The Underground
Dusk had fallen over the city. Hellboy held a cigar in his teeth, allowing the glowing ashes to fall on the stones before Notre Dame.
Inside the open door, Quasimodo adjusted the over-sized welding gloves around his wrists and fingers. He carefully secured the buckles, fitting them to his arms. He looked out into the square, where people walked about. Regular, normal people. They took pictures, they sipped coffee and they chatted among themselves. He gulped nervously. Grasping the handle of the splitting maul in his gloved hands, he stepped out of Notre Dame.
They walked through the square in silence.
Quasimodo hid under the comfort of a large hoodie. He walked with his shoulders rolled forward, his knees bent with every step. He held the splitting maul in his hands, the chamois wrapped tightly around the head. Kate gently placed her hand on his shoulder, then looked into his eyes.
"I know this is hard for you. Please allow yourself to relax. No one will even bother to look at either of us with him here." She motioned toward Hellboy.
"I heard that." Hellboy puffed a few smoke rings into the air, the butt of his cigar in hand. He dropped it on the cobbles, using his hoof to grind out the ashes. "We're here. Let's take care of stinky."
They stepped into the nearly-empty cafe. Some of the patrons stared as Hellboy walked past. Much to Quasimodos comfort, they merely observed the presence Kate and him as they passed.
As they descended into the catacombs, Quasimodo felt a deep thumping against his chest. Kate tapped his shoulder and offered him a set of goggles.
"Use these when it's too dark to see."
"What is this?" He played with the straps.
"They will allow you to see in the dark. They will also unmask illusions. Red doesn't need them, us mere humans do." After securing her own set to her forehead, she adjusted the other set to fit the bell ringer. She carefully passed his red hair around the straps. "I only wish we'd thought of bringing you a hearing aid."
"A what?" Quasimodo raised his right eyebrow.
Hellboy followed the bass through the darkened stone passages. Coloured light danced off the bones and carved archways. Kate and Quasimodo followed.
Soon, they entered into a large room where loud music blared through the darkness. Flickering lights, glow-sticks and dancing teenagers packed the room. They danced wildly. Kate held her arm before Quasimodo, pointing him towards the skull-lined walls. The young people danced, their movements appearing jerky under the pulsing lights. Near the wall, Kate and Quasimodo watched in silence.
Hellboy continued to walk forward, his hand on the Samaritan. The crowd parted as he passed, without directing so much as a glance toward him. Beyond the teens, out of the glow of neon bracelets and necklaces, it waited for one teen to step away. Hellboys yellow eyes fixed on a young man with green glow sticks on his head, who stepped toward the shadows. Before the young man turned the corner, the green glow vanished.
The figure was black robed, skeletal in frame. It screeched, causing the teenagers to place their hands to their ears. The music continued to thump through the ground. The teens resumed their dancing. Hellboy advanced, weapon in-hand. The creature fled deeper into the catacombs.
Kate pulled on Quasimodos arm, struggling to peel him from the wall. His eyes remained fixed on Hellboy as he drew the Samaritan and stepped into the darkness.
Kate tugged at his arm again. Quasimodo remained still. She grasped his hoodie and forced him to tear his gaze away from the dark passage. She pulled the chamois off of the axe.
"Quasimodo, move. We need you."
Startled, he jumped slightly. He then nodded and followed.
The passage was narrow, the floor damp. He lowered the goggles, shifting the lenses so that only his right eye was covered. The unused lens sat near his right ear. Suddenly, the world was green.
Through the passages, he followed the red shape of Hellboy. A set of horns and a golden crown glowed orange from atop his head. Kate glowed orange and yellow, as did he.
Quasimodo lagged behind, his legs complaining with every step. He fell forward, tripping on dried bones. The splitting maul fell from his hands, rolling forward. Grasping through the bones, he could feel the handle. He struggled to his feet and continued to follow Kate through the tunnel.
Abruptly, the passage ended into a large hall. Quasimodo stopped beside Hellboy and Kate, who stood at the edge.
"Would you look at that. This was something else, centuries ago." Kate stared at the vaulted ceiling.
"This is the Court of Miracles." Quasimodo remarked. "Part of it. The rest, what was above ground, was destroyed ages ago."
Rotten fabric hung lifelessly from the walls, still in the stale underground air. Old Roma caravans, now rotted frames, lay about. Among the 15th century relics lay bones, hundreds of bones. Garments, dating from the newest fashions to those of the Victorian era, lay strewn throughout the piles.
"Only a lich cleans someone this thoroughly." Hellboy stepped through the skeletons, snapping them as he walked through the Court. Kate followed.
"Would you look at that. Not a button has been touched on any of these." Kate stepped forward, finding herself staring at the elaborate jewellery and valuables that lay strewn about the bodies. "Quasimodo. You need to stay close. Whatever is here isn't welcoming of strangers."
Kate turned her head to see Quasimodo struggling to gain footing on the uneven ground. She shouted his name. He was only a few feet away, yet did not respond. Over his head, among the aged beams, a blue glow crawled smoothly, almost spider-like. The crackle of dried bones echoed through the hall.
Hellboy grumbled. He sparked a handful of flares, tossing them throughout the Court. Dim orange light filled the large hall. Kate and Quasimodo removed their goggles as the light flashed.
"Quasimodo! Above you." Kate shouted. She rushed toward him.
Quasimodo looked up, both of his eyes widening at the Lich fell toward him. He held the handle of the maul over his head, using it to push the Lich off of him and to the ground.
"Oh no, you don't!" Hellboy rushed from behind Kate, throwing himself onto the lich. As he landed, the floor crumbled away, causing both to disappear beneath the discarded bones. Bones rolled into the hole.
"Son of a..."
Kate and Quasimodo peered into the hole. Well below, lay a dimly lit cavern. Sounds of shattering glass, crumbling rock and Hellboys cussing reached Kates ears. She looked to Quasimodo, who met her gaze as she looked toward him.
"There must be another way to get down there." Quasimodo looked through the Court. "We need to find a cold draft." He looked toward Kate, waiting for an answer.
"It sounds like Hellboy is doing rather well." Kate half-smiled.
"The tremble in the ground would suggest otherwise." Quasimodo stood. "We had best find that passage."