Chapter 4

The Key

Hellboy?

Hellboy is chained up in the center of the room. Liz is passed out on the altar, wearing only a gold sheet.

Myers is chained to the wall. He too is unconscious. Rasputin turns to me.

I smirk and speak. "Oh Rasputin, I've changed my mind about you not being remembered. You are definitely going to be sung about for generations... I've done my research."

He ignores this, and turned to me.

"I didn't do research, you did it for me."

Megalomaniac likes to hear the sound of his own voice.

"I've taken your advice and used the child's family."

I tried not to let my dismay show.

Liz, I'll do everything I can for you. I only hope it's enough.

I went to stand next to Liz, making a show of trying to wake her. Rasputin ignored me. I could see Myers was up.

Hellboy struggled against his chains. He should have been strong enough to break them, there must be some incantation.

"And I looked and beheld an angel, and in his right hand the key to the bottomless pit. "

I stayed silent, trying to think of a plan. Anything. All I got was the lyrics to 'Ruby Tuesday' floating in confused circles.

The blonde woman spoke up. She couldn't see me, and it was obvious from the amount of make up she was wearing why Rasputin kept her hanging around.

"You are the key, the right hand of doom"

I walk up to the gateway and examine it.

Engraved into it are two deep circles, and a small glyph. It is asymmetrical; one side has a small hand, while the right weights it down, a stylized key shape. It also includes a slinking, demonic tail. It's painfully obvious what it's saying.

"Your stone hand, what did you think it was for?"

We all look at Hellboy's hand. He rotates his three fingers, and rubs his thumb, obviously trying to come to terms with the idea.

I decide that now is the time to act.

Slipping my hand gently into Liz's, I pull her out of her body. Her spirit sits up, leaving her skin behind. I put my hand over her mouth, and draw her behind a pillar.

I whisper to her-

"Wait here, don't let Rasputin see you, no matter what happens. If you do, you, Hellboy and Myers will die."

I walked back, to stand next to Liz's body, making a show of checking her pulse, and shaking her shoulders nervously.

Rasputin turns a second later, bends over her, and tried to forcibly rip her soul from her body. I throw little spurts of orange fire at him, distracting him, and subtly send a small amount of my own energy into Liz. He swallows it, thinking it is her soul, wanting to believe he has succeeded. It isn't very difficult to convince someone of something they know to be true. He doesn't even notice the color was blue, not Liz's burgundy red.

Rasputin now believes that Liz is at his mercy. Unfortunately so does Hellboy. I realize my mistake.

He's going to open the gate.

I try to tell him, and I end op physically placing myself in front of the key. His hand passes straight through me.

In the end, it is Myers who forces Hellboy to remember. He throws him the cross, which belonged to father.

I run to it, and use my powers to guide its path, straight into Hellboy's hand. Myers, I hope this works.

Hellboy pulls his horns off his head. Rasputin yells, and is stabbed by his horn.

Hellboy pick's up Liz's body and starts to leave.

"You will never understand the power inside you."

"I'll just have to find a way to live with that."

Rasputin watches the god rip its way out of his stomach. Hellboy almost doesn't see. Rasputin actually calls him back, forcing him to look.

Hellboy, cocky as ever, leaves.

I look at the godling. This creature will be powerful. I can see it growing in front of me. Rasputin turns to me, and screams his remaining energy out of his mouth, a last gesture of anger, enough to fatally wound someone of an orange power.

This takes me by surprise. It collides with my chest, sending me crashing with a snap back to the lab.

I open my eyes and sigh.

My chest hurts horribly. I can see the monitor saying that I'm getting worse. No more telepathy for me, today.

So it's up to Hellboy, Myers and Liz...

LIZ.

Her soul is still out of her body, and without a proper guide there's no telling...

Take me to the GOD.

I open my eyes. I ooze my way across the floor, blinking in confusion. A bit of dust falls into my sixth eye, and I blink it out. I can feel myself growing, and I look down and see the tentacles spewing away from my torso.

I am in the God.

I feel myself growing at an exponential rate, and I cast around the room for Liz's soul. I see her lying in a corner, unconscious. From my height, now well over ten meters, I look down and see Rasputin sprawled on the floor, against the pillar. I use my telepathy to send him one last message.

"You breathe in vain"

I used my tentacles to wipe him off the face of the earth.

Hellboy returns, and I make a show of trying to attack him, finally throwing him into my mouth grenade belt and all.

I leave the body just as I feel the first heat.

It explodes, sending my regular self crashing through the air. I hit the ground running, and I stoop to pick up Liz, bringing her down the hall after Hellboy.

He picks up her body, propping her up. I can see Myers over his shoulder, looking worried.

I slide Liz's soul back into her body, but it isn't enough.

Hellboy murmurs some incantation and I feel the barriers weaken.

Using the little remaining strength I have left, I push with everything I have. Liz's soul snaps back like an elastic band and I collapse. I barely have the energy to make it home.

AN- I would be pleased to mail out the ra-ra-rasputin song to anyone. And I need a beta! My email was messed up in the first chapter. It's actually skcelmwood.on.ca so please, pretty please? I feel like the quality of my writing is slipping a lot. Thanks for reading. Oh, and the energy in the movie is actually blue.