Preantepenultimate
“They call him the Gunslinger. Heavily armed, fearless and in possession of a death wish. He is the only thing stopping this kingdom from growing.
For you see, he has the princess; your daughter and the only heir to the throne. Without her your kingdom is doomed.
Rumor has it, he is staying in a safe-house in the center of The Valley. He has traveled from the homeland, through nothingness and into beyond to get to here.
It is not known what he has planned for the princess, but what is is that he is heading this way, you must stand and fight at the gates, for the sake of your futures.”
“And why should I believe you, petty Messenger?”
The Messenger reached towards his hip and drew.
Silence and the roar of the suns did all the talking as The Messenger edged his finger towards the trigger.
Looking into the barrel and reading his name on the bullet, Lucifer finally broke the spell and uttered his final words, “Who do you work for... Sir?”
“Him.”
A bullet to the brain brought Lucifer to his knees, as The Messenger stood powerfully before him.
“And they told me you would never bow...”
By this point a crowd of worried citizens had formed around the scene, The Messenger looked into their soulless eyes and grinned.
“You best prepare yourselves,” he breathed deeply. “The Gunslinger is coming.”
Laughter was all he could manage as he himself faced a bullet of his own soaring towards his chest.
And when his heart could take no more, he spoke with blood rushing out of his mouth;
“Welcome to the end of days.”
To Be Continued 12.6.12
Antepenultimate
This is Part 2. Read 'Preantepenultimate' first.
Beyond is an unusual place.
It is the deepest, darkest valley you could possibly imagine - where not even the thousand suns of Lucifer's Kingdom could shine down on.
Here, you must learn to love the darkness, embrace it and absorb it - but never let it know that you are afraid.
Everyone is your enemy in the Beyond, and they make you out to be the bad guy - so why not become the bad guy?
Rifles strapped to his back, handguns to his side, shades on, a fat cigar corrupting his lungs. He is the definition of badass - 'The Gunslinger' they have even started calling him around these parts.
This neutral fear and hatred had managed to keep his journey relatively quiet and unnoticed, but he knew he had to warn Lucifer of himself - he owed him that much.
The Messenger was a simple man, yet The Gunslinger knew he was so much more than that. He was the most powerful man in the universe, disguised as a delivery boy.
He had told The Messenger his plan, and thus made it into prophecy. The co-ordinates of the safe-house were set in stone, and the princess was all his.
Until he reached those gates, nothing could stop him. After that, fate and chance would take charge and he could only hope for the best.
Weeks had passed since The Messenger's warning and the supposed 'Gunslinger' was nowhere in sight.
Lucifer's Kingdom had returned to normal; not even death could halt his reign.
His name was carved on to that throne long before it was the bullet, and nothing could stop him.
The Princess had long since come to the conclusion that her existence was pointless - she would never be Queen. Lucifer was unstoppable and he knew it, the Princess could die and it would mean nothing.
The Messenger was a fool to believe otherwise. The very same Messenger now locked away in the dungeons, in eternal pain and as close to death as one could possibly be.
Lucifer laid back on his throne and examined his daughter and his kingdom, smiling at their natural beauty. All was well.
The Messenger winced, "I've been expecting you."
"I've heard things. Rumors, accusations..."
"Of the end of days?" He held his dislocated shoulder in continued agony as he faced the shadowed character on the other side of his cell.
"Yes, and I heard you were the man who started this... this..."
"Prophecy?"
"I guess..."
The Messenger let out a throaty laugh, "The end of days was quite a statement I guess. But it got your attention did it not? The end of days are near, I suppose. But the clue is in the name..."
The shadowed character shook their head in disbelief, "Just give it to me straight you freak!"
"Hahaha freak, I love it! Well like I said the clue is in the name, this is not the end. But it's not the beginning either. The Gunslinger has traveled far and I need you to come with me so we can reach the Penultimate. Only then can we hope to see the end of days."
"And who says I want to see the world end?"
"My master, your master..."
The shadowed character slowly started backing away as the tone of The Messenger's voice grew angrier.
"And you are the final piece, his vengeance shall be sweet, justice will be served, and the end of days are before us! For now though, I shall leave you at his mercy, deep in the valley and Beyond!"
The Gunslinger cautiously pushed aside the steel door, peering both ways to make sure he was alone.
"So this is the place..." He muttered to himself - as he was so used to doing.
A white blank wall overpowered the otherwise grotty room. It was here that The Gunslinger took his seat, upon the throne of rags, and there he waited. Waited for the collision of the worlds.
To Be Continued 12.13.12
Penultimate
Apologies for the slight delay.
"You know it as well as I do... Your existence means nothing. There is no reason for why I shouldn't kill you right here, right now."
The Princess' mouth quivered, her cheeks red from fallen tears. Yet she said nothing. She couldn't. Her time was up.
The Gunslinger carefully loaded up his handgun with a slight touch of pride. What right did a boy have to hold such a clinical tool of destruction? It was beautifully horrid in his eyes how he had been allowed to so easily slip under the radar and wonder into Lucifer's Kingdom armed so heavily.
"It's a shame you can't stay though." He spoke with genuine compassion, "Your beauty and all round good nature is so hard to find in today's world."
"So it's all because of my father then? That's why I have to die? Because..."
"Because you are the future Queen of the Underworld? A maiden of hell?"
The Princess nodded.
"Lies! Lucifer is not your father, and this is not where you belong."
"I knew it!" A smile shone through her damp face, to her it was like a weight had been lifted from her very soul. The weight of the Underworld.
"He has been feeding you lies. I was much the same, until I learned to believe in the light, and now I chase it."
"So...so why must I die?"
"Like I said, your very existence is now pointless. But a part of you shall live on."
The Princess, in a confused state, stood up and walked closer to The Gunslinger, almost like she had forgotten about the weapon directed at her brain.
"How?" She asked.
"We're the same... you and me. This hell that is now our world is both of our enemies. And here lie all of our demons, phantoms and Lucifer. The people here call me a mad-man, intent on bringing the end of days. The truth is... days as we know and love them ended a long time ago. I'm just here to let our world die in a little dignity."
"So what are you, an angel?"
"Perhaps. If I can earn my wings..."
"By killing Lucifer?"
"Yes, but I cannot do it alone. Will you help me?"
"Well put that bloody gun down and I might consider it!"
"No."
"WHAT?!"
"I'm afraid I can't, you must die, here and now. Your blood must paint this white blank wall and our souls must become one, it is the only way Lucifer can be stopped."
"I...I..."
"WE ARE THE SAME! No longer must we live in fear, doubt or denial. Together we shall march to victory and towards the light!"
"You're nuts!"
"And they will know our name is the Lord when we lay our vengeance upon all of them motherfucking demons!"
Brace Yourselves For The End Of Days.
To Be Concluded 12.20.12
The End
They only spread rumors about him, avoided him, or simply ignored him. And so when the flood of fire poured itself down upon The Valley, the demons were unable to react.
Instead they were left for dead or let off in order to spread the word. After all, that's what they did best.
“It's about sending a message.” The Gunslinger mimicked. They didn't have to die, it was more out of cold-blooded revenge than anything.
The Gunslinger saw it as important to keep his blood cold in these parts, there was enough heat in hell already for his liking.
The Power of 2 rested inside of him, a terrific sense of both fight and flight simulated his way through The Valley with ease. At last he was truly living up to his name.
Up and through the gates he went, obeying the prophecy. He was a ghost passing through, the minions and all their mite couldn't halt him.
And so down went the grand door that separated Lucifer from his realm. His guards — dead in an instant. But much to Lucifer's awe, The Gunslinger began to make a pile of weaponry out of his entire arsenal on the ground between them.
“You're giving up already?” The king smirked.
“My bullets cannot harm you.” The unarmed trooper stated. “You and that golden, jewel encrusted monstrosity you sit on are untouchable.”
Lucifer leaned back on his throne smugly, “And so you came all this way for nothing? Just to tell me that my reign will last forever after?”
The Gunslinger looked through the now open doorway from which he came. “This kingdom you reign over... I believe you know nothing of it.”
“Of course I know my own fucking Kingdom!”
“Oh but you see... for it to be your Kingdom, you must be a rightful King — which you are not. You are a virus, Lucifer, all that is bad. And what was good was made your prisoner...”
“My daughter!”
“She is not your blood! She was once the harp to your pitchfork. Until your deceit destroyed her.” The Gunslinger pressed his hand against his heart. “But she lives on not through me, but WITH me.”
“Madness...”
“Not only have you been keeping what is good prisoner, but also the rightful King!”
“The Messenger...” Lucifer gritted his teeth, clenching his fists against the sides of his throne. “Please, just tell me, who really are you?”
The Gunslinger walked towards one of the walls, each bearing torches to light the room. “Your people call me The Gunslinger, yes? But... what I really am is what many may interpret as the Messiah. The form of the rightful King who can do what is right for this world, who can protect it, who can FREE IT!”
Lucifer looked on in disbelief.
“And now with her inside me, I know I can do good, and earn my wings for the both of us.”
“By bringing the end of days!?”
“No... by bringing YOUR end of days!” The Gunslinger forcibly threw one of the torches at his arsenal; setting it alight.
Lucifer exclaimed, “What are you doing, you fool!” But as he gazed upon the blaze of weapons he noticed a distinct dampness around his feet.
There had been a petrol tank hidden amongst the clutter, slowly leaking it's contents down to him throughout their face-off. The fire furiously ran the course and quickly ignited the throne.
“You are a virus, Lucifer. And I am a firewall. Bullets cannot kill you, but what you made can. The fire that consumes YOUR crooked kingdom, the throne that YOU survive upon...”
Lucifer laughed, “But you threw the torch, boy. And I sure as hell didn't make you!”
“Well actually... wherever there is evil, there will always be someone to fight back. So I believe I am no less the spawn of you than I am The Messenger...”
“No, no, it can't be!”
“Until next time, Lucifer...”
“NOOOOO!”
A light. The light. What he had been chasing for so long.
A voice. The voice. From father down to son.
“I have been prisoner for many years,” it said. “But you have freed me, and my world. You have truly earned your wings. And I am glad to see peace has been made between you and your alter. Together you shall help guide me through 'till the end.”
The son reached towards the light, smiling, as it started to come towards him too.
“But first, you must make the ultimate sacrifice...”
A clattering sound grew louder, his senses started to grow, and then the light him...
The 21:12.
“He came so close to entering reality...”
“But you didn't allow it?”
“I decided it best for him to remain up here...”
“That was the right thing to do.”
“But now that I know they can get out, separate themselves, and become an entirely different organism... well, it brings this war to a whole new level...”
“What do you mean?”
“Imagine if I could rule over reality too...”
“Okay, I need to know who is talking to me. Is this The Messenger?”
“No, no, no. But I have got a message for you...”
“Lucifer? Gunslinger? I demand to know who I am speaking to!
“Welcome to the end of all our days!”
End Of Days 5: The Commentary
Hi there, here I will try my best to explain the End Of Days quadrilogy to you all...
The Gunslinger is a man who has supposedly travelled from the homeland (reality) through nothingness, beyond and now reached the Valley (hyper-reality).
Before descending into nothingness, The Gunslinger was a normal man — 'The Messenger' he is refereed to in End Of Days. He is the only thing stopping Lucifer's kingdom from going as he is holding on to fight his way out of the mad world The Messenger has created in his own mind. Basically, The Gunslinger best represents The Messenger from before he got trapped in his own mind, although because he is just one of The Messenger's egos he does not represent him fully.
Lucifer and The Princess are also essentially 'alter-egos' of The Messenger, but to a lesser extent.
They are all fighting for their place to occupy The Messenger's body in reality.
Lucifer represents all of the evil built up inside The Messenger, who has obviously experienced hardship as this is why he is in this unusual state. If Lucifer had of beaten The Gunslinger he would have taken the place in reality and who knows what kind of evil deeds he might have committed.
The Princess is the TG slant in this story as it is suggested that The Messenger is a crossdresser and has a slight wish to become a woman permanently; The Princess represents an entirely female side of him.
The demons that occupy 'Lucifer's Kingdom' are representative of the metaphorical demons that have held The Messenger back throughout his life, they also represent the real-life population, who showed fear and hatred towards The Messenger and thus in his mind he has become a gunslinger.
In Lucifer's kingdom; The Messenger is held prisoner — as he literally is trapped in his own mind.
Confused yet? Yeah me too, it's hard to remember what everything meant and represented at the time of writing.
In Penultimate, The Gunslinger and The Princess 'become one'. This is the discovery that The Messenger doesn't need to become a woman, nor does he need to ditch that side of him entirely. Together they are stronger and ultimately were strong enough to destroy all of the evil stored inside The Messenger (Lucifer).
Finally, here is the penultimate paragraph of the quadrilogy:
'A light. The light. What he had been chasing for so long.
A voice. The voice. From father down to son.
“I have been prisoner for many years,” it said. “But you have freed me, and my world. You have truly earned your wings. And I am glad to see peace has been made between you and your alter. Together you shall help guide me through 'till the end.”
The son reached towards the light, smiling, as it started to come towards him too.
“But first, you must make the ultimate sacrifice...”
A clattering sound grew louder, his senses started to grow, and then the light him...
The 21:12.'
This is basically The Messenger in reality thanking The Gunslinger for freeing him.
After getting hit by the light The Gunslinger earns his wings and has now become The Messenger's guardian angel. BUT HAS NOT TAKEN HIS PLACE IN REALITY AS WAS ORIGINALLY EXPECTED.
The 21:12 was a train. (The time reflects the date the world was supposed to end last year). It killed The Gunslinger as he attempted to enter reality and so now, with The Princess still inside of him, can only guide The Messenger in reality.
So this raises the question, what is The Messenger now? As none of the 3 alter-egos actually took their place as ruler of him in reality.
And so this brings us to the final scene, The Messenger is talking to a psychiatrist about The Gunslinger attempting to enter reality and how he now realizes there is an ability to let the madness inside of him out into the real world.
Right. So, I hope that covered most of the story. A lot of it was difficult to comment on looking back as I honestly have no idea what I was talking about at times! (I think I got a little carried away in the drama etc.)
After I finish gabbing about this story I am also going to post a teaser for a new one I am going to write that sort of follows on from this. (Don't worry though, it is going to be written more sensibly, and have more of TG element to it.)
I'd just like to finish my commentary by saying that this story was a complete work on fiction, not based on anyone or anything at all. It originally started as a solo story called 'Penultimate' about a boy torn between genders — it just got a whole lot darker and weirder as I went along!
Thank you for reading and I hope this commentary helped at least a little bit.
I understand this story was not really to many people's tastes but I hope to see you next time! Here's the teaser...
“There is a reason you cannot escape this place...”
Ali wiped his head of sweat, “What? What is it?”
“I'm The Reason. The Reason that you can't sleep at night, The Reason that when you close your eyes I'm standing there — cursing you.”
“You...you...”
“So you flipped out, had a little psychotic episode and ended up at the nut house. It's happened to everyone in here. But if you start thinking just for one moment that you can do to this world what you did to the one in your mind, you are sadly mistaken my friend.”
“I just want to go home... I'm sane now! I'm sane!”
The Reason smirked, “Stupid kid... Let me tell you, when I told you everyone was psychotic in this place I really meant EVERYONE.”
“But...but you're a doctor?”
“Oh it's so surprising what a white coat and glasses can do. No Ali, I am The Reason you got trapped in your mind.” The Reason bent down and looked Ali directly in the eye, “You're only nuts because I was nuts first.”