Chapter X: Almost There!
Level two was amazingly windy and Pip noticed that the punishment greatly resembled the one mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy; which was quite a strange name for a very unfunny subject.
Damien gripped the blonde's hand and looked at him.
Pip glanced back before he turned his attention to the man on the stage. "Damien?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you go save Wendy, Stan, Ike, and Clyde?" His eyes glued to the ground, guilt eating through his body, "Could you rescue them, while I'm here?"
Damien scratched the side of his face, "That would be both easy and hard,"
Pip gave him a strange look. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, everyone who stayed faithful to god is still on earth. While the people who followed me sort of died and are now here in hell. But because of that, I'm not welcome on earth. Since everyone on earth follows god now, it may mean that they'd be a lot easier to free. Or, they might actually be out already." He said.
"Then please tell them I'm sorry for deserting them and being such a coward."
"Sure thing, Pip,"
"Thank you so much,"
They kissed.
The group shifted and the man motioned for the people to go forth and to their punishment. Demon's pushed the unwilling ones to move.
Pip hugged him tightly.
"I'll be okay, Pip,"
He didn't speak.
"But please; come back unchanged."
He looked up, "Right-o,"
Damien stepped onto earth and looked around.
The damage was almost fixed, it seemed, and everything appeared just like it had before.
He slid his hands into his pockets and shrank to his child form, looking just like how he did when he was eight. He slowly stepped through Israel, looking for a sign of Kenny or the others.
If he found Kenny, he'd know where the other people would be right away.
He gently stepped up to the rubble of his past throne and sighed. This certainly brought on nostalgia.
"Boy! What're you doing?"
Damien glanced over towards the older man and blinked, "Walking," he replied.
"Don't be so close to the devil's throne!" He warned with a sharp voice, "Evil still lingers over that spot!"
He squinted, "Evil?"
"Yes, boy. Wait 'til Jesus blesses that spot before stepping foot there."
Damien jumped with a revolutionary thought, "Old man, where is Jesus?"
He frowned at the nickname, "He should be at the new church,"
He dashed off and towards the large cathedral off on the horizon.
He cracked his skull against the rocks, eyes spinning, and he fell down onto the ground. He groaned heavily, the wind crushing against his back. He gently rolled onto his back and forced his eyes closed.
He hurt so much.
A demon yanked him to his feet and forced him to walk again.
Pip stumbled, legs weak, and collided with one of the other many people wondering around in the second circle of hell.
They both moaned in pain and wobbled away from one another.
The area was filled with screams, but the wind was so strong that it over powered them and drowned the screams with its own powerful wail.
Pip lurched back as much as he was capable of as the person in front of him was beheaded by a chunk of flying debris.
The man collapsed and crumbled into ashes and he went back to the stage.
He wished that he was out of this place and with Damien.
He glanced up at the towering cathedral and wondered what was aiding these people so that they were able to build and fix so quickly.
God's blessing, most likely.
Damien shook his head and stepped into the giant archway that held the door. He could sense something in the keystone. Not something to prevent access, simply something to bless the person underneath.
It made his stomach squirm.
Inside was like every other church he had ever seen; grand, beautiful, with hanging buttresses, and millions of candles.
Jesus stood by the pew.
He stepped down the center aisle and up to the savior.
Jesus noticed him instantly and told the elderly woman to go back to her seat. "What are you doing here?" He questioned with dimmed hostility.
Damien looked up at him and frowned heavily. "I need some help,"
His eyebrows furrowed, "In what, child of Satan?"
"I have a name, you know!" He was scowling.
"Yes, very sorry Damien," it was sour despite the pretty words.
"Do you know where Kenny is?"
He was surprised, "He should be in South Park by now,"
Damien blinked, "Are his friends free?"
"Yes, they are,"
"They're in South Park as well?"
"Yes,"
He exhaled heavily, "Thank you," he quickly turned a heel and bustled out of the church.
With another exhale of breath, he grew back into his thirty-year-old self and quick-walked back to the hell-elevator.
Pip was pushed back into the storm, old wounds still paining despite the fact that he no longer had them.
He couldn't deal. He had no idea how he was going to put up with this for another sixty days.
He would go mad if he had to deal with the next few hours.
Damien stepped into the old town and saw that nothing had changed. And, the further he walked through South Park, the more convinced he was that it was completely unaffected by his relatively quick reign.
Suddenly, a streak of blonde approached him.
"Hey! Damien!" Kenny called.
"Hi Kenny," he said as he waved weakly.
"What're you doing here?" He asked as he closed in, eyebrows quirked.
"Do you know where Kyle, Stan, and the others are?" He cut right to the chase.
"Everyone should be home or something. This whole fiasco has really warn them out, you know?"
"Sure do, thanks Ken,"
"No problem!"
He decided to go to Stan's place first (hopefully Wendy would be there too), then to Ike, and finally to Clyde.
Satan frowned and stood over Saddam.
The small man seemed to shrink under the heated gaze of the fallen angel, not yet daring to say anything yet.
"Saddam, I love you so much,"
He jumped to his feet and prepared to reply. He was cut off.
"But I cannot deal with you always betraying me. I'm banishing you to the ninth layer where you will be engulfed by ice up to your neck."
"B-But Satan! Don't do this to me, budduh! Please—!" He was dragged by some very able-bodied demons away from the angered ruler. "Satan, don't do it!" He screamed again in that high voice of his.
"Sorry Saddam, but no."
"No!" He yelled as the hole in the ground at him alive, throwing him down to the ninth layer.
He rang the doorbell and felt himself flood with stupidity. He, the son of Satan, was ringing a doorbell in order to apologize for someone else. He felt so utterly stupid, yet not at the same time. It was all very confusing.
Stan opened the door and stared.
Damien stepped past him forcefully and entered the old house.
"What're you doing here?" Stan shouted at him.
He noticed Wendy in the living room and was very glad. He turned to Stan, "I've come to tell you that Pip is very sorry about abandoning you,"
His eyebrows furrowed, "What?"
Wendy got up and stood on the other side of the room, "Why can't he tell us in person?"
"He's dead,"
The couple frowned.
"When?" Stan asked quietly.
"A month or so ago."
"How?" Wendy added.
"Cartman shot him," Damien held back a bark of malice, "He just wanted to let you guys now that's he's sorry about you getting caught and what not."
"Tell him we're fine and its okay,"
"Cool,"