MAL86 - Hope you enjoy how those twists play out :) , and hopefully you'll enjoy another Rose partnership, that with her 'twin' Jean Grey, as we join our strike team and their assault upon the heart of the demonic base :) . Thanks for reading and reviewing :) ).
(Not much to say, Rose, Jean, Kitty, Kurt and John Howlett begin their assault to rescue Logan, hope you all enjoy the unfolding battle :) )
Chapter 20
Emerging from Illyana's portal, Jean stepped into an abandoned room, devoid of furniture, dusty and with the walls showing cracks, shot through with the organic black tendrils she had seen throughout the rest of the former Soteria town. Thoughts turned to Scott and her friends still locked in battle with a demonic monstrosity she had seen forming just as she had entered the portal. A battle she could hear from here, the inhuman roar of the demonic monster, and the answering thunder and roaring winds from Ororo, as well as the distinctive sounds of Scott's optic blasts, accompanied by other explosive sounds and impacts that no doubt came from Illyana, Piotr and Rachel. But Jean steeled herself and focused her thoughts, she couldn't help that battle, and just had to trust Scott, Rachel and the others to handle it so the team here could have a clear shot at rescuing Logan, and perhaps with that ending this demonic madness once and for all.
Jean quickly approached Rose and the others already at the window, as Rose turned towards her and put her hand on Jean's shoulder, sensing her mood, and Rose's mind reached hers and offered comfort that needed no words. Jean smiled gratefully back at her, returning the gesture knowing her worry was only a fraction of what Rose was feeling at the moment.
'The building was clear at least,' Kitty said. 'So far at least, everything is going according to plan. Now we just have to get to the auditorium over there and hope we can get to Logan in time.'
Rose smiled tightly, Jean feeling a strong surge of hope flaring to life in her sister, and Rose replied, 'James is fighting back. He's defeated the demonic assault they've launched against them, right now Ogun's doing his best just to keep him suppressed. We've got here in time.'
'Good, then let's get our friend back,' Kurt said, grinning as he took a hold of Kitty and John Howlett and they vanished a 'bamf' of sulphur, as Jean turned and shared a nod with Rose, understanding passing between them. Jean then shattered the windows with a wave of her hand, as Rose's psionic wings flung her forth into the air straight after the breaking glass, Jean joining her in a surge of telekinetic power, both speeding towards the roof of the auditorium where their comrades were gathered, in the dispersing smoke of Kurt's teleportation. Jean and Rose psi-linked their minds with the three of the roof, communicating what they were about to do, and she saw John Howlett shift into his luminous, transparent ghostly form, while Kitty grabbed Kurt's hand, phasing them both.
Rose and Jean arced high up into the air, joining hands, Jean feeling their power syncing together, an intense golden glow beginning to emanate from her, the two twins a new blazing star in the sky high over the centre of the auditorium, before they plunged down in a sharp dive. Rose's wings closing around them, pulsing with power, one crackling blade thrust out before her, the focused point of Rose's power. Jean wrapped her telekinetic shield tightly around them in a tight cone of telekinetic force, as Jean weaved her power alongside Rose's wings and blade, harmonizing with Rose's own psoinic strength, it's power building as their combined psionic strength united and augmenting each other.
The next moment they slammed home into the top of the auditorium's room, Rose's blade struck home, her wings flaring out in the crack of psionic power, as Jean unleashed the cone of telekinetic force as a massive psi-blast united and channelled together with Rose's own unleashed power, focused through Rose's blade. Their combined power unleashed a thunderous explosion of golden psionic power erupting from the blade. The centre of the roof shattered and disintegrated, as the blast wave of golden psionic power tore through it. Debris of shattered metal and masonry was blown inwards, raining down to crash into the auditorium below in a deafening roar as Jean and Rose blasted through the rising dust cloud of shattered masonry in the auditorium below, Kitty, Kurt and Howlett coming behind them phasing through dust, debris and air.
The rows of chairs in the auditorium had already been torn out, burning symbols scratched into the wall that pulsed with yellow-red fire. The floor was broken and torn in places by the larger falling pieces of steel and masonry, some having crushed a few of the demonic vampires that had remained in the auditorium, who had turned to look hissing in surprise and rage at the shattering room. The surviving vampires brought their hands before their eyes at the descending red-heads, their combined golden psionic energy blazed forth with white-hot intensity, illuminating the whole vast room in it's radiance. As the demonic vampires instinctively backed away from the searing radiance Jean threw them back with a way of telekinetic power, flinging them back like rag-dolls across the floor towards the stage. Kitty, Kurt and Howlett landed behind the hovering red-headed twins, blades and claws ready, spreading out alongside them.
Jean move to one side, the golden glow dropping from her as she gathered her telekinetic power around her, while Rose shone forth like fusion torch, eyes blazing and hair fanning behind her, crackling blades springing to life from both hands, a warrior angel manifest before the darkness.
Just ahead upon the stage was a large round pool surrounded by a circular stone structure, pulsing symbols of fire-red blazed on the circular stones, stage floor and walls, with a set of stairs leading up to a walkway overhanging the pool. Smoke rose thick from the pool and coalesced around the figure of Logan, bound in chains that glowed with a dark light, that suspended him above the stone pool. He was struggling and growling, his claws extended and burning forth with an intense golden brilliance that pulsed through his entire body, that seemed at war with the swirling smoke that seemed to by attempting to attack and invade him. Just in front of him stood a large, twisted, elongated figure in oriental robes, with long, elongated arms that ended in long talons that burned with hell-fire, and twisted, long legs that also ended in burning talons. The figure's body was covered in cracks and fissures, from which hell-fire and black blood leaked. The face of the creature, whom Jean knew from Rose's and John Howlett's memories to be Ogun, now twisted towards them with a snarl, a red-horned demonic face, with a leering mouth full of sharp fangs and eyes of glowing fire. Beside him on the stage a large werewolf looking creature, with ripped, decayed and matted fur, body ripped and torn in places, was twisting and contorting upon the ground, curled on the ground, claws flaying at nothing, as series of growls, shouts and curses from different voices poured from from it's mouth. Around the walkway along the edge of the stone pool at a series of alcoves were piles of smoking ash contained within robes.
While before the stage where the remaining demonic vampires she'd cast back, were two large hulking figures made of the same unholy union of merged bodies as those they'd fought outside, though not quite as large. One was a crab-like creature, with large pincers, with glowing fiery eyes on stalks and a tentacled mouth full of sharp teeth. The second had a long body on four long multi-jointed legs ending in clawed feet, and a long tail with a scorpion-like stinger dripping venom, topped with a long face that seemed a mix of wolf and crocodile.
Rose's furious eyes burned at the demonic figure on the stage as she said in a voice of quiet, contained fury, 'I told you to let James go, demon, and promised you I'd grant a quick death. Now I'll sending you screaming back to the relief of hell for what you've done to James Ogun. You'll never touch him or anyone else once we're through with you.'
'Logan-san will be mine, as he was always destined to be,' Ogun spat in reply, 'and soon your threats will be as meaningless as will be your brief lives and attempted rescue. You should never have come this place' Pointing a burning taloned finger in their direction, Ogun commanded the demonic creatures before him, 'Get them, I'll join the battle shortly,' at which the demonic figure of Ogun spun around and grasped Logan's head with his two taloned hands, muttering something in a guttural language. Dark shadows seemed to pulse into Ogun's arms and into his body, and he let forth a keening scream that tore across the auditorium.
Rose let forth an agonised cry of 'James!' as the demonic creatures and vampires howled with rage and rushed towards them, fanged mouth chomping with fury, pincers snapping and scorpion tail whipping, as Jean let forth a second psi-blast of telekinetic force, the wave casting back the vampires. However the two monsters roared forth, hell-fire surging from their mouths and eyes, and Jean could feel them resisting her blast, taloned feet piercing into the auditorium floor against the blast, jumping forward once the psi-blast ripped past them.
Jean could feel Rose forcing herself not to rush straight at Ogun, managing to keep herself under control, and within the psi-link maintained by Jean and Rose, the strike team, in the union of their minds, sprang forth as one.
With a blast of sulphur, Kurt jumped into a teleporting dance across the room. Blades, fists and legs striking out at the hell-fire vampires from all directions, porting them on high or thrown against their fellows, the vampires flailing impotently through sulphurous smoke, attempting to catch the blue-furred acrobat, who easily vanished from each attack in a flash of sulphur only to strike from another direction. Soon the demonic vampire head's flew from their bodies as the corpses dropped back to rest upon the floor, released from the corruption of demonic possession.
Jean reached out and grasped the crab-like demon with claws of telekinetic power, pulling it's pincers back as the creature howled struggling against her hold, hell-fire flaring from it's mouth as it attempted to break free. But to no avail as Rose dived at the monster like a blazing golden arrow, and with two clashes of furious golden lightning her crackling blades seared through the twisted pincers, falling to the floor as the monster howled in agony, it's fleshly legs scrabbling as it struggled with renewed rage and fear against Jean's vice-like grip.
But with a focused look of determination on her face, Jean drew more deeply upon her power, putting all her strength into her constricting claws, slamming the merged demonic monstrosity to the floor with a shattering thud. Rose shot into the air and dived down, thrusting her radiant blades forth, pulsing with psionic power, to strike home, hilt deep, into the crab-like monster's body. The creature roaring in pain, smoke began to rise from within it's body, golden burning light beginning to shine forth from it's mouth, the tentacles bursting into flames as Rose's psionic power continued to pulse into the creature. Then it's roar was stilled, as with a clash of Rose's wings, there was a mighty thunderclap flash of golden energy that exploded from within the creature's body, it's body blasted, shattered and rent asunder in the blast of blinding golden power, contained within Jean's telekinetic grip, refocusing the power of the burst back upon the creature. Rose surged back into the air with a mighty beat of her wings as Jean let the burnt, torn and shattered chunks of what remained of the creature drop to floor, smoking and bleeding black blood.
At the same moment as Kurt launched his teleporting assault upon the vampiric mob, and Jean and Rose took down the crab-like demonic monstrosity Kitty and John Howlett and charged against the scorpion-tailed demon. It's tail whipped down, dripping burning venom passed through Kitty as the Blade Blade flashed out, biting deep just beneath the stinger. The creature roared, it's tail shooting back, Kitty allowing it to flip her up into the air with it. As it whipped back towards it's body she hacked down with the Yashida Honour Sword, using the Black Blade as leverage, severing the stinger, sending it flying to the floor while Kitty used the force of the whipping tail to black-flip back onto the monstrosity's dripping fleshy back. At the same time John Howlett dashed forward growling, the creatures flaming claws passing through his luminous ghost form, the Hellblade striking out to embed deep in it's leg, and using that hold Howlett leapt upwards, phasing through the monster's snapping jaws. And just as Kitty thrust her blades and arms downwards, phasing into the creature's body, unphasing the blades within to transfix it's heart, Howlett phased his own arms into it's head, claws and Hellblade ripping into what passed for it's brain. The monster let forth an unholy scream, as though a chorus of screams were echoing from it's mouth, the hell-fire flaring from it's eyes for a moment, before the scream abruptly ended, the fire in the creature's eyes snuffing out, and the monster collapsed to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut, as Kitty and Howlett leapt free, phasing through the creature.
With the last of the vampires falling to Kurt's breakneck dance of teleporting strikes, the X-Team re-assembled around Jean and Rose, just a cry of 'enough!' rang through the auditorium, and an explosion of dark-red flame surged at them, an unleashed blast from the Pit itself. Jean pulled a tight telekinetic shield around them, as Rose flashed to the front of Jean's shield, glowing wings folding around her, linking with Jean's shield. The next moment, the dark red flames stormed around her shield, and Jean strained as it's power assaulted it with terrific and unrelenting force, sweating as Jean felt the intense heat beginning to seep through, threatening to cook them alive within her protective covering. Then Jean felt Rose's psoinic power link and harmonize with hers' once more, her shield glowing with golden fire. Both their powers reflecting back and forth between them, interweaving and growing stronger, the heat lessened as the shield's strength increased, fortified by their united strength. Then with a shout they both pushed outwards in a wave of psionic power, as Rose's wings flashed open with the thunderclap, the inferno blasted apart and extinguished by a shattering wave of radiant psionic energy.
Before them floated the elongated, monstrous form of Ogun, his eyes burning balefully down at them, and Jean could see cracks that were present in his body healing up and repairing before their eyes, his body pulsing with dark power.
'Ready to face us yourself, Ogun?' Kitty called out, slipping into a battle-ready stance.
'Of course,' Ogun replied. 'You of all people know I'm no coward. After all you and I will always be linked Pryde-san, the touch of my soul remains forever imprinted on you. Their,' Ogun gestured to the fallen demonic allies around him, 'sacrifice was necessary to buy me the time to link myself with Logan-san. Now his nature has began to become one with this body, I can channel the full power of the Pit. Your pitiful rescue is over, as soon will be your lives, while your souls can join Logan-san's in burning in the infernal depths forever.'
Floating up into the air Rose's form pulsed with radiant golden light, her green eyes flashing fiercely as she grinned back at him, 'you lie sorcerer. James has almost broken free of you already. It's you that doesn't have much time at all, certainly not to turn aside from your spell to bind him and face us. The link you've forced through your spell is weak, and will shatter the moment he breaks free, every second your hold is growing ever more tenuous. It's you who will soon be over and sent burning back into the Pit, to masters most displeased with your performance. And they aren't known to be very forgiving of failure.'
Ogun glared back at her as Jean rose alongside Rose, hair flaring as she summoned her telekinetic power, the air radiating in distorted waves as it surged through and around her, while Kitty, Kurt and Howlett moved to flank the demonic sorcerer. Ogun raised his hands, his talons growing longer in blasts of blood red hell-fire, dark power rippling around him. 'I have more than enough from Logan-san nature to channel the power I need to crush you!.'
For a moment there was silence, before Jean unleashed a shattering psi-blast at the demonic sorcerer, met by his hand that flared with a pulse of blood red hell-fire, as invisible infernal and psionic forces clashed in a defeating crack, rending the floor of the auditorium in a large crack between them as their powers clashed. Rose surged forth, flashing towards Ogun, golden psionic blades crackling with power, like golden lightning bolt from the heavens, Kurt teleporting in a burst of sulphur and Kitty and Howlett dashing forward, Howlett's battle howl tearing across the auditorium.
The battle with the sorcerer was joined.