The Beginning and the End (a Watcher Academy Extra)

This is an extra for the Academy of the Devil/Watcher Academy 'verse. As such it contains spoilers for the whole series. If you haven't read it, you probably won't understand much and will want to do that first.

Warnings: Violence

Sometimes, being Satan sucked.
It wasn’t that I disliked my role as the queen of Hell. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. I enjoyed playing my part in this whole good and evil game the Demiurge liked to play. And it came with perks, since it meant I could tease and torture countless of people, demons and mortals alike.
But some of those demons could be very irritating indeed. Today, the pest in question was Belphegor. The Lord of Sloth had somehow managed to drag himself out of his pile of filth and had come to see me in my throne room.
“My Queen, I hope I’m not disturbing you. I have come because I wanted to provide you with a report on the mortals currently stuck in Limbo.”
What he wanted was for me to suck his cock, but that wasn’t going to happen. I enjoyed sex as much as any demon, if not more so, but I had standards. An obese, filthy creature like Belphegor wasn’t included on my ‘acceptable partners’ list. Normally, I might have played along a bit, maybe even allowed him to think that he’d get his wish. But today, I was in a bad mood. Something else was bugging me, and I didn’t know what it was.
“You’re a High Lord of Hell,” I told him. “You and the others can sort the mortals yourself.”
“Yes, My Queen, but you are far more skilled…”
I sensed his treachery before he could finish the phrase. In hindsight, I should have seen it much sooner, because not even sex with me could get Belphegor to move his ass.
“You! You vile traitor! I’ll slay you where you stand!”
Belphegor yelped and stumbled back. Primordial power emerged from my fingertips and I lunged forward, ready to tear his throat out. I never got the chance to go through with my plan.
The walls of my throne room exploded and a massive, whale-like creature flew inside. It emanated celestial magic, but it was tainted by the taste of betrayal and defeat.
A fallen angel. Leviathan.
Oh, this was rich. It appeared my own High Lords had conspired with the Watchers and their leaders to topple me from my throne. I refused to allow it.
“I’ll only give you one warning, angel. Leave now, and I won’t turn you to dust where you stand.”
“You’re not as powerful as you like to believe, Hell Queen,” he replied, his voice echoing in my ears like thunder.
I wanted to laugh in his face, because I was more powerful than he could ever understand. But I wasn’t in the mood for jokes, not now, when my realm had been invaded by presumptuous fallen angels.
“I suppose we’ll just have to see about that,” I told him with a sharp smile.
Extending my wings, I summoned my powers to my aid, tapping into the magic of the Seven Circles of Hell. As Satan, I was officially the Lady of Wrath, but since I was queen of The Infernal Realm, I had power over the other sins too. And there was nothing stronger in the four realms than sin. That was one truth no one could deny, not even the Demiurge.
The blast of magic that erupted out of me was so intense it threw Belphegor straight out of the throne room. Leviathan handled it a little better, but even his celestial magic was no match for mine. His massive form blurred and crumpled, unable to withstand the assault of my powers.
It took less than a minute for the whale to vanish, replaced by the true form of the fallen angel. I had to give Leviathan credit. Even in his real shape, he had power. His wings glowed with divine magic, and when he set foot on the floor of my throne room, the marble tiles cracked.
But I wasn’t worried. He was still an insignificant gnat compared to me. “Come at me then, angel. Let’s see if you’re as strong as you say.”
He took me up on my challenge, lunging toward me, his eyes burning with a devotion only angels could ever show. With a flick of my fingers, I summoned my whip and curled it around his neck. I jerked my arm and he went flying, straight through the hole he’d created with his own body.
But I didn’t stop there. I couldn’t, because Leviathan wasn’t the real problem.
I followed him through the hole, out into the open. As I flew into the courtyard, I got a good look at what was going on in my realm, and it was unacceptable. Fallen angels and demons were working together, side by side, in an attempt to defeat me. What a disgrace. I would kill him. I would kill the creature who’d made this happen.
Fortunately, I wasn’t alone in my quest. My faithful Demogorgon appeared by my side and bowed lowly. “Take care of Leviathan,” I told him. “I’m going hunting.”
“Yes, My Queen,” he said with a sharp, toothy grin.
As he pounced on the fallen angel, I flew away, seeking the distinctive energies of the Brightest Star. Lucifer had always been unique, even among his own kind. It made him a good leader, but it also made him easy to find.
I was forced to pass through several legions of demons on my way to Lucifer. Most were fairly easy for me to obliterate, although I noted with some irritation that my High Lords had done well in organizing them. Their battalions were keeping my own loyal factions busy, which meant that I had to deal with Lucifer as quickly as possible.
In the end, it was Lucifer who found me, not the other way around. He was in his celestial form too, and even if he’d lost the privileges of his birthright, his energies were still so bright they burned me. His fiery blade was like a mockery of the infernal pits that lit up my realm.
By some kind of miracle, I managed not to squint when I looked at him. Irritating intruder. By the time I was done with him, his light would be duller than that of a tortured human.
“Satan,” he greeted me with a brief nod. “How kind of you to welcome me in your lovely realm.”
“I think we both know kindness has nothing to do with it. You’ve trespassed on my territory, Lucifer, and I won’t be as kind in my punishment as your divine father.”
Even as I spoke, I lashed out at him with my whip, channeling my primordial powers through my body. Lucifer ducked, his eyes flashing with irritation. Even if he was a fallen angel, he was obviously still attached to the Creator. How quaint.
“Is that a sore spot?” I continued to mock him. “Do you not like to be reminded of your origins? What a shame. I personally think it’s not a great loss, but I’m sure you must miss The Celestial Realm.”
“As a matter of fact, I don’t. I find The Infernal Realm a much better option.”
“Not for you, it isn’t.”
He snarled at me and a rain of glowing feathers erupted toward me like an avalanche of magical arrows. I avoided some of the projectiles and blocked the rest with my wing. I didn’t show it, but the attack hurt.
Well, even if Lucifer was powerful, this was still my turf. He couldn’t hope to defeat me, not now, when he’d just been banished by the Demiurge.
A whirlpool of magic started swirling around me as I turned the very nature of my realm against Lucifer. In retaliation, he threw several fire blasts toward me. It was impressive, but not nearly enough to hold me back. My whip weaved through the air like a live thing, and he tried to evade it. He managed to not take a direct blow, but I still left a distinctive burn mark on his body.
After that, he seemed to abandon all sense. He lunged forward, straight at me, ignoring the way my primordial magic was threatening to tear him apart. And it did work. Through sheer willpower, he managed to reach me, slashing my chest with his blade. But I didn’t let that stop me, nor did I let the opportunity go to waste. I attacked his face and chest with my claws, trying to tear out at least some of his eyes. He might have several faces, but I used a very simple strategy in all my battles. When in doubt, maim.
In the end, we both fell out of the sky, onto the fiery ground below. The battle between our respective subordinates was getting fiercer, but I couldn’t intervene now, not until I handled Lucifer.
Within moments, we were back at each other’s throats, our magic clashing, my whip against his sword, primordial and elemental powers twisting around us in a fight for dominance. It was a battle of attrition more than anything else. Slowly, I was wearing him down. In the Mortal Realm, we’d likely be more or less evenly matched, but here, I was stronger. Despite all the gifts he’d received from the Creator--gifts he hadn’t lost--I was still the Queen of Hell.
At last, after what seemed like forever, he dropped his guard. My whip flew forward, and this time, my aim was true. He avoided losing his head, but one of his left wings took a bad hit. He staggered back, trying to put some distance between us, to buy himself enough time to recover.
This was the perfect moment for me to strike. Shooting him a predatory smile, I gathered all my primordial powers, focusing on destroying the wretched fallen angel like the insect he was.
I was just about to deliver the finishing blow when a blast of fire hit me in the back. I staggered forward with a cry, losing my hold on my magic. “You should be a little more careful, Hell Queen,” another male voice said. “Lucifer isn’t alone. Not like you are.”
That was when I realized by mistake. While I’d been distracted by Lucifer’s little game, Beelzebub had sneaked up on me. I’d been arrogant when I’d thought that single blow would cripple Lucifer. He had just been distracting me while one of his fallen angel lieutenants had joined in.
I tried to hold them off, but against the two of them working together, I had significant trouble. And then, my own High Lord, Mephistopheles, showed up. And there was nothing I could do.
At the end of the battle, I was defeated and in chains. I had lost, and Lucifer had won.

****

“And that’s how I became the second Satan. Those were crazy times.”
“You can say that again,” I mumbled under my breath, trying to ignore Lucifer. I was a few feet away from him and the small crowd that had gathered around him, but I could still easily hear the conversation. “Remind me again, why exactly are we here?” I asked my own lovers.
Michael shot me an apologetic look. “We’re supposed to make nice with them. The Creator wants the realms to solve their differences, now that our war is over.”
“And how does that translate into me having to endure Lucifer’s drunken rants?”
“In fairness, Delilah, the drunkenness is not his fault,” Cain pointed out. “I’m pretty sure Demogorgon spiked the punch.”
Demogorgon didn’t deny it. He was curled around my arm, in snake form once again. He let out a light, hiss-like chuckle. “They had it coming. You’ll see. They’ll start embarrassing themselves soon.”
He was proven right. Not five minutes later, Mikael accidentally blew up the mysterious spiked punch. Stefan shifted into his middle form and started prowling through the hall, apparently searching for Alyssa. I knew for a fact that he wouldn’t find her, since she seemed to have taken a leaf out of our book and had decided to turn her aggression onto the angels.
Watching Sandalphon trying to avoid the capture of Alyssa’s cerberus familiar would always be amusing.
But even so, I wasn’t surprised when Mephistopheles ignored all the chaos and made his way to my side. He must have realized what had happened and had become concerned after Lucifer had gotten drunk. “Doesn’t it bother you?” he asked. “That we betrayed you?”
“Not anymore,” I told my former underling. “It was for the best.”
I’d thought I’d been happy in that life. I’d been a queen and I’d ruled an entire realm with an iron fist. But there were only a handful of moments in my existence as Satan that had had a real meaning--and those were when I’d met Sariel, Azazel, and Yeqon.
“You and the Brightest Star did me a favor. It might have sucked at the time, but I’m happy now and that’s what matters.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so forgiving.”
By my side, Sariel snorted. “You do remember that we killed her, right? Of course she’s forgiving.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Mephistopheles replied. “Lucifer will be happy to hear it.”
I hummed thoughtfully and glanced toward Lucifer once again. At one point when I hadn’t been paying attention, Alyssa had returned to his side. He had wrapped a possessive arm around her waist and was looking straight at me.
He was perfectly sober and calm. I smiled at him and nodded. The Demiurge might have been the one to set up this little meeting, but I’d left my life as Satan behind already. I truly believed Lucifer would do well in his reign. If nothing else, he had to. Like me, he had a family to protect--and that was something both me and my lovers could understand.
Our past might have been full of turmoil, but now, we were headed toward the future.