[Special note] This chapter contains some biblical references to characters and places, which I, for obvious reasons, haven't invented/created (with the exception of 2 demons and a Circle).
Well, it's finally here. The fourth Chapter of "In the Shadow of Darkness" story. I have decided, that I'll only write one more chapter, besides this one, since I just finished my written exams, and my oral exams begin in a week, and before they start, I, and the rest of my class, have to perform in front of my our entire school, so we have to rehearse. That's why I've been so busy lately. I will, however, write a sequel after the exams are over (in about a month) unless I think of something else to write about (BUT THERE WILL BE A SEQUAL!!!). Unfortunately, because I'm busy, I'll have to cut a bit in the storyline, so it won't turn out quite the way I had hoped. However, I'll try my best to make the last two chapters a couple of good ones. And to all the fans of Dr. Strange, I'm sorry if some of the things written here don't match the things from the comics, but Dr. Strange has never been released in Denmark (or at least not in the last decade or four), so I have never read a Doctor Strange comic.
Chapter 4 starts the next morning. Peter and Shade are at Doctor Strange's front door in their everyday clothes. This of course meaning, that Shade and Mary Jane went shopping for some everyday clothes for Shade to wear.
Chapter 4: A Visit from the Past
Before even knocking, Doctor Strange's servant, Wong, answers the door.
Wong: You arrive earlier than expected…Please enter, Doctor Strange is waiting.
Peter: Thanks Wong
As Shade enters, his and Wong's eyes stare into each other. Shade slows down and almost stops, for just a brief second until they "disconnect" and Shade moves on. They enter a darkened room, which has a distinct sent of incense.
???: I have been expecting you
Shade and Peter both look around, confused. Suddenly, they see a man with a red robe, levitating above them. Shade is in complete awe and so is Peter, even though he has seen it before.
???: Hello Shade, you need not fear me, I wish you no harm. You may call me Doctor Strange. Oh, and hello Peter, always nice to sense the presence of a familiar spirit.
Peter: Hey Doc, how's it hanging? Shade here is the one who'll be doing that funny thing I can never remember the name of.
Doc. Strange: Astral projection through the subconscious space and time… Sigh, scientists…Well then, Shade, please come over here and kneel down on the drawn pentagram on the floor, but you must be aware of the dangers and risks. This is far from safe, since your spirit may wither away. But if you believe the answers to your questions are worth the risks, then I shall help you.
Shade walks slowly towards the pentagram, uneasy with Doctor Strange's emotionless face when he said those words. He stops halfway there and looks towards the direction Peter is in. He looks into Peters eyes. His heart slows down and he breaths easier, seeing the care for him in Peters eyes. He knows he's in good hands. Shade looks down and smiles before continuing towards the pentagram. He kneels down on the pentagram, and Doctor Strange places his hands on Shade's head. Shade feels a current of mystical energy flowing through him, almost like the mystical energy he himself uses, but only more… pure and innocent in a way. Shade enters a deep trance and Doctor Strange steps back. Peter walks over to him.
Peter: Hey Doc, Shade gave me this pendant for your to check out. Do you know what it is?
Doc. Strange: No, but maybe the Eye of Agamoto can provide the answer you seek.
A light is emitted from the amulet around Dr. Strange's neck. A light that sees through lies and deception until there's nothing else to see but the truth.
Doc. Strange: Oh… my…
Peter: Doc, what's the matter?
Doc. Strange: This is a container… Shade and this "pendant" are connected. It contains half of his existence and spirit. But it's origin… It's from the Ten Circles of Hell…
Peter: wow wow wow, HANG ON!! I'm no expert in the supernatural or biblical, but aren't there only NINE circles in Hell, or is that just me?
Doc. Strange: You are correct, there should only nine circles, and Saint Lucifer himself lies frozen in the Ninth Circle, the circle of treachery, with Judas Iscariot, Marcus Brutus and Caius Cassius Longinus in each of his three mouths on each of his three faces of mockery. But if you travel past him, you'll get to exit of Hell and the entrance to Purgatory, so there shouldn't be a tenth Circle. But if there is, it must belong to someone even more powerful than Satan himself… And Shade is somehow connected to whoever that may be.
Meanwhile, Shade's astral form has been on quite a journey, and he has literally been through Hell to get to his final destination. He stands in the final part of the Ninth Circle of Hell, looking at Saint Lucifer entrapped in the ice with half of his hairy chest above the ice. Even though it's only half his chest, it's several miles tall. Shade starts climbing, because he loses control of himself every time he activates his powers, and therefore doesn't want to attempt flying to the top of Saint Lucifer's chest. Once reaching his destination, he just stands still. He doesn't really know why he travelled to the Ninth Circle, nor does he know why he has climbed Saint Lucifer's chest. It was like an insensible being or power just drew him here and now is telling him to wait. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, decades, centuries, millennia passes and Shade still hasn't moved. Time flows differently in Hell. A year in Hell is equivalent to a second on Earth, so while millennia pass for Shade, only about 30 minutes pass for Peter and the rest of the world. The icy winds in the Ninth Circle have set their marks on Shade. His eyes a frozen shut, his hair is cold enough to snap off and his heart is now even colder than the wind. BLOOM!! A portal of intense darkness opens on the part of Saint Lucifer's chest, where you would usually find the heart, just in front of the frozen Shade. A demon, surrounded by a crimson aura, appears out of the dark. He hovers a few inches above the portal, looking at Shade. The demon shows its evil smile, and in the blink of an eye, they are both gone and the portal is closed.
???: You have finally returned to me.
Shade opens his eyes, feeling somewhat different.
???: I have waited for a long LONG time, but now you are here.
Shade recognizes him from his dream. It's the Emperor Demon.
Emp. Demon: If you feel different, then don't worry, it's quite natural. You see, after directing you to the entrance, I left you outside, so your heart would become cold and emotionless once more.
Shade: Who am I?
Emp. Demon: You, my dear child, are the spawn of Darkness, and I… am the personification of just that.
Shade: Where is the other one?
Emp. Demon: The other one..?
Shade: I recognize you from my nightmares, but there was another demon too. It shot a crimson red energy blast at me.
Emp. Demon: Ohh him. Hehe, my dear child, that was you. Or more specifically, that was a part of you.
Shade: I do not understand. How could it be me?
Emp. Demon: You really don't remember, do you? Well, allow me to explain then. Long ago, I, Darkness, was at war with Light. Even before the existence of time were we at each other's throats. But then one day, after fighting for… Well, hard to say, time didn't really exist. But anyway, one day, we went a bit overboard, and the entire battleground exploded with bits and pieces of us flying around. The scientists of Earth call this event "The Big Ka-Blui"
Shade: The Big Bang
Emp. Demon: Like I give a rat's ass. But at that time, we both saw an opportunity. Life could be created on these worlds, life that would obey and worship us. Here is where you and… well… you come in. We each created a spawn to harvest souls that would become our warriors. You, the demon you saw in your dream, Crveno, were my "champion", and the spawn with the dumbass name, Plavo, was Light's champion. Of course, Light and I declared war once again, but since Crveno and Plavo was almost as powerful as us, they harvested souls just as fast as the ceased to exist on the battlefield. We were back at square one. We decided to arrange a tournament with our spawns as the only competitors. It was pretty much the same in the beginning. Over and over again, one would blast, the other one deflect, then the other one blasted and the first one deflected. Seeing that was getting them nowhere, they ran towards each other to engage hand-to-hand combat. But when they touched each other, something unexpectedly happened. They became a single being, stronger than me and Light. It changed its appearance to match the original shape of either Plavo or Crveno, depending of which consciousness that was in control, but its powers were immeasurable. In a team effort, Light and I succeeded in separating it, but something went wrong. When it got separated, the spirits changed their colour. Crveno, you, became more bluish, and Plavo more reddish. In other words, you became good and he became evil. However, little parts of your original selves stayed within you. That was the only reason you didn't cease to exist and also the reason that you most likely have memories from the both of them. But your original evil spirit was weakening, and I couldn't afford losing someone as valuable as you, so I made a pendant that would keep the evil within you alive and safe from the good. With that pendant the evil within you could be summoned, no matter the state you were in. Unfortunately it doesn't rid you of the good within you. That was why I had to leave you on Saint Lucifer's chest. A cold heart has no conscience and that means that you'll have no scruples when having to kill people so I can rebuild my army using their souls.
Shade: Any specific type you would like me to kill?
Emp. Demon: No, a soul is pure energy. The power of a soul is equal to any other, regardless of age and gender, so the only criteria is, they should be "bad" enough to got to Hell instead of Heaven. But… To make things go a little faster, I have marked souls I would like you to harvest, because the death of that person could be just the push another one needs to cross the line between good and bad. And who knows? They might become insane and go on a killing spree, and that means more souls, but less footwork.
Shade: Very well, I shall begin immediately.
We fast forward.
A week and a half has passed since Shade woke up from his journey, trashed Doctor Strange's home and then teleported out of there before Doctor Strange or Peter could stop him. Mary Jane's water broke, and she is currently giving birth. Peter is in the lobby watching the news.
Announcer: For the last week, the city has been struck with a series of mysterious deaths. Police suspect something supernatural, since no weapons were used and all natural causes have been ruled out. Witnesses described the deaths as something that just happened in a heartbeat. The victim would act naturally, and then just collapse, without screaming or showing any sign of pain or discomfort. The exact cause of the deaths is still not clarified, but the police and the Avengers are trying to solve the mystery.
Peter: Oh Shade, what have you gotten yourself into? It's all my fault for taking you to Doctor Strange in the first place.
Meanwhile, Mary Jane is in the last stage of giving birth.
Doctor: You're almost there! Push, PUSH!!!
Mary Jane: Aaarr-AAARRRGHH!!!!
Baby May: Whheeeeaa!
Doctor: Congratulations, it's a perfectly healthy baby-girl.
Mary Jane: Oh my beautiful May.
Time stops and a familiar shape appear out of thin air. It's Shade.
Shade: Let's see… the soul of a baby that still hasn't been baptized. Well let's do this. Here little soul, gugugugugu, cooome on, coooome o… Wait… I know that woman… IT'S MARY JANE!! But that means… I'm supposed to take the soul of little Baby May…
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DUM-DUM-DUUUUUM. Well well well. Isn't this an interesting little twist? My longest chapter so far. And I AM aware that Peter shouldn't be in the hospital and so on, but if I did this according to the comic, it would totally destroy my idea, so I altered it a bit. But was the chapter worth the wait? And are you satisfied with Shade's past? Give an honest review and let me know, even if you hated it, I don't mind a little constructive criticism.
Lady Suneidesis (if you're still reading this story): I really hope that you aren't mad at me, and that this chapter provides you with a couple of answers.
Jolly Jeff: I hope that there aren't too many grammatical or spelling errors, but I just don't notice them when I read myself, and no one else has the time or knowledge to point out the errors for me to correct.