Holy Wars

[Raven]

Ben existed here? That opened up a ton more possibilities, if my characters were around too. But I didn't have many girls. It could possibly be Dae, but her power was definitely a power. I took the phone and watched the video.

[Gifted]

A woman sat in a blue and gold throne room. Her hair was hidden behind a black headscarf wrapped over it. She wore a white mask with yellow, almond-shaped eyes with lines coming off like a drawing of the sun. The mask had no mouth, and appeared to be a modified mask taken from the Forsvar guards. She wore a deep red dress with a square neck, large skirt, wispy, seethrough sleeves and a bubble overskirt in a lighter, less ominous shade of red.
Two guards came onto camera then, dragging a third an. This man was draped in a black cloak that covered his head and any clothing he wore and had some sort of black fabric pulled up over his face, one that seemed to be pulled down over his eyes and a second that was pulled up to over his nose. He had his hands cuffed behind his back and the two guards were not gentle with him, passing the camera quickly so the cameraman could only see the back of their heads. The two men pushed the prisoner towards the throne and kept him in a tight grip despite the fact he couldn't really struggle.
"Show me his face." God said in a cold, commanding voice, and one of them did so, pulling the fabric down. Raven couldn't see them do it, as they were facing away from her. God nodded. "Execute him." Her tone did not deviate at all. There was not a single ounce of remorse.
The prisoner was forced to his knees. He struggled against his captors, but one only let go to pull out a gun and point it at the back of his head.
There was a shot, ad the body fell to the ground.
God sighed. "Let's get it cleaned up." She rose from her throne, and the video ended abruptly.

[Raven]

I shuddered at the tone in the woman's voice and quickly gave the phone back. "That... That's common place?" Part of me couldn't stop imagining who that had been. A Ben, acting as a terrorist? Alex, executed for douchebaggery? It could have been more serious, Kenny or Red, but even then, without reasons, or even letting him speak? Without so much as a question as to final words, or wishes? Yes, they were terrible people, but they were still people.

[Gifted]

"We know she executes people who're brought to her fairly regularly, yes." Rakel nodded.
"My sister would never be a party to that." Azalynn said, horrified.
"Maybe she doesn't know? All of God's people live with her, so she could control their access to information." Rakel suggested.

[Raven]

"But if the prophecy is true, shouldn't the devil be here already?" Raven asked

[Gifted]

"It doesn't necessarily say they come down at the same time. It just says they both come down. Also... this is unconfirmed, someone I know apparently bought the information, but.... there's a rumour that when God came down, she didn't know she was God. She has a name. Someone - they said it was a Xander and a Sharie who first found her - put together the pieces and figured out she was the god from the prophecy. She didn't know from the start. So it's possible the devil has been around for years, completely unaware they're the only one who can take down God."

[Raven]

"And no one has any idea how to identify the devil when they do show." I shook my head. "If they're really the only one who can take down God, I think you're screwed, Rakel."

[Gifted]

"You think so?" Danielle had cautiously approached while they were talking. Rakel didn't pay her any mind.
"I am well aware the odds are stacked against us. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try."

[Raven]

"Oh, I'm not saying you should give up. I'm not inclined to sit down and take anything unless there's a strategic reason to it. Especially when it's not certain that God would let you live even if you did listen to her," I said. I glanced at Danielle. "I think a good approach would be trying to find a way to identify the devil, and search for them."

[Gifted]

"We've been trying, but the prophecy doesn't leave any hints. It says that whichever one is left will solely decide the fate of this world but it doesn't proclaim a victor so we figure they must be on somewhat equal footing, but other than that, we've got nothing to even go on. Still, some people follow those leads. She doesn't seem to like me very much, so I'm the one who goes out trying to lure her men to me so I can take them out. That's why I attacked you, Azalynn. Sorry. I assumed Anita was stalking me."
"Do you have someone who can see powers?" Danielle asked.
"Yes. We have our own Xander. A much more experienced one, too. Hers is young."

[Raven]

"You have older Xander? Eye patch included? And you said you had Ben, are they on the same time line? Is Isobel okay?" I said all that in a much more animated tone than I should.

[Gifted]

"What? Yes.. I mean, yeah she and her fiance... wait what?"
Danielle started giggling.

[Raven]

I blushed. "Sorry. I get excited. It's nice to meet you in a not-killing-me fashion, by the way." I offered a hand to her. "I'm Raven."

[Gifted]

"Black Rose. A not-killing-you fashion? I've never tried to kill you." Rakel said, confused.

[Raven]

"You threatened to earlier," I responded, smiling. "Who is your spy anyway?" Then I realized that was probably sensitive information. "Ah, never mind. You don't work with Kenny or Red, do you?"