OK, I'm a bad girl. No other excuse for the lateness of this chapter. I've been playing Mass Effect like a freakin addict for the past two weeks. Clocked 80h of gameplay. And counting. Damn is that game good or is it incredible! There definitely should be more RPGs with a shooter engine… As long as they keep it third-person - have pity on me.

Hm, so I'll stop my ranting here. I hope I haven't lost you all because of the delay…

Chapter XXXIII. Doubts

The next morning, Valen awoke with a groggy head and heavy limbs. He sat up in his bed sleepily, and realized contentedly that he had slept peacefully throughout the night. He remembered, then, the pleasant feel of Chama's hands in his hair the previous night, soothing him and quietly sending him drifting off into serene sleep.

Smiling, he stepped out of bed, stretched, put his armour back on and strode out of his room purposefully, ready to take on the Reaper and his master Mephistopheles.

A surprise awaited him in the tavern, however. The Sleeping Man was no longer sleeping, but instead stood near Rizolvir's forge, sternly watching the devils staring at him as they would have at a piece of meat. The drow smith knelt by the celestial's right foot and took different measures on the armour's leg, probably to complete its adjustments, amongst which slits in the back through which the Sleeping Man could fit his wings. The celestial also carried a greatsword belted in a simple scabbard at his right hip, and he held a shining helmet under his arm. Aribeth, standing besides him, observed him with a look of startled fondness.

Then Valen spotted Chama, leaning on a wall on their right and obviously checking the door to his room. Valen smiled at the sight and walked towards her. "Good morning, my love."

"Good morning. Slept well?"

"Very peacefully," he murmured with a smile. "But I see we have a new companion." Turning towards the celestial, he extended a hand. "Valen Shadowbreath."

"Somnus of Elysium."

They shook hands and nodded to each other, their eyes level. Valen had not often met humanoids of his height and size, and he had great respect for the great strength visible in Somnus' countenance, even after ages spent sleeping.

After the adjustments to Somnus' armour were done, Chama, Aribeth, Somnus and Valen went to train a while in the central square of the City of Lost Souls, and the damned souls cheered and rejoiced that such great heroes marched to war against Mephistopheles.

Chama and her team crossed the gates back to the Realm of the Reaper. But just before Chama reached for the door that would lead them back to the Prime and the awaiting devil, Valen spoke up.

"So it seems we are arriving at the end of our adventure. Soon we will be out of the Nine Hells… and not a moment too soon, in my opinion."

"You seem almost sad," Chama noted with a worried frown.

"I… I know. I have been fighting the urges of my blood ever since we arrived in Baator. The infernal taint on my soul ever pushes me to continue the Blood Wars, it seems. When I think of all the time I spent fighting here in the Outer Planes… when I think of my humanity being swallowed whole by my demonic half… I can't help but feel there is little hope for me, Chama." He shrugged helplessly.

"I thought the Seer had helped you overcome this," she answered gently.

"She has tried," Valen admitted. "She brought me back from the brink, from the snarling beast I once was… but she can only do so much. In the end, I am on my own with this. My demon half will always be a part of me, something I cannot escape even if I return to your world. I will have to accept that."

Seeing the concern written on Chama's face, Valen grimaced and sighed. He should not have been so selfish and break that out to her just before an important battle. It was not her fault and she could not do much about it either.

"Doesn't our love give you any hope at all?", she added still.

He gazed at her with all the sadness in the world. "I do not know. I have felt cut off from other beings for so long, I… I'm not sure what hope is. Do you think there is hope for the two of us, my lady?"

"Valen… the way you look at me now… can't you see that's all the proof you need to know there's hope? There's always hope."

"Is there?" He looked at her and smiled ruefully. Somehow, even now, when she said those things, he couldn't help but believe her. "Then I shall have to rely on you to remind me of it, my lady. For when you tell me it is so I believe it."

Taking a breath, he squared his shoulders and gestured to the door. "Let's find Mephistopheles and have this battle over with. I cannot wait for the future to come, now."

She hesitated a while, but then turned to Aribeth and Somnus standing by her side. Walking to the paladin, Chama hugged her to whisper in her ear.

"Va'ardalia the Twinsouled…"

Wincing as though she had been slapped, Aribeth pulled away rudely.

"Chama!"

"Forgive yourself for what happened in Neverwinter," the elf finished, ignoring the ghost's indignation.

"But what I did was wrong! Countless innocents died by my actions and countless friends as well. To feel no guilt, no remorse, is to become cold to the world. It would be inhuman. Is that what you ask of me?"

"No, Aribeth… This is your atonement… how you finally escape the Hells…"

Smiling gently, Somnus put a reassuring hand on Aribeth's shoulder. She turned the words in her head for a while, then declared, "I suppose the gods have their mysteries. But what is commanded in their tongue must have their sanction, for good or ill. By your command, I am atoned… Is there anything more?"

"No, Aribeth, that is all."

Then Chama turned and stared at Valen for a long time, her eyes deeply troubled. In the end Valen broke the silence before it became truly unbearable.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Never mind. I'm not certain enough."

She turned towards the gate, and crossed it, immediately followed by her companions. And then, at long last, they stood before Mephistopheles.

ooooo

Valen seethed. A devil stood before him, and he knew he must fight it – but not for demon blood; for the sake of the Prime itself. His eyes were red and he did not care. After his encounter with Mephistopheles in the Valsharess' tower, he knew he needed the help of the demon within him. He need only avoid being completely overrun. Destruction was called for, just not without control.

He took a step forward towards the devil, who had grown a few feet in height and draconian wings since their last meeting, to shield Chama from the baatezu's hits. Aribeth stood by his right side, and Somnus a little further back.

Of course, the confrontation had to start with Mephistopheles' explanation of the reason of his attempted conquest of the Prime. A devil could not simply engage in a battle, he needed to expose his motives to gloat over the cleverness of his own schemes. Demons, for their part, always approached a confrontation directly, and Valen found wordy opponents boring and frustrating. He nevertheless listened silently and Chama chose to meet Mephistopheles' comments with a simple statement, which suited Valen just fine.

"We've come to stop you."

"You and which army, foolish mortal?", Mephistopheles laughed. "I dare say it seems they have run off and left you alone to face me. A pity."

"They haven't run off," Chama corrected patiently. "I told them that we'd handle you."

Laughing, the archdevil turned to her companions. Firmly standing his ground, Valen met the devil's gaze straight on when he turned to him.

"So," Mephistopheles began, "the young tiefling still deigns to travel with you… Valen Shadowbreath, is it not? A pleasure to meet you, my young man. The reputation of one such as yourself precedes you."

"We've nothing to say to one another, devil," Valen snarled. With the demon so close to the surface, the growl came easily out of his throat. "You are baatezu and I am tanar'ri. There can be nothing but death between us."

"Oh? But you are mostly human," the devil went on with a slow, treacherous smile. "What if I was to tell you that I could relieve you of that demonic taint forever? I could free you from the Blood Wars, young man. What would that be worth, I wonder?"

Toying idly with the talons of his right hand, the devil looked at Valen out of the corner of his eye. Valen glared right back at him.

"It would not be worth betraying my love for Chama, that is sure," he declared haughtily. "If there is a taint to be removed today, it is yours, devil!"

Mephistopheles did not even spare a sneer in Valen's direction, but blatantly ignored him to turn to Aribeth.

"But I do see you brought your pretty little paladin with you… It feels like such a long time since we last met, doesn't it, my dear? If I recall, you fled in tears, quite confused about your place in the world…"

Trying to hide her fear, Aribeth plunged ahead defiantly. "That was then and this is now, Hell-fiend. Chama has led me back to Tyr's blessing and it is Tyr whom I now serve. Even you, in all your might, dare not stand against his wrath."

"Tyr, you say?", the devil chuckled malevolently. "Then I presume it is Tyr's spells you wield against me? Guess again, princess! They're my spells! Mine! I played Chamaedaphne as a puppet with the Valsharess and I did the same in Cania. All this time, you thought you were traipsing through Cania in the name of Tyr? How quaint. Tyr abandoned you, Aribeth, and couldn't care less about you now!"

"No, it's not true! It… It can't be! I believed again. I could have sworn I still saw beauty in the world…"

"Blah, blah, blah. You've done quite a number on her, Chamaedaphne. If I wasn't about to kill you, I might just congratulate you. You've got her twisted around your little finger. So what's it gonna be, Princess: her or me?"

Aribeth closed her eyes on stinging tears of shame. "No matter what I do, it seems I am only capable of bringing evil into the world… I will side with you, Mephistopheles. There is no other choice."

But then a hand landed lightly on her shoulder. It was warm and gentle, kind and loving, and there was no hint of doubt in the move.

"You have the choice, Aribeth," Somnus said, his rich voice deep and gentle. "I love you. That is not evil."

And then, standing on the scorched square of Waterdeep littered with the corpses of Mephistopheles' victims, Aribeth realized that it was not her real faith that she had felt reborn when she had pledged her sword to Tyr in the frozen cave where she had tried to become one of the Lost. Because faith was flowing in her right now, like a warm, familiar and reassuring fire coursing through her veins, giving her the desire to live. She turned to the celestial awaiting her answer confidently and patiently.

"You have brought me back from an icy grave, Somnus. You are my rock, my touchstone… my love… If nothing else, I believe in you."

The angel smiled warmly. Out of the corner of her eye, Aribeth could see Chama grinning like an idiot and even Valen, usually dour and harsh, seemed pleased with the turn of events.

Snorting, Mephistopheles brought them back to the reality of the battle at hand.

"Try what you might, you cannot stop me, mortal. I know you far too well."

"Really," Chama shot back slyly. "Try what you might then."

And on this signal, Aribeth raised her sword, Valen swung his flail, and Mephistopheles lifted his spear. And they clashed.