Chapter Nine: The Father's Lament

Caina, Bottom Level of the Underworld- October 15th, 1997

After just over three hours of experimenting with every single position in the Kamasutra, Mark was sitting on the edge of the bed, admiring the scars that were now running up and down his arms and back. Serenity was curled up under her blankets, grazing her blood-tipped nails against his bare leg. Their clothes had been disintegrated a long time ago, and now Serenity was admiring the line-art on Mark's back.

"You got me good, Ren," he said, reaching around to feel the scars on his lower back. He could see her smirking at him over his shoulder so he decided to pounce her, tickling her ribs as he snuggled into the bed beside her. She giggled and rolled over to wrap her arms around his waist. "What you did with those tentacles was awesome. Man, if I knew fucking a Goddess was that damn awesome I would have fucked you years ago."

"Oh really?" she said, leaning up onto an elbow, raising an eyebrow at him. "Have I raised the bar?"

"Exponentially. I swear no other person I sleep with, even my girlfriend, will make me blow as hard as you did."

"Well," Serenity stated, sitting up properly and climbing up from the bed. Mark watched her go. She headed towards the book case and pulled out a little blue book. On the cover was Mark's symbol, the one WWF had made up for him after he'd been buried alive in a match a few years ago. It was a 'T' with two points at the bottom that pointed upwards, kind of an homage to the 'nail in the coffin' phrase, as that's what it looked like. "This used to have your name on it, but now it has your logo on it. I very much like it."

Mark smirked at her.

"Of course you do. What's in the book?"

"This is your Life Journal. From the day we first came to our arrangement, all the way until I retrieve your soul, it writes itself. It's so I can read the history of my dealings again."

"Cool."

Serenity smiled and waved her hand over the book. It glowed a royal blue before fading back to normal. Mark's eyebrow rose further.

"I had to restart it. As soon as your soul entered Caina, the book stopped and wrote it's ending." She placed it back on the shelf, sliding it in place next to a red one. Mark sat up and pulled the blanket over his naked form, eyeing the Goddess as she put her fingers on the top shelf. The bookcase slid back into the wall and shifted to the side, revealing a hidden staircase. "Stay right there," Serenity said, holding up a hand to stop him from following her. He smirked as she wandered down the stairs, eyeing the décor of the room a little closely.

Beside the bed were two wrought iron side tables with thick glass plates on top. Two lamps sat on them, dimmed to a dull red. It was enough for him to see with though. He could see three doors, not including the hidden passage way. One was slightly ajar, and Mark could see a red scarf on the floor. He figured it was her closet, which made sense. Of course the High Queen of the Underworld would have a walk-in closet and her own en-suite bathroom right next to it. The third door, a pair of double doors with glass paneling, led out to the balcony. It had begun to snow a little bit, soft flakes falling from the roof. Mark walked out onto the balcony and looked up, wondering where the snow was coming from and how exactly it didn't melt. He looked down and spotted Hades and Persephone in the garden, ice-skating. He tilted his head and watched them, holding up the sheet that he'd wrapped around his waist.

Persephone was giggling as Hades twirled her around on the ice, her lovely green gown she'd been wearing before cut short. It now looked like an earth-themed tutu, with a sleeveless top to boot. She looked like a ballerina, her hair catching snowflakes like a tiara. She looked very beautiful. When the snow touched Hades head, it blended in with his white hair and faded out against his chest plate. How he could wear that all day every day was beyond Mark. He was about to catch some of the snow in his hands and throw it at Hades when he felt someone's hand on his back. He turned to find Serenity, who had returned with a large hour glass with red sand in it, still falling. His symbol was on the side again, only it was silver this time, not black. Serenity had turned the sheets that had been wrapped around her into a dress that draped over her dainty body and flowed along the carpet like the train of a wedding dress.

"I told you to stay put," she said with a grin. He grinned right back at her.

"I never do as I'm told, Ren," he replied with a wink.

Serenity put the hour glass on the little table behind her and placed her hand on the top of it. More red sand began to fall underneath it, adding to the sand already in there. He raised an eyebrow and watched it fall.

"For doing what you did so well, I've restarted your timer and added ten years to it," the High Queen said, pulling her hand away from the hourglass.

Mark froze in place. That gave him another thirteen in total. His kids would be long grown by then, he'd be fifty and ready to retire from professional wrestling, quietly fading into the background while younger stars took his place. He'd be ready to pay the price by then. He let out an audible sigh and dropped his head to meet the coldness of the railing in front of him. Serenity's tone instantly dropped as she stepped up beside him.

"What ails you?"

"Nothing," he said, leaning up to look at her. "You have no idea what this means to me. I can try and rekindle my relationship with my brother, I can raise my kids properly. Sara and I can live a life worth what we've put into it so far."

Serenity's eyes instantly narrowed at the mention of Sara.

"Is she your new wife?"

"New girlfriend, who one day I hope to make my wife. Why?"

Serenity's eyes narrowed further as she turned away, her shoulders beginning to shake. He hadn't noticed before, but the vile containing his immortality was in her hand, held only by the tips of her fingers. Any sudden movement from her hand and she would drop it, letting it shatter against the crystal they stood on. He was about to take it from her to put down beside the hour glass when she brought it up to her face, kissing it softly. A single tear slipped from her eye before she turned around, the fire back in her eyes, that blazing inferno that would put the fires below them to shame.

"You got what you wanted, and so did I."

Before Mark could say or do anything in response, Serenity slammed the vile against his chest, hard enough to split the delicate glass into a thousand pieces. The milky white substance floated into the air, curled twice, then zipped towards Mark, splattering against his exposed chest. Where it had landed left a burning feeling and Mark had to step back and clutch at his chest. He could feel pain again. He could feel his immortality clutching to his cells and the very thing that bound him together; his soul. It burrowed deep, deep enough that he dropped to his knees and moaned, feeling the burn run all throughout his system, weaving its way through him like a virus.

When the burning stopped, he gasped for air and looked up at Serenity. Her hair was flicking viciously again, like someone had turned on an industrial strength fan, and she was in full combat gear. The onyx stone tiara was back on her head and her hair was up in an intricate bun. She wore a skin-tight red cat-suit, covered in various pieces of armor. She wore heavy combat boots, steel wrist gauntlets and a leather chest plate. Across her shoulders were steel shoulder pads and on her wrist were leather biker gloves. She looked bad ass, and like she could kick him from Heaven all the way down to Hell. She did not look happy at all; she looked angry enough to take on all the Gods in Olympus and win.

"In thirteen years, Markus, I will be ripping your soul from your worthless carcass. Enjoy what little time you have left with your family." She spat the word family with so much venom he wondered if the softness he'd seen in her before was real, or just his mind playing tricks with him after the wave of euphoria.

She reached down and ripped him to his feet by his throat, hoisting him in the air with all her strength. The air began to disappear from his lungs and he realized she was trying to hurt him, so he'd never forget that she could pull him apart limb by limb. He grasped at her arm, trying with all he had to pull it away, to no avail. In fact, her grip tightened, enough to the point it was cutting circulation off to his brain. He could feel his muscles tightening as they screamed at him for oxygen. The edges of his vision began to blur, but he could still see Serenity staring daggers at him. If looks could kill, he'd be buried under the palace or used as her own personal fertilizer.

"This..." he gasped, taking in as deep a breath as he could. "This... is far... from... over..."

Serenity smirked, bringing his head closer. His eyes lolled away from her briefly, before focusing back on the pissed off Queen yet again.

"You and I, Markus, will always be unfinished business."

Before Mark could respond, she wrenched back and flung him over the railing into the Crystal Garden below like a rag doll.

But he never hit the ground.

~X~

Darkness was all Mark could see. He could feel something grainy underneath him, like gravel but a little bit softer. Sand? He could hear waves crashing against rocks a little bit in front of him. Was he at the beach? He didn't remember being at the beach. Something dripped down his side, sticky and warm. He could feel the breeze brushing over his face. It smelled of salt. Where the hell was he?

Then it hit him like a brick to the face.

He was at Crystal Cove where he'd rescued Emily. He opened his eyes and saw Emily's hazel eyes staring down at him, and the big black nose of Zeus. It was then that he realized he wasn't breathing so he took a deep breath, scaring Emily so much she dived behind a rock to get away from him. She had blood on her hands, his blood. Zeus sat down and licked his face, knowing his master was okay. Mark ran a set of fingers through his hair and looked around. Yep, he was in Crystal Cove alright, and it was exactly as he left it. In fact, the moon was in the exact position it had been in when he'd dropped.

I guess she wasn't lying when she said she'd send me back exactly where she left me, time wise too, he thought, spying Emily poking her head out from over the rock. He smiled at her, rubbing his stomach where he'd been stabbed. He'd already healed, the wound closing over as he'd looked around. He looked back at Emily.

"Thanks for not running off when that happened," he said calmly. She nodded her head, fear in her eyes. Mark stood, dusting off the back of his legs. Sand fell back to the beach in clumps, refilling the hole he'd made. He scuffed his feet against the ground, getting rid of the blood.

Wipe her memory, Serenity's voice drawled in his head, still obviously pissed off at him. For what he didn't know, but he kept listening. If anyone finds out about what she saw tonight, our deal is null and void. Fix it, or I will fix you.

Nodding, he heard Emily whimper before she took off down the beach and he took off after her, grabbing a hold of her wrist. Pouring his magic into his eyes, he forced eye contact with her, holding her face so she was looking at him.

"You ran into me on the beach. You asked for directions back to your hotel. I gave you the exact directions you needed. Now you're ready to go home."

He let go of Emily's face and stepped back, making sure to keep a safe distance between them. The blood that had been spread over her hands, presumably from her trying to put pressure on his wound. Her eyes, still fuzzy from her mind being toyed with, blinked several times before her focus cleared. She smiled brightly.

"Did you get all that?" he asked, his tone soft again. "You kind of zoned out on me for a second there."

"Sorry, beach brain. Head back up the beach and back towards town. It should be the second turn on the right."

"That's it. I would walk you home but I have a family to get back to. Good luck," Mark said, slapping his thigh. Zeus came wandering up to his side, nuzzling his thigh. Mark smiled when Emily bent down to pat his loyal pooch. She smiled and waved as she got up and took off down the beach, a little bit of a skip in her step.

Mark looked down at Zeus and noticed the accusatory look in his dog's eyes. He smirked.

"Don't give me that look, you dopey dog. I had to. No one can know my secret."

Zeus barked once and followed Mark up the stairs, in the direction of the Heights, heading back the way they'd come.

~X~

Mark was so tired and sore when he got inside that he collapsed in the hallway leading into the living room. Sara, who had been saying her Goodnight Prayer, came running to his side when she spotted him. She helped him to his feet and kissed him hard, knowing something was wrong.

"I'm fine, baby," he said, patting the back of her head as she checked him over for bruises. "I think I pushed myself a little hard."

Sara smirked at him and slapped him on the chest playfully. He grinned at her. "You seriously don't need to push yourself as hard as you do, Mark."

"I know," he replied, following her up the marble staircase. There were six door ways in the corridor, three on each side, with a bay-window at the end that over-looked Crystal Cove. Curled up on the sofa, with a book open on her lap and a pen hanging from her fingers, was April, asleep with the moonlight causing her face to glow. Her brow was furrowed down like she was angry, and she was snoring softly. He smiled, kissing Sara on the forehead. "I'll be with you in a second, baby. Let me put the chief minion to bed first."

Sara nodded and walked the rest of the way down the hall to where the Master Bedroom was and blew a kiss in her would-be step-daughter's direction. April, as if subconsciously knowing someone had acknowledged her existence, let the pen drop to the floor and turned over, curling further into the cushions surrounding her. Sara giggled once and turned back to her lover. He winked and mouthed 'two minutes' before nudging his head towards the bedroom. She smiled and left, giving him a wink as she went.

Mark walked down the hallway and leaned down next to April, replacing the ribbon in what he knew was her song journal before putting it between his teeth, scooping his oldest daughter into his arms. She had grown to be almost six feet tall, with long black hair. A single blue streak lined her fringe for Hailie, the daughter she'd lost. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she'd grown into a very bright, very independent young woman, one Mark was proud to call his daughter.

As he stood up, arching his neck down so he didn't drop the book right on her stomach but instead placing it, she curled her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him.

"Daddy," she whispered, her voice soft and vulnerable. He wondered if she was still asleep because she never consciously called him Daddy anymore; it was always Father or Dad. Daddy had disappeared when her mother had passed away. He paused; was she actually awake? Her eyes stayed closed, her breathing still deep and relaxed. She was out like a light.

"I'm here, Apple," he whispered back, using her old nickname. As a toddler, when she was still learning to speak, she wasn't able to say April; it had always come out as Apple. And she was the apple of his eye, so the nickname had stuck, although these days she was known as Angel. He smiled, kissing her forehead. "I'll always be here."

When he entered the middle room, he placed April down gently on her bed, pulling the covers over her to make sure she didn't get too cold, and placing her journal and pen on the desk across the room. He watched her chest rise and fall as she slept, probably dreaming beautiful dreams of things past. He pondered going into her dreams, as he had before, but tonight he decided against it. Let her keep her dreams to herself; whatever was floating around in her head right now were none of his business. He looked up at the picture board above her bed and smiled, seeing pictures of her with her siblings and friends. In a trio of pictures taken at a photo booth he could see pictures of her and her new boyfriend. In the first picture she and Chris were making silly faces, the second was of Chris holding his fingers in a circular formation, over April's eyes as she stared shocked at the camera, Chris's head poking out from behind hers.

The third and last image was the sweetest one of all; April had her arms around Chris's neck and they were bumping foreheads, both with their eyes closed, both facing down. For the first time in a very long time, she was happy, and he could finally see it in her eyes. They'd moved around so much; after Jodi had died, once a month or so, Mark picked them up and took them to a random city to live, until their next move, when his children would have to say goodbye to everything they loved. Friends, sometimes family, school, work, even love; all were left behind to fuel Mark's depression. It was no life to live, and especially not one to force upon children. He hadn't been that surprised when April had run off to Chicago to try and fix her life; it's what he did. He remembered something he'd said to Anna after her boyfriend, Scott, had left. Though after his return the argument was never heard again, she'd asked for new people. 'Unfortunately, honey pie, new people are only new for a day. After that, they're just people. Who'll excite you, disappoint you, scare you a little bit. And boy do I know how tempting it is to run away when that happens. It's good for avoiding things. But the problem is that you end up avoiding yourself. Avoiding people you love. You end up avoiding life. So I've decided to start setting an example for you guys. I'm going to try show you what sticking it out looks like. Really get to know people. And let people get to know us. I don't promise to be any good at it, but I will try. Because I want you and Gunner to be better at this than I am. I want you to learn how to let people in.' April needed to let people in too, and being with Chris was a good start. She could learn to open her heart to someone new, instead of closing it off to everyone except her family, something he had been unable to teach her, seeing as his heart was clouded with absolute darkness.

As he shut the door behind him, letting his oldest child sleep, Mark turned to face Anna's room, to the left of April's. She would be curled up asleep with Scott, who had been at their house every day for the last two weeks. Mark didn't mind; it was good to have another male around the house. Now that April was back and Sara had moved in, Mark and Gun were outnumbered. Scott evened the odds. Mark opened the door and smiled, spying Anna curled up on her darling's chest. Scott, with his boofy, blond curls, had his arm curled around her, as if to protect her from all the evils in the world. Mark watched her as she curled tighter, pulling herself closer. Scott held her tighter, leaning his head to rest against hers. He saw the very corners of her mouth twitch into a smile. He could tell that Anna was happy, too. There was a skip back in her step that he hadn't seen from her in a long time, and her knowledge of the world ran much deeper than she knew. Her intuition was always perfect, and her love of everything natural added a sparkle to her eye, especially when she was at the beach or in the woods. Something she'd inherited from her mother, not from him. He was dark, and destruction seemed to follow him every where he went. Soon enough, whether by his own doing or the forces of chaos, his life would fall apart again. He knew it was coming.

Mark closed the door to Anna's room and walked the rest of the way up the hallway to his son's room. Opening the door, he spotted Gunner, half on his bed, half off, with one arm curled around Cassie, his girlfriend and mother to his child. Carter, their son, was curled up in his bassinet, his arms curled tightly around his teddy bear. His first born grand-son. Mark watched the littlest and newest member of his family sleep. He had flaming red hair, just like his father and grand-father, and dimples in his cheeks, just like Cassie, a perfect blend of both of his parents. If Carter was lucky, he would have a perfect life, one free of complications. But Mark knew his family wasn't that lucky. They'd inherited his bad luck, and everything that came along with it. He'd vowed, the day each of his children were born, that he wouldn't allow them to make the same mistakes he did, let alone his worst mistake.

He left Gun and the rest of his family alone, closing the door and heading for the bay window, staring out at the darkness. The moonlight glinted on the sea, the stars sparkling bright. The closest star to the moon, which he knew was Venus, but liked to pretend was Jodi, was dim tonight. It was normally the brightest and most dominant star in the sky. He saw that as a sign. He'd fucked up again. He was living his life on even more borrowed time. He laughed; no, not borrowed time. Stolen time. Time he'd stolen from an all-powerful and equally pissed off Goddess. He deserved to burn in hell for everything he did. The fire, Glenn, selling his soul to the she-devil. Everything. And he would. Eventually he would feel her vengeance and suffer. But until then, he would try and make life just that tiny bit better.

For everyone.