Warning: Rated 'M' for horror-genre violence, adult situations and adult language.
The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
Certain characters have been adapted from 'The Stand,' by Stephen King, and he is the copyright holder of these.
Certain characters are based on 'Hikaru No Go' by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata. I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
Brief references are made to a character from 'Watership Down,' by Richard Adams, and he is the copyright holder of this character.
The demon regarded his prey.
"I'll have to say, you really gave it a good go," he started, "but you had to know in the end it would be like this. You should have figured that out once the attacks started coming one after another. I've got the length and breadth of Hell to draw from, and that idiot Teacher only gave you those puny playthings to protect you."
"But you want to know the really funny part? That pool back there. If you fools had only drunk from it, you would have been invincible! It's only poisonous to Hell spawn!"
He laughed at the grand joke.
"But what kind of host am I? Here you are, all broken and bloody, and I've got such a grand eternity planned for us. You won't be able to enjoy any of the festivities like that."
He unzipped his pants, then walked up to Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd in turn, and pissed on them. He then turned to the girls.
He didn't urinate on them. He masturbated.
When the fluids touched each of them, they experienced burning like they had never experienced before as the fluid soaked into them. The burning finally subsided, and they found they were healed.
The demon seemed satisfied, and zipped up his pants. At a waive of his hands, the creatures holding them down drew back. They all stood up.
"Now, before we get started, I want to introduce you to an old friends of yours. He was the one who made it possible for us to be here tonight. Come on out, XANA!"
Then an oily black cloud materialized from the nothingness. It coalesced into a roughly humanoid shape. Then the Eye of XANA, the symbol of all of their fears for the last few years, formed on its forehead.
"That's right, Jeremie. That fool of a Teacher told you it was Chance that led you to 'The Stand'? Nope, it was my faithful toy here that did it. Since you let him out of Lyoko, I've been able to teach him a few things about mortals. And snaring you lot was his first practical application of what I taught him. I'm very pleased with you, XANA. Now go your way."
XANA just bowed to his master and disappeared.
"And I haven't forgotten you either, dearie," the demon said, turning to Aelita, "I've got a little surprise for you too. Because, without him, I wouldn't have XANA to play with."
With that, another figure materialized on the scene. This was a person, not a phantom. He was lashed to an upright frame, spread-eagled. It was Franz Hopper. He looked oblivious to everything around him. Aelita tried to run over to him, but was unable to move.
"Isn't that touching, even after daddy ruined your life, you still want to hug him again. But, he's in no shape to watch the fun, now is he? All those years in next to total sensory deprivation will do that to a person. We'll just have to do something to fix that."
The demon spat in Hopper's face. The madness faded from his eyes. He shook his head, and looked about him, his eyes finally settling on Aelita.
"Aelita!"
"Papa!" Aelita once again tried to run to him, but was frozen in place.
The demon gestured and Franz Hopper writhed in pain, his face locked on his daughter.
"You're going to have eternity together, princess, I assure you. It'll be fun watching you rape your own father, along with Jeremie."
"But enough foreplay, it's time to get down to business."
"I promised each of you something special when we met again. And I promised myself I would take a good long time with you before you even saw the neighborhood of the Gates of Hell."
"You might think you know what's coming, but you have no idea. Boys and Girls, you could drive yourselves insane contemplating what awaits you, and you won't even be close to the shadow of what's to come."
He started to change, becoming a black cloud against the night.
"I am going to take years, decades, centuries, preparing you for the first tiny glimpse of the Hell you will spend eternity in. You will grovel, abase and abuse yourselves in front of the whole of Creation, and that won't even prepare you for the thought of what going to Hell will be like for you."
"This is going to be so much fun!"
Then he struck.
Jeremie was back in the blackness. But this time, the blood and gore was not only Aelita's, but his as well. In his mind, as he was savaging at Aelita, she was savaging at him. They both were screaming in agony and ecstasy, the ecstasy morphing into agony which would then morph back into ecstasy.
Through the haze before him, he saw Aelita, his victim, his tormentor. At moments, between the rage and the pleasure, she looked at him with despair in her eyes along with tears. He was certain he looked the same to her.
And all the while, her father watched them in despair.
Then the blackness drew away from them, like a viper rearing back to strike one final time.
They had somehow managed to stand up during the assault. They now stood at arms length, whole for the moment. From above, the blackness regarded them.
Aelita looked at Jeremie. He looked defeated. He was about to fall to his knees, to begin his groveling. For that matter, so was she. Then something flared in her mind, and she smiled. She reached into her chest, her hands passing right through her ribs and into her heart, and pulled something out.
It was the seed that Mother Abagail had saved for her. It was glowing brightly, the first filaments of root and branch worming out from the husk.
She offered the seed to Jeremie, and with a voice calmer than she felt, said, "Jeremie, I love you and I have faith in you. We're going to make it through this somehow."
Jeremie looked at the seed in Aelita's hands, heard her words, and recognized what she was giving him. He stood up, took the seed, and her hands, and pressed them to his chest. The seed passed through into him without resistance.
"Now, Creator, watch your futures end," the demon roared to the heavens.
He smiled at her, one last time, and drew her into his arms, one last time, as the blackness descended for the final time.
Their world went black again.
Then the universe exploded white.
Odd had never experienced being whipped before. His father had smacked his butt once for lying about some stupid thing, but this was in an entirely different galaxy!
It seemed that every surface, every pore, every orifice of his body was struck simultaneously. And with each blow, hooks would embed themselves, then rip out on the backstroke. And this happened over and over again.
He saw Sissi being stretched out spread-eagle again, the cruel stakes being slowly driven into her. And then came the knife, with its gutting hook. And in the midst of his agony, he saw her slowly skinned alive. And after her flesh was gone, the demon proceeded to rape her with the knife.
And all the while, Odd was helpless to do anything. And for each cut, each swipe, each thrust, that the thing gave Sissi, Odd felt it happen to him also.
Then the blackness drew back from them, and prepared.
Sissi stood before Odd, whole again, within his grasp. She was shaken and terrified, barely able to stand, after what just happened. Odd reached out to her.
She came to him, knowing that this was the end. But, as she came into his arms for the last time, she remembered something. Something that brought a smile to her face.
She reached into her chest, her hands passing right through her ribs and into her heart, and pulled something out.
It was the baby chick they had been nursing back to health. Only, it wasn't sickly any more. As a matter of fact, it wasn't hardly a chick any more. The downy chick feathers had changed to bright, orange/red feathers, suitable for flying. Its glow was so bright, it was as if the chick, now a bird, was on fire.
Sissi held out the bird to Odd and said, "we're getting out of this, aren't we?"
Odd looked at the bird in her hands, and finally recognized it. He took the bird, and her hands, and pressed them to his chest. The bird passed through and into him without any resistance.
He drew Sissi close to him, smiled at her and replied, "you bet your cute little nose, we are."
"Now, Creator, watch your futures end," the demon roared to the heavens.
Then they, as one, turned to the blackness and raised their middle fingers in a first, final, gesture of defiance.
Odd and Sissi roared back, "resistance is futile!"
Then their world went black.
Then the universe exploded white.
The blackness swirled around Ulrich and Yumi. It seemed in the distance just behind her, Ulrich saw everyone he ever knew in his life, with his parents in the front row. And he was just as certain that Yumi was seeing everyone she knew behind him, with her parents also getting prime seating.
The blackness roared its joy and tore into them. Their clothes flew apart in shreds and their arms and legs were pulled apart, spread-eagled. The tatters of their clothes flew all around them, mocking them.
Then the scraps of cloth started to change. A scrap whirled and writhed into a picture. A very intricate, finely drawn picture. Ulrich saw Yumi in that picture, doing something his mind could hardly comprehend was pleasurable to anyone involved. The picture now swirled, then landed on Yumi's chest, over her heart. Ulrich also felt a tattoo form on his chest, over his heart.
When the picture, now a tattoo, touched her, it seemed like she instantly experienced what was depicted. At the same time, so did Ulrich. Their tattoos oozed with fresh blood.
Then another tattoo formed. Then another. And another. Each one more depraved than the last. And each time, they would experience the full impact of it as soon as it touched their skin.
Yumi, could hardly stand it. She could see her mother's eyes staring at her, at what was happening to her. And she knew that this was no dream for her mother any more than it was a dream for Yumi. And all the time, this is your karma, was thundering through her head.
Finally, the blackness drew back.
She was standing, naked, still covered in her tattoos, before Ulrich and all of Creation. Just as he was standing naked before her with his. He was about to fall from what had just happened. He was struggling to stand, to remain defiant to the end.
This was it. The End. There was no way out, no game over and let's start over again, no Return to the Past to save their asses.
And Yumi never told Ulrich she loved him.
That thought jogged a memory in Yumi. She reached into her chest, her hands passing right through her ribs and into her heart, and pulled something out.
It was the vial that Mother Abagail gave her. The one with the tear inside.
She staggered over to Ulrich, holding out the vial, and said to him, "Ulrich Stern, I love you with all my heart, my mind and my spirit. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my days with you."
He looked at her, startled, then looked at the vial in her hands. As if he finally understood, he took the vial, and her hands, and pressed them to his chest. When it touched his chest, the vial evaporated and the tear inside melted into his chest.
He pulled her into his arms and replied, "Yumi Ishiyama, I love you with all my heart, mind and spirit. And I will spend all of the rest of my days with you." They both felt something form around them and between them, a bond, almost like an invisible chain, that would never be broken.
"Now, Creator, watch your futures end," the demon roared to the heavens.
They kissed each other deeply as the blackness took them.
Then the universe exploded white.
The universe exploded white.
Their Mission accomplished, their Wounds healed, they released the Spirits locked within them.
From Jeremie and Aelita came Faith, the Reality of things not yet seen, the ability to Call Things That Are Not As Though They Are.
The seed Aelita kept safe and sowed in the soil of Jeremie's heart exploded into a great Tree. That Tree entangled the demon, lifting it up, binding it. And the demon roared in agony.
From Odd and Sissi came Hope, the knowledge that morning will follow the night. Hope, the one Spirit left in Pandora's Box when Evil entered the world, according to the Greeks, the one that helped heal the world when she nurtured back to health.
The chick that Sissi and Odd fed and nursed had grown into a great bird, a Phoenix. It screamed its defiance at the demon, trapped in the branches of Faith. The bird then saw the wicked knife in the demon's grip, and Remembered.
The bird changed and took on the form of a man, of Odd. It then wrenched the cruel blade from the demon, and shoved it up the demon's ass. The bird thrust it up until its shoulder met the thing's body. It pulled its arm out, and flung the soil and gore from it. The tip of the blade, the cruel gut hook, was just peaking out of the demon's nostril. And the demon roared in despair.
From Ulrich and Yumi came Love, the Greatest of All. The love of a man and woman, of family, of friends. The steam of passion, the flood of desire, the cool water of companionship, the still pool of closeness.
The tear that Yumi wept for, and gave to, Ulrich, exploded into a great Flood. It washed away their tattoos, all their pain and shame, all of their doubts and fears. It engulfed the demon and carried it away. Farther than the east is from the west, the Flood carried it.
Into the waiting arms of the Hosts of Heaven.
They had been waiting, ready for the end. They now took the demon, and struck it. And they cast it back down into the depths of Hell where it was again imprisoned, and it will remain until the Final Judgment. And the demon howled in fear as it fell.
The Flood subsided, and watered the Tree. The Tree flourished, grew tall and strong, and gave shelter to the Phoenix. And the Phoenix cast its light all around it, a beacon for all of Creation to see.
Faith, Hope and Love. Triumphant.
The universe exploded white.