Hello everybody and welcome back to "To Eternity, My Witch". Hope y'all are doing well and the new season of summer is upon you or winter for those of you in the southern hemispheres. Planting season is in full here in the US and quite busy with work.

I DO NOT own any of these as they are and were created by their respective creators. Marvel is owned and created by the late Stan Lee via Disney. Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber. LofZ: OoT and TP by Shigeru Miyamoyo. Fire Emblem by Shouzou Kaga. Black Butler by Yana Toboso. And finally, Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 28 ~ Hell's Doorstep

Courage rising, James stood. They heard something hit the floor of bones. Looking over, James and Wanda noticed a chest had appeared in the center of the room, near Dead Hand's corpse. Approaching it cautiously while avoiding the corpse of the monstrosity, James opened it to reveal a more advanced version of the lens of truth. It was larger and seemed to have some sort of button on its handle. "Hmmm… What does this do?" James wondered out loud. Pressing the button, the window of the Lens of Truth widened allowing him to see hidden truths beyond its frame.

There in the corner of the room, Wanda and Bucky discovered a note, which only appeared when he grabbed it while looking through the lens of truth. Reading it out loud quietly, Buck mumbled, "'Adventurer of the Shadow temple, be cautious as you finish this hell hole of a temple. The beast that guards the mirror fragment is far stronger than its former existence in Hyrule. And it has an ally. This upgraded Lens of Truth should be of great help in defeating it. Good luck.'" He frowned and looked to Wanda, "Why do I get the feeling that someone is watching us, Wanda? It's as if this person who leaves the notes seems to know about the secrets of the temples before we come."

Wanda put a finger to her chin in thought, "I don't know, my Bucky. I guess it may be as Stefan said… that the reflections of Hyrule are here. Perhaps they are the ones who know of the past and yet know of what's happening here and want to help? Who knows? It may very well be someone who just wants to help anonymously. Or… it's Amelia's siblings, Jonathan and Farore, trying to help."

Letting out huff, Buck frowned looking around and to the monstrosity's corpse before looking back to Wanda, "Right… Well, after this battle with Dead Hand, we best be finishing this nightmare of a temple."

Going to the door, he pushed on the door and rolled it to the side, unlocked. Outside, the monsters they had come upon were gone. Getting out the lens of truth, James pointed it around, finding many of the creatures were dead and harmless now. Annoyed, James continued, his fear gone, only courage remaining. Upon gaining the guardian's key from a yet another overly confusing maze that used cursed thorned vines that would disappear and reappear after any more hours, the shadow temple shuddered underfoot, a large quake shaking the grounds and causing James to struggle standing up. After a few seconds, the quake ceased, and the duo looked at each other in worry.

"That's not a good sign… Come! We need to get that fragment and then get out of here fast." Wanda gasped, floating ahead quickly to the door, James not too far behind. Inside the chambers, the ledge James stood on had a bridge leading out to a giant drum, one that had a diameter of about 30 feet or so across.

Beyond the drum's, aside from the entrance, a void opened, be it an endless chamber or an optical illusion, neither Wanda nor James could tell which. Something, an apparition if one could call it that, could barely be seen to their left in the void beyond, circling so unperceptively slow. Menacingly. Avoiding the left side of the drum, he cautious walked forward onto the drum, only to have the bridge get swallowed up into the wall where he entered the chamber. James growled in frustration, once again trapped inside the guardian's chamber.

The drum started to resonate as if someone… or something… hit it; however, neither James nor Wanda could figure out where it was coming from. Wanda gasped and squealed, "James! Give me the lens of truth! I think looking through it you'll be able to see the guardian!"

James clumsily got said item out and handed it over to Wanda, trying his best to keep his balance on the drum's surface. Wanda worked quickly and placed the enlarged screen in front of James. Both gasped at the gorgon-like creature staring back at them. Its hands were hitting the drum at an interval, giving off the vibrations under James' feet. Its face had one large eye as a face, its weakness. And it was staring straight at him.

James smirked in his mind, thinking, could this guardian be any more annoyingly straight forward than the Water Temple's guardian? Granted this guardian will probably be a little bit more of a challenge, but why? His attention was diverted when the guardian swung a hand at him, forcing him to dodge left, rolling to the drum's surface to avoiding being thrown over and into the void beyond. I guess he's going to be much more of a challenge…

Straightening and knees bent to keep balance, James got out his bow and doing his best to aim as the drum went on vibrating. The arrow, tried and true, found its mark in the center of the creature's eye, logging deep into its socket. The monster screamed in pain and the drum stopped vibrating as it fell onto the drum. James quickly brought out Psipherion and attacked the creature's sensitive eye, becoming bloodied and wounded.

Not only that, as he attacked the eye, the hands started to bleed as well, staining the drum red and making it slippery with the red liquid. It jerked back quickly in pain at James' attack and in greater ferocity, began beating the drum again, this time sending out flaming bats to attack Wanda. Seemed the goal of the guardian was to bounce him off the drum and into the void below. As Wanda fought off the bats, James held the lens of truth as best he could to aim at the guardian's eye with the bow, though with the blood of the guardian on the drum's surface, he slipped multiple times.

Unlike the other guardians, the guardian here was straight forward, but reality came to it was going to be hard to kill. The second arrow, again, hit the creature's eye barely. Again, Buck was able to attack the creature's eye with a ferocity like never before, injuring it greatly. One more time will likely kill it. I just need to get it to go limp again. Though as he attacked it again, more blood slipped onto the drum making it slick. It was now slippery enough to where James struggled to stand even when it was still and silent. Slipping over the edge became a real danger and reality.

Wanda did an excellent job at keeping the bats away as James struggled to keep his balance as he tried to aim the bow at the creature's eye for a third time. Holding the lens of truth didn't help. This time the monstrosity hit the drum almost consistently and with a ferocity that was intense, forcing James to continuously to not aim correctly and focus on keeping himself from falling over the edge.

Wanda screamed in rage and used her powers to kill all the bats before she floated over to James, a look of determination on her face. "Aim true, hero. And aim well! We're near the end!" Wanda shouted as she took the lens of truth from him, wisdom pouring from her. She even sent out several hexes to make his shoes have spikes so he could have a sturdy stance against the guardian's blood.

Courage rising, Buck gained the chance to aim again at the monster's eye, striking the beast limp onto the drum. With a warrior's shout, he attacked the monster's eye and wounded it beyond healing. The creature screamed and raged, shaking the entire chamber. It shrieked and let out a ragged breath before falling onto the drum's top. It shuddered, struggling to breath in, but soon it let out its last breath and went limp. Its body darkened to almost black and shattered into millions of twilight specs. Thousands of disembodied voices sounded from the void beyond, all in pain or terror, and it caused James to freeze, his face twisted in horrific understanding. Realization came upon him. The back of this chamber is the physical manifestation of the portal to hell.

Before they were able to do anything else, the black specter they saw earlier came rushing at them from the depths of the chamber. James dropped to the drum's surface as Wanda transported out of the way. The specter shrieked in anger and came back around and at James again. Forgetting his horror and new knowledge, he growled in anger and fear as the specter came at him again. For over several hours, he and the specter fought, with James hitting the specter's sides only twice. For one last time the specter circled, it flew at his in a great rage, screaming.

James sliced forward hard and swift as the specter reached him and the sword flashed as it met flesh, causing the specter to shriek in pain at the slash. He pulled back and stabbed it through its heart. The specter reeled back and wrenched the sword from his grasp as it was stuck in its black, tar-like flesh. The sword flashed with white light, and the specter flailed.

James screamed in pain as the demon brought its clawed hand, being incorporeal, and passed it right through his armor and wounded his chest with four deep lacerations. Slipping on the drum's surface, still coated with Bongo-Bongo's blood, James fell upon one of the drum's protrusions, bruising his ribcage and cracking a rib. James grunted and moaned in pain as he wasn't prepared for the fall onto the protrusion of the drum's side, nor for the wounds it caused to his chest. Nor did he expect the specter's claws to go right through his armor and wound his chest.

The demon continued to scream and shriek as the sword continued to flash as it sucked the life from it. Even without James' hold on its pommel. As the demon's shrieks decreased in amount and volume, it floated down to the drum's surface, trapped by the sword's weight and its overwhelming holy power. Soon it completely went silent as the sword blazed with blue light before flashing white again. Once the sword went back to normal, the specter was completely limp, disappearing as its black tar like remains dissolved into the drum's surface, having been killed solely by Psipherion. A testament as the blade of evil's bane.

James sat up from his position on the floor, breathed heavily, holding his ribcage in pain, as he and Wanda watched as the specs coalesced into the second and final fragment and they simply stared at the sword for several minutes. Two guardians… That was unexpected, Wanda… She nodded before he groaned in pain as the blood dripped down his chest.

They both sighed once Wanda grabbed the mirror fragment and placed it into her pocket dimension. The bridge that had disappeared earlier, reappeared, and the doorway opened up to the rest of the temple like Arbiter's Grounds. James stood painfully and limped over to pick up Psipherion, Wanda following him, as he slowly made his way back to the entrance of the temple. Away from the physical portal to hell. Fortunately, as they made their way and as James held Psipherion, the sword counteracted the poison from the demon, but it didn't heal his chest wound.

All the way back, James felt shudders under foot, something quite concerning. He felt like something sinister was watching him and Wanda all the way back, even as he felt the blood from his chest soak his shirt. The journey through the temple was agonizing, the guardian's chambers being in the lowest reaches of the temple. He and Wanda slowly made their way back to Steve and Stefan.

In the first chamber of the temple, Steve and Stefan paced fanatically. Stefan was worried beyond the moon. "Those quakes shouldn't have been happening even after James defeated Bongo-Bongo. Plus, the trapped demons and souls will try to go after him… Perhaps it's the evil spirits that are agitated…" A slight shudder beneath his feet caused him to sneer slightly. He glanced over at Steve who was pacing just like he was, his hands clutching and unclutching as he went.

Steve sneered absentmindedly, "I was always the one to be in dangerous situations. Buck always called me the punk. Now look who's the punk here? Shouldn't he and Wanda be back soon?" He stopped pacing to look over the end of the room, unconcerned of the shudder under his feet. Stefan came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"They'll be back soon, Steve. Don't give up." Stefan tried his best to comfort.

"I know, but they've been gone over five days, Stefan. Surely, they'd be back…" Steve never finished his sentence when the door across the room opened to reveal Wanda and a disheveled and blood covered James. Blood dripped down from beneath James' armor. Stefan and Steve rushed over the bridge and placed his arms around their shoulders, supporting him as he limped. Wanda was floating forward in front of them, she held both lanterns, one in her hand and the other with her hair.

"Thank you both." James grunted quietly, in pain. "Wanda and I got the piece of mirror. We can get to the twilight realm now."

"No. You need rest James. And medical attention. Once we get back to Trondheim, you're taking a few days' rest before you go into the snake's hole where he's hiding. Let's get out of here before anymore monsters or evil demons have another go at us. We've been here too long as it is." Stefan ordered as he and Steve helped James to the entrance, the bottom of the well.

They all climbed the ladder out of the dried up well and once more, Stefan and Steve supported James as Wanda became the sentinel and watchperson. Once outside of the temple, the ground shuddered and heaved violently, causing all three men to lose their footing, their lanterns going out. A large, shuddering groan and a multitude of harsh and long screams came from the well as the temple collapsed in upon itself. The mountain side where the temple laid under churned and groaned, sending out plums of dirt and rock 100 feet into the air. It went on for several minutes before everything went silent and still, forcing the men to remain prone until the end.

"What the hell was that?" Steve asked, sneering as he stood and dusted himself off before helping James and Stefan up. It was still raining heavily as it had been since they arrived and went down into the Shadow Temple. It drenched them all to the bones within minutes of being outside.

Stefan sneered as well, supporting James again as he explained, "Language Steve, there's a lady in our presence… Like the Temple of Time in Vanaheim, the Shadow Temple was a reflection from Hyrule. As soon as we were out of it, it wasn't needed, and thus collapsed in on itself to prevent anyone from using it again. Though it doesn't mean the spirits of the dead and the devils here are gone. Or that the portal is closed or inaccessible. It just means they are homeless now. And that they'll have to go through collapsed tunnels and/or further ruins to get to the portal to hell."

"Good riddance. It was a sinister place anyways…" James mumbled out, grunting in pain as Steve supported his other shoulder. They walked on as Wanda led them to the Spirit's spring, even as drenched as they were. There they paused long enough for Stefan temporarily stitch and bind up James' chest wound before they made their way to the nearby portal. She motioned for them to hide for whenever there were enemies nearby. Stefan had a piece of technology that would scramble all mechanical devices within 50 leagues of their location, showing all people in that range they were just wondering albatrosses.

Once they were at the portal site, with Wanda's ability to transport, she transported them all to the gateway in a matter of mere minutes after they exited the realm's spring, all grateful that the portals were in place now. Soon they arrived in the Bifrost, all safe from harm as the Stefan closed the gates to Svartelfheim and Muspelheim.

Before Steve and Stefan were able to make a move towards the bridge, James said, "Wait!"

Steve raised a brow at his friend, "What?"

Buck pointed to the golden wolf, "The Hero's Shade is waiting me to face him for one last skill. Could you wait while I face him?"

Stefan nodded, giving him a knowing nod, "Go. We'll make sure that no one disturbs you."

James approached the wolf, Wanda not far behind. Soon the wolf got in pounce mode, growling. James wiped out Psipherion when it did. The wolf pounced and transported him the Netherworld.

"So, we meet once more, young hero." The Hero's Shade said.

"Indeed, we do, master." James replied respectfully, bowing his head.

"Hn… It's been a long time since anyone had called me master. Let alone a hero." The Hero's Shade chuckled humorlessly.

James frowned, wondering at the Hero's Shade demeanor and meaning behind his words. Though he simply inquired, "Well, what is this last skill you have me to learn?"

The Hero's Shade sobered, and his shoulders went back, "This last skill is called the great spin, young hero. It's one that will be of great use to you to defeat many enemies. Hold your sword in attack position 4 and build up Wanda's power and your power and energy. When you decide to release the energy, you will perform a powerful spin, killing many enemies and wounding many others greatly. Now come at me young hero."

James did as he was told and held the sword correctly. Feeling the energy and tension build, he released it, letting out a great spin, defeating the duplicates that the Hero's Shade created of himself, knocking the original to his knees.

"Excellent, young hero. In no time, you will master this skill. Now take my blessing and go defeat the evil that has come to your world, young James. And make haste for the Twilight, as fast as you can. For your first greatest enemy to date still needs to be defeated. Go and do not faulter… My child…" The Hero's Shade said as the light blinded James. Soon he found himself standing, shaking in weakness and pain, staring into Wanda's worried eyes.

"Bucky? Are you alright, my darling soldier?" Wanda asked as she placed her hands on his checks.

James smiled in his cocky Brooklyn way, "I'm alright, doll. At least I will be once I am healed in Trondheim."

Wanda smiled, but the moment passed when Stefan called them over, rolling his eyes, "James, Wanda, if you're both done romanticizing, we need to get to Trondheim."

James rolled his eyes both as he smirked, knowing the end was near. He turned and limped over to Stefan and Steve. Outside they mounted the horses and rode the two-hour ride to Trondheim. Upon arrival to their destination, Pietro, Shuri, Clint, and Laura greeted the returning heroes.

"What took you four so long? You've been gone over two weeks, sister!" Pietro said as he hugged Wanda.

Stefan ruffled Pietro's hair after he and Wanda parted, "Well, the journey to the temple took a little over nine days and the temple itself took another five days to complete. Time in the shadow temple is distorted. Which is why it had taken so long to complete."

Clint frowned, changing the subject, "Bad news, Stefan. While the four of you were gone, Loki, Frostein, and the frost giants faced off with a small army of twilight beasts and other evil creatures between here and Asgard proper. The enemy even had some dark elves and fire demons. The battle was won, but it took three days to win. Plus, we lost several good warriors and frost giants. Loki himself was severely wounded."

Stefan frowned, concern filling his eyes instantly, "How bad was he injured?" Worry lines crossed his face, wondering if his absence was a bad thing.

Laura shook her head sadly, "He was shot with an arrow to the shoulder. It took Kagome and Rin two more days of care to save his life as the arrow pierced a major artery. He's healing, but he is down for the count and wouldn't had been able to return to duties for at least another month. That is if he remained a human. Because of his injury, Thor was out of his mind with worry for his brother and restored his Asgardian status with the council's unanimous agreement, but Loki is now stable and in in a medically induced coma. Though being the god of mischief, he will heal quickly with his powers, along with the technology they have here in Asgard, and with Kagome, Rin, and Zelda's healing skills. Perhaps within the week."

Wanda sniffed, tears in her eyes, knowing Loki suffered enough of psychological, emotional, and mental pain from the past, "I'll go take a visit to him later and Thor as well. First, we need time to rest and recover. The Shadow Temple was a tough one and the two guardians and sub-guardian were beyond horrifying. And they tired both James and I out greatly."

At that, James groaned and went to his knee, wrapping an arm around his ribcage. Stefan and Steve rushed over and helped him up and supported him into the inn. Kagome, Zelda, and Rin all smiled and fawned over him for over an hour, using different herbs and spices to create a tea to kill the pain and heal the wounds faster as they stitched him up properly and heal his fractured rib.

Wanda giggled, as James, not use to multiple women worrying and fawning about him since the 1930s, blushed and tried to quell their fussing over him. Never did they mention his arm or his past, only teasing him and easing his tension as they patched his chest wound up, as well as the other minor wounds. They even commented that they loved seeing his arm and deliberately loved on it to associate it with something pleasant, not murder. They teased him and flirted, causing him to relax completely around them. They were deliberately flirting with him, almost far too confident in their femininity to do so in front of Wanda without making her jealousy or angry.

Steve raised a brow and hmphed, never having that happen to him since the day he became a super soldier. Yet when Natasha called him out on it, he admitted, "Well, I not quite upset about it because I have you Nat. You are my gem, my most precious treasure that every other woman pale in comparison. Save only a few who make close seconds. Though it makes me wonder how Wanda is taking it."

Natasha giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him, "I asked her how she's taking having three other women fawn over James. She not too upset, as Zelda, Rin, and Kagome all have husbands in Reslutia. They're fawning over him because, as they all explained once they go home, they're using the story to make their husbands jealous later." Both chuckled as they sat in front of the lounge's fireplace.

Up in Wanda and James' room, Kagome finished binding off James' chest with the gauze bandages as Rin put away the supplies. Zelda finished mending James' shirt and handed it to him, suggesting, "I would recommend you wash the wound once a day and change the dressing as well, James. Though it's not all that deep, the wounds are still large and deep enough if you don't take care of them, that they will get infected. Even for a super soldier such as yourself."

James smirked, nodding as he flirted, "Thank you ladies. I'm sure under your care, I'll be healed in no time." He wagged his eyebrows, causing all four ladies to blush greatly.

Rin, Kagome, and Zelda giggled as did Wanda. Wanda leaned on his left arm, causing him to smile. Yet when Rin, Kagome, and Zelda, all crowded him, Rin hugging him from behind, Zelda from his right, and Kagome was in front of him, he felt rather uncomfortable, even as he felt on top of the world for having four beautiful women fawning over him. Particularly boosting his pride… and cockiness… and manhood.

Remembering back to the 1930s, James remembered one time he had a similar experience and it was rather pleasurable. The women now, especially Wanda, commented on his handsomeness, causing him to blush immensely. Though he knew he kept his heart and eyes only for Wanda. It was when Stefan cleared his throat that the women stopped their ministrations on him.

"Daughters, what are you doing? You're all meant to take care of his wounds and leave, not dote and fawn over him as well." Stefan said, slightly annoyed with his daughters.

Kagome smiled, hugging James closer, "Dad, just because you're annoyed, doesn't mean you have to let off on us. Besides, James deserved some fawning over after all he's been through." Rin and Zelda nodded in agreement as they hugged James close. James looked around at the women, his ego and confidence soaring. He raised a brow at Stefan defiantly.

Stefan smirked at James, "What about your father?"

"Ugh… because you have mother for that, you don't need us… Besides that's rather disturbing to think about…" Zelda mentioned with a twinkle in her eyes. "James, on the other hand, despite having Wanda who I should mention is currently cursed by Josiah, needs some loving on. And you can't make us stop." Stefan blanched.

Rin laughed, "Plus, it'll give us three to tease our husbands later. Now out father, we must finish." At that Stefan and James looked at her in mock shock; though, the former simply shook his head and left. James, worried now, waited to see what the four women would do to him. Rin shut the door, and the three ladies started flirting and coddling with him again for several minutes.

"James, meet us down at the spring's waterfalls tonight. The three of us have a plan for you and Wanda to spend some time together. Arrive at midnight. That'll be when everyone will be asleep." Zelda ordered as she, Kagome, and Rin gathered the supplies and cleaned the room.

James let out a breath, "You three seem to have a sense that goes beyond the normal person."

The three women paused and smiled knowingly, Kagome speaking up, "Because we're dragons, Buck. We have a sense that humans cannot seem to understand." She waved as she followed Zelda and Rin out the door, "Don't forget, come to the spring."

James hummed his agreement, feeling plenty of emotions at present, only nodded as he relaxed back. Wanda was giggling with ferocity at the events that happened. "I should be jealous, yet I only feel happiness."

James smirked, "Not jealous? That's surprising…"

Wanda continued to giggle as she spoke, "Yes, but not as much as I should be. All I am going to say is meet us at the spring." With that she giggled and teleported away. James looked around with humor, hearing her laughter downstairs now. Shaking his head, he leaned back against the wall and relaxed, something he needed after the nightmare of the Shadow temple. He closed his eyes, enjoying the calm. Before he had to get onto the twilight realm.

"Feeling like on top of the world? Eh, youngling?" Stefan's voice came to James.

He opened his eyes to see the ancient warrior standing over him. Smirking, he closed his eyes again, his hands behind his head now, "Yes. Empowered even."

Stefan chuckled, "Don't get used to it. When you have a woman, who loves you like Wanda does, it makes you feel like you're on top of the world. And with what Kagome, Rin, and Zelda were doing were bolstering Wanda's power over you."

Looking over to Stefan, James opened his eyes and gave him a confused look, "What do you mean, old man?"

Stefan laughed, "What I mean is they were bolstering her sensuality and love for you and thus, it resulted in bolstering your pride, all the way down to your manhood. A female dragon's power to bolster another female's power over their mate is something that comes as a mastery to my daughters. Be wary when you go to the spring tonight, young Buck, for you will have a hard time coming down from that euphoria." With that James' jaw dropped as he watched Stefan howled with laughter.

Hope y'all are enjoying the story to date and please leave a review; tell me what y'all are thinking.

Until next time,

WS. Z.