This chapter contains images of non-consensual sex and torture. Let the madness begin.
My Immortal IV
Xena was floating, no flying. She looked behind her to see if she had sprouted wings again. No. So, floating it was. Or maybe it was more like falling. There was nothing around, no landmarks to tell what direction she was moving in. She was surrounding by perfect nothingness. There was nothing but rose-colored light. The light and the nothingness left her feeling disoriented. Time didn't exist in this place. She couldn't tell if she'd been there minutes or decades. Finally, in the far distance she could see a spindly mountain top. She moved toward it quickly or maybe it moved toward her, she wasn't certain. As she closed in on the spire, she saw a flat ledge about forty meters from the top. She focused on it and managed to propel her body toward it. Alighting on the stone surface, she looked around to see if anyone or anything was about. Looking down, she could make out what appeared to be clouds below. But, there was nothing else as far as the eyes could see. Was she trapped in limbo? No! She couldn't be, she had to get to Hell, had to find Ares. As if Lucifer had heard her thoughts, the clouds below cracked with a sickening green lightning. Xena prepared to jump but was stopped by the sudden appearance of Michael on the ledge with her.
"Xena, what do you hope to accomplish?"
"You know full well what I aim to do.," Xena spat.
"He's dead. I won't let you take him back to Olympus. HIs days as God of War are over."
"Then let me take him back to live out a mortal life.."
"I can't do that Xena, you have your ways of finding little loopholes. Do you think we have so soon forgotten that it was supposed to be you in Mephistopheles place?"
"You're afraid I'll make him a god again."
"You seem to prefer him that way."
"I didn't come to quibble with you. I came to talk to Lucifer."
"And, I am sure he'd love nothing more than to grant you an audience but, alas. My god had decided to grant you forgiveness for your prior sins and admit you into the gates of Heaven."
"My prior sins?"
"Yes, of which there are many, Now, if I was you, I would be thankful for his grace and accept his offer."
"His grace, my ass! This isn't about his grace! It's about you playing fucking politics. You want to imprison me behind your pearly gates, where I won't have access to Ares. I spend an eternity in Heaven while he suffers the endless torments of Hell! No thanks."
"He deserves nothing less."
"Where's your god's grace, mercy, and kindness now? Not so beneficent when we are talking about a rival god."
"My god is a jealous god, Xena. You should have no other gods before him!"
"Exodus 20 : 4-5. Don't quote your scriptures to me. No, MIchael! You should have no other gods before him. I never chose to be an Elijan, you whackos just decided to hijack my womb to create your little messenger, who just recently happened to kill the only god I ever worshipped."
'Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days? You hardly ever worshipped anything but his nether regions."
"Maybe your god isn't jealous at all, maybe it's you. Maybe you are just like ole Lucy down there. Maybe you want a taste of mortal flesh so bad that you can't stand the sight of the Olympian gods partaking of it."
"Your mortal flesh is beneath me. You are vile and disgusting and you aren't fit for the cleansing of Heaven but you are coming with me."
"Not on your immortal life." Xena moved toward the edge of the mountain.
Michael moved to stop her from jumping. "Xena you are to be cleaned of your mortal sins and your mind freed from the evils you have committed."
"You bastards are going to brainwash me!"
"No, heal you. It is only because of the darkness that rots your soul that you can't see that we are doing you a favor."
"The only person you are trying to do any favors for is yourself, you arrogant, self-righteous bastard."
"Before you do something you will regret, think of your daughter."
"Eve?"
"Yes, Eve."
"Why did you involve her in your sick games, Michael?"
"Xena, she has been involved since the day she was conceived."
"Conceived? She was never conceived! More like implanted."
"Truly a great honor to be chosen, don't you agree."
"I wanted to be a mother so badly that I didn't question your god's motives at the time. If I had known I was only part of some scheme to kill off other gods to make room for the one god, I would have never agreed to do your dirty work. You knew I would protect my child, and anyone could have predicted how the Olympians would react to the prophecy. A prophecy that you probably put in their heads in the first place."
Michael grinned.
"You did, you miserable bastard! And things were going really well for you weren't they. They came at me and Eve, just like you knew they would. A full-on frontal assault. And you knew that as a mother, I would kill every last one of them to save my child. You had it all planned to perfection. But the one thing you didn't count on was how much he loved me. Even you didn't see that one coming. You never expected him to give up his godhood, his immortality for an insignificant mortal, did you? No! Ironic that your little plan came crashing to a halt because of the God of War's unselfish, loving gesture. Is that why you wanted him dead? Because he beat you at your little game? Because his love was stronger than your wickedness?"
Michael laughed obnoxiously, "You think he loves you?"
"I know he does."
"And you are willing to gamble everything on it?"
"Everything!" Xena somersaulted over Michael and dove hard for the fiery pits of Hell.
AXAXAXAXAXAXAXA
When Xena broke the barrier to Hell, the stillness of limbo gave way to chaos and mayhem. The ear-splitting screams of the tortured could barely be heard over the delightful shrieks of their demon assailants. The sulfurous smell was sickening, the urge to vomit overwhelming. It was hot, hotter than the Sahara sun. She wondered how her soul could experience all those sensations without a physical body. She thought it was a trick of the mind. If she could just stay focused and remember that the pain was not real but merely psychological then maybe she'd make it back to the surface.
A short, disfigured creature hobbled over to her. It's black eyes lacked both iris and cornea. It opened it's maw to reveal rotten but blood-stained teeth. It reached it's gnarled fingers for her as it grunted at her with sexual lust.
Xena batted it's hand away forcefully.
It shrieked and grabbed its mangled paw as if she had hurt it, then cackled with delight and hopped up and down excitedly.
"Where is you master?" Xena asked the vile beast.
"You could be my master," It answered in a gravelly voice and jutted its hips suggestively. It was then that Xena realized that the figure was completely nude. The creature's small penis flopped in its nest of wiry curls as it bucked at Xena.
Another creature approached from her left flank. It crouched as it shuffled toward her. This demon featured the same lifeless eyes and reeked of rotting flesh. She saw large swaths of flesh hanging from the bone and sinew of what must have at one time been a man.
The creatures closed in on her together. The first creature licked his lips at her lasciviously, the second reached down and stroked his own member. She realized that they intended to rape her.
Xena waited until they were about three feet away and delivered a roundhouse kick that knocked both demons flat on their asses.
They wailed in fury. The first one turned his head to her and hissed as he started crawling back towards her.
"Enough," Lucifer barked from behind her. "This one is mine, she's special!"
Xena turned to face the horned monster, "How ya been, Lucy?"
"Can't complain, now that you are here. I've kept your seat warm for you."
"Oh that, you can keep it. I'll just get what I came for and leave you to it, if it's all the same to you."
"You think you are so untouchable, Xena. So brilliant, such a masterful tactician."
Xena grinned and raised an eyebrow. "You know, I'd love to catch up but I've got things to do, people to see, you know how it is."
"Xena, your arrogance is your downfall. Do you really think I am just going to let you walk out of here? And you certainly aren't taking that pathetic excuse for a god anywhere. He is mine, for eternity!"
"A lot can happen in an eternity, Lucifer."
"Oh, I know. But where are my manners? You wanted to see your boyfriend, didn't you? Isn't that why you came all this way?"
"Where is Ares?"
Lucifer gestured and the floor length blood-red curtain behind him opened to reveal Ares imprisoned in a pillory. Demons similar to those that had earlier accosted her stood around him. He had been stripped and flagellated. Crimson streaks painted his entire body. He looked at her and was filled with shame. She'd never seen him look so broken. The desire to rip Lucifer's decayed heart out of his chest was only tempered by the realization that everything she was seeing was mental, spiritual, psychological. The soul had no physical form. She just needed to get close enough to Ares to remind him of that. She hoped if they joined forces they would be able to find a way out of this place. The look in Ares' eyes almost made her lose hope. The embarrassment of having her see him like that was killing his soul. She had seen nothing but utter despair in his dark hazel eyes. She wanted to run to him and tell him it was all going to be okay. Now that she had found him, they'd be okay. But he kept looking away, looking to the ground, almost in defeat. She'd never known him to give up on anything, much less her. She wouldn't let him give up now, not ever. With the wave of Satan's hand the demon behind Ares took a large phallus and rammed it up the god's anus. Ares screamed in pain, fresh blood ran from his rectum down his strong thighs and dripped onto the ground.
"You sick bastard," Xena charged at Lucifer. But she froze in mid-stride and found herself suddenly chained to a wall opposite of Ares.
"Now, now, now, Xena. The show has only just begun," Lucifer grinned wickedly and stepped toward the god of war.