Based on characters and situations created and/or owned by Marvel Comics, DC Comics Sunbow Entertainment, Kids WB, Monkey Punch Publications, Nickelodeon entertainment, and John Proft. Special thanks to Red Witch for the use of her character, Spyder.
Chapter 21: Enter the Inferno
Jack and rogue had been walking for what felt like days. The terrain had gotten more and more difficult to walk threw. The dirt road had long since disappeared, only to be replaced with a small gap between the thorny vines and thick, dead trees.
"How long has it been?" Rogue asked, ducking under a pitchforked tree branch.
"It can't have been to long, If it had been, The doc would have opened the gateway again." Jack said as he slowly crept threw the dark forest. After afew more minutes that felt like hours, they came across a long river that seemed to stretch on forever, almost perfectly blocking their path. Jack groaned as he lead rogue threw the edge of the forest, and walked slowly over the cold beach. As he scanned the landscape, rogue kneel down and examined the sand as it fell threw her fingers.
"This is to weird... Can Sand even be dead?" rogue asked. Jack looked down, watching the sand shift as he nudged it with his shoe.
"If it can, this is what it would look like." Jack replied with a grumble, still looking over the endless lake.
"Can we go around?" Rogue asked. Jack shook his head.
"No suck luck, I don't think there is an end to this river." He said sadly as he walked up tot he massive body of water, making sure to keep away from the black waves.
"Look!" Rogue yelled, pointing past jack, to the small figure that was almost invisible behind the blanket of fog. After a moment, the small shadow took the form of a tall, thin figure, standing in a rickety, crumbling gondola. The man hidden in a long black cloak with a thick hood over his face. Jack said nothing as he watched the figure change coars to meet them on the beach. Jack felt a shiver shooting down his spine as the figure towered over him, not making the slightest move to leave his boat.
"The living have no place here. What business do you have in the land of the dead?" The man asked, his voice hoarse, as if the man had a cold all his life.
"I... We intend to bring someone back to life, she died before her time." Jack said evenly. The hooded man gave the lightest chuckle.
"Everyone's death occurs on schedule, there are no early or late arrivals. But once they arrive to their place of rest it is no longer any business of mine. This vessel is the only way across the river, but I do not transport for free. What will you give me for passage across the river styx?" Jack gulped. He never saw this coming.
"What would you like?"
"Anything of value to anyone." Jack rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think. At a loss, he dug around in his pockets, but couldn't find anything more than afew dollars, which he doughted would work here.
"What about this?" Rogue asked, offering The man a pendant on a necklace. Jack looked up at her.
"Rogue, what.. What are you doing?"
"We need ta get passed, right? Well.. this is somethin valuble ta me." She replied, holding it out for the man to take. The hooded figure revealed his hand, which was barely a hand, there was nothing but a set of bone fingers, small trails of dried blood and rotted flesh hanging from the yellow stained digits. Without even thinking, rogue lost her hold on the pendant, and it fell into the man's skeleton hand. He felt it in his hand, and it seemed to glow with a light, blue haze.
"Indeed, an item of great value, not only to you, but one other... A fitting payment."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After a time that they couldn't measure, they reached the other end of the river without incident, and without a word. When the boat hit the sand, the boat rocked hard, kicking up a small cloud of dead sand. Rogue shivered as she stood up and leapt out of the boat, her arms wrapped around her, her fingers clutching her arms, feeling cold as ice. Jack slowly crept out to follow her, when the hooded man reached out with a sudden swift motion, his boney fingers gripping hard on his right wrist.
"Know this, Jack Carson, The place you are bound for is not for the feint of heart, and this hand..." The hooded man said as he lifted Jacks arm up without effort, despite jack's intense struggle to free himself, "This hand has already traveled the river styx once before, and I look forward to holding it again, when anything leaves this realm, and returns again, it is not offered a second ride aboard this vessel. Once you leave this place, I will wield this hand...again, And as you can see..." The man said, his free hand lifting his hood slightly, revealing the pale, skull beneath, the socket where there were once eyes only showed a glowing dark red, " As you can see... I can use all the hands I can get." And with that, jack was pushed hard onto the sand, the man laughing a hard as he pushed the tall staff into the shore, and forcing his boat back into the sea, the fog growing thick and enveloping him like a mothers embrace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rogue and Jack had continued walking, for what felt like another lifetime. Jack let his hand flex, remembering what it was like to have both hands again. But it was mostly to keep his mind off the fear of walking into hell. The surroundings had quickly drifted from a cold, dead forest to something like a living inferno. The sky was filled with dark, red clouds. The temperature had rising to an intense heat. The sound of pain filled moans filled the air as they passed the occasional person, laying on the landscape, their body's thin, as if there was nothing but skin and bones.
Rogue shivered, as a particularly loud moan made her leap, and cling to jack's arm. Jack bit his lip, scared himself, but forced himself to laugh a little.
"Scared rogue, I figured this would be your kind of place?" Jack asked teasingly.
"Shut yer trap, jersey boy." She replied as they reached a towering gate. Back, smelling of burned metal. Jack reached out to try to push it, but it was blindingly hot, so much so that jack pulled his hand away, not even needing to touch it to know it would hurt.
"Okay... So what now?" Jack asked.
"I can help you..." A voice stated. Jack and rogue turned to see a tall, thin woman walking over to them. Rogue clung tighter to jack as the woman walked passed them, and pushed at the gate. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the woman forced the gates open, and waved the two teens onward, leading the way. " we must hurry, Cerberus will be close." She said as the three started hastily down the path.
"Cerberus?" Rogue asked, whispering to Jack.
"Greek myth, Cerberus was the three headed dog of Hades, And guarded the entrance to the underworld." Jack explained, surprised that the myths had some basis in reality.
"You are well informed, Jack Carson." The woman said.
"You know me?" Jack asked, still not sure if he trusted this woman.
"I do, Mephisto has had his eye on you for some time." the woman said, leading them farther into the dark underworld.
"Mephisto?" Jack asked.
"He is ruler of all who lose their way, he lives off the mystery of the dead." Jack gupled, not sure if he liked the idea of the king of hell watching him.
"Kay... Look, I'm looking for..." Jack was interrupted.
"I know what it is you seek, and I wish to help you." The woman said.
"Why would y'all wanna help us?" Rogue asked. The woman slowed in her step, but didn't stop, continuing down the path.
"I have my reasons," The woman said as she stopped at the edge of a tall staircase. "What you seek is up those stairs... But I warn you, the journey is not a safe one... But it is one you must travel alone." Jack frowned, and looked into rogues eyes.
"Rogue... I got to do this... Trust me.. OK?" Jack pleaded. Rogue frowned... But nodded, and watched helplessly as jack started climbing the stairs.
"You care very much for him, don't you?" the woman asked. Rogue nodded, watching jack disappearing up the endless staircase.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Jack gasped, the stairs seemed to go on and on forever. He felt the air begin to grow thin, as he struggled up the stairs. Suddenly, he felt the ground under him give way, and suddenly it shattered like glass under him. He found himself falling. He reached out, fingers gripping the edge of the broken staircase, hanging by his fingertips. As he struggled to pull himself up he felt the stairs cutting at his flesh. He looked up, shocked to realize the stairs were actual glass, and the spider web cracks were starting to grow.
"Mr. Carson..." A voice called out, one he knew as Dr. Strange's voice.
"Doc, What is this?" Jack called out, his legs flailing in an attempt to right himself.
"It is once of the trials the lord of evil has prepared for you. Those stairs are a physical representation of your own confidence, you must have faith in yourself, if you don't they will shatter as your confidence would." Jack felt his heart fall at the sound of that. He had let down so many already... Spyder, Kerowin, X... How could he... His thought were interrupted by the sound of cracking glass, and shook the thoughts away, forcing himself to remember the good he had done. Bringing captain America back to life, saving Spyder from the mob of mutant haters, the fight with kang... As if the memory's fueled his strength, he pulled himself up, struggling, but eventually he was back on the staircase. He groaned as he slowly crept up the stairs. The glass shards along the walk had cut him in countless places. He felt blood trickling freely from all over, making a sickening squishing sound in his shoes as he walked.
After some time the top of the staircase became visible, but he had to hold back from running the rest of the way, if he tried he would cause another collapse of the stairs, and the last thing he needed was to fall forever. When he finally reached the edge, he saw something that made his blood freeze. A tall mass of pointed rock, standing tall from the rocking mass of ground that made up the mile wide mass of floating rock that made up the top of the stairs. But there was something within the rock, trapped within it, wrapped in a circle of spiky tall towers of rock, like a cramped prison that forced the object to stand upright. Jack's eyes went wide as he crept closed, and saw it was a person.
"Ollie..." Jack said, horrified. The girl stood in the tight space of rock, nude, her eyes shut as if sleeping, but forced to sleep standing up. Odd, thick thorny vines wrapped around her as if strapping her to the rocky wall. Jack ran towards her, but found himself being knocked sideways. He dell hard to the ground, his wounds stinging as his head fell back, over the edge of the hovering rock platform. Jack stood up weakly, and looked up at his attacker.
"hey Jack, Remember me?" boy asked, his expertise a sickening smile, like one a psychopath may wear before killing his victims. It took Jack a moment, but he recognized him.
"T... Ted?" Jack asked.
"You remember me, I'm touched, to bad you had to turn into a mutie's pet." HE said angrily as he leapt at jack. Jack rolled away and pushed off the ground, stumbling but in a defensive position.
"What are you doing here, did you die?" JAck asked, terrified.
"Fraid not pal, I'm jus there to kill you for screwing up the Friends of humanity's plans." Ted replied, leaping hard, an uppercut sent him flailing back on the ground. Jack had to think, this wasn't making sense The stares seemed to be effected by how he felt... He had been in that situation before... And hoped it worked the same way here. Ted leapt up to jack, who still lay on the ground, a knife in his hand. JAcks eyes tightened shut, his arms crossing to block what looked like it would be the final blow... Only to hear the loud klang of metal on metal. Jacks eyes lit up, knowing that sound well, Looking up he saw the all to familiar shield strapped to his arm. Jack smiled, and without even thinking, he slapped the shield up, connecting with teds chin, sending him sliding against the rocky floor. Jack leapt up, and ran over, pinning the boy, his shield pressing against teds chest.
"I wont kill you ted, leave now." Jack said angrily. Ted only laughed.
"Fine jack, ill go... But don't think this is over... Even if you do get out... You'll see me again... Keep your friends close jack..." And with a sick laugh, he disappeared in a thick cloud of vapor. Jack stood up as the mist fluttered about and then, dwindled into nothingness. Then he looked down at the shield he had somehow summoned with his mind. He slipped it off and threw it to the floor as he ran up to ollie, his heart beating as he pulled and ripped at the vines. They were tightly wrapped around her, and cut at his hands as he pulled, but after a moment, the began to give way, and he tore at them like a man possessed. The pain wouldn't slow him, no enemy would keep him from coming. His only thought was of his sister.
"ollie..." Jack said, slapping her face gently, trying to wake her. After the second or third slap, her eyes slowly widened.
"J...Big Brother?" She asked. Jack smiled, tears mixed with drops of bloodstreeked down his cheeks as her own bright glowing red eyes filled him with a warmth.
"Jack... I... I wanna go home now..." Ollie said in a whimpering tone. Jack nodded, and timidly scooped her up from her prison of stone, and held her timidly in his arms, but then he stood her up for a moment.
"What are you doin?" Ollie asked in confusion. Jack said nothing, but peeled off his shirt, and one could see the blood stains all over it, as well as the massive amount of bruises and wounds, and what looked like could be a broken bone or two. Jack took a breath, trying to ignore the feeling of inurey.
"Put the shirt on kid, it's weird to see you naked..." Jack said nervously.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX
Jack smiled alittle when he met rogue and the strange woman at the foot of the stairs, ollie wrapped in his arms, his shirt now the only thing hiding ollie's dignity.
"I think it's time we headed home." Jack said between breaths.
"Ohhhhh Nooooo, Jack Carson," A voice called out, a massive one. THey all looked around, the woman seemed terrified, as if the voice had written her death sentence. Suddenly, one wall of rock crumbled, falling hard like a door sliding to hide beneath the rocky floor.
"Nooo, Jack Carson, I think we will be having much Much more fun with you dear boy.
End of chapter
Next Chapter: Devil's Challenge