Chapter XIV
Greed
The runoff from Cerberus' blood led Team Witness down to the fourth circle of Hell, Greed. Thankfully the softened earth was able to cushion their fall. They gradually rose with their irritated bodies, but were very much alive.
"Whew. Thank goodness we never landed on that." Alex pointed in the distance. They beheld mountains of gold and the shades were being buried beneath the ever-flowing coins. Some were literally being shredded by the humongous, rusted, blood-smeared gear known as the Wheel of Fortune.
When Lara described it, Jake asked in terror, "Th-this isn't like the one in that game show, right?"
Everyone looked at him in a coy manner. They gazed upon the mechanical gears, noticing it was less organic than the previous circles. At the very center of Greed, there was a boiling pit filled what seemed to be lava colored in a golden fashion. The damned were screaming in all methods of torment.
Gavin shuttered, "I s'pose we'll all see Dreyfuss here?"
None of the gang spoke, but they were all pondering over that possibility.
"It's quite possible." Jenny said. "Unless if he's somewhere else with Jobe in Violence."
"Only one way to find out." Diana led the way.
"Wait, Mom, I should go in." Lara offered, holding a hand in front of her waist. "I have Temperance, this monetary environment would surely tempt us. Let me go first." Everyone agreed.
"Lead on, Lara." Gavin said enthusiastically, feeling comfort that the remaining Witness was taking charge.
The first shade they realized nearly caught them off guard. "Talk about fathers," Jake stated. They each saw Alighiero, also known as Dante's abhorrent dad, and from the looks of it, he couldn't be anymore.
Alighiero was an Italian moneylender and a greedy man, who physically abused his wife, Bella Abati, and tormented his son, Dante. He stole from the poor serfs, using their money to have exponential parties with his friends, and have sex with many women and prostitutes. Because of Alighiero's actions, as well as his abusive behavior, his wife eventually committed suicide, though he told Dante she died of a fever, describing her weakness as the reason her heart gave out. And much like her, he also chastised Dante for his weakness. Alighiero's influence is revealed to be the cause of the darker aspects of Dante's personality, even during his career as a Crusader. He had a second wife, Lapa, and had two kids.
When Dante was away at the Crusades, Beatrice stayed with Alighiero as she awaited her fiancé's return. Shortly before death, Alighiero persuaded to Beatrice that Dante was dead in order to seduce her for himself. Seconds later an assassin attacked them both. Alighiero quickly gained the upper-hand, but before he killed him, the unnamed murderer stabbed him in the eye with his own cross, killing him instantly. He was in his early 70s.
Alighiero appeared in Greed, and was turned into an obese, demonic abomination, with chains wrapped around his neck and limbs. He appeared to have his right hand replaced with a pig's foot to symbolize his gluttony, and flesh ripped asunder from his stomach. Alighiero wielded a giant golden cross decorated with emeralds, and built after the same one he wore in life. He was promised gold and a thousand years free of torture if he would murder his own son, which he was unsuccessful since Dante forced him into the golden lava within the ring's center.
There was a teenager with two blond pigtails enwrapped with purple bows that matched her dress and shoes, plus the rips in her tattered blue pants barely covered the green dots. They knew her as the spoiled, rotten brat, Angelica. Even some people named her, Satanica, and for good reason. She was digging vigorously through the endless horde of gold breaking her nails for...whatever her materialistic fix was. Perhaps cookies or the object of her affection.
Throughout her history, Angelica became addicted to various narcotics which intensified her Schizophrenia, bringing her back to her childhood and fantasy where her creations she obsessed over came to life. Whilst a teenager, she was constantly taking hits of acid, so she would never have to live without her creations who were her only company, or rather her puppets. Her mom actually died of a heroine overdose back in 1982 just after Angelica was born, and Drew in his depression married a gold digging whore that Angelica idolized because she went by the delusion thinking it was her real mom, Cynthia, then took a Barbie-like doll and made it after her mom's image, wearing a filthy orange dress and having wild hair. Later in life she followed in her mom's footsteps with drugs and everything, dying of overdose at age 13 in 1993. She had a kid brother named Dil. However, because of her psychotic state, Angelica didn't know the difference between Dil and her creations, and Dil never followed her commands. After endless crying and a refusal to disappear like the others did when Angelica was angry with them, she hit him. Due to this, he sustained a brain hemorrhage, which resulted in a deformation and being permanently disabled. As he grew up, his damage only became more evident and by the time he was 9, he lived as an outcast, being ridiculed for his retardation. The immense guilt over this is what led Angelica to her drug use and to un-create the Rugrats briefly, until her experience with hallucinogenics.
There was a bony elderly man that was bald at the top of his shiny bright peach head which may have reflected some of the golden light. He had a pointed nose and donned on a worn-out navy blue tux. He went by the name of C. Montgomery Burns, the owner of the nuclear power plant in an unknown location called Springfield. Burns might've died from suffocation after consuming radioactive liquid from a meltdown in his own turf. Everyone knew he was cold and calloused to everyone he knew, always for the sake of never-ending fortune and corruption over the town itself. They were relieved as they saw him slip into the golden magma at the epicenter, screaming in brutal agony.
Malcom was obvious since Jobe dragged him down after his immortality was compromised from the Philosopher Stone offered by Lucifer. At first Lara was hesitant as she gazed upon her former foster father while he was drowning within the cauldron of the acidic gold. Her heart nearly shattered as she witnessed the horrific sight while he dissolved into nothingness. Diana laid a hand on her shoulder, snapping her back into reality.
They pressed on to see another elderly man that had a hoarse voice and torn whiskers, a mustache, and hair. Carter Pewterschmidt died from a weakened heart. He temporarily went into a coma from an episode during a lap dance that Peter and his friends shown him. But this time, his heavy greed and his poor replacement resulted in his final demise just before the Quahog raid. Which kind of made sense since he was being crushed down by loads of heavy coins. Luckily he'll never know of what would become of his grandkids since they're currently being raised by his wife, Barbara.
Next were two young people, one looked to be a teenager with skin as green as can be. They assumed he was sick, but they realized it was his natural complexion. He donned on a leather jacket, had strands of orange hair, and also a pointed nose like Burns. The other was a bloodied young woman in what appeared to be a long, bright pink dress that was shrouded in tears and blood. Not much was said, but it was believed that both Roger Klotz and Sharpay Evans became drug addicts and died from overdoses. Roger just hung out with more punks and did some hard drugs with little to no rehabilitation. While Sharpay, resulting from her fame and immense money as a Broadway star, has bought many drugs to make her more powerful until her wretched body just gave way. Either way, the team saw them get shredded within Greed's gears.
"Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of wolf here?" Gavin asked.
Lara answered, "Yeah, he was known as Plutus, and people considered him as a gold statue. However, he's mostly depicted as a wild dog eager to claim its prey from the hoarders and wasters. He usually rips them apart as they joust each other. He still says the phrase, 'Pape Satan' many times."
"So, he's a wolf that worships Satan?" Alex concluded.
"Yeah, let's hope we won't be his next meal. I think he'll be too busy chasing after those who're perverted into the obsession of materialistic goods. It's no wonder Dante labeled this as the fourth ring since it represents Divine Love for items in a world created by God." Jenny summarized.
"Wow. Your knowledge and experience from the foster homes are really paying off." Jake said.
"Paying?! Don't get us tempted here!" Alex cried. She grabbed her partner's olive green shirt, trying to get some sense into him.
"Guys, guys!" Gavin and the others tried to break them up. The tension was really going sky high.
"Look, I know how you guys must feel, but we need to stay focused." Jenny reasoned.
"Which is why you need my help more than ever."
They all looked up and saw a man in his twenties with frazzled blond hair.
"You again!" Gavin cried.
"Nick Hawley..!" Jenny was caught by surprise.
"I should've known you'd be here. Always the moneymaker I see. What a forgone conclusion." Lara added.
He marched up to them. "Yeah, Lucifer put me here. I don't deserve this, especially being the arrogant man that I was. I wasted my ass to help you slime buckets!"
"Yeah, until you were overwhelmed by greed, you bastard." Gavin countered.
He was deeply offended. "All I wanted was to bring Jenny back to my side, and now I can, no regrets." Hawley smiled, "What do you say, are you willing? I can get you all out of here."
She hesitated. The firebrand challenged as he blocked her vision, "Errgh! Nobody wants to join you! We've got a mission, and we don't need your help. Besides, you never cared for Ichabod; all you want to do is party with numerous women in bars! It's all business to you, and you wouldn't mind if the world was destroyed anyway! So, obviously Satan gave you a reward. Now make like a tree and leave, you pathetic privateer!" Gavin countered, using the Freemason's pet name.
Hawley lunged at him, and they exchanged blows. Until he twisted his skinny arm. Hawley did have more muscle. Gavin yelled in agony, then Lara got involved as she commenced her fury using strong, accurate kicks and punches.
As the fight wore on, the team noticed something in Hawley's pant pocket. It was shiny and Jenny recognized the ceramics right away.
"It must be..."
"What?" Jake asked.
She explained it was one of the thirty pieces of silver belonging to a relic known as the Tyrian Shekel. Pontius Pilate gave Judas those to betray Jesus, and they're capable of awakening suppressed feelings of resentment to those who gaze upon them. He still had one contained in stained glass.
"Have a taste of your own, Witness! You'll be joining Crane soon, don't you worry. Not so tough without him, are you, weakling of Dreyfuss?!" Hawley roared before he landed more punishing hits on Lara, making her feel weak.
"WE HAVE TO SEPERATE HIM FROM THE JUDAS COIN!" Gavin screamed, just enough he would've hollered his lungs out. Apparently, he was drawing power from it, making him feel more invincible and more ravenous in an appetite for murder.
Jenny's begging were ineffective and with a matter of chance, the two stained glass slabs containing the Judas coin slipped out of Hawley's possession. She gazed at it and was walking to it. The team grew worried as they knew that she was affected by it a few years ago. When Parrish laid it beside her during her community service and was about to kill Reyes due to the false claim that she put her mom in the Tarrytown Mental Hospital.
Fortunately, Gavin tackled her down and both Alex and Diana pinned her to the ground. The slabs appeared closer to the molten gold pit. With his strong resolve, Gavin picked up the slabs and held it for Hawley to see while he still was rolling and thrashing with Lara. He ran to him using all his rage.
"Say goodbye to your fortune, Hawley!" He tossed it down and Hawley dove after it, incinerating both menaces in the process.
Diana and Alex eventually let Jenny go, whom she was more stunned than her teammates. She was undoubtedly numb both inside and out. She momentarily sunk to her knees and was distraught. "I can't believe this! ...I was foolish to get involved with him. He was always attractive and he always loved me and my sister... She turned him down, but I didn't...He was an artifact hunter like I was, I really thought we had something special, I thought he would change... Until Joe..." She cried more.
"They were so young and naïve. I never liked Hawley, but I didn't want to tell her or Abbie since it might hurt their feelings." Gavin reiterated.
"I...I can't go on anymore..! We've seen him die twice... And my greed almost got the best of me... I can't..."
"You need to look inside yourself, Jenny." Lara said as she knelt beside her. She put a hand on her trembling shoulder. "Crane depends on us. We need to push through and restore his soul from Lucifer. He's counting on us, and we can't give up now. He's a Witness like I am. And he doesn't have a lot of time; we are all going to save him, with you or without you."
Soon enough, Jenny calmed down as she swallowed hard. "You're right... You're right. Crane does need us."
"Of course he does. We're all involved in this." Alex assured.
"There's no turning back. We must press on to the next several circles." Gavin said.
"We're the only ones who could save him and the world." Diana added. "We are going to accomplish this mission. What do you think Joe would do?"
With that, Jenny gradually rose thanks to Gavin and Lara. She then faced the group, "I'm sorry. These Hell rings are really running us ragged. We should press on."
The young one just heard Ichabod's words in his ears, "What matters now more than ever is that you and I stay true. Trust is the only currency with any value." That gave him more motivation to push through.
"Let's go then," Jake stated.
They went on their way to the fifth circle, Wrath. Little did they knew that time WAS actually running out...
Meanwhile, Ichabod was slapped across the face by a hand clad in armor. Through his darkened vision, he saw it was none other than his former friend, Benedict Arnold.
"You deserved to be in this hole, Captain Crane. You should never have betrayed the ways of your country. I had every single goddamn right to betray mine! General Washington was unsupportive on how he was orchestrating the war effort, with all of us dying as we suffered through starvation and the frigid cold. And I've been here for the past 234 years, because of you!"
The Loyalist hit him again, with a few pieces of skin flying off. "That's enough, Benedict!" He stopped as he heard a vehement voice.
He huffed, "Fine, Master. I just want to show how Mr. Crane has warped his mind and betrayed the crown. Even his own family despises him, and Katrina, and his son! He flatly deserves this eternal punishment."
Benedict stepped away then stopped and faced him again. His face was bloodied and freezing up, barely paralyzing his jaw. "Let your friends come, they will never succeed. The apocalypse will begin, and you will fail as a so-called Witness. Let it be done." Ichabod hardly lifted his head which weighed close to a ton. His strength was waning and so were the team's hopes.
A/N: While I was watching some Nicktoons when I was young, there were some people I found unsettling, those being Angelica (or Satanica as calls her) and Roger Klotz. Both Rugrats and Doug meant a lot to me, but those two greedy shitheads always ruin the experience! And, oh boy, there's going to be another that tops them all in the next ring, you'll see...
Originally, I was going to pick Angelica for the Gluttony ring, obviously 'cause of her fetish for cookies and the like. And yes, at one episode, her gluttony results her to be so fat and domineering, even to Tommy and his family. But...I always feel that there's something more in which she deserves to be a part of Greed; I can't really explain it, but I somehow think that materialistic desires, power and riches fit her better.
Also, Sharpay Evans makes an appearance. While I'm not a huge fan of High School Musical, and I can't understand why people are since the lip-syncing is atrocious, I included her for the same reason as the others. She's a greedy, spoiled, pampered hoe that I at first felt she'd be better off in the slums! I'm not kidding! While some of the songs are ok, I consider Sharpay to be the most undesirable, manipulative bitch in the series, while using her weak brother as a puppet. Thank God it was only a trilogy, and I didn't bother with 3.
I almost forgot Carter because he's so unmemorable and worthless. Much like FOX he's an old, selfish bastard that never shares his wealth and cares only for money. No different than the asinine executives from the network! His life is meaningless.
It's quite surprising to note that Dante's father isn't the main arch demon. Then again, this may take place after Dante's pilgrimage, hence the dream and such. So instead, and since it's Sleepy Hollow, I've included Hawley for obvious reasons; I've NEVER liked him, nor the fact he was labeled as a creator's pet. On the subject of the Judas coins, Benedict won't appear till much later.
"Canto Mortis - An Undocumented Battle" from Dissidia 012 plays as Team Witness set foot in Greed. "Voodoo Glow Skulls" will sound as Lara faces Hawley, "Redemption" would play afterwards, and the "Dungeon" from Dragon Quest will play from the first key to three keys down.
They've now reached a quarter of the underworld; will Team Witness continue to fight their anxieties and press forward to save their leader in time? Find out later, Sleepy Heads.