A Demon's Retirement Plan

"Moe, you are absolutely useless as an agent," said Lucifer Morningstar, shaking his head in sheer disappointment. Asmodeus stood ramrod straight before the Throne of the Lord of Hell, head bowed and face grim as he took his latest rebuke. I hope he doesn't execute me, Asmodeus thought. Not because he feared death, but because he knew for certain that he wouldn't die...

"Look at him, my love, I swear, he's so pathetic," came a sultry female voice, and Asmodeus was spared the briefest of glances by Lilith, Queen of Hell and Consort of Lucifer. Hopefully the bitch doesn't ask for my balls on a silver platter, Asmodeus thought with a shudder, remembering the fate of Demons who'd displeased Lilith.

Lilith's words would have cut through Asmodeus soul if he had one, but thankfully he didn't. If only someone came along with the power to dethrone these two, Asmodeus mused somberly. He'd been one of Lucifer's most devoted soldiers ever since the Fallen One was hurled out of Heaven by the Archangel Michael himself.

"My Lord, I hadn't counted on the Target being so heavily defended," Asmodeus said softly, at last speaking in his own defense. The Arch Demons Astaroth and Baal, two hulking, golden-skinned and red-eyed brutes, tensed on either side of Asmodeus. Exhaling sharply, even though he didn't breathe, Asmodeus wondered if he was going to regret opening his mouth.

Lucifer Morningstar had never been the kind of boss who tolerated failure, this much Asmodeus knew for sure. Asmodeus knew that he'd been set up for failure when he was sent to London, UK, to eliminate a Scion, one of the Weapons of Heaven, with only a handful of Demonic Assassins to assist him. The mission had been a complete failure...

When Asmodeus and his squad arrived in London, they had a devil of a time getting to Laila Ahmed, the so-called Scion. In the City of London, amid riots pitting Muslim immigrants against the White Nationalist Group known as the British Protection League, a young woman named Laila Ahmed displayed miraculous powers when she visited a hospital filled with people wounded during the riots, and healed all of them.

People in London, UK, were calling Laila Ahmed a saint, and the young woman appeared to live up to her name. Pleading with both Muslims and White British to set aside their differences, Laila called for all Londoners to be united regardless of skin color or religion. At first, the British press and the general public were cynically dismissive of Laila Ahmed, but slowly but surely, the young woman gained a cult following.

"I want Laila Ahmed eliminated, I can't have the humans uniting and setting aside their prejudice and hatred, not when I'm so close to leading them to World War Three," Lucifer informed Asmodeus, prior to the latter's departure from Hell. Having gotten his orders from his Lord, Asmodeus and the Demonic Hit Squad went to London, UK, to kill Laila Ahmed, but she proved to be a harder target than they could have anticipated...

Heaven takes no chances when it comes to the Scions, those men and women tasked with uplifting Mankind in times of strife and darkness. Asmodeus and his Demonic Hit Squad ran into the Vasidim, the Angels of Destruction. Heaven's well-known Order of Angelic Assassins, feared by the Devil himself. They didn't stand a chance. Damn Lucifer and his cruelty, Asmodeus thought, rancor filling his non-beating heart.

"My Lord, just say the word," Astaroth said, hefting his seven-foot-long trident from one massive hand to the other. The Arch Demon, one of Lucifer's chief henchmen, looked at Asmodeus balefully. Asmodeus once saw Astaroth and Baal take on a Host of Angels who made the mistake of venturing too close to Hell's Eastern Gate, right on the Edge of Purgatory. It was a grisly scene...

"Astaroth, my friend, it's quite alright, I can handle this one myself," Lucifer said, and the Lord of Hell rose from his throne, magnificent and demonically regal all at once. Tall, lean and athletic, with light bronze skin and long, curly dark hair, handsome in the manner of the Semitic people, Lucifer was dazzling and menacing. The best words to describe him among many, Asmodeus thought, awed in spite of it all.

Ten thousand years ago, long before Man tamed the planet Earth, long before the coming of so-called civilization, Lucifer began his rebellion in the Kingdom of Heaven. Asmodeus was among the many Angels who followed Lucifer, much to his everlasting regret. I left Heaven to languish in Hell with this motherfucker and he doesn't even respect me, Asmodeus sighed.

"Tell me why I shouldn't end you right now," Lucifer said as he closed the gap between himself and Asmodeus. Grabbing Asmodeus by the throat, Lucifer lifted him in the air, holding him aloft with ease. In incredible pain, Asmodeus nevertheless refused to let his distress show. He kept dangling at the end of Lucifer's fist like a fish on the hook, his lips flapping soundlessly...

You're like a mob boss but minus the coolness and the style, Asmodeus thought contemptuously. The Demon hung in the air, refusing to scream, even though Lucifer's vibrating death-grip was beginning to affect him. As the First of the Fallen, Lucifer had dominion over all of those who walk in darkness. All Fallen Angels and Demons are Immortal, and only Lucifer can end one of them...

Asmodeus felt tendrils of energy pour from Lucifer's hand and into him. Instantly, Asmodeus felt himself weaken. All Immortals were made by the Creator as beings of pure energy, long before many of them became corrupted. Asmodeus had seen Lucifer's power at work many times, and knew that his power was being drained, prior to his annihilation...

As Lucifer began to squeeze the life out of Asmodeus, as he had done to so many others, the contrite Demon remained silent. Asmodeus was reviewing his life, once seemingly endless, and now seemingly at its end. He remembered Heaven, and how lost he felt after losing his place in it. The horrors of Hell weren't worth remembering, but there was Earth, ah, sweet Earth...

Got nothing to lose, Asmodeus thought, and he concentrated all of his remaining energy for one last move. Lilith stood there, a wicked smile on her face as she watched Lucifer leech away Asmodeus power prior to disposing of him. The Queen of Hell had never been fond of Asmodeus, since he didn't grovel at her feet like an inferior creature should...

"You dare lay a hand on me," Lucifer shrieked, more in shock than pain as energy shot from Asmodeus eyes and into his hand. Wincing, Lucifer let go of his intended victim, who collapsed on the Throne Room floor. Immediately, Baal and Astaroth reached for Asmodeus, who used every ounce of power he had to Teleport away...

"Consider this my resignation," Asmodeus shouted, flipping double middle fingers at Lucifer before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Asmodeus teleported himself out of the Palace of Pandemonium, also known as one of Lucifer's favorite residences. Typically, for security measures, only members of Lucier's Inner Circle were allowed to teleport in and out of the Palace. The premises were Warded against all others...

With Hell's Guardsmen after him, Asmodeus had few places to go. The only way for a Demon, or Hellish entity of any kind to go to Earth is through a Portal. Lucifer, knowing this, tripled the Guards at every Portal to Earth. Wracked with deep despair, Asmodeus didn't know what to do. He was toast, unless...

"Transfiguration is better than Death," Asmodeus told himself, as he sat in a quiet ( for now ) corner of Tartarus, a region of Hell which Lucifer claimed after defeating Hades, the ancient Greek God of the Underworld. Amid the tortured souls, Asmodeus navigated, and the Damned gave him a wide berth, for wanted though he might be, he was still a Demon...

Asmodeus gathered the necessary elements for the Spell of Transfiguration, and began to chant. What he was attempting was a last resort. He was basically forsaking his Immortality to save his skin, the magical equivalent of leaping out of the frying pan and into the fire. If his plan worked, he would have a reprieve, for a few years or a few decades. Perhaps a century. Better than to get killed by Lucifer and die forever, Asmodeus mused darkly.

Closing his eyes, Asmodeus chanted, praying to the Primordial Ones, the entities that the Creator cast aside when He made the Material World. In the old days, before Lucifer and his rebellion, every Angel in Heaven took up arms against the Primordial Ones. The Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Lucifer, Uriel, Uzziel, Pyriel, and Angels of every rank fought the Primordial Ones, banishing them to the Darkness outside the Material World.

"O Great Ones, accept the Gift of my Immortality and grant me life and safe passage out of Hell," Asmodeus chanted. As he chanted, the Souls of the Damned stirred. Asmodeus gasped as the Arch Demons flew down from the blood-red sky, ready to capture him. In a panic, Asmodeus sped up his chant, and before him, a Ripple appeared. Please let this work, Asmodeus thought as he leapt into the Ripple.

The Ripple, a gateway between worlds, did more than transport the Fallen Angel turned Demon Asmodeus to the planet Earth. It stripped him of his Immortality, which went to feed the ever-hungry maws of the Primordial Ones. In the olden days, the Primordial Ones devoured many Angels during the War, and they had a taste for the essence of the Angelic. To them, the magical essence of Asmodeus was just another morsel...

"Damn, my dude, you look out of it," came a voice, and Asmodeus blinked, and looked upward through hazy eyes. He was looking at a human being, a tall, slim, blonde-haired female. Slowly, painfully, he sat up, and took a look around. Asmodeus saw the world, but through the vantage point of a mortal. He looked at his hands, and sighed, then laughed.

"Mortal, where am I?" Asmodeus asked, and the blonde woman frowned. He was in a hospital room somewhere. When he tried to get up, he found that he couldn't. He was lying in a bed, and his whole body ached. In spite of the strangeness of his surroundings, Asmodeus found reason to rejoice. He was no longer in Hell, and his Transfiguration Spell been quite successful...

"I'm Nurse Becky, and you're at Toronto General Hospital," said the blonde lady, and Asmodeus nodded, taking it all in. He found that his head hurt, but he remembered everything. The mission from Lucifer whose failure led to him losing his status as a High-Level Demon and having to escape Hell to avoid being killed...permanently. Yup, it was all still in his noggin...

"Toronto, that's in Canada, right?" Asmodeus asked, and Nurse Becky looked at him, cocking a suspicious eyebrow. Asmodeus looked at the slim young woman in blue scrubs, and sensed that she was quietly assessing him. It felt weird to be so close to one of...them. For the past few thousand years, whenever Asmodeus got close to a mortal, it was usually to kill him or her. That's essentially what being a Demonic Hitman entailed...

"Sir, what's your name? We found no IDs on your person," Nurse Becky said, blue eyes narrowed, and Asmodeus stroked his chin. It occured to him that this body, which he had no idea how he got into, had facial hair. Looking at his hands and bare feet, Asmodeus noticed that he was now a darker-skinned man, probably a Tamil Indian or an African. Cool.

"I am Moe," Asmodeus said, not wanting to frighten Nurse Becky, and she looked dubiously at him. This lady wasn't buying what Asmodeus was selling, no need to be an expert in human behavior to tell that. Asmodeus smiled, and Nurse Becky cocked an eyebrow. I must do a better job of convincing her than that, Asmodeus thought.

"Right, Mr. Moe, you've been at the hospital for sixteen hours and just woke up, do you have any friends, family members, a spouse or a partner we could call?" Nurse Becky asked, and Asmodeus shook his head. He was all alone in the world, and that's how he liked it. With the Hounds of Hell after him, it probably wouldn't do to let people get close to him...

"Ma'am, I am leaving my old life behind and starting a new one, I am a brand new man," Asmodeus said simply. Nurse Becky looked at Moe, and frowned. When her eyes met his, she saw a sincerity in them which surprised her. She'd seen enough liars in her time to tell. Whatever Asmodeus story was, he was telling the truth about wanting to start over...

"Well, welcome to Toronto, Mr. Moe, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere," Nurse Becky said, and Asmodeus nodded. He lay on the bed, and thought about his future. He'd seen Heaven ( and got kicked out of it for listening to Lucifer's seductive lies ) and Hell, and none of those places fascinated him as much as Earth did...

"To the future," Moe said to himself, smiling as Nurse Becky left his hospital room. The former Demon had a lot to smile about. First things first, Asmodeus had an appreciation for the human body in all of its splendid varieties, and thought that Nurse Becky had a nice butt. I am going to enjoy myself in whatever time I've got left, Asmodeus vowed.

In the summer of 2014, a nameless, homeless man of African descent in his early twenties was admitted to the Toronto General Hospital. He'd been brought in by an ambulance, having been found in a park near downtown Toronto. He had no name, no address, no history, criminal or otherwise. His fingerprints weren't on file. After he was discharged from the hospital, the man, calling himself Moe, had to contend with the Toronto Police Service and the Canadian immigration authorities.

Five years after Asmodeus landed on the planet Earth after his miraculous escape from Hell, he was doing alright. He'd gone through the whole Canadian immigration process, claiming to be a refugee from a poor African country who got smuggled into Canada by some unscrupulous souls. He wasn't lying about coming from a hellish place full of conflict and pain, and his sincerity helped convince the Canadian immigration officials.

At first, the Canadian authorities didn't know what to make of Asmodeus, who was tight-lipped about his past but was evidently much more than he seemed. Even in a human body, the former Demon retained many of his supernatural abilities. Asmodeus discovered that he was a lot stronger than the average man, and he never got sick. Any injury Asmodeus sustained healed rapidly, much to his delight.

On top of everything else, Asmodeus discovered that he retained all of his supernatural knowledge of Heaven and Hell, including casting spells, though he refused to mess with such forces. He didn't want any Agents of Hell to lock onto him. Moe's favorite ability was his talent for understanding any human language instantly, a skill which came in handy in the racially and culturally diverse Greater Toronto Area.

As Moe Haven, Asmodeus began crafting a new life for himself. After obtaining a permanent resident card, an Ontario health card, and an Ontario driver's licence, Moe enrolled at the University of Toronto, where he studied Nursing. He ended up working at the same hospital where he first woke up as a mortal, and Nurse Becky ended up becoming one of his co-workers and later, so much more...

"You're full of surprises," Rebecca "Becky" Rosenthal said, smiling at Moe, who stood in the bathroom doorway. The tall, dark-skinned and muscular hunk wore a cocky grin and nothing else. Sitting up in the bath tub, surrounded by petals, Becky was trying her best to look sexy. Tall, tomboyish and awkward, the former University of Toronto women's rugby standout turned nurse leaned back in the tub as her lover came forward...

After a long day at the Toronto General Hospital, Becky was looking to unwind, and Moe was just what the doctor ordered. The handsome black man whom Becky thought of as her "Boo" was always charming and cool, and never seemed to get tired. Well, tonight, Becky definitely wanted to put Moe's inexhaustible energies to the ultimate test...

"You got no idea," Moe said confidently as he joined Becky in the tub. The two lovers embraced passionately, and then began making love. Moe quietly marveled at Becky's tall, slim yet curvy form as his eager hands touched and explored her flesh. As a Demon, he'd had many lovers, but as a mortal man, she'd been his first...and only.

"Bet you say that to all the cute girls in scrubs," Becky chided him, and Moe laughed. She played with Moe's chest hairs while kissing him, and laughed as he caressed her breasts. Becky sighed happily as Moe spread her legs, then went downtown, as they say. Moe, who could hold his breath a lot longer than most humans, took his sweet time as he licked Becky's pussy under water. He definitely likes a challenge...

"You're my all-time favorite cute gal in a scrub," Moe told Becky, and he carried her out of the tub, out of the bathroom, and onto the nearby bed. Becky lay there, eyes closed and legs spread invitingly as Moe worked his magic. He burked his handsome face between her legs and ate her out like a champ, causing her to moan and squeal in delight.

"You're unlike any man I've ever known," Becky told Moe, as they continued making love. Moe lay flat on the bed, and Becky straddled him. Stroking his long and thick manhood, Becky looked into Moe's eyes and smiled. She admired the contrast between them, his tall, muscular and dark-skinned body, and her slim, curvy, supple and pale form. She saw the love in his eyes, and knew that he cherished every inch of her...

"Ride me gorgeous," Moe told Becky, playfully smacking her cute round ass. Becky grinned, and, moving her hips slightly, she impaled herself on Moe's hard dick. Resting her hands on Moe's broad shoulders, Becky began riding him. Passionately they went at it, and Moe thrust his hard dick deep inside Becky's pussy, for he couldn't get enough of her. After many hours of passionate sex, they lay on the bed, entwined in love...

Becky slept peacefully, snoring louder than Moe would have thought possible for a human being of such a small size. Moe loved looking at his beloved as she slept. Becky was definitely a blessing, that much he knew for certain. Asmodeus thanked, well, if neither Heaven ( which kicked him out ) nor Hell ( which he escaped from ) for her, then definitely a higher power for bringing Becky into his life...

As Moe lay in bed next to his beloved, he smiled. He'd gotten a lot done in a mere half a decade. He had a brand new life in Ontario, Canada. He had a university degree, a career he liked, and a woman he cherished. Moe loved his new life and Becky was just the icing on the cake. In Heaven, he felt unfulfilled and yearned to be free. In Hell, he was a nobody in service to a tyrant, and yearned to do literally anything else. On Earth, Asmodeus found fulfillment...

In the darkness, invisible to the former Demon and his lover, something stirred. Moe felt uneasy and looked around, but saw nothing amiss. He pulled the sheets over himself and Becky, closed his eyes and went to sleep. Even with his superhuman attributes, Asmodeus/Moe required a few hours of sleep per day to function at an optimum level. He was only superhuman, after all...

"Our liberator sleeps," said Atesh the Primordial, and the ancient one, older than the Universe itself, looked at his fellow. Beside him stood his mate, the lovely Ras-Kayar and his acolyte, Bran the Destroyer. They were three entities older than time itself, and now, at last, they'd come to the planet Earth from outside the Material World, to experience things they could not in the Void...

"Without his Immortal essence, given freely, we could not have left the Void," Ras-Kayar said, smiling. The female Primordial looked at her beloved Atesh, and then at Asmodeus the Fallen Angel turned Demon and the human female who slept beside him. She could destroy the slumbering creatures easily, but chose not to, for the moment...