DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.
Savages: Reign in Hell
Chapter 1: Born to Raise Hell
Raven could tell that she certainly wasn't in Patch anymore. Or anywhere on Remnant, for that matter.
Once the Spring Maiden had awakened after being knocked unconscious, she observed the ancient walls that surrounded her whilst putting her Nevermore mask on. She mentally retraced her steps to try and figure out why she was here in the first place. The thief queen remembered that she was approaching Taiyang's door when a portal of some kind opened behind her. Then, just as she turned to face it, a kunai shot out, attached by a chain that wrapped around her waist. No more than a second later, she was pulled into the portal all the while she swore she heard someone shouting at her.
"Come here!"
It was then that she blacked out, regaining consciousness in this strange place she found herself in. Though strange might be a bit of an understatement, she realized the instant she saw a massive diamond spinning slowly in the distance, all while projecting four beams of what appeared to be shadows onto the labyrinth it hovered over. A sense of unease overtook her as she pondered where exactly she could be. It certainly didn't seem like she had been sent to Salem's domain. The lack of Grimm gave that away in her mind. Still, all she had done was eliminate one probable outcome. Not exactly something that could ease the tension she felt.
Then, as she began to take her first steps in this maze she found herself in, a strange sound echoed in the wind. The sound of someone, or something, breathing. It was loud, heavy, and hissed as though whoever was taking these breaths needed an apparatus of some kind to assist them. The feeling of dread Raven felt had now multiplied tenfold, but she kept up a strong expression from behind her mask, not wanting a potential enemy to see the fright buried deep within her soul.
The breathing was then joined by the sounds of heavy footsteps coming from a split hallway to Raven's right. A shadow slowly made its way through the wall, one of a cloaked, armored man, all the while the breathing grew louder and louder. Several tense seconds passed, the chieftess having one hand on Omen's hilt the entire time before this stranger finally revealed himself from the corner.
He was clad entirely in a black suit of armor, a cape flowing in the wind draped over his back while the helmet he wore looked upon the masked woman before him, his eyes hidden by a pair of black lenses. Said helmet was also clearly the source of the breathing Raven had heard, as evident by the vents where the mouth would be and what seemed to be a control panel attached to his chest, keeping this man, who was clearly now more machine, alive.
"...Huh," was all the thief queen said in response.
Despite this man's intimidating stature, Raven's expression never faltered. She knew that if she showed even a hint of weakness, the inevitable confrontation might be over before it even began. And she fully intended on getting answers from this stranger one way or another.
"Atlisian, I presume?" she hypothesized in a boastful tone. "And what's...all this?"
She motioned to the suit this man wore, all the while the hissing sounds of his breaths were all she was answered with.
"Some kind of new prototype armor? Gotta say...black's not your style."
"Your attempts to conceal it will do you no good," the man finally said in a deep tone.
"And what, pray tell, do you think I'm trying to hide from you?" Raven asked, smirking whilst placing her hands on her hips.
"...Fear," the man answered simply. "I could sense it the moment I awakened here."
He could barely make out a slight widening of Raven's hues from behind her mask, granting him the opportunity he needed. Without even giving her the chance to retort, he thrust his right hand forward, an invisible force suddenly shoving Raven against a wall, to her shock. Shock that was beheld by her mysterious enemy, thanks to her helmet falling off the instant the back of her head slammed against the wall.
Then, the armored man raised his arm all the while clasping all but his index finger and thumb. This motion seemingly caused Raven to be lifted into the air, all while she felt something tightening her throat and preventing her from breathing. And as she struggled to free herself, all the while choking thanks to some unseen trick this enemy clearly had up his sleeves, she could only watch as he used his free hand to telekinetically pull her mask up to it.
Unbeknownst to Raven, she was now completely at the mercy of Darth Vader.
"Now..." the Sith lord began before clasping his left hand, the Force crushing Raven's helmet into a crumpled mess. "...I believe it is time you answered a few questions of my own."
Fortunately for the leader of the Branwen tribe, she was able to use what strength she still had to shoot Omen out from her scabbard, a red fire Dust blade now attached to it. This forced Vader to focus his attention on Force swiping it away before it could hit his helmet, allowing Raven to jump off the wall she was up against to grab it. She then lept off a second wall and positioned her blade to go for Vader's neck, only for him to side step out of her path, resulting in her blade colliding with the floor.
The Spring Maiden quickly got back on her feet and made another attempt for Vader's head, only for the fallen Jedi to easily back away from the blade. Growing frustrated, Raven swung her weapon up in an attempt to slice her opponent in half, but Vader, once again, simply stepped to the side to dodge it.
"And you called me a coward?" Raven pointed out as she continued slashing her blade, each attack ending with Vader evading her blade. "Yet here you are, doing nothing but evading me? Fight back, you-!"
She was interrupted by Vader simply raising his hand in front of Raven's weapon, seemingly causing it to stop inches away from his face.
"As you wish," Vader retorted.
Stunned, Raven tried in vain to push her blade further, only for Vader to move his arm in a circular motion, causing Raven to be flipped sideways to her right. The thief queen was able to land smoothly on her feet, however, and immediately thrust her blade towards the dark lord's chest. Vader retaliated by Force pushing her away from him, which caused Raven to slide back several feet. Still, stubborn as she claimed her daughter was, Raven fought through the power of the Force and marched closer and closer to her enemy, positioning her blade towards the Sith's chest panel.
But Vader again parried this futile effort with the Force, this time by pulling Omen out of Raven's hands and into his. Instinctively, she backed away, expecting Vader to seize the opportunity to strike her. But much to her confusion, he instead tossed Omen to the floor in front of her, allowing her to reclaim it before pulling out his lightsaber.
The instant the blood-red blade ignited out of the Sith's hilt, Raven dashed towards her adversary, both of their blades locking and commencing their duel properly.
As the battle between Raven and Vader raged on, their clash did not go unnoticed, for several halls away, Sasha could hear the sounds of combat echoing through the halls of...whatever this place was. This obviously wasn't the work of Andrias. This was way too complicated for him, so who could do something like this? And more importantly, why?
"Well, whoever they are," Sasha mused to herself as she drew her blades. "They're gonna regret it."
No sooner had she said that did she sense a presence sneaking up behind her. The rebel leader spun around and blocked an oncoming sword that nearly cut her in two. The owner of the sword stared back at her with a cold glower in her eyes. The unknown swordswoman stood firm like a statue as she held Sasha, who was struggling to hold back the blade at bay. It was a shock to see another human, but the former mean girl's amazement was overshadowed by the need to survive. When the black-haired assailant drew her blade back before going in for another slash, only for Sasha to barely dodge it and try to counter the fellow swordswoman, only to pull back at the last second and block another strike.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy, girl!" she reasoned. "I'm not the bad guy here!"
The other girl said nothing as she tried to attack again. This time Sasha ducked and tried to parry her opponent's sword with one sword and swing with the other, but her tactic failed miserably when the dark-haired girl managed to knock the young rebel to the ground.
"You're not a target of mine. You don't have to die today," she coldly stated. "But I strongly suggest you tell me where I am unless you do wish to die."
"Dude, I'm just confused as you are!" Sasha pointed out. "One second, I'm fighting one of Andrias' robots, then, boom! I get flung into this crazy-ass maze!"
"I don't believe you," the other girl said. "How do I not know this isn't a prison devised by the Empire? Or that you're not the one who brought me here?"
But before Sasha could respond, a loud 'BANG!' was heard as her attacker's blade was knocked out of her hand and sent sliding across the floor. Sasha turned to see an older man with a shotgun in one hand and a chainsaw where his other hand would be. By this point, Sasha's mind was spinning about her current situation, but one thing was becoming painfully clear to her.
"Fucking Christ..." she said to herself. "I'm in ANOTHER world."
"Alright, break it up, girls," the chainsaw-handed man advised. "We're all on the same si-"
Before he could finish, the black-haired girl leaped over to where her
sword had been knocked to and snatched it back up. The moment it was back in her hand, the swordswoman launched herself forward at the newcomer, who let out a frightened yelp before blocking the attack with his chainsaw. Sparks flew from the clash of the two weapons colliding. Ash had been wandering this maze for what seemed like hours when he came upon the two girls fighting. Thinking he was trying to do the right thing, the Chosen attempted to be the better man.
"Jesus, knock it off, ya crazy bitch!" the Deadite slayer demanded. "I'm on your side!"
Seeing that her savior wasn't winning this fight. Sasha jumped back to her feet, snatched up her swords, and rushed to her protector's aid. Moving with all the speed she had in her, Sasha ran up behind the other swordswoman and put her blades up to her neck before she had a chance to strike down the chainsaw-handed man.
"That's enough!" she shouted. "Seriously, how many times do we have to tell you we're not the bad guys!"
The woman paused her attack as if she was mentally weighing her options. Finally, after several silent seconds, the girl stood down and lowered her sword.
"You...might be right," the girl relented.
"'Might be,' she says," Ash muttered. "Sheesh! I try to break up a fight, and this is what happens! Who the hell are you kids anyway?"
"I'm Sasha," the rebel leader introduced before asking "Are you from Earth?"
"What kinda question is that? Of course, I'm from Earth!" the Deadite slayer confirmed sharply. "Who the hell asks that?"
"Because one, this clearly isn't Earth, two, you two are the first humans I've seen in weeks, and three, what the hell's up with your hand?" Sasha pointed out.
"It's a long story, kid, and we don't have time for a backstory," Ash brushed off. "Right now, we gotta find a way outta here before the jack-offs who run this place find us."
"What do you mean?" the swordswoman questioned. "And we still don't know your name."
"Name's Ash. Ash Williams, ya scary little ninja," the S-Mart employee replied. "And speaking of names, I don't think we got your's, miss-"
"Akame," the girl answered.
"Swell," Ash commented. "Now listen, I got a pretty good idea where we got dumped off to, and if we're gonna get outta this alive, we need to-"
Suddenly, Ash's words were cut off by a cacophony of pops that echoed throughout the halls of the labyrinth.
"What's that sound?" Akame questioned.
"Gunfire," Ash answered.
"It sounds close," Sasha mentioned. "We should leave."
"Lady, considering where we are, I think whoever's popping off those rounds might be less scary than whatever we run into this maze," the Deadite slayer countered.
"You still haven't told us where exactly we are," Akame addressed.
Ash was about to finally answer the question when a portal opened up at their feet, sucking the trio in.
Back with Raven and Vader, their confrontation had taken them to a narrow hallway, Raven being forced to walk backward as she did everything she could to protect herself from Vader's onslaught. He had only held his lightsaber with one hand the entire time, effortlessly blocking the chieftess' offensives with surprising speed for his stature and slashing his own weapon down to her with a force comparable to being run over by a truck. Even worse, it seemed this weapon of his was able to wear down the dust that made up Raven's blades, for after a few minutes of this back and forth, she noticed several cracks had already begun to form on it.
Running low on options, Raven opted to jump back to avoid another of Vader's devastating slashes before swiping it forward, a torrent of fire igniting from the blade and heading straight for her adversary. However, such materials were still insignificant compared to the power of the Force. As shown by Vader simply extending his left arm forward, the flames going completely around him as though he was protected by some kind of invisible shield.
All the former Huntress could do was stand there, her mouth agape, as the former Jedi continued marching his way to her. She snapped out of her fearful trance just in time to block a blow from Vader's lightsaber, but the blade had taken all of the abuse it could and shattered into a million shards the moment the lightsaber made its mark. The force from the blow was strong enough to allow it to be slashed across Raven's torso, earning Vader a cry of pain from her as his opponent backed away from him, a large portion of her aura having been burnt away.
"It is pointless to resist," Vader stated as he began to encircle Raven. "I will only grant you one more chance. Surrender...or die."
Glaring through the lenses of Vader's helmet, Raven responded by tightly shutting her eyes and lowering her head.
"You'll find that I'm full of surprises myself," she informed.
With that, her eyes shot open, what appeared to be a pair of dark red flames burning around them. Yelling out with fury, she thrusts her right palm forward, a bolt of lightning shooting out of it. Caught slightly off guard, Vader attempted to use his lightsaber to block it, only for the bolt to practically explode once it reached his blade and surge into his armor, causing him to exclaim with a mixture of pain and anger as his feet slid against the gravel.
The smoke slowly started to settle, revealing to the Sith apprentice that Raven was not where she once stood. Rather, she levitated herself into the air and looked down upon him with a look of unbridled fury. And yet, despite this, Vader did not falter, for he could still sense something deep within his enemy.
"Impressive...but most peculiar," he admitted. "The Force is clearly not with you, and yet..."
Raven didn't give Vader the chance to finish his sentence. She flew down towards him at top speed, a sword of ice forming in her hands. Vader retaliated by using the Force to break large chunks of gravel off the floor and throwing it at her, resuming their fight. Raven swiftly dodged Vader's offensive before readying Omen again, this time with a blade of lightning dust. Vader readied his lightsaber and lunged it towards Raven's torso, only for her to step out of its path and bring her own blade down upon it.
The instant the blades collided, several sparks jolted out of the electrical blade, causing the lightsaber to begin to short out and for some of them to reach Vader's hand. It wasn't long before his entire body was jolted with several thousand volts, and for him to yell out in pain once again, this time falling to one knee.
Thinking she now had the upper hand, a smirking Raven raised her blades for the kill. However, just before she got her chance to end this fight, Vader practically snarled with fury, and Force pushed her away from him with all of his might. This sent Raven crashing through several walls, causing Omen's blade to shatter and for her to drop it completely before finally falling to the floor. Groaning in pain, she forced herself to get back up and grasped her ice sword in both hands before flying through the holes she had inadvertently created.
John ducked behind a corner as bullets flew past him before leaning out long enough to fire several rounds before ducking back. He had no idea how he got here or what was going on, but he didn't have time to process any of this since he was ambushed by a madwoman with a pair of guns. John may not have gotten a proper look at his attacker, but if he didn't know any better, he would have to guess that the woman was, in fact, the infamous pirate of Roanapur known as Revy. In terms of fear factor, Revy was in the hall of fame for mass murders if you asked anyone at the Continental. The foul-mouth gunslinger had a reputation even in the states as one of the most lethal women in the world. If this really was Revy, then John knew they shared a connection.
"Revy!" he called out. "We don't have to do this!"
"Is that right?" Revy noted. "And why's that?"'
"I was on my way to Roanapur to meet with Hotel Moscow before this happened!" he explained. "Balalaika knows I'm coming!"
"So? Who gives a fuck!" Revy spat back. "Do you know how many nights I've dreamed about killing you? The great Baba Yaga? I ain't missing this moment for fucking anything!"
It was pretty obvious that Revy wasn't going to listen to reason, and with everything that was happening, but if John was going to live through whatever this was, he had to take down Revy first and foremost. So, after taking a deep breath, John charged out with his gun at the ready. Normally, he wouldn't be taking this kind of risk to take out a target, but from the stories he's heard about Two-Hands, she'd also abandon her cover to face him head-on. Sure enough, when Revy heard the sound of John running out, she grinned madly before rushing out to face her opponent.
However, before either John or Revy could land a single shot on one another, a wall next to them exploded as a man dressed in white went flying through it, making the two combatants pause. The man was tall and dressed in holy grab, but what was shocking to both gunmen was that the wounds the man had received from whatever it was that threw him through the wall were already starting to heal at a rapid pace. However, they were taken aback when the being who had sent the priest through the wall revealed herself. Standing before them was what looked like a cat girl, and judging by the various cuts and bruises, it was clear that the two had been locked in a bloody fight.
By this point, John's mind was spinning. Nothing was making sense, and his grip on reality felt like it was slipping by the second. The four killers stood in silence for several seconds, unsure what to make of each other, that was, until Revy drew her gun, prompting everyone to draw their weapons in response. The air became thick with the tension that now filled the air. But before someone could make a move, a portal opened up to engulf them all, whisking them away to who knows where.
Raven had attempted to grab onto Vader and take him high into the skies above, intending on flying downward with him in his arms and smashing him against the ground below. This effort was fruitless, however, as the dark lord had managed to pull a large chunk of the ground up with him before smashing the back of his other fist against his captor's face, forcing her to release her grip and allowing the two of them to fall onto the now floating makeshift platform. Vader continued to levitate said platform, which was now about three hundred feet in the air while reigniting his lightsaber all the while Raven picked herself back up, her ice sword still firmly in her hands.
The Spring Maiden was the first to make a move, rocketing herself towards Vader and swiftly dodging his counterattack. She attempted to slash her weapon across his back, only for him to turn around and block it with his red blade, the Maiden powers causing the ice to not melt instantly. Raven aggressively unleashed a non-stop assault on Vader, trying desperately to cut him down where he stood. But the Sith lord easily blocked each attack one-handed, almost like he was taunting her.
Finally, Vader retaliated, swinging his lightsaber just as Raven tried once more to slice him in half, causing both of their blades to lock and for both of them to struggle for dominance. A struggle that Raven was losing.
"Still trying to mask your weakness with your strength, are you?" Vader pondered. "Just as my old master once did long ago. It was not enough to stop me, in the end, and I assure you, it will do you no better."
"What...are you?" Raven questioned. "A-...Another of Salem's acolytes? If so, you'll...be joining her last one...soon enough!"
"I do not know who this 'Salem' is," Vader answered. "I serve only the Emperor. And he will show you mercy if you surrender now and join us. The stench of fear may cloud you, but your strength need not go to waste. Submit to me, and I shall guide you down the path of true power."
"I'll...I'll die before I submit to ANYONE!" Raven gritted through her teeth.
"Then perhaps you will die braver than most, after all," Vader retorted.
He then deactivated his lightsaber, causing a surprised Raven to stumble forward slightly and allowing Vader to swing his free hand at her blade with all of his might. The impact caused the ice sword to burst into pieces, leaving the leader of the Branwen tribe completely open for an attack. An attack that Vader was more than willing to commence, as evident by him swinging his reignited lightsaber at her.
Raven screamed in pain as the blade burned through her aura, causing it to dissipate and for her to be flung backward. She harshly slid across the gravel, a few scrapes already forming on her skin. Raven struggled to pick herself back up when she saw Vader approaching her, still using the Force to hold onto the platform they were atop.
"It seems I was mistaken," he stated as he observed two red eyes now brimming with fear.
The right hand of the Empire pulled his weapon back, intending on finishing this fight by relieving Raven of her head. But before he could make the killing blow, several chains burst out of the diamond in the sky, wrapping themselves around Vader from his neck down and causing him to release both his lightsaber and his hold on the platform. Said platform immediately made its descent back down to the maze below, but not before two more chains grabbed Raven by the wrists and held her in the air.
Both combatants struggled to free themselves when a portal manifested in front of them. Very similar to the one that brought them to this strange land in the first place. It then began to approach them, enveloping them and taking them away from the maze.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Ash questioned.
After being flung through another portal, the chosen one was getting pretty sick of this whole 'fall into a portal and end up somewhere else' routine that he had gone through twice now, and he had no intention of doing a third time, especially in a place like this. Among the various voices in the dark, he could hear Sasha and Akame but couldn't see anyone or anything around him. Just then, a burst of fire erupted from several caldrons that illuminated the room, allowing everyone to see both each other and the large room they had been brought to. The room in question was filled with hooks and chains that dangled from a darkened ceiling, filling the group of killing with more confusion than before.
"I grow tired of this," Vader sneered.
"You ain't the only one," Revy agreed.
"None of this makes any sense," Sasha stated. "What the hell is going on?!"
"Hell is exactly what is going on," came a deep voice.
The team of killers instantly drew their weapons as they each began to search the slaughter room. It was then that their collective line of sight fell upon a throne, or more importantly, what sat upon the throne. As one would expect, everyone stood ready to tear this creature limb from limb, but before they could do so, the leather-clad stranger raised his hand to stop them.
"I would advise against it," the pin-headed being warned. "I am the only one who can send you back to your respective worlds."
"And just who the fuck are you, anyway?" Revy demanded.
"He's the high priest of Hell," Ash said before addressing the demon directly. "Ain't that right, nail-face?"
"I see you're not as idiotic as you are said to be, Ashley Williams," the priest replied.
"Yeah, well, you look through the Necronomicon long enough, you pick up on a few things," the Deadite slayer said. "I saw your ugly mug once or twice in that damn book."
"Wait, back up. Did you say 'Hell?'" Sasha said. "Do you mean this is-"
"Hell?" the priest finished. "Indeed it is."
The band of killers was sent mentality spinning upon hearing that revelation. Though some always thought their actions would bring them to this place of enteral punishment, others thought they were safe from the flames of damnation. Some were even delighted at the idea that they had arrived in Hell. However, considering all the fantastical things they had seen in their respective worlds, no one questioned the validity of the Cenobite's claim that they had arrived in the abandoned land.
"I have brought you all here for a purpose," the Cenobite leader continued. "One that I'm sure will intrigue you."
"Spare us your lies, demon!" Farther Anderson snapped. "I'll have no part in whatever your foul game is!"
"Oh, I think you will be quite interested, priest," Pinhead stated. "Especially with the target I have in mind for you."
"Target?" Aisha questioned.
"Did you really bring us down here just to kill someone?" John added.
"Killing is your expertise, is it not?" Pinhead pointed out. "I needed only the finest of killers for the task at hand, and the ten of you are the ones I have chosen to carry out this assassination."
"Uh, I think you're counting off there, hardware head," Ash mentioned there's NINE of us."
The second after the chosen one had said that, a chained blade sailed mere inches past Ash's face before hitting the nearby wall. The wielder of this weapon then stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to the others.
"The tenth member of your party, Hanzo Hasashi," Pinhead introduced. "Or, as he as better known and feared as...Scorpion."
"Hey, you're the jack-off who pulled me into this mess in the first place!" Ash accused.
Scorpion sneered as he yanked his chain back, making Ash let out a yelp in fright for fear of being hit by the retracting weapon.
"It was Scorpion who helped me choose you for this task," Pinhead furthered. "Though there were...others who had caught my attention as well."
This was true. Even though Scorpion had advised him to choose these nine sinners for the task at hand, there were other candidates that Pinhead had an interest in employing should this team fail. There was Michael Myers, the shape of evil himself. Another was Kazuya Mishima, the deadly martial artist and ruthless leader of his family's Zaibatsu. The devious Tomura Shigiraki was close to being picked before Hanzo refuted it. Assassins, such as the notorious Thorn Princess, Yor Briar, who murdered countless in the name of the People's Republic of Ostania, were considered, as was the multitude of bounty hunters from Vader's dimension, such as Boba Fett, Bossk, and Dengar. The Heylin shape shifter, Hannibal Bean, was another candidate, but Pinhead feared he would attempt to try to usurp him instead of Satan. The same could be said for the disciple of Salem and nefarious Fall Maiden, Cinder Fall, the apprentice of Mirage and thief king, Bakura Ryou, the fearsome ice general from Akame's universe, Esdeath, and the young, tyrannical ruler of Terra Cyclonia, Master Cyclonis.
Then there was a boy on Earth that caught the Hell Priest's interest who had betrayed his team and his very family, but Pinhead chose to wait before approaching the boy. For he foresaw that the young hero would one day become the greatest super-villain the earth had ever seen.
"You still haven't told who you want us to kill," Raven addressed.
"I had assumed that it was obvious," Pinhead replied. "Your target...is Lucifer."
Those words alone made most of the group feel like they had been struck by an atom bomb. The idea of doing battle with the ultimate evil shocked and, in the case of some of them, excited them. For what better proof that they were the ultimate warrior than striking down the lord of lies?
"The Devil?" Revy said, wanting to confirm what he had said. "The guy with a pitchfork and dumbass-looking goatee, right?"
"I can assure you that is not his true visage," Pinhead refuted. "But yes, he is your target."
"I am no one's assassin," Vader declared.
"Nor I," Anderson added.
Pinhead chuckled at the two men's defiance as if he had heard a joke.
"Is that so?" he inquired curiously. "How many have you slain in the name of your Empire and your God? Hundreds? Thousands?"
"I only slew those who defied the name of the lord!" the paladin snapped.
"Do you know how many priests that used that defense were cast down here?" Pinhead said. "I lost count after the Crusades."
He then looked to Vader.
"And you, Vader, how many innocent souls have you killed for your master?" he questioned. "And not just the men, but the women...and the children. You slaughtered them like animals. Did you not...Anakin?"
The moment he said that the Sith lord reached out with his hand and unleashed a wave of Force energy at the Cenobite, but before the wave of the Dark Side of the Force could strike him, Scorpion jumped in front of it and created a wall of hellfire to shield the demon.
"Do NOT do that again," Hanzo warned sharply.
Vader's deep breathing was tense with anger.
"Anakin Skywalker is dead. I made certain of that that many years ago," he harshly informed before pointing a finger directly at the Hell Priest. "You would be wise to remember that."
Pinhead said nothing in response, clearly unintimidated by the Sith lord's choice of words.
"Even if we WANTED to kill the devil, what's in it for us?" Aisha pointed out.
"Or you," Raven muttered.
"Why, your salvation, of course," Pinhead stated. "All of you are destined to burn in the eternal fire for your crimes. You, Raven Branwen, have committed acts of terrorism to promote your ideology of 'only the strong survive.' Not to mention all of the despair you wrought on your family. On your brother, your husband...and even your own daughter, who you allowed to nearly bleed to death at Beacon."
The lead Cenobite turned his attention to the others, leaving Raven to ponder his words as he continued.
"Rebecca, you have killed countless for both money and pleasure. Akame, you murder others in the name of so-called 'freedom,' and that isn't accounting for all the atrocities you and your sister committed while serving your world's Empire. And must I dig up the mountains of corpses that you've left behind, John Wick?"
Pinhead then turned to the others.
"Aisha Clan-Clan, a warrior from a race of conquers who have slaughtered countless races and enslaved countless more in the name of their galactic empire."
"Hey, I'm not like these other freaks. I am as clean as a choir boy," Ash cut in.
"Even if that was true, we both know that the hordes of Hell hound you relentlessly, 'Chosen One,'" the Hell Priest reminded him.
He then looked over to Sasha, who had been silent during all this.
"Do not think you are innocent, Sasha Waybright?" Pinhead stated. "You, who betrayed your friends for the sake of dominion and left one to die?"
"Shut up!" Sasha shouted. "What happened with Marcy-"
"Was your fault," Pinhead interjected. "Had you not betrayed your friend's trust, you may have saved her life. She could be safely back on Earth with Anne at this very moment rather than become a puppet for Andrias' master to control. Do not think that this 'rebellion' you have started will wash away the sins you have committed."
The band of sinners stood in silence. What Pinhead had said was true. Not a single one among them was innocent. However, there was one among them that had not revealed his intentions.
"And what about Toasty over here?" Ash questioned, pointing to Scorpion. "What does he get outta this?"
"My soul is already damned, Williams," Hanzo stated. "But the Hell Priest agreed to save the souls of my murdered family if I helped take the throne of Hell."
"Oh, so that's what this is all about," Sasha realized coldly. "You want your boss's chair."
"Hell has become...complicated as of late, and Lucifer wishes to do nothing on the matter," Pinhead said firmly. "Several Hell Lords and I have decided that if our master does not wish to address these problems that plague our home, then we will remove him from power...by force."
"And put you in charge," Raven surmised. "And how will that be any different than when your master ruled?"
"I will make certain that this place becomes a home to delicious suffering once more," the hell priest assured. "But it is what I am offering YOU that matters."
Before anyone could protest, Pinhead stood up from this throne.
"My offer is simple: kill the devil, and I shall make sure your souls are safe from the eternal pit," he declared "refuse...and your suffering will be legendary even in hell!"
The band of killers stood in total silence. They knew the price they would pay for their sins at some point in their lives. Perhaps this was the only shot they had to save what soul they had left within them. It was at that moment that Ash spoke for everyone.
"We're in."