Apocalypse II
Death Returns
Joe gasped.
They were all sitting in Joe's room, but had landed in random, and some uncomfortable, positions. Joe landed on his bed, Lyn on the blue carpeted floor, Eli on the oak wood dresser, Hector on the windowsill, Mike on a shelf, Sain on the floor behind the bed, and Erk next to the maple door.
"I thought my house was destroyed, though" Joe said, dumbfounded.
"Everything in your world must have returned to normal as well." Lyn said, standing up and brushing herself off.
"Well, I guess my life goes back to normal now. School, work, things like that." Joe said, putting an arm around Lyn.
"Well, what are we supposed to do? We no longer have a home." Hector asked.
"I'll see if I can pull a couple of strings…" Joe answered.
6 months later.
'Life returned to pretty much normal. Joe and Mike went back to school, accompanied by Lyn, Eli, and Hector, (seeing as how they were each 17). Erk and Sain both went off to college, close to Joe's house, so that they could easily visit if need be. Lyn, Eli, and Hector all moved in with Joe, setting up sleeping arrangements and other such things. Of course, when you're Joe, though, life can never be completely normal…'
The sun rose on Monday morning, bathing the neighborhood in a rich crimson that burned away the frost and cobwebs of the previous night. The crisp autumn morning was anything but warm, transitioning itself for the upcoming winter season. Joe's alarm clock went off at precisely 6 A.M., buzzing and chirping as loud as a crying infant. Joe, with closed eyes, knocked the clock off the nightstand, picked up a nearby table lamp, and began smashing the alarm clock into the floor until it turned off.
"Joe, you lose more alarm clocks that way than anyone I've ever known." Lyn said, walking into the room, already fully dressed. With his mother's remaining funds, Joe had purchased 3 more beds, one for each person, and moved Eli and Hector in the room with him and Lyn into his mother's old room.
Hector was already downstairs, and by the smell of it, was burning breakfast for them. The red sunlight on the white walls began to fade to a yellowish glare as the sun rose higher into the sky.
"This is the life. No parents, no siblings, living life on my own." Joe said, stretching out on the bed and uncovering himself.
"Yeah, except for school." Lyn said. All of a sudden, the alarm clock began ringing out again, screeching as loud as a car horn. Joe immediately jumped up from the bed, ran to the closet, and took out and old, worn, red bag.
He pulled out a homemade flame-thrower, which was a bottle of engine starter fluid attached to a lighter, and began torching the remains of the alarm clock. The blaring faded and drooped into silence after a few seconds. He then dumped his cup of water that was on the nightstand, onto the ashes to smother them.
"That was freaky…" Joe said, zipping up the bag and throwing it back in the closet. Then, suddenly, Eli shot up, sitting up quickly, shivering like he was having a seizure. His eyes were open so wide that the veins above and under his eyeballs were visible. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and he fell backwards on the bed, muscles relaxed once more.
"Eli, what's the matter?" Lyn asked, running over to his bedside.
"N-nothing, just got a bad chill is all..." he said, holding his head and standing up. They walked downstairs, and into the kitchen, greeted by Hector.
"Hey Betty Crocker, what's cookin'?" Joe teased, sliding into the kitchen on the tiles in his socks.
"Breakfast, enjoy." Hector replied, dropping a pancake-sized black rock onto the table.
"Um, Joe, maybe you should cook from now on." Lyn said, picking up the rock, but then dropping it from the heat. It made a dent in the hardwood table where it landed.
"Yeah, I guess so. But I'll just grab an apple and be on my way. I have to get to the school early today." Joe said, picking up an apple and putting it in his pocket.
"Why so early?" Lyn asked, picking up the brick of charred food with a paper towel and disposing of it in the garbage can.
"Tech training. I get to work the curtains and lights and stuff for concerts, plays, musicals and such," Joe explained, idly and hungrily glaring at another apple in the basket on the table. "Good thing is, I get paid. Cha-ching! Ha!" he finished.
"Oh, that's right, I remember you saying something about that before." Lyn said, washing the black residue off of her hands. She walked over to Joe and gave him a kiss before he left.
"Get a room" he heard Eli cough out as he made his way out the door.
It was a bleak sort of morning; mainly overcast with a bit of a chill in the breeze. The sunlight merely peeked out from behind the clouds.
"Perfect day for something to go wrong" Joe said to himself, taking a bite of his apple. He finished it as he reached the end of his street, and tossed the core into a bush nearby. As it disappeared into the depths of the shrub, the bush wiggled.
"What the…" Joe started, staring at the bush. He broke a small branch off of a tree nearby, and poked into the bush with it. Once again, the bush wiggled and vibrated, then stopped. He peered in through a break in the foliage, and gasped. Two great gleaming red eyes stared back at him, hungrily and menacingly. His eyes opened wide, mouth snapped shut, and he dropped the stick as he walked away.
Life had been like this for a while now; alarm clocks turning on again after being destroyed, people waking up in fits of shivers, random things falling off of shelves and breaking, and red eyes staring out of shrubs or dark corners. But they just had to accept it, because of their last adventure, they were different, and they would just have to live with it.
Joe got to the school with only a few minutes to spare. As he approached the door, he saw Mike standing there banging on the door and yelling.
"Hey! Hey! Open the door! I go here!" Mike was screaming as he was pounding on the door.
"Um, Mike?" Joe said, approaching the door.
"Yeah?" Mike responded, panting. Joe reached forward and pulled the door open, indicating to the 'pull' sign on the door.
"Oh, well, never mind" Mike said, apparently embarrassed.
They ran through the hallways and made it with a few seconds to spare. They were both panting by this time.
"Joe?" Mike gasped.
"Yeah?" Joe asked, kneeling over to catch his breath.
"Don't ever…make me run…again…" Mike gasped between breaths, and then fell over. Joe simply shrugged his shoulders and walked off.
A couple minutes later, Mike was up and helping someone carry a heavy plank of wood across the stage, and Joe was up in the rafters attempting to fix a haywire light. He was about 30 feet in the air, standing on a black metal catwalk, suspended by metal coils. Then, suddenly, the eyes appeared again, out of the dark above him. Joe simply stared in complete and utter shock, as a claw formed out of the blackness and began reaching for his throat.
He flicked the switch on on the light; nothing happened. The shadow was advancing, red eyes narrowing, claw drawing closer. Joe hit the light a few times on the side, and it flicked on, showering brilliant white light into every corner. The shadow dissipated in silent shrieks of pain, and was gone.
"Good! You fixed the light!" Mike called from below, "Now you can get me a sandwich!" he said as he walked off laughing.
Afterwards, Joe and Mike walked out together, Joe still silent and white as a ghost.
"You look horrible, man. What's eatin' ya'?" Mike asked.
"N-nothing…I hope…" Joe said, staring straight ahead of him, pupils dilated.
"You hope? Do you know something I don't?" Mike asked suspiciously.
"I'm seeing shadows, man. And not just people shadows but shadow-shadows, with red eyes and bloody claws and they're coming for me and I don't know what to do!" Joe yelled, shaking Mike by his shirt as he spoke.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Chill out. Now, let's try and get through the day first, then we'll see about your 'shadows'" Mike said as he straightened his shirt again. Joe simply nodded and walked away towards his first hour; English.
He took his usual seat; in front of Lyn, behind Eli, and to the left of Hector.
"You alright, man? You're stiff as a board." Eli asked as Joe sat down.
"And your eyes are pretty bloodshot." Lyn added, looking at his face.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it" Joe said, shaking his head to clear his mind. They each shrugged and took their seats.
English went as it normally did; Eli and Joe did the work in a matter of minutes, and Hector and Lyn simply copied the answers, then they all sat there and talked for the rest of the class period. The bell rang to signal the end of the class.
"One down, seven more to go…" Joe said to himself, getting out of his seat and walking out the door. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, except during lunch, when Joe could have sworn he heard someone saying his name somewhere behind him, but when he turned, there was no one there. He dismissed it as a figment of his imagination. He simply had to make it through geometry, his last hour of the day, and he'd be home free for another day.
The class went fine, for about a half hour, then Joe began hearing things again.
"Joe…I see your mind…Come…Die here…" he heard a voice saying from somewhere. He looked around, but couldn't locate the source of the voice.
"Die…" it hissed again. Joe looked up at the chalkboard and gasped.
Another shadow was beginning to protrude from the board, bloody claws bared, eyes glowing menacingly.
"NO!" Joe screamed as he jumped from his seat. But before he even stood up entirely, the chalkboard exploded into flames, igniting the desk, ceiling, and wall around it.
The fire alarms went off and everyone evacuated the school. Joe then saw just how much damage had been done. Apparently, at that moment, every chalkboard in the school had exploded in a mass of flames, igniting every room in the school. Joe met up with Mike, Lyn, Eli, and Hector in front of the school.
"Well, you know what this means, right?" Lyn whispered to them. They all stared at her blankly.
"He's back!" she said softly, making sure no one was listening in on them.
"Who he?" Joe asked, utterly confused.
"You know who I mean…" she responded.
"Apocalypse?" Mike asked.
"No, the other him." she replied.
"But…but he can't be back. I killed him! I know I did!" Joe said frantically.
"Well, maybe it's not him. Maybe it's other one, the dark spirit of him" Hector suggested.
"Oh, you mean the one that cusses like a sailor and dresses like something out of a horror movie?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, that's the one" Hector replied.
"Well, I hope not. Who knows what he could do if he was released onto the world…" Eli said, looking up at the sky.
The next morning, Joe had Lyn walk with him to school, hoping that her presence would dissuade any shadows from attacking him. Just as he thought, they got to the school with no encounters, and he started his day fresh. As Joe sat in his English class, he could see just how much damage had been done. The only things left of the chalkboard were the two ends on either side of the wall, and the desk was charred, along with the walls.
His day went by smoothly, no voices or shadows through the whole day. The final bell rang; indicating the end of school, and Joe headed out of the classroom door and walked to his locker.
"Well, I guess yesterday was the worst of it" he said to himself as he closed his locker.
"Joe! JOE!" he heard someone scream from down the hallway. He turned and saw Mike sprinting towards him.
"What do you need?" Joe asked.
"You'll never…guess what…I found" Mike panted, "It's in the…janitor's closet. Come on."
He began dragging Joe through the school, running as fast as he could. They stopped outside the janitor's closet and Joe broke from Mike's grip.
"What is it?" Joe asked angrily. Mike opened the door, and Joe gasped.
It was Nate, but he looked torn to death. There were multiple cuts and bruises on his head, his shirt was almost ripped to shreds and his jeans were cut, there was a bloody scar on his chest, and his eyes were massively bloodshot and cross-eyed. He was sitting up against a wall, patting it and saying "Good wall…nice wall…"
"Nate! Where have you been?" Joe screamed. Nate just continued to pat the wall and chant.
"He's lost his entire memory, doesn't know who he is, where he is, when it is, or why he's here." Mike explained. He stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"Who are you, and what year is it?" Mike asked Nate. Nate turned his head to look at them, and stood up.
"I'm general Gusto Decarr, and it's 1897, of course!" Nate responded in a perfect English accent.
"And, um, who is this?" Mike asked, indicating to Joe.
"Why, that's admiral Dipshit of course." Nate answered. He then put his back to the wall, slid down to the floor, and began beating his head repeatedly into the wall.
"He hasn't lost his memory; he's just lost a lot of blood, giving him mild amnesia. If he had lost his memory, he wouldn't be able to stand or talk." Joe said, staring at Nate. Another bell rang, indicating that the rest of the students still in the building needed to leave.
"Let's get him to Lyn; she'll know what to do." Joe said, taking one of Nate's arms. Mike grabbed his other arm and they hoisted him to his feet.
"Yay! Roller coaster ride!" Nate said as he was dragged out of the closet.
"Shut up" Joe said.
They dragged him through the school and out the front doors, where Lyn was waiting for them.
"Oh my god it's Nate! Where was he?" Lyn exclaimed, running over to them.
"Fox holes of the Indian territory, of course! It's war, soldier!" Nate said, saluting to Lyn and hitting himself in the eye.
"Does he have amnesia?" she asked.
"We think so, but we're not sure how to fix it…" Joe explained. Lyn circled Nate once, examining his cuts and marks. She then stepped back a pace, wheeled back, and hit him in the forehead, causing him to collapse.
"What'd you do that for!" Joe asked frantically.
"Just an idea…" Lyn explained. Nate sat up and shook his head, looking as if he was trying to clear his thoughts.
"Ugh…What happened…" Nate asked, holding his head.
"Nate, is that you?" Joe asked.
"Well, let's see, big bloody scar on my chest, fist-sized lump on my forehead, yeah, it's me." he said, looking at Lyn. She looked away innocently.
"I've got a ton of info for you guys on the dark side. One thing being that they're back!" Nate said, sitting down on the step.
"Well, let's get home first, then you can recap on what's been happening and where you've been!" Joe said angrily.
They started out for Joe's house, making the whole trek in silence, no one speaking a word. They reached the house and Nate stood there in awe for a moment.
"I thought we destroyed your house." Nate said, dumbfounded.
"That's what I thought, too." Joe said, opening the door and walking in. Nate ran immediately to the kitchen and flung the refrigerator door open.
"Full fridge of food! Yes!" Nate yelled, grabbing as much food as he could, shoving some down his pants and some up his shirt. He carried it all into the living room and flopped down on the couch and began engorging himself.
"How long has it been since you last ate?" Joe asked, watching the food slowly disappear.
"Um, probably a good week since my last dumpster dine-in." Nate said, still shoving things into his mouth. Joe simply sighed and laid his head back on the couch.
"You do realize that, if you don't eat, you'll die, right?" Joe asked smartly, not lifting his head.
"Mffchauwkwaunick!" Nate muffled through a mouthful of cereal and apple.
About 20 minutes later, all that remained of the food was a lot of crumbs, apple cores, and empty wrappers and boxes.
"Feel better now?" Eli asked sarcastically. Nate let out a long, loud belch in response.
"I'll take that as a yes" Joe said, fanning Nate's breath away from his face.
"Alright, now tell us everything. Past the point after I killed you…" Joe's words trailed off at the end.
"Okay, well, of course, after you killed me, I died, and my soul was taken down to the pits of Hell, cause' I'm a bad bad boy. Well, I had to wander my way around this big flaming place for a long time, trying to find a way home or, basically anywhere at that point. Then Satan talked to me from somewhere; I wasn't sure where it was cause' the voice was everywhere. He said if I came to him and killed him in a fight, then he'd give me my soul back. Well, of course, no one listens to the devil, but it was the only thing I could do. So I made my way through Hell to his sanctuary. When I found him, he immediately started attacking me, throwing fireballs, undead creatures, and the works at me. All I had was my sword and what little magick I could remember, and he had all of Hell at his command. I did pretty well, until he had to show up…" Nate said, a very grim, sickening look now on his face.
"Him who?" Joe asked, now curious.
"Apocalypse. He appeared above us as we were fighting, blasted both of us back, sent my soul back here to earth, and knocking my memory out in the process. You guys fixed that when you found me, though…" Nate said, taking a hard look at Lyn. She blushed and laid her head on Joe's shoulder nervously.
"But, before he sent me back, he had a little conversation with Satan first, and I caught little bits and pieces of it. I'm guessing he tried to erase my memory so I wouldn't remember it." Nate said, rubbing his head, trying to remember the details.
"Well, do you remember any of it?" Hector asked, now greatly enthralled in the story.
"Well, to my knowledge, he and Satan have formulated and alliance and they need 2 very important pieces of power to complete their plans fully." Nate explained mysteriously.
"Well, that's just great…The two strongest powers in the universe have joined together in a conquest of world domination." Joe said sarcastically.
"Almost. There's just one thing stopping them. Satan is bound to Hell by a holy spell that confines him there. But he can break free, with the help of one thing." Nate explained.
"And what would that be?" Joe asked curiously.
"The Life Essence. When fully constructed, it takes the shape of a golden eye." Nate said, "If used, it can call a power to equal the God's, giving one the power to break any spell they're confronted with." he finished.
"Great, so where is this 'Life Essence' at?" Joe asked.
"It is constructed of 2 pieces; the Talisman, and the Namsilat," Nate said, pulling the charm out from under his shirt. It was a small golden circle with the middle blacked out.
"This is the Namsilat." he explained.
"But then that means," Joe started, pulling out his own charm. It was a golden oval with two small chips by each pointed end of it, presumably where the Namsilat would click in place.
"That is the Talisman." Nate finished for him.
"But, I thought that our parents gave these to us when we were born?" Joe asked, confounded.
"They did, because they didn't know what kind of power they held. We were never really normal people, Joe, ever realize that?" Nate asked, raising an eyebrow. Joe sat silently and pondered to himself.
"So basically, we have the fate of the entire world around our necks…" Joe concluded.
"That's about the size of it. If Satan gets his hands on the Life Essence, the most unbelievably horrible and corrupt power will be released onto earth." Nate finished, speaking as if they were discussing it over a cup of tea.
By this time, Lyn had fallen asleep on Joe's lap, Eli had dozed off on the arm of the couch, and Hector had walked into the bathroom.
"Oh, and there's one more, teeny tiny mini thing that I forgot to mention…" Nate said, now sounding nervous.
"What is it…" Joe asked, knowing he was gonna regret the answer.
"You know that dark reincarnation of me?" Nate started, growing more uncomfortable.
"Yes…" Joe answered, also growing more uneasy.
"Well, he's back too." Nate finished.
"What!" Joe screamed in a rage, waking up Lyn and Eli, "How?"
"Well, I guess when you killed him, his spirit was sent here somehow, and he regained a material form using magick of some sort." Nate explained, "And according to my knowledge, he's also formed in with Apocalypse's alliance." he finished, waiting for another of Joe's explosions.
"Oh this is just great. My father, the dark powered reincarnation of you, and jolly old saint Diablo have made an alliance to kill us so that they can get Satan onto earth. We're just in a wonderful position…" Joe babbled, more to himself than anyone in particular. They sat in silence, soaking it all in.
"One of them will probably come tonight to take the Namsilat and Talisman." Nate finished, sitting back in his seat. Again, there was a long, awkward silence.
"So, should I return to my house?" Nate asked, playing with some crumbs on the arm of the couch.
"You could, but no one would be there. Your mom moved away after hearing that you died." Joe explained.
"Ah. Guess that means I'm bunking here tonight!" Nate said, getting up and jumping on the couch.
"It's going to be a long night…" Joe said to himself.
It was a bleak night, no stars shone in the sky, the moon was greatly obscured by clouds, and wind rustled loudly outside in the branches of the tree. Nate lay awake on the couch, thinking of his experience in Hell, of how he died, and how he could once again in a matter of days. The graceful sounds of the wind were broken by a sudden thud and crash from the roof. Nate shot up, and bolted up the stairs to Joe's room.
"Joe! They're here!" he yelled, wrenching open the bedroom door.
"Open the closet door!" Joe commanded, getting up out of the bed and pulling on a pair of pants over his sweat pants. Lyn ran into the room as Nate yanked the closet door open. All of the armor and equipment from their previous journey was in there, all hung and ordered neatly. None of it had been cleaned or polished at all, though.
"Freakin' sweet, dude!" Nate said, pulling out his armor and sword and suiting up. They finished preparing just as the front door downstairs was kicked down.
"They're in!" Hector said.
"Charge!" Eli yelled. They kicked down the bedroom door and headed down the stairs. Nate reached the bottom first and hissed.
"Him…" he whispered. They all filed into the living room, only to be confronted by a familiar face that none of them wanted to see. The dark Nate stood there, staring at each of them menacingly.
"Ah, Joe. Long time, no see. I'm surprised my master didn't dispose of you when he had the chance. Well, no matter, that's ancient history now. As of now, let's get down to business. I want the Namsilat and Talisman in my hand right now, or things will turn ugly." he spoke, holding out his hand, palm up. Joe charged an energy ball and threw it into dark Nate's hand. He caught it, but it burned his hand, so he dropped it and stepped on it.
"We always have to choose the hard way, don't we?" he asked, dusting the ash and burnt skin off of his hand.
"Are you stupid or something? You're outnumbered, and I killed you by myself last time, remember?" Joe taunted, flashing his sword. It still had the black blood streaks on it.
"Ah yes, the hero. See, that was before I visited my good old friend Diablo." the second Nate said, holding up his hand. A fireball was burning in his hand, with the ferocity of a forest fire. His eyes seemed to burn even brighter than they had before.
Nate stepped forward, and held the Namsilat out in front of him. A blue beam shot from the blackened center of the charm, and straight at the other Nate. It struck him full-on, and froze him solid, though the fire in his eyes burned with the same evil passion and ferocity. The Talisman then began glowing from under Joe's shirt, and shot a red beam from under his shirt, directly and the now-frozen Nate. It collided with him, and sent him flying through the roof and into the sky. Now melted, dark Nate extended his wings in air and hovered, a film of fire raging all around him.
"You just wait, I will have those charms. You have no idea of the power you hold. Till next time." he said, and then flew off, leaving an enormous hole in the ceiling.
"I think we're gonna need more help." Joe exclaimed sheathing his sword. The sound of it made his mind cringe with memories.
"Yeah, since Erk and Sain are gone, we need 2 more replacement fighters." Lyn said, sheathing her own sword. The sun was beginning to rise now, bathing the living room in crimson light.
"I have an idea" Nate said, picking up the phone and dialing like crazy.
"Yeah, Jesse? Sorry, it's so early, but we need help. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, well, no. Uh-huh, yeah. Alright. Oh, and by the way, do you know how to use a sword? Great, be over here in a few minutes, okay? Great, bye." Nate said, hanging up the phone.
"He's coming over and bringing his friend's cousin with him, apparently they're really good with a sword." Nate explained. About ten minutes later, there was a rap on the door, and Jesse walked in the house, accompanied by a person a little shorter than Lyn, about the same build, with long brown hair coming out from under the hood they were wearing.
"Alright, we know Jesse is good, but we'll have to test his friend here." Nate said. Jesse was about Nate's height, with a little less of a build and short dirty blonde hair. Jesse's friend lowered their hood to reveal their face. It was a girl.
"Whoa! Dude, you're not a dude!" Nate exclaimed, taking a step back out of shock.
"Watch it Nate, she'll lay a smackdown on you big time." Jesse warned.
"Alright, alright…Joe, give her your sword, this shouldn't last long…" Nate said, laughing as he walked to the other side of the room and unsheathed his sword.
"Now remember, this is a test, not a fight, so no injuries." Nate explained, trying to hold back the laughter that was building inside him, but failing horribly.
"Alright" she said, holding her sword at the ready.
"Ready…GO!" Eli said.
In a split second, she forced Nate back, unarmed him, pushed him to the ground, and had the tip of the sword at Nate's throat.
"Whoa…" Joe said simply, open mouthed.
"Told you she was good." Jesse taunted, looking amused.
"Name's Alicia…" she said, helping Nate back to his feet and handing Joe his sword.
"W-where did you learn to fight like that?" Nate asked astonished, sheathing his sword.
"Family issues." Alicia explained simply, taking a seat on the couch. They then spent the next half hour explaining the entire situation to Jesse and Alicia, from the first time Nate and Joe entered the second realm, till the present. Nate sat still, staring blankly at Alicia, open-mouthed, dead-eyed. Joe noticed this and tried to snap him out of it.
"Nate. Nate! Nate you're droolin'! Snap out of it!" Joe yelled, snapping his fingers at Nate. Nate started back as he snapped back to reality and wiped the drool from his mouth.
"Stay with us!" Joe said angrily.
"Well, that's our situation. We've needed 2 more replacement fighters to travel with us. That's why we called you guys." Eli finished. They all sat there in silence for a while, thinking.
"Well, seeing as how we're all skipping school anyway, I've got things to do." Nate said, getting up and stretching his muscles.
"Nathan, please no more stealing people's car keys and taking their 'rides' out for joy rides. You know that your license needs to be renewed now." Joe pleaded.
"Alright, if you say so." Nate said, crossing his fingers in his pockets, giving them one final menacing look, and disappeared out the door.
"I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid…" Joe said, pulling down a blind on the window to peer out at Nate. "Well, this is Nate we're talking about; do you have any doubts that he will?" Eli asked sarcastically. Alicia simply sat on the couch and watched them all discuss.
"ICE CREAM!" they heard someone scream from outside. Joe opened all of the blinds to watch Nate chase an ice-cream truce down the street, climb on the back, climb to the top, and begin banging on the truck screaming 'ICE CREAM!'
Joe put his hands to the sides of his head and began massaging his temples.
"Calm thoughts…Happy thoughts…" he said to himself over and over again.
"Well, what are we gonna do now?" Lyn asked, putting an arm around Joe to calm him down.
"Well, we'll have to find Apocalypse and kill him; we'll have to find the dark Nate and kill him, then destroy the Life Essence so that Diablo stays where he belongs." Hector summed up, sitting down.
"Well, then let's get crackin'! Jesse can use Erk's old armor, and Alicia can use Sain's." Eli said, "Who's gonna call Mike?"
"I will" Joe volunteered, walking over to the phone and dialing Mike's number. A few minutes later, he hung up the phone.
"He'll be here in a few minutes, he's gotta find his stuff first" Joe said, sitting down on the couch. About 10 minutes later, Mike burst in through the front door, loaded down with his armor and bags.
"Do you guys have any idea of how heavy this stuff is?" Mike complained as he dropped his stuff into a pile next to the couch.
"Who's the chick?" he asked, noticing Alicia.
"Watch your wording, Mike. She kicked Nate into tomorrow and she can do the same to you." Jesse warned.
"Speaking of which, where is mister all-bone-and-no-brain?" Mike asked, seeing that Nate wasn't in the room.
"Last time we saw him, he was chasing an ice cream truck down the street." Joe said irritably. Suddenly, there was a loud screech from outside, and a deafening crash, like the sound of metal bending and glass shattering. They opened the front door and looked outside.
The ice-cream truck was mangled around the tree out in front of the house, all 4 tires leaking air, the windshield gone, engine smoking, and radiator leaking. Nate fell out of the driver-side door and rolled onto the ground.
"Nate! Look what you did! What did we tell you before you left?" Joe yelled in an outrage.
"Um…Poop?" Nate answered stupidly. His eyes were crossed and he was swaying on the spot.
"Oh no, not again…" Joe said, covering his eyes.
"What?" Alicia asked curiously. Nate walked a little ways away from the truck and looked up into the tree. A crow was perched up in the tree, cawing at him fiercely.
"CAW!" Nate cawed back at the bird. The crow cawed back at him again, louder this time.
"CAW!" Nate yelled, matching the bird's volume and frequency. The crow then flew down from the tree and perched on his shoulder, and he took a cracker out of his pocket and fed it to the bird.
"He's lost his mind again" Joe said simply. Lyn bent over to pick up a rock.
"No, Lyn, not again. This time it could do mental damage. We'll just have to wait until he comes to." Joe explained.
"You know, the crow on him with the armor would look really cool." Mike stated out-of-the-blue. Everyone just stared at him blankly.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Well, now how do we get to where we need to be?" Hector asked.
"I have an idea, but it'll take a little while. About, hmm, let's say about 20 minutes." Joe explained. He walked back into the house and pulled a black tattered book from Nate's bag.
Everyone followed him as he walked into the kitchen, and opened a door that they hadn't noticed before, hidden behind a rack of towels, brooms, mops and other items. They walked down a flight of stairs and ended up in a dark basement.
"I didn't know you had a basement." Hector said, taking a look around.
"That's how I wanted it." Joe said. He pulled down a curtain dividing the basement into 2, and revealed an astonishing sight.
Behind the curtain, was a great hole in the ground, about 8 feet in diameter.
"Is that…?" Mike started.
"Yeah. The same hole you, I, and Nate traveled into about 7 months ago." Joe explained. A sudden flash of bloody battle and horrible screams flashed through his mind as he said this. He winced a little, and then turned to everyone else.
"Okay, does everyone have what they need?" Joe asked. Everyone checked and nodded in agreement.
"Mike, where's your spear?" Joe asked, noticing that he didn't have it with him.
"Oh, I couldn't find it, but look what I picked up." Mike said, holding up a beautifully crafted, wooden longbow and a quiver of silver arrows.
"Well, I guess as long as you can use it…" Joe said.
"Yahoo! Diving contest!" Nate yelled, and ran towards the hole.
"NO!" Joe yelled, grabbing Nate by the back of his shirt and flinging him back.
"That portal still leads to the same place it did before. The world that's now covered in magma. If we jump into that hole, our deaths are sealed" Joe explained.
"But then, how do we get to where we need to be?" Lyn asked, trying to hold Nate off from poking her in the forehead.
"Well, that's where Nate's book comes into play. I cast a spell to change the location, and poof, instant transportation." Joe explained, "Only downside is, I don't really know when the spell will activate, so we could be falling for a matter of seconds, or a few hours as we did before." he finished. Nate shook his head lightly, as if trying to think.
"Joe…use the secondary spell…not the, ugh, first…It'll activate…quicker" Nate stammered, trying to formulate words coherently.
"Nate? Are you back?" Joe asked, looking him in the face.
"CAW!" Nate screamed in Joe's face.
"That's a no." Jesse said smartly.
"Alicia, I'm gonna place you in control of Nate. You seem to be the only one able to keep him in check. Alright?" Joe said.
"Okay" Alicia replied, and she began petting the crow on Nate's shoulder. Joe then moved over to the hole and opened the book. Everyone walked over to the wall and sat down, waiting.
They took to watching Nate's impression of a woodpecker on the brick wall.
"Doesn't that hurt him?" Alicia asked, astonished.
"No, he barely feels it." Mike explained, watching with mild interest. A few minutes later, Joe snapped the book shut and placed it back in the bag. By this time, Nate had made a nice crack in the wall.
"Great, another fifty bucks out of my paycheck…" Joe said, shaking his head. Everyone laughed a little at this.
"So, how long will it take before the portal activates?" Jesse asked.
"Well, thanks to Nate here, I'm gonna say an estimate of about a minute. Then we'll instantly be transported to a military outpost somewhere near Moscow." Joe explained.
"Sounds good to me" Hector said.
"Alright, is everyone ready?" Eli asked. They all nodded.
"Okay, let's go" he said, and they all dove into the hole.
Their journey had begun.
Whereas the day was only a few hours spent back home, the day was coming to a close in the small hovel where they all landed. They ended up on a street corner in a small town ordered by Russian military. All of the small cottages in the town looked the same; there were a few barracks here and there for troops, and then a few bigger buildings for other operations. A military guard, clad in black garbs, approached them.
"Halt, who are you, foreigners?" the guard asked.
"We are fighters from America. We've come to speak with the leader of this military outpost. Our business is highly classified" Eli explained officially.
"Alright, please follow me." the guard said.
They walked about a quarter mile through the town, until they reached a great concrete building that they assumed to be the town hall.
"Last door, end of the hallway on the right, hallway all the way to the left. Tell him Merck sent you" the guard said, then walked away to resume his post.
They entered the building, and the warm welcomed them with open arms. The building had bright, wooden walls, white ceilings, and a marble tiled floor. They walked to the left and headed down the first hallway they came to. They reached the end of the hall and looked to the door on their right. Joe knocked softly, and waited for a response.
"Enter", a deep, aged voice answered from within.
They opened the door and emerged in a medium sized office with red carpet, wooden walls, and hanging lights around the room. At the desk in the center of the room, was seated a man who looked like he had been to Hell and didn't enjoy his stay very much. His remaining hair was tinted with white and was thinning. His build was greater for a man his age, but the wrinkles in his skin showed his age. He wore a war general's uniform with many pins and badges upon it. As they walked in, he was pouring over a piece of paper in front of him, scribbling down notes on it. He looked up at them as they entered.
"Please state your names and business." he said, looking up fully from the paper.
"Uh, yeah, I'll have a large number 2 and a diet coke with…" Nate started, but Joe silenced him.
"We are Eliwood, Lyn, Joe, Nate, Hector, Mike, Jesse, and Alicia. We're here to give you information on an upcoming war." Eli explained professionally.
"War? I had no knowledge of a war. We're only here on patrol." the general explained, getting up, "Please explain, mister…"
"Eli, just Eli." he said. So he explained everything to him; about Apocalypse, about Nate's dark reincarnation, and about Satan. The general seemed content about it all.
"So, you're telling me, that his father" he pointed to Joe, "His dark counterpart" he indicated to Nate, "And the devil, are planning to break the devil out of Hell and unleash it onto earth?" the general finished.
"Well, yeah." Joe said, stepping forward.
"Well, even if I did believe this, we don't concern ourselves with religious wars. I'm sorry." the general said, sitting back down.
"It's not religious! Nate's athiest for christ's sake!" Joe yelled.
"Listen here, boy. Don't you try and tell me what wars are acceptable for my troop to fight!" the general yelled back, slamming his fist on the desk as he spoke. All of a sudden, Nate's eyes turned completely red and began glowing. He was lifted off the ground and suspended in mid-air. A cold, deep, demonic voice began spilling from his mouth, chilling them all to the bone.
"Foolish humans, your lives are nothing compared to my power," Satan's voice spilled into their ears from Nate's mouth,
"I will unleash my chaos onto this world, the human race will fall! Demons will spill forth, and the Life Essence WILL BE MINE!" Satan screamed through Nate's body. Nate's eyes then dimmed, and his body fell to the ground with a sickening crack.
"Quick, do you have any rooms available in your barracks?" Eli asked frantically.
"Yes, we do." the general said sternly.
"Good. Alicia, take him down there quickly." Eli said, lifting Nate from the ground. His arm was bleeding profusely from the break that ensued when he fell.
"No problem" Alicia said, and ran him out of the room. The general seemed to be in shock of what was happening.
"Now do you believe us?" Joe asked, stepping forward again.
The general stood there a moment, silently considering.
"Where would you like my troops stationed?"
For the next hour, they worked on battle positions for the general's troops inside the city.
"What if he attacks at the front gate?" the general asked, indicating on a map they had rolled out on a table.
"Don't worry about it; my father is very modest, he'll be sure that anything that happens will start from the west. But you're right; we'll still need reinforcement troops at the north gate just in case something happens." Joe explained. At that moment, Alicia walked back into the room.
"Is he alright?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, a nice gash and a nice break, but they got him all bandaged up and he's resting" she explained, walking over to the table. Another ten minutes passed.
"Well, I think that's about it. Are the people of Moscow willing to help once Hell literally breaks loose?" Eli asked.
"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't count on it. As soon as they see the enemy, they'll probably flee in terror." the general explained.
"But you do have backup reinforcements somewhere, don't you?" Joe asked.
"Of course we do." the general said.
"Okay, then I guess we just need some place to stay." Jesse said.
"I'll rent out a house for you to stay in." the general said, typing in something on the computer.
"Wow, this is a lot different then our last adventure. Firstly, we're in our own world, and, there are computers!" Mike said enthusiastically.
"Here's the address for the house you'll be staying in." the general said, handing a piece of paper to Eli.
"And you may pick up your friend from the barracks on your way there." he finished.
"Thank you very much general…" Lyn started.
"Williams, General Williams." he said, "Dismissed!"
They walked out of the building into the cold winds and pink, setting sun.
"Apparently the people here go to sleep really early." Mike said as they walked down the road. There weren't many people at all on the streets, only patrolling guards and some late stragglers trying to make it back to their houses. They walked down a small dirt road towards the barracks, when all of a sudden, there was a big explosion. They ran down the road to the barracks, and gasped.
There was a huge hole in the wall, still smoking from the devastation. Joe grabbed the nearest guard.
"What happened here!" he demanded. The guard had a Russian accent.
"Big man come, dressed in black with fire in eyes, fly down, throw bright red light at wall, take your friend, and fly away." the guard explained, apparently frightened. Joe let him go and he ran away quickly.
"Damn that evil spirit to Hell…" Eli said, kicking the wall.
"Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events, isn't it?" Jesse said, trying to lift the groups' spirits. They walked further down the road, to the house that they would be staying in.
"This is it." Eli said, looking from the paper to the address on the house. It was an old fashioned white house with no windows, a gray, wooden door, and a gold doorknob.
Inside there was a living room with 2 couches, a television, a kitchen with the normal things; fridge, table, chairs, stove, and sink. There were also 3 bedrooms with 2 beds each, and a bathroom.
"Nice…" Jesse said, flopping down on the couch.
"Okay, here's the deal. Me and Joe will sleep in one room, Alicia, you and Lyn will be in another, and Mike and Jesse will be in the last one." Eli said, "Hector, you don't mind sleeping on the couch do you?" he asked Hector.
Hector walked over to the other couch, flopped down on his back, and rolled back a forth a little.
"Nope, I'll be good here." he said, making himself comfortable.
"Sounds good to me, I'll cook." Lyn said, walking into the kitchen.
"I'll give you a hand." Eli said, following. About 20 minutes later, they had all put their stuff in the designated rooms, and were all doing various activities. Lyn and Eli were preparing dinner, Mike, Jesse and Hector were watching television, Alicia was reading a book, and Joe was lying on the couch on his back, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
A little bit later, they all sat down at the table to eat. Joe simply looked at his food as you would look at a mean dog at your front door.
"What's wrong, Joe?" Mike asked curiously.
"The Namsilat…" Joe whispered to himself.
"What was that?" Hector asked.
"The Namsilat! They took him to get the Namsilat!" Joe said, standing up suddenly. Everyone just stared at him.
"It's okay, Joe, he's been taken before, and we know he can handle himself. We'll search for him tomorrow, first thing in the morning." Lyn said, trying to comfort him. He slowly lowered himself back into his chair and looked back down at his plate. They resumed eating, but Joe simply stared at the plate again, not touching a thing. He then pushed his plate away and stood up.
"I will now be excused. Thank you." he said, and walked out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. He dropped down onto the bed, face-first into the pillow, and fell quickly asleep.
Eli walked in a short while later to check on him, and left the door cracked as he exited the room again. Even through his deep sleep, he could hear them talking in the other room.
"…I'm worried that they may be playing some game with his mind, Joe's never acted this way before" Lyn said softly.
"I know, but he can handle himself, no matter what they throw at him, he can take it, and I'll be damned if they ever take him while we're around him," Eli said defiantly, "This is his life, and I'm sure he'll do anything necessary to keep it in his control…" Eli finished.
Then there was silence. Eli's words still swam around in his head as he slept.
"His life…anything necessary…control…" The words repeated over and over in his head.
He was back on the tower, facing his father. The white legs clawed towards him, but he was out of reach. The winds whipped at his face, swirling up into the vortex of clouds above. They stared at each other, for eternity it seemed.
"Kill him…" a voice kept saying in his head. He turned his head and saw Nate, laying on the ground a few feet away, his eyes blank, his body lifeless.
"He should have died if Nate's dead…" Joe said to himself. Then, Nate twitched. Horrible, cold screams echoed from his body as he rose from the ground. His skin hardened and turned red. Spikes grew from his back and horns from his head. Joe stared in horror as the hulking figure of Satan himself stood before him.
He shot awake, in a cold sweat, the red eyes still gleaming in his mind.
He laid awake the rest of the night, with only Eli's breathing to keep him company.
They awoke the next morning, fully rested and ready for the day, all except for Joe. He slowly rose from the bed and walked out into the hallway, great bags under his eyes, his face quite pale, yawning.
"Wow, you look beat." Mike said as he entered the front room.
"Eh…" Joe said simply, and walked into the bathroom to change. Once they had all changed and gathered their stuff in the front room, Eli and Lyn had already prepared breakfast, and they all sat down to eat.
Once again, Joe touched nothing, but no one pushed it on him to eat, knowing that he'd eat once he was ready to. Once they had all finished, they gathered up all of their things and supplies, and headed outside. The whipped their faces like needles as they exited the house. General Williams was waiting for them at the front gates.
"You all ready to head out?" he asked them.
"Yes, we believe so." Eli said.
"Alright. I just thought you all might like to know that someone complained of a disturbance early this morning. They mentioned something about noise coming from outside the gates. I don't know if that will help you, but I thought you might like to know." General Williams explained.
"Thank you, General. We'll keep our eyes peeled for anything suspicious." Hector said. Williams then saluted and walked away. The guards opened the gates and they exited the town.
It was snowy grounds as far as they could see. They were in a small valley, surrounded by hills and rocky mountainous areas. As soon as they were outside the gates, they could see what had made the noise that they were told about.
Coming somewhere from the east was a trail of blackened, charred ground that ran all the way to the gate, and then ran up towards the west and out of sight.
"Well I guess it's safe to say what caused the noise" Alicia said sarcastically.
"It was the dark Nate. Only he could char frozen ground to this degree." Lyn said, kneeling down.
"It's still warm, he must have come by later than the general thought." Jesse said, holding a hand towards the ground. They followed the trail to the west, determining that it got warmer as they traveled further west. Trees on the sides of the trail we black and burned, charred to crisps.
"He must have been angry about something." Eli said, examining a tree.
"Maybe he didn't get what he was looking for when he took Nate." Hector suggested, "So he took it out on the surrounding nature."
Joe's eyes got really wide and he stopped walking.
"That's because he didn't have it." Joe said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.
"What? Who didn't have what?" Mike asked.
"Nate, he didn't have the Namsilat with him" Joe said, pondering as he spoke.
"But then, where is it?" Jesse asked curiously. Joe's eyes got even wider as he felt the space beneath his neck.
"Right here" he said, pulling the charm out from under his shirt. He wasn't only holding the Talisman, but the fully constructed Life Essence.
"B-b-but, how could you have it?" Mike asked, staring at it in wonder.
"Nate must have connected the pieces, knowing that he was going to be taken…" Joe said.
'And that he wouldn't be coming back…' a voice said in the back of his head.
"That's why I've been so burdened lately, it's draining my energy and giving me these nightmares." he finished, tucking it back in his shirt.
"What nightmares?" Eli asked, now concerned.
"Nothing, it's nothing.' Joe said, getting defensive.
"No, really, your nightmares might have some connection to that charm, and its origin." Eli said.
"It was nothing. I was back on top of that tower, fighting my dad. Nate was dead, and then he turned into Satan. Then I woke up," Joe explained.
"Then Satan must have forged it" Alicia said, out-of-the-blue. They all looked at her blankly. She simply stared back.
"I think she's right." Joe said, something suddenly coming back to him, like from another lifetime, "Lyn, do you still have that rune slab that you found in the other realm?" he asked.
"Of course I do." she answered.
"Have you decoded it yet?" he asked curiously.
"A long time ago." she responded, taking it out of her bag and handing it to him.
"Read it" Hector said.
"Alright" Joe responded.
'Death to Life: In the darkest hour, the final struggle of darkness in the battle between good and evil, two charms were imbued with wondrous powers, and a curse. Together, they were endlessly powerful, but infinitely gripping. Apart, they were weak. Satan forged these charms in an attempt to free himself from his fiery prison, to aid his demonic forces to world conquest. The charms were forged, but they were taken from the hand of evil itself, and hidden in the human realm. Future generations shall tremble, once the aid of Satan takes back what was taken from him in the first place. The earth shall tremble, and light shall fail…'
They all stood in silence for a moment.
"It's a prophecy" Jesse said.
"Of course, and Satan wants to get his hands on that charm so badly, that he'll do anything to get it" Eli said, "Even sacrificing his own kind".
"And that's why he put a curse on it, because he can withstand it, but his minions can't." Hector said.
"Joe is feeling it now, but he has stronger willpower than all of us combine." Lyn said, putting her arm around Joe's shoulder.
"Except maybe me…" a cold voice announced from behind them. They turned and looked into the face of the dark Nate once again.
"Hello, Nathan" Joe sneered.
"Call me Hakalahs! Hakalahs! That is my name!" Hakalahs screamed at them, "I was merely created from that inferior being. It doesn't mean that I am him…"
"Where is he?" Joe demanded, stepping forward and placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I'll be the one asking the questions here. Now, why don't you just hand over the Life Essence and I'll be on my way." Hakalahs demanded, holding his black leather gloved hand out. Joe simply threw another energy ball into it, burning Hakalahs' hand.
"Why do they always choose the hard way?" Hakalahs asked to himself, brushing ash from his hand.
"Bring him here, now." Joe demanded again.
"Give me the Life Essence and you can have him." Hakalahs exclaimed, staring Joe in the eyes, fire gleaming behind his pupils.
In a split second, Mike had brought out his bow, strung two arrows, and released them. One missed, but the other lodged itself firmly in Hakalahs' arm. He let out demonic screams of agony as black blood oozed from the new wound.
"This isn't over…" he said, and flew away.
"Nice shooting, Mike." Eli said, patting him on the back. They continued walking, still following the trail of burnt land, and Joe still in an angry, empty slump. As they walked, they passed by an ancient war tower, still fully intact. Joe looked up towards the top of the tower, and something caught his eye. Two gleaming red eyes were staring at him from the top of the tower. He looked down, rubbed his eyes, and looked again, but they were gone, and he saw only moving clouds.
"What is it?" Lyn asked, looking up.
"Nothing, it's nothing." Joe said, and trekked forward. They walked for another half hour, and they reached the hills. They climbed up and over the hill. Mortified at what they were seeing, they gasped.
There was a giant hole in the ground with a translucent pentagram floating above it, glowing red, but that wasn't what was so mortifying. Growing out of the whole was some kind of bloody demonic growth, pulsing and moving as if it was living. A pair of black sneakers sat by the edge of the hole, broken open and charred to a crisp.
"Those are Nate's shoes" Joe said, looking over at them.
"Something has happened to him…" Mike said, looking concerned at the shoes.
"And we have to find him" Joe said, stabbing the growth that was crawling up his leg.
"Why do they keep taking Nate and not Joe?" Jesse asked.
"Because all of the guilt and pent-up rage inside Nate makes him a prime target to be controlled" Lyn explained.
"Where do you think that hole leads?" Alicia asked, looking down into it.
"I've got a guess, I just hope to god that I'm wrong, let's go…" Joe said nervously.
They all jumped into the hole, through the pentagram, and into darkness.
They all hit the ground, and Lyn screamed. Joe looked up quickly, and gasped.
"I was right…" he said breathlessly.
The flames reflected red light off of the stone, jagged walls. Magma eroded away slowly at the clumps of stone in the giant sea of flame.
They were in Hell.
Demonic laughter echoed around them, sending chills down their spines.
"The boy belongs to me now. You're all too late. Bring the charm to me, though, and you may have a chance of getting him back. Whether he's alive or not, well I guess that all depends on how fast you get here…" and the laughter echoed again, until the only audible sound was that of the crackling flames and bubbling magma.
Just then, three demons materialized out of nowhere and attacked them. Joe plunged his sword into the first one, killing it instantly. Alicia made quick work of the second one, sending it back with her sword, then kicking it into the magma. Mike sent an arrow straight through the head of the third one, and it fell to the ground, dead.
"Awesome, guys. Keep your eyes peeled, though. I'm sure this isn't the last of them. Let's go." Joe said, sheathing his sword.
They started up the walkway and began their journey into Hell.
They walked up the staircase, heat blistering them from all sides. They all removed their jackets and tied them around their waists, and Alicia and Lyn put their hair up. When they reached the top of the staircase, they were looking down a long, dark tunnel, the only light in which was coming from then end, and the magma glowing from under the stone floor.
"Be on guard, they could come from any direction" Joe said, unsheathing his sword. As they walked in the tunnel, a noise like howling wind met their ears. All of a sudden, three floating lights appeared towards the end of the tunnel, flying around like fireflies.
"What are they?" Hector whispered.
"Demons" Eli said, unsheathing his sword.
Just then, the lights flew towards them, and they realized, they weren't lights. They were facing three flaming heads, jagged, sharp teeth arranged in a mess in their mouths, pale skinned, floating around in mid air. One of the heads flew at Joe, attempting to bite him. He blocked it with his sword, sending it spiraling away. He tried to swipe at it, but it moved too fast and dodged it.
"Mike! This is your area of expertise!" Joe yelled, deflecting another head away. Mike quickly took out his bow, and sent a silver arrow through each of the heads, sending them hurdling lifelessly to the ground. They all continued on, even more cautious now than before.
Just before they reached the end of the tunnel, they heard a roar of flames from in front of them. They all readied their weapons, just as a hulking Hellknight dropped down at the end of the tunnel. Seven feet tall, built like 3 Arnold Schwarzeneggers, blood covered mouth, and beady eyes inset into it's massive head that sat right on it's shoulders, seeing as how it had no neck. Four inch long claws protruded from its fingertips, bloody and ready to kill.
It let out a defiant, demonic roar and began charging at them, full force. Mike released an arrow into its arm as it ran. It simply pulled out the arrow as it ran, snapped it in half, and threw it aside, still running.
"Oh, shit!" Eli yelled. Lyn was pressed against the wall as the Hellknight approached her. It swung both of its massive fists at her, just as Joe dove through and pushed her out of the way. Its fists sank into the wall of the tunnel like cotton. As it struggled to free its arms from the wall, the entire tunnel began shaking with the effort it was putting forth.
"Run! It's gonna collapse!" Mike yelled. They ran out of the end of the tunnel just as it collapsed on top of the beast.
"Silly bastard, Trix are for kids" Mike said. Just then, the collapsed debris exploded from the end of the tunnel like a gun, sending them all back.
"God dang it!" Eli yelled, getting up. The Hellknight walked out from the end of the tunnel, unscathed, and let out another roar.
"Run…" Eli whispered to them.
"What?" Mike asked, confused.
Then it clicked.
"No, Eli, no you can't do this!" Joe said, taking a step forward.
"I said RUN!" Eli yelled angrily, wheeling around to look at them all. He turned again to face the Hellknight and unsheathed his sword.
"This is for you, Marcus!" he yelled, and charged at the beast. His sword sank straight into its stomach, and it fell to the ground, blood leaking onto the red stone floor. Eli turned to face the others, who remained still.
Just then, the Hellknight's massive hand shot up, grabbed Eli by the waist, hoisting him into the air, and launching him into the wall, breaking his spine.
"These things are ruthless!" Mike yelled. A beam suddenly shot from the Life Essence, blasting the Hellknight backwards, off of the edge and into the molten magma below. Lyn ran over to Eli's body and checked his wrist for a pulse.
"He's still alive!" she yelled, and they all ran over to him. He was spitting up a fair bit of blood, and gave them a sarcastic smirk.
"One down…" he said, and then was gone.
A single tear fell from Lyn's face, onto the stone floor, and evaporated from the heat. Hector walked over, picked up his lifeless body, and laid him next to the tunnel entrance. They stood in shock; silent tears streaming down their faces. Just then, a sinister laugh echoed from all directions.
"Wasting time, are we now? Oh, boo hoo, lost your friend, have we now?" the voice taunted.
"You took him from us! You stupid son of a bitch! You MURDERED HIM!" Joe screamed at the top of his lungs, looking up in all directions.
"You murdered my minion." the voice replied back. Then it faded off in more laughter, then silence once again.
Now only the 6 of them remained. Joe dropped his sword and fell to his knees. Choking tears to his face, he brought his hand to his neck, feeling the accursed metal around his neck.
"I can't take this anymore!" Joe screamed, ripping it off of his neck. He threw it as hard as he could over the edge of the cliff, into the molten magma below. He then picked up his sword and ran off as fast as he could.
"Joe! Joe!" Mike called.
"We have to catch him, before he gets himself killed!" Hector said. They all charged forward, close in Joe's tracks.
"Do you think Satan will be able to get the Life Essence, even though Joe threw it into the lava?" Alicia asked as they ran.
"I'm not sure, but right now, less talking, more running." Lyn said. Waves of demons flocked towards them to block their path, half of them already lay dead, due to Joe. They kept running, going through the Corrupted Cathedral, Plains of Despair, and the City of the Damned, until they cam to the entrance to the River of Flames.
"I think Nate mentioned something about this place" Mike said, kneeling over to catch his breath.
"We just have to charge through" Lyn said. They stepped forward, and stairs appeared in front of them, leading downward. The heat was even more unbearable down here. Light footprints were visible in the blood-red dirt.
"Come on! He went this way!" Alicia yelled. They ran again, running over stone bridges and dirt isles. A bursting magma bubble startled them every now and then, but they kept a straight course. At last, they came to a red, glowing portal. They all readied their weapons, and stepped through.
They appeared in a giant, red domed room, nothing in it but a throne, about 200 feet from the portal itself. The first thing they noticed was Joe, standing about halfway between Satan's throne and the portal. He was screaming at Satan at the top of his lungs.
"You've killed all that I hold dear to myself. You've invaded my dreams, invaded my thoughts and invaded my soul. You've taken 3 of my friends from me." Joe screamed. Nate's unconscious body lay about 50 feet to the right of Satan's throne.
"And you're the one that killed my family, aren't you? AREN'T YOU?" Joe continued to scream. Satan simply sat there and watched, amused. He then stood, his massive tail falling to the ground, making a slight tremor.
"You see, you stupid mortal" Satan spoke, his voice cold and echoing, "There was quite an unfortunate turn of events there. But I will tell you this, yes, your mother is dead. And it is by my hand." he finished, red eyes glaring at Joe. He then burst out in demonic laughter, making them all cringe.
"You think you have me all figured out now, don't you, stupid mortal" he said. He then held up his index claw, and, dangling from it, was the Life Essence. He then waved his arm towards Nate's body, and he shot awake, rolling around in pain, demonic screams and shrieks echoing from his mouth.
"Stop it!" Lyn yelled, stepping forward. Joe chose to ignore the presence of the others. He ran forward and plunged his sword straight into Satan's stomach. He opened his mouth and let out and enormous cry of pain, spitting up blood. Joe took his sword out of Satan's stomach, and shoved it, this time into his forehead. Satan's lifeless body fell to the ground in a giant, bloody heap.
The only sounds now came from Nate's shrieks and screams of pain. His eyes and skin began to turn red. His arms and legs elongated, his skin became hard and scaly, and horns began to grow from his head.
"I get it now, Satan never dies…" Mike said, staring in awe. As Nate stood up, a huge roar let out of his mouth.
"Pitiful humans, you can never kill me!" he roared, holding up the Life Essence again. He waved his hand, and they all disappeared in a flash of blue light, and reappeared outside Joe's house.
"Well, this is just great, right back where we started." Joe screamed, kicking a tree over and over again.
Suddenly, things began to change.
The concrete on the street began to crack and grow darker, the grass in front of people's houses began to grow brown and die, and frightened screams could be heard echoing everywhere. Suddenly, the sky began to change, forming from a deep, rich blue, to a sick, dark green, then finally, to a crimson, blood red.
Then, their worst fear was realized. From all directions, they heard a roar of pure demonic evil, ringing out in all directions.
Though they couldn't see him, they knew he was there, and knew that, now that Satan was unleashed on earth, nothing would be the same from here on out.
To Be Continued…