us.”
“And us,” said an angel. “We have a greater power, for our power comes from good, and you will never understand that.”
“Ah, not again with that. Being good’s so boring!”
“No, good is good, snake!”
“That idiot Crowley was the snake, not me.”
Adam watched, fascinated. These people were supposed to know everything, or at least be smarter than him, but all they did was argue. He grinned in spite of himself.
“What’s so funny, boy?” asked another angel. “We could always kill you and start over with another Antichrist if you’re no good.”
Adam had to do something, he knew that. Trouble was, he had no idea what. He couldn’t fight off two vengeful armies at once. He devoted one moment to panic, then cleared his face.
“I’ve heard before you kill someone you’re supposed to give ‘em last words, right?”
The armies exchanged wary looks. “Yes,” said another angel slowly. “We are obliged to do that.”
“I suppose if you beg and cry, that could be fun,” added a demon, sounding bored.
“Right, well,” said Adam, “you’re all bein’ idiots. You’ve been given this great power and all you ever use it to do is have weapons contests.”
“When do we get to kill you?”
Well, this could be going better. As Adam spoke, he scanned his memories for anything that might be useful. Satan has an extremely long memory for anything evil or associated with evil, and Adam had inherited something of that. If he just concentrated hard enough, maybe something useful would come out of the sludge of his mind. “If you ask me,” he said, waving his hand at the angels, “you don’t know what being good is, killing a defenseless kid because you’ve lost a game-- that’s poor sportsmanship, that is.”
“Right, that’s it,” said an angel, extending an open palm toward Adam like he was offering a blessing.
“Proves my point,” Adam said
The angel scowled but withdrew his hand.
Adam scoured his mind feverishly, feeling heavier by the second. There were too many dark impressions coming at him, mostly from the people in front of him. It gave him such a headache he had trouble talking. This was useless.
But from the farthest corner of his mind, he picked up a tiny impression of evil. An impression that didn’t want to be evil, that was really somewhere in between. Exactly how Adam felt. Keeping up his chatter, he reached out to the consciousness he sensed.
Who are you? Can you help me?