Angel's Light VI

Slightly heartened by the fact that she hadn't heard him scream, nor had his charred body fallen out at her feet, Molly took a deep, steadying breath, closed her eyes, and made her way through the wall...

...and walked straight into the arms of the Undertaker, who was dressed in his Lord of Darkness outfit. Her eyes opened wide in terror as she looked up into his face, luckily averting her eyes before he could catch them with his own. Looking around desperately, she saw Mideon, apparently unconscious, crumpled on the floor on the other side of the strange room. Then she saw Kane, weak and vulnerable, strapped to a table with a strange glowing stone above him.

"Kane!" she cried in anguish.

"M...Molly?" his weak voice questioned as he slowly moved his head, trying to find her.

"I'm here Kane, I'm here," she called out, then beat her tiny fists against the Undertaker, who held her tightly by the upper arms. "Let me go you monster, let me go!"

"Monster?" the Undertaker chuckled, "Really, Molly, that's not very nice."

"I wasn't trying to be nice," she cried, "now let me go!!"

"Leave...her alone...Mark," Kane rasped, as he began to struggle fruitlessly against his bonds

"I don't think so," the Undertaker gloated, then he put one hand beneath Molly's chin and forced her face up to look at his. "Look at me, Molly," he told her, his voice resonating with power, "Look into my eyes."

Molly tried to resist, tried looking anywhere but into those green swirling pools of malevolence, but found herself unable to ignore his commands. As her eyes met his she felt her control slipping away as her mind began drifting on the words that entered her mind. / You are mine, Little One, / the Undertaker's voice chanted. / Mine in body, mine in soul. Mine to do with as I please. I am your Master, now and forev...argh! /

Molly jerked out of her stupor as the Undertaker roared in pain, his presence temporarily leaving her mind. Blinking her eyes to clear her vision, Molly saw Mideon standing behind Taker, his hand wrapped around the hilt of a glowing silver dagger that was buried in the Undertaker's side.

"Stay here. Don't move," the Lord of Darkness ordered her, and she found that she was helpless against his powers. Certain of his control over her, Taker turned his attention to Mideon. Before the other man could move away, the Undertaker reached out and grabbed Mideon around the throat. He squeezed unmercifully as he lifted Mideon from the ground until they were eye to eye.

"Weak fool," he snarled, "did you really think to defeat me in my own realm? You couldn't stand up to me in the Earth Realm, you have no chance here."

"I will not let you succeed," Mideon replied bravely, "I will not let you kill your brother, or enslave Molly's innocent soul."

"As if you have any chance of stopping me..." the Undertaker began. Then Mideon's hand flew up and threw a glittery powder in Taker's eyes. The Lord of Darkness snarled and threw Mideon across the room with one arm as his other hand came up to his eyes. Trying to seize his momentary advantage, Mideon took another dagger from beneath his flowing robe and advanced upon the Undertaker.

The Undertaker, however, was able to clear his eyes quicker than Mideon had anticipated. Grinning a fear-inducing, toothy grin Taker slowly reached down and pulled the dagger from his side. Molly watched in horror as he licked his own blood off the blade, then gasped as she saw the wound in his side knitting back together. Even the tear in his tight black shirt was repaired.

"An amusing toy," the Undertaker grinned, examining the dagger in his hand, "I prefer something with a little more power, however." So saying the dagger began to change, increasing in size until it was nearly four feet long and three inches thick. The hilt also extended so that both of Taker's hands could grasp it with ease. Nasty looking barbs grew out of its sides, angled back towards the handle so as to rip out as much flesh as possible with each hit.

"Now then," the Lord of Darkness sneered, "I will show you who is the Master here."

He raised his sword and rushed towards Mideon, a snarl of hatred on his lips. Mideon raised his small dagger and barely succeeded in warding off the Undertaker's first blow. He was not quick enough to do so again, however, as the Undertaker spun with inhuman speed and brought his sword around in a powerful arc. Mideon gasped in pain as the Undertaker's blade cut through his flesh, opening a large cut on his stomach. Mideon was only able to initiate a partial healing of the wound before he was forced to once again defend the Undertaker's attacks. It was apparent to all that Mideon would not be able to hold up against the Lord of Darkness for long.

As the two men fought Molly's eyes drifted over to where Kane lay. As she watched, the red stream of light that had been running between Kane and the gem above him seemed to disappear into the gem. Molly felt her heart stop with fear, though she wasn't sure why until the Undertaker laughed out loud, "Ha, you are too late, Mideon. The last of Kane's energy has just been absorbed into my Soul Stone. My brother is no more!"

/ NO! / Molly screamed in her mind, still unable to move more than her eyes thanks to the Undertaker's commands. She stared at Kane's body, willing him to move...to breath...to do anything. Putting all her being into the battle, she struggled against the Lord of Darkness' powers, longing to get to Kane's side. At the same time, Mideon launched one last desperate attack at the Undertaker. Drawing on the last of his energy, he managed to hurl a barrage of lightning quick strikes at the Undertaker's face and chest. Suddenly caught off guard, the Undertaker's concentration was broken as he was forced to focus on defending himself against Mideon.

Molly nearly fell forward onto the floor as the Undertaker's hold over her abruptly broke. Catching herself just in time, she raced over to Kane, tears in her eyes. "No, Kane!" she cried, her tears falling to hit his bare chest as she leaned over and hugged his still form, "You can't be dead. I love you! Please, don't leave me."

Then, inexplicably, Molly heard Kane's voice, little more than a weak whisper, in her head. "The stone," he breathed, though the lips on his body never moved.

Molly looked up at the stone that still hung suspended above Kane. What had the Undertaker said, that Kane's energy had been absorbed into the stone? If that was the case, would releasing that energy bring Kane back to life? It was worth a try, she decided, but how could she accomplish it? She studied the stone, racking her brain for any ideas as to how to destroy its connection to Kane. / Wait, / she thought, / destroy... / Having nothing to lose, she grabbed for the stone.

Only to have her limbs freeze as the Undertaker yelled, "Stop!" from where he was poised to deliver the death blow to Mideon's broken body, which had apparently finally run out of strength. Leaving his soon-to-be victim where he lay, the Undertaker turned to reestablish his hold on Molly. As he began his chanting, however, Mideon miraculously moved, sweeping the Undertaker's legs out from under him.

The Undertaker's sword skittered across the floor as he lost his grip on it in the fall. He was momentarily stunned as his head bounced off the floor. Mideon dragged his weary body on top of the Undertaker's and raised his dagger into the air before bringing it down towards the Undertaker's eye. The Undertaker barely got his hands up in time, grabbing Mideon's arm with the dagger only a few inches from striking home. The Undertaker, unwilling to release Molly, was forced to divide his powers between her and fighting off Mideon. With both Molly and Mideon fighting him with all their spirits, though, it was a losing battle. Mideon's dagger slowly but surely approached Taker's face.

The Undertaker finally had to give up his hold on Molly to concentrate on stopping Mideon's steadily descending blade. Acting in a split second, he flung Mideon off of him as if he were a rag doll and, sitting up, turned to reestablish control over Molly.

He was too late. The instant she had felt the Undertaker's control waning again Molly had acted, seizing the stone and lifting it high above her head. Summoning every once of strength that she had in her small body, she hurled it against the floor...where it shattered into a million pieces.

The Undertakers screams of protest were drowned out by the roar of the accompanying explosion. A flash of red light blinded all three of them. When it had died down, Molly rapidly blinked her eyes to clear them of the spots that were dancing in front of her. The first sight that greeted her when her vision had finally cleared was Kane, standing tall next to the table on which he had been kept prisoner...or what remained of it at least. The explosion of the destroyed stone had made little more than a large pile of splinters of the thick wooden table.

"Kane..." Molly breathed in wonder, happy beyond words to see the man she loved alive and free again. Kane looked up at her when she called his name and smiled. He started to take a step towards her...then his body collapsed.