A/N: I present to you, the sequel! Equally as horrific and tragic as the first story! I'm too lazy to write in a real recap of the first story (I'm a terrible person I know) so I hope you all remember how it ended.
As Hermione fell through the hole, she sighed. Her wife was dead, her unborn child was dead, the bitch that killed them was on the loose, she was on her way to hell, and the bastard that sent her there was still laughing.
Could life get any worse?
Of course when she asked that, she should've remembered exactly where she was going.
The very instant her feet hit the ground, she screamed. There was fire everywhere. And she could feel every second of it burning her alive. It set her nerves aflame. Her brain, her organs. She could literally feel every single inch of her body inside and out burning. She could feel her kidney, her heart, her lungs, all of it burning with hellfire. She could've sworn smoke was rolling past her lips, lips that were parted in what could easily have been an eternal scream. There was no passage of time, no way to tell how long she had been there. It was all a blur.
"Hermioneee hahahahahaa…."
Still voicing her anguish to all who would listen, her face slowly became a burning red and her veins were throbbing as though they were attempting to escape the confines of her skin. She was still screaming, convinced that her skin was sliding off of her bones. She could see it.
"Hermione!" A voice shouted distantly and Hermione fell to the ground, curled in the fetal position. Her hands rose up to her face in a misguided attempt to keep her skin from peeling. It had quite the opposite effect and she unknowingly began scratching at every inch of skin she could reach. She left horrendous trails of blood, and if left to her devices, she would easily reach bone and continue scratching away. Anything to end this feeling. End her life even.
The voice sighed and a wolf stepped into her range of vision. It was like looking at him with a thousand needles in her eyes. She vaguely recognized Wolfrick with her burning irises; he was the demon responsible for her powers. She blinked and felt every moment of her eyelids scraping over her eyes. Her ears rang as the force of her screams combined with that of a thousand other screaming souls, all of whom were trapped in the pain of simply existing in hell, unable to move forward. A deep, distant yet foreboding voice reached her ears.
"Come now, Hermione. Surely you've faced worse than this." He laughed, "Though perhaps not. This IS hell after all. But I've given you the strength to bear this pain long ago. You're making me look weak in front of the other demons." His voice was suddenly hard. "Stand up."
Hermione's mouth snapped shut, though she was still screaming begin closed lips. Her hands faltered in their path to gouge out her eyes and she strained to rise. Her jaw was clenched so tightly, she felt as though each tooth was simultaneously ripping itself out of her jaw and forcing themselves deeper. Slowly, she stood, her screams gradually quieting as her arms wrapped around her waist. Oh how she longed yet dreaded to let them continue their mission and remove her skin. She felt like she was going to pass out as the world turned, but there was no such relief in hell. Her feet firmly on the ground, she looked up at him from her bent over position.
"Stand up straight Hermione."
Hermione whimpered like a wounded wolf but none the less obeyed. Trembling with the pain, she forced herself to ignore the fire in her veins - the visions before her eyes - and stand tall. Her hands shot to her head, her brain protesting with the pain of the fire. Every thought seemed to burn the neurons along which they traveled and it was hard to get her mind straight. As such was the worst punishment for the intellectual, even feeling despair caused her brain to alight. It could easily become a warped pattern of pain and remorse, but she forced herself to focus. Slowly, she removed her hands from her head and put them down by her side, groaning intermittently, like a toddler winding down from a tantrum, until she could force herself to quiet.
"Now come. I will help you find the woman."
He turned and trotted off. Hermione stumbled after him. It hurt to walk. It hurt to breathe, to blink. She looked around in horrified wonder. There was no fire around them, though the world had a red tint to it.
"It's the ground…and the air." Wolfrick said. "Every second you're on the ground, your body burns. Every breath you take, the air burns you inside. Every move you make, the air scorches your skin."
Hermione opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a pained cry. Speaking, it would seem, would require another battle of will and she was far too tired for such. Luckily, Wolfrick understood her thoughts.
The wolf chuckled. "Yes. There is a way to lessen the pain. You must fight. If you win, you rise up on a column. If you lose, you're buried deeper and deeper underground. The more you win, the higher you go, the less the pain. Your wife has made quite a name for herself in the time' between your arrival and now. Her column is impressive. I approve of your union."
Hermione took in the sight around them. Hell seemed to glow with the light of an invisible fire. There was nothing around them but dirt, rocks, mountains, and abandoned buildings. Some were old: pyramids, saloons, castles; some new: skyscrapers, apartments, the white house.
"Watch your step."
Hermione looked down in time to see herself step in a small crater. The ground gave way and she fell clawing at the ground. Her eyes met his in a pleading manner, but she could see her doom written all over her face. Wolfrick watched with glee in his eyes and deliberately pushed Hermione down the hole. Fucking demons.
She landed in a heap in a basement and her eyes grew wide. This was her basement.
"Hey bitch. I got you a present."
It was John, her father. She shook her head from her spot on the ground and backed up slowly.
There was a way in, so there had to be a way out right?
"You don't want it? TOO BAD!" he yelled and Hermione jumped, her back slamming against the wall. All thoughts of escaping were thrown from her mind by the paralyzing fear. John put the knife to a flame and it soon became red hot.
He smiled, full of danger and madness, "Happy birthdaaayy to youu." He sang and pressed the knife against Hermione's stomach.
She screamed until her voice grew raw and cracked, and he continued singing, louder to match her volume. She sobbed and trembled as the knife remained against her stomach, unable to pass out from the searing pain.
After what felt like forever, John pulled away, singing the final chords of the song. He laughed at her wavering frame. "Nighty night." He said and struck her with the hilt.
Hermione jumped as she hit the ground and the burning sensation started again. She gripped her head and rolled over.
"Wha – what the hell was that?!" She yelled trying to get a handle on her burning body.
Wolfrick laughed, "That was a memory. If you step in the craters, down memory lane you go. Though, sometimes they create new ones, starring your own personal demons."
Hermione shuddered and she thought of Minerva dealing with such pain. She had to find her and get her out of this hell hole.
She stood, her face set in sheer determination. "Where is my wife?"
Wolfrick laughed loudly, "THAT is what I've been waiting to see. I knew you had it in you Hermione. She's pretty damn high up. Pick a fight and you'll know when you've made it to her level."
Hermione started calculating. "How many fights in a day?"
Wolfrick laughed maniacally, "A day?! This is hell Hermione! There are no days! There is no sleeping! No rest! You'll be awake for every second from here on out. Have fun and don't be afraid to play dirty. Don't forget where you are Hermione. Let loose. Turn into the demon I've made you. It's the only way to get your wife.
Hermione's face hardened at his words. Give into her demonic side? She looked at her hands and balled them into fists. Wolfrick may have been playing her for his own entertainment, but what he said made a lot of sense, so play she would.
"Who's first?" She said, her voice cold and foreboding. Her round pupils had become golden slits.
Wolfrick laughed, "Take your pick Hermione. Hell, feel free to walk up to one and sucker punch him. There are no rules."
Nodding, Hermione cracked her fists and set to work.
She systematically and brutally wiped out nearly almost 50 demons and it was not pretty. Hermione sat on her column, panting with blood dripping from her sharpened nails. Somewhere along the way, they had grown, and she realized how well they worked to behead her enemies. After so many exhausting fights, she needed a short break.
She looked around and sighed. It seemed the column worked more like an elevator. It rose higher and higher, lifting her to a different level where she could walk around and fight. However, she much preferred staying on her square column where she could fight and rise at the same time, instead of fighting and running back to her column to rise.
"Well I must say, you are everything I had ever hoped."
Hermione heaved a sigh and looked over at him, "How is it that I have to fight, but you can walk up or down as you please?"
Wolfrick grinned, "Because I am a demon. The rest of you are just residents in hell, my entertainment." Hermione turned her head to the sky, her fury growing as she readied herself to fight again. She was up high, but her lungs still burned with every breath. Every inch of her from her eyelash to her fingertip burned and there was no way she was going to leave her wife subjected to this.
"You'll never catch her."
Hermione's head shot over to him. "What?"
He licked his chops. "Your woman. She's avoiding you. You go up one, she goes up five. Oh. Wait." He paused. "Oh my now you'll never catch up. She is quite high. 'The Warrior Woman of Hell' they call her. She is quite ferocious. I'm certain it won't be long until some demon snatches her up."
Hermione balled her hands into fists. Rohan had told her not to attract attention. Seems Minerva already had. She had to get the woman out immediately. "Take me to her."
Wolfrick chuckled. "Where's the fun in that? I will however do you a favor. I'll keep her in one place."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "How?"
He grinned, "How do you think? I'm going to fight her. Though," he sighed, "It won't be much of a fight. I mean, I'll just be beating her back, over and over until you come to her rescue. It won't be pretty of course. But what choice do you have?"
Hermione's eyes widened and she stared at him, trying to find some way out of his offer. "Dammit." She said and then shouted the words. "Dammit! Fine. How will I know where she is?"
He laughed, "Listen for her screams." With that, he was gone.
"Fuck!" Hermione said and started anew. Her face was like thunder as she threw punches left and right, even using her teeth to rip their throats out. Minerva was the only thing on her mind. She lost count of how many of them she had defeated but eventually, she found she could hear Minerva screaming and begging for Wolfrick to stop. It tore at her burning soul. "MINERVA!" she yelled and headbutted the nearest person. Growling, she kicked another, her column growing taller and taller until she was right beside them.
"Wolfrick! Leave her be!"
"As you wish." He said sounding as though she had taken his toy.
Hermione's eyes were locked on Minerva who was on her hands and knees, panting and groaning at the abuse her body had just taken. She crawled away, her hands raised begging for mercy.
"Minerva." Hermione said and kneeled down next to her, "I'm going to get us out of here okay?"
Minerva shook her head and scrambled backwards, "Go away, Hermione."
Hermione's eyes widened. "W-what?"
"GO AWAY!" Minerva swung a leg out and kicked the brunette down.
A/N: So...I have the next chapter all written up...want it?
P.S. None of those are real demons, so feel free to say the names outloud...