Chapter 3~
Warnings: cussing, and some religious matters that I tried to make as ambiguous as possible so I don't offend anyone...
I'm sorry I took a while to update... and I'm sorry it's crappy... lol
"I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat! Everybody look at me, 'cause I'm sailing on a boat! I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat! Take a good hard look at the motherfucking boat!"
"Christy…"
"I'm on a boat, motherfucker; take a look at me! Straight-flowin' on a boat on the deep blue sea!"
"…Christy…"
"Bustin' five knots, wind whipping out my coat!"
"Christy!"
"You can't stop me, motherfucker, 'cause I'M ON A BOA-"
"CHRISTY!"
"What?" She asked as she was startled out of her song. Hearing him growl in annoyance, she sighed and perched on his head. "Oh fine, I'll stop…" She muttered, grumbling to herself something that sounded something along the lines of 'you never let me have any fun.'
"I was gonna say that we're gonna dock right now…" He said, ears drooping slightly when she didn't answer him. Bunnymund rolled his eyes and made his way to the side of the ship, where he saw a number of demons waiting for Charon to park himself on the edge.
"You may wanna hold onto something!" Frank called out from his perch by Charon's head. Bunnymund arched a brow. Before he could ask why, the ship seemed to have hit the brakes rather hard and made him lurch forward and hit his head on the railing. Christy, smart enough to fly off her perch when Frank warned them, gasped and floated over to his curled form on the ground.
"You okay, Honey-Bunny?" She asked quietly. He groaned and rubbed his forehead.
"'ow many times 'ave I told ya not to quote Pulp Fiction?" He muttered, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "I may like the movie, Love, but I 'ate that nickname…" Bunnymund used the railing to help himself stand up and looked around. "Where are we?"
"We are in Limbo, boy…" Charon bellowed. "I suggest you start to watch yourself from this point on…"
"I know…"Bunnymund growled in annoyance, sending a small glare towards the ferryman. He walked over towards the stairs some demons had rolled over to them and waited for Frank to come over and show him where to go. Hearing a loud voice echo throughout the air, the grey Pooka arched a brow and looked around. "Wha…?"
"Ah, ol' Minos is still working as hard as ever…" Frank mused. Bunnymund arched a brow?
"Minos?"
"The Fallen King Minos; he is judge of the damned." Charon started, "Some shades remain here in Limbo; the rest he sends to the lower circles…"
"And, who remains in Limbo, mate?" He asked, turning his head to the side.
"Here suffer those who did not sin, yet did not have the required portal of faith. Their eternal punishment is the denial of Paradise…" Bunnymund furrowed his brows in worry as he began to make his way down the stairs.
"Was there ever any soul here that was saved?"
"…I once saw someone, crowned with Victory, take from here the shade of the first man, his son Abel, of Abraham, and several others…He has come some times after that to take with Him more souls, including the Queen Toothiana's parents." Charon muttered, turning towards the Pooka when he had stopped in his tracks and looked over at him. "Several of your own people have been saved as well, Emmanuel… Your own father being one of the first Pookas the Mighty One had saved." He turned away, knowing Bunnymund had more questions for him. "But before these, and others that have been saved throughout the years, no soul has ever been saved… Now run along, boy; you have someone dear to you to save…" The ferryman fell silent, and Bunnymund resumed climbing down the steps when Frank gently pushed his shoulder. Once on land, Frank led him away from the shores where the demons began to pull out the shades and made his way over to what looked like a ruined city with several torches and fire pits being the main source of light.
"Mind your step…" Christy muttered, "And stay close to Frank… Charon wasn't trying to scare you when he said to watch yourself…" Hearing the sadness in her voice, Bunnymund glanced at her as he furrowed his brows.
"Christy… what's wrong?" Before she could answer him, he was pulled along the path towards one of the buildings. In the distance, he could barely make out a monstrous figure in what seemed to be the ruins of a coliseum. It seemed to be doing something, since it would move about a certain way before yelling out some sin before going quiet again and repeating the process.
"I see ya spotted Minos." Frank stated as he stopped at a door. "We're going to go meet him right now… Give us more info…"Taking out a key, the demon placed it in the keyhole and unlocked the door. They made their way through the hallway, passing through several rooms. Bunnymund began to glance around and paused when a doorway with a window caught his eye. He began to peek in when Christy floated in front of him to block his view.
"You don't want to see what's in there…" She muttered, making him frown at her. "Please… just… keep going…"
"What's in there, Christy?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "Please… jus' tell me an' I'll go…" Christy sighed sadly.
"It's a nursery… where unbaptized infants are held…"
"What?!"
"It's not what you think…" Frank stated, walking back towards them. "They aren't condemned here forever… It's but a small waiting area until the angels come and pick them up to take back to Paradiso." The demon pulled the Pooka away from the door. "They come once a week to take the souls… In the meantime, we care for them as best as we can…"
"And… All infants are saved… right?"
"Of course they are…" Christy muttered, resting atop his shoulder. "They're innocents, after all… No reason for them to be condemned here…" Bunnymund sighed and followed Frank until they were outside at a higher story than when they started. Hearing Frank growl, he looked over to him and found the demon had unsheathed his sword. Several Minions had also appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He was about to ask what was wrong when he spotted several fearlings crawling on the ground and along the walls. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed his boomerangs.
"This shouldn't be too hard, right?" He asked, taking a battle stance. Frank scoffed, taking his own battle stance as well.
"With those little pieces of bark, maybe~" He teased, chuckling when the Pooka gave him a playful glare. "Aim for the head… then again, you probably already knew that~"
"It's how I killed the first one I saw, mate~" before Bunnymund could tease any further, Christy gasped and floated off his shoulder. "What is it, Love?" He asked, concerned about her.
"My crosses… They're around here somewhere…" She said. "You need to find them... Without my crosses, you're not gonna be able to traverse the rest of the Inferno as easily…"
"… I thought the crosses were in the coffin this Minos bloke 'as in 'is court…" He muttered, killing a Fearling that decided to wander close. Ignoring the snarls and growls of the demons around him, Bunnymund focused on hitting the black creatures as quickly and as effectively as he could. "You know where they're at?" He asked. She hummed.
"Yup… They're over on the top of that statue of the woman with her hand outstretched…"
"… You mean the one swarmed by a dozen of these Fearling drongos?"
"Yup…"
"… Yer lucky I love you…"
So... thoughts?
