Jennifer and Ichabod didn't waste any time in breaking free from the fantasies that engulfed them in Purgatory. The Englishman found his way to Abbie's sister and they began to look for her. They were confronted with all sorts of weird creatures, but none of them tried to attack.
"Do you have any idea where to look for her? Something that Moloch might entrap her in or where she may hide?" Ichabod asked.
Jenny thought carefully, and then it hit her. Back when she and Abbie were children and had seen Moloch, they had thought of a safe place to give them solace from their troubles. "The dollhouse! I bet that's where she is, wherever that is in this creepy-ass place," she replied.
"Hmm, it appears that your sudden revelation has given us a sound idea of what to search for. Let's get on with it, then," the Englishman used a bit of flowery language as they trudged off into the abyss.
Aetius parked his car at the side of the road after driving west for a few miles. He retrieved a couple of additional pistols and a few stocks of a special kind of ammunition specifically meant for the Headless Horseman. The marshal picked his way through the dense woods and after what seemed like hours, finally came to the bank of the stream. He followed it a little until he saw the marsh. Taking one of his guns out of the holster, he started to mumble to himself, "Where are you, you ugly bastard..."
Looking around fervently, he picked a shallow point and crossed the stream. Stepping on the opposite bank, he found himself right at the marsh. He carefully scouted the area, looking for any sign that the Horseman or Katrina had been there. All of a sudden, he felt vines wrap around his body.
"Oh shit," Aetius muttered as the vines rocketed him through the air and slammed into the side of a nearby tree.
The marshal held on to his gun as he was wrapped against the tree. He gritted his teeth when he saw his attacker, "Well, well, if it isn't Henry Parrish, or should I say Jeremy Crane..."
The man Aetius had been chasing for so long stood below him, only a few feet away admiring his handiwork, "Ah, so my father survived after all. It must have been you and that Jennifer woman who dug him out of the prison I put him in. I'd almost admire your tracking work if it didn't interfere with my plans."
The U.S. Marshal decided to keep his captor talking as he subtly inched his gun to get it into a position to fire at Crane's foot, "So what's it like being Moloch's bitch? Really man, why do the work of a demon to destroy the world? What's the point of ruling over a world if it's already gone?"
Ichabod's son allowed just a twinge of anger to cross his face before he laughed, "I see what you're trying to do. No, no, you're not going to distract me so you can take potshots at me." He focused his powers on taking away the marshal's weapon.
"Too late," Aetius grinned as he fired the gun.
Jeremy groaned in pain as the silver bullet packed with ultraviolet energy pierced his foot and burned the skin.
The vines loosened and the wily marshal dropped to his feet, "You always underestimated me, Parrish. All the running, it ends here! Now where's Katrina and that son of a bitch headless guy?!"
The marshal's quarry looked up at the gun pointing at him, "Your words are nothing. I won't tell you anything, but I will do this!"
With a small nod of his head, Jeremy sent Aetius flying backwards. His head hit the tree trunk.
Dazed from the blow, the marshal saw Ichabod's son leering at him, "You would do well to know your place in the higher order of things. Moloch's words are law, and we must obey. You have known this for a long time, and I will force your hand if need be..."
Aetius remained defiant, "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me. There's no way in hell the apocalypse is happening on my watch!"
Jeremy smiled, "You always were a stubborn do-gooder, Aetius. You can help us remake the world. Moloch has a grand design that is pleasing to me."
"All I wanted to do was live my life in peace as a federal marshal, and you, Abraham, and that moron demon boss of yours had to screw it up. I'm tired of hearing talk about destroying the world. It's time you learned a lesson in reality," the marshal surprised Parrish with a massive burst of green energy from his hand.
It was Aetius' turn to stalk the fallen Crane, "Ah, the perks of being the third Horseman..."
Jeremy tried to fight back with his own powers, but the U.S. Marshal silenced him again with a blast of green energy, "Now, you're going to tell me where Abraham took Katrina, or what you experience next will be very unpleasant..."
The 2nd Horseman shook his head, "Your power has so much potential. Help us remake the world, and Moloch will welcome you back with open arms..."
Aetius wasn't having it, "The 4th Horseman tried to do the same thing. Convert me to this end-of-the-world nonsense. Where is he right now? Oh right, I killed him. Granted, it was in self-defense, but the fact remains. I don't know about you, but I want a world to live in. I'm the only one of you morons who has a heart. Who do you think it was that alerted the government to the existence of Moloch and his minions?"
A look of shock crossed Jeremy's face, "You didn't... You betrayed us?" "I prefer to think of it as looking out for the well-being of my fellow man, but you could call it that too. I'm the one who's been the driving force behind the Marshal Service's campaign against Moloch. And what's more, every fed knows I'm the 3rd Horseman too. Ironic, don't you think? Moloch's own undoing will come from within..."
He prepared a massive blast with the smoky green magic emanating from both his hands, "Last chance before I start doing some real damage, where did Headless take Katrina?"
"They're closer than you think," the 2nd Horseman laughed as he saw Abraham approach Aetius from behind.
The marshal saw Jeremy's eyes shift to the side for just a moment and realized what was about to happen. He barely ducked an ax blow aimed at his neck. Aetius now found himself stuck between fighting two of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but he was the third one. It wasn't long before he was in a shootout with his headless counterpart. He darted along the trees, dodging gun blasts and firing back when he could. Abraham was relentless in his pursuit of the the Third Horseman, but even he was starting to run out of ammunition.
The marshal had conserved his ammo, and waited for an opportunity to put his headless rival down. He ran behind another tree and tripped over something. Regaining his footing, he decided to turn the tables on the Horseman. Aetius waited for him to reload, and then fired several UV bullets at him. They found their mark, and Abraham fell to his knees, damaged by the shots.
"I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago," the marshal revved up his magical powers again, ready to put an end to the Headless Horseman once and for all.
Before he could let loose, he was knocked down by an attack from behind. Jeremy had recovered sufficiently to stun Aetius.
Ichabod's son rushed over to Abraham and glared at the good Horseman, "I can assure you this isn't over..."
The two Horsemen disappeared in a blinding flash of light, presumably into Purgatory or some other hidden hell.
"Damn it!" Aetius fired a barrage of green blasts in anger at not getting the chance to rid the world of Horseman of Death.
He went back to the tree where he had tripped in an effort to calm himself, trying to find out what had caused him to lose his balance. It was then that he spotted a foot jutting out from some nearby brush. The marshal cleared the brush and saw a stunningly beautiful brunette with an 18th century period black dress, "Wow, Katrina Crane, you are something else..."
Katrina started to stir as she opened her eyes and saw Aetius looking down at her, "Who-who are you?"
I'm sorry that the Jenny and Ichabod part in purgatory was so short, but I really wanted focus on Aetius' background for this chapter. Chapter 4 will cover Jenny and Ichabod's quest to find Abbie