Author Notes:
When discussing the finale in an email, this idea popped up unexpectedly, so I ran with it and created this during my lunch break.
What's so funny, but so pathetically sad - this idea didn't seem anymore dumb than Red committing suicide by raging bull.
Anyway, the more I went along with it, the more I had fun with the idea. If it makes you smile, or even laugh... I did a good deed for the day.
In any case, I hope you enjoy reading it, but also accept it as an apology of sorts for my being so far behind on Focal Point.
LIZZINGTON
Taking a steadying breath, Red planted his feet into the soft grass, steadily holding the gaze of the bull opposite him.
The agitation the beast felt was palpable. Pawing angrily at the ground, the animal dug its horns and snout into the dirt, stirring dust in the heavy air.
"Come on..." Red urged, his voice tight. "What the hell are you waiting for?"
Memories of matadors facing down the mammoth creature flashed in Red's mind.
Unless necessity called for it, he never was one to enjoy the sport. Red had to admit, however, the display of craftsmanship, the ceremony, was a captivating experience despite the brutality.
Images of capes swirling about in a flourish of color as the matador spun away at the last moment, avoiding the bull's deadly horns, had been a spectacular scene, harkening back to the days of Hemingway's era.
Even as ritualistic as the event was, it left an unpleasant taste in Red's mouth, if only because... it wasn't a fair fight.
Normally, bulls were known to be beaten beforehand to weaken the beast before battle. Some were drugged to tip the scales in the Matador's favor before the actual confrontation. Give the crowd a good show, but why risk a human life? Especially if that human draws the crowds.
That would not be the case this time. Both opponents were in as fine form as they were ever going to be... for the most part.
The bull was stronger and healthier, yes. But for all intents and purposes, Red had the ability to evade the bull should he wish, even in his weakened state.
He knew, however, this face-off would be his reckoning in one way or other.
After years of evading capture at the hands of the Feds and his enemies, Red faced this opponent head on. He was more than ready for whatever the outcome may be, but curiosity ran rampant.
Would he dodge his opponent as he had in the past? Or would he surrender himself to fate... finally?
Returning his attention to the danger present, Red's brows furrowed questioningly as the bull continued its show of dominance but did little else.
"Oh, right." The moment of clarity made Red chuckle. "I have to move...offer a challenge."
The man sighed mentally, murmuring his disparity. "Play your part, Reddington."
Waving his hand in a come-hither motion, Red taunted the animal before boldly stepping to his right. As expected, the bull accepted the challenge.
Snarling its disdain, the enormous animal's hooves shoved into the hard earth as it charged, head bowed, all two thousand pounds barreling forward.
The sound of the heavy weight impacting against the ground sounded thunderous... ominous... oddly peaceful to Red's way of thinking.
"Maybe I'll see Lizzy again." Red whispered the fervent wish, then sighed painfully, knowing the chances were slim to none in his case.
No way in hell would he be granted entrance to heaven, which was assuredly where Lizzy...
Shaking away the thought, Red focused on the black mass and felt a surge of trepidation when his eyes closed, blocking sight of the approaching menace.
He had not expected that reaction.
Normally, he faced danger, eyes wide open. Now... he could only assume his subconscious had decided his fate.
"You deserve to die, and everything that happens afterward," Red's fists clenched at his side, his mind screaming the truth, "and you damn well know it."
Wishing for one last look at the beautiful countryside before he would have to leave this existence permanently, the man pried his eyes open.
Hastily glancing upward to the skies and trees, he jerked back as a bright and blinding light unexpectedly encompassed him. He lifted his arms, warding off the painful brightness, calmly awaiting his fate now.
"That was quick..." Red muttered to himself, his pulse reacting accordingly to the unfamiliar sensations his body endured. "Didn't even feel a thing."
Why he was feeling anything at all...being dead and whatnot...was beyond the man's realm of expertise.
Suddenly, an electric type current the likes of which Red never felt in his life traversed his body. Milliseconds later, the man experienced an instantaneous pull upwards towards the sky overhead.
Bracing himself against the anomaly best he could, Red closed his eyes against the exhilarating voltage. There was no pain. There was no sensation at all except one of out-of-body existentialism he had once encountered while taking some drug to cure this fucking disease.
"There ain't no way in hell I'm in Heaven..." Red scoffed his disbelief before silence consumed him. Why he was speaking was a mystery. Who was he talking to? Himself? There was no one else here that he could discern, after all.
But still the upward pull continued on his mind and body.
Just as quickly as the sensation began, it stopped so suddenly; the man felt disoriented and a little sick to his stomach.
Frowning, Red tuned his ear as he heard the low hum of machinery.
What the hell was this? Some hideous Morlock version of hell? Would he have to spend the rest of eternity fighting off the ugly blue bastards? And how funny the things the mind conjures even after death.
Red had always found those vile Hollywood contrived creatures representative of the future human race in one of his favorite movies, The Time Machine...to be beyond repulsive.
The song of birds, the warm, aromatic breeze floating across the meadow he was in. and the bull's hooves beating mercilessly against the ground were all gone. Replaced by cold, circulated air and the insidious hum of Morlock machines.
Humans got it wrong yet again. Hell wasn't hot...it was cold.
The brain didn't stop its functioning after death...it flitted about like a crazed merry-go-round gone awry. His thoughts were coming a mile a minute, vivid and free-form, tangled into a swirl of indistinguishable patterns and abstracts.
Slowly opening his eyes, Red found that darkness had replaced the sudden brightness. Blinking quickly, he waited for the blobs of light to stop dancing in his line-of-sight.
"Now this is more like it." Allowing his vision to adjust, Red slowly looked up at the darkened landscape. "..I think?" He tried to acclimate.
The ridges on his forehead creased further as he really looked at his surroundings, just then noticing... he was standing in a room.
A room?
There were rooms in hell? Was it like an enormous hotel with bad room service and employees that continuously lost your luggage?
"At least the Eagles had it right." Red quipped. "You can check in, but you can never check out..."
Even after all the places he visited, he had never seen anything like this though, for the room appeared to be made entirely out of gold.
"Well, this is unexpected." Red muttered. The streets of heaven were paved with gold. Why was anyone's guess since material wealth was supposedly not high on any of its citizens' wish list.
But the rooms were gold as well? Wow, color him impressed.
Red instinctively knew this wasn't Heaven.
There had to be a perfectly logical explanation for what was happening. The man took a moment to collect his thoughts.
He had been in a field, facing down a bull... and the bull had obviously won, and he had lost. The fucking animal had killed him, thereby sending him to wherever the hell this was.
The blue eyes glanced around his surroundings once again, taking in the opulence.
"What the hell?" Red muttered, then shrugged as a thought occurred. "Oh...right. Well, if I'm in hell, nothing would make sense anyway."
Slowly shifting his attention, he canted his head when he realized the room was lit by what appeared to be firelight. Freestanding and very decorative copper bowls emitted light from small flickering flames.
Maybe Satan was into ambience, or the guy was just a cheap ass bastard who didn't want to run his electrical bill up.
He mentally counted over twenty of those copper bowl receptacles lining the walls in every direction.
Were it a campground setting, one wouldn't have been able to see more than a few feet surrounding them. In the gold room, the reflective shimmer was brilliant.
Noticing carvings on the wall opposite him, Red squinted hard to better see if he could identify the writing. Why would he be able to do such a thing? This was hell. He wouldn't speak any language down here, he didn't think?
He walked closer, his brain shutting down. He stepped reverently, touching the indented hieroglyphics...at least the Egyptians got some of it right. This had to be the chosen language down here, right? It was all over the fucking walls as far as he could see.
"So..." he drawled, "hell is not what I expected." The man suddenly realized.
Red stilled as the sound of what could only be described as concrete slabs rubbing against one another filled the hollow space. It caused an eerie chill to run up and down Red's arms. He hastily glanced around.
"...Okay, what was that?" He asked the Cosmos. "It sounded rather ominous. Sorta like nails on a chalkboard...only worse."
He stiffened a second later, as the comforting aroma of roses and shea filled his senses.
The man closed his eyes to the over-powering depression settling into his brain.
"So, maybe hell is living up to expectations." Red swallowed against the knot in his throat as the scent he craved most in the world blanketed him. How long had it been since he smelled her scent? Too fucking long and now...it was all around him.
It had become commonplace to surround himself with that aromatic combination since that horrible night... he lost everything. It hadn't been her, but it comforted somewhat when things got just too horrible to face.
It was torture to smell Lizzy and not be able to talk to her... touch her. It served him right to be subjected to this hideous punishment for eternity.
As if he just witnessed the tragedy that stole away the love of his life, the grief hit him like a wave, crashing powerfully against Red's weakened body. Rocking on his heels, he staggered back, upsetting a copper urn.
The loud clanging jarred his entire nervous system that was already in a heightened state.
So grief stricken by the loss as if it just occurred, Red barely took note of the sound of footsteps approaching. He couldn't find it in himself to even care if the time to meet his persecutorhad arrived.
He stood, head bowed, his entire body reeling from the pain of loss he felt.
"What the hell, Red Reddington!"
Red's eyes bolted open and widened in recognition.
He knew that voice.
He heard that voice in his head every day as he replayed the best eight years of his life. He heard that voice in his dreams, and yes, his nightmares. During his treatments, when experiencing the fever induced delirium, he often hallucinated and created new moments he and Lizzy were together.
More often than not, she would encourage him to keep fighting; to stay with Dembe, as his friend wasn't ready to let go.
It was difficult, though, doing as she asked. In fact, it was intolerable. Without her presence, without her, there was no reason to live.
Raymond 'Red' Reddington was ready to die. He was beyond that stage.
The man supposed he could have opted for a better exit than a murderous bull, but the idea of giving the feds or his enemies the ability to brag about his capture and death rankled him.
Even for Lizzy, he couldn't cross that line. He liked to think Lizzy wouldn't have wanted his surrender, anyway. Especially since the scenario would have likely ended with a suicide by cop.
Why make a law officer carry the guilt over his demise; justifiable kill or not.
No. His way was better. It was on his terms and the bull certainly hadn't seemed to care or feel any guilt.
"Dammit, Red!" Liz demanded. "What do you think you're doing?"
Two long, painful years, he longed to hear that voice again... but not here. Never here.
Tears stung his eyes as his heart shattered into a million pieces.
"...Lizzy." Red keened wretchedly, then a thought occurred. Could it be she was simply a figment of his imagination? Like her scent, would her voice also haunt him for eternity?
While it would be difficult to endure, especially if she became upset and he couldn't comfort her by taking her in his arms... Red thought he could manage if conversation were allowed. So much between them had been left unsaid.
To talk to Lizzy again...
"What were you thinking!" Elizabeth Keen stomped across the room, a stern expression on her angelic features. "Don't just stand there! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Afraid he would turn around and not find her there was possibly the worst punishment Red could imagine. He stayed very still.
"Don't make me belt you!" The sweetly melodious voice washed over him like that damned gown Maleficent wore. The scene where the evil witch floated up that long flight of stairs to her chamber of horrors and that magical mirror was a favorite of Lizzy's.
Slowly turning in place, Red's breath caught in his throat when he was awarded the vision of Lizzy in all her glorious form.
He slowly straightened, unaware of doing so...his mouth falling agape.
Had she always been so stunningly beautiful or had absence colored his perspective. Didn't matter. He feasted his eyes on the breathtaking vision.
Her cheeks were no longer shallow, and her hair longer than he remembered... but it was Lizzy.
His beautiful, fiery Lizzy.
Those deep blue eyes stared a hole through him, and that tiny foot tapped impatiently, awaiting his reply.
"God..." Red's eyes filled with liquid heat, and the man prayed to a benevolent deity. Never mind if he was royally pissing off the deity who ruled this domain. He had to offer over a prayer of thanksgiving. "Lizzy..." he whispered his undying gratitude, "I've missed you so much."
Red swallowed his tears, gulping hard.
Giving the woman a slow, passing sweep, a ragged breath was exhaled, for he was taken aback by the grace of such a noble gesture.
He knew Elizabeth was beautiful, but had she always been so astonishingly alluring?
There was something so ethereal about her. Yes, of course she would be. She was just a figment, after all, but it seemed so...real. So wondrously...real.
All Red knew for certain, for once in his life, or should he say death, he felt woefully under-dressed next to such a ravishing apparition.
Lizzy's soft, ample breasts were on full display, held aloft by a black bustier. The small gap in the lace-up front allowed him a perfect view of the curvature of the white mounds.
Like her silken hair, the long, dark fabric of her skirt rippled as she moved determinedly across the large expanse. His mouth watered at the sight of the slit running clear up to her hip. It enticed as she walked, presenting him a whetting peek of her bared leg and calf-length boots.
Never one for jewelry, Red was surprised Lizzy wore a choker of glittering gold which graced the lovely neckline, and a bracelet of unique design that complimented the elegant shape of her arm. It was the belly chain highlighting her bared midriff, however, that was the focus of his avid attention.
Even the way her eyes and full mouth were shaded in dark hues was different. Had her eyes always looked so crystal blue, or was it the dark coal bringing out how startling they were?
He never envisioned Lizzy in such an outfit... though he envisioned her in less, assuredly. Red felt he somehow let her down by not utilizing his imagination to such an extent after all the times he fantasized about her.
If this were hell, however, it made perfect sense Lizzy was dressed in such a manner.
To be so close he could touch her but be denied the privilege was his penance... the man fucking knew it.
"Are you gonna keep gawking at me," Liz pursed perturbed lips, "or just stand there like an idiot."
Perusing the stunning creature once more, Red hovered over points of interest in his trek.
"Forgive me, Lizzy," Red blew a slow breath, "but if you don't mind, I'm gonna just...keep gawking."
"I'm serious, Red!" Liz huffed her aggravation, her hands coming to rest on those voluptuous hips, the lovely face set in aggravated tones.
"So am I." Red replied evenly, his gaze never once leaving the phenomenal form.
"What's wrong with you, dammit!" The woman snapped her grievances, her voice raising in volume.
Shaken from his stupor, Red's eyes darkened. "What's wrong with me! Are you fucking serious!"
Well, it appeared Hell was now living up to expectations if, even in death, Elizabeth still didn't have a clue why he acted as he did.
What was wrong with him, indeed!
Red's brow furrowed suddenly when he realized, even if they spent an eternity arguing... it would be enough to sustain him. Who knew, after a couple millennia of explaining himself, he could alter her perceptions?
...Yeah, right.
"Yes!" Liz snapped. "How could you leave Agnes like that!" She demanded to know. "Or Dembe...without even attempting to say a proper goodbye! They loved you, dammit! They deserved–"
"They deserved better!" Red sneered. "They're safer without me," he knew, "and you damn well know it!"
Scowling hard, Liz crossed her arms over her chest. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, and I've heard some zingers, let me tell you!"
"How quickly you seem to have forgotten," Red grated, "... guilt by association!"
Curving his fingers around a nearby tabletop, his body leaned heavily into the unwavering support.
"If it wasn't my enemies wishing to collect on a bounty," Red reminded caustically, "it was you headhunting my ass!"
Liz's brow furrowed at the reminder.
"Everyone around me was in grave danger." Red stated a fact. "Dembe, Samar, Meera... you!" He reminded. "It would have only been a matter of time before Agnes became a target!"
"Who's to say she won't be one now!" Liz countered angrily.
"She has Dembe, Cooper, and personal guards protecting her." Red knew full well his wishes regarding Agnes' safety would be followed to the letter.
"Agnes loved you..." Liz replied sadly.
"I loved her," Red stressed the words, "which is why I did what I did!"
Those amazing eyes filled with luminous liquid. "It hurt so badly to watch, Red. How could you do that to me?"
"Why do you care, anyway?" The scorn in Red's voice was unmistakable. "It's not like you ever wanted me near, Agnes!"
"I never wanted to keep you from Agnes!" Liz gasped at such a painful taunt.
"You had a damn funny way of showing it!" Red spat his disgust, finally.
Even if Elizabeth was a figment of his imagination, it felt damn good to air their dirty laundry without censor for once. The pain he kept locked away for so long was slowly being unloaded with each breath he took. While the words stung even now, it was a weight lifted, finally confessing just how devastated he had been by what transpired.
"Cooper?" The man's tone was more than harsh. "You gave custody of Agnes to someone other than me?" The razor-sharp pain emerged unbidden. "Even though I proved my ability for almost a year while you recuperated from the coma?" He moved forward, his teeth clenched. "I love that little girl with my whole being and you took her away from me! Why!?"
"I was afraid!" Liz blurted, deeply affected by the man's wrath.
"I would have done anything to protect her," Red hissed the words, "...and you."
Stalking up to the woman, Red glared down at Elizabeth's tear-filled eyes. "I wasn't going to lose her," he shuddered, "...like I lost you!"
Liz's lip quivered as the full impact of Red's pain smacked her directly in the face.
Even as angered as he was, seeing Elizabeth's tear-filled blue eyes cut like a knife.
"After you died..." Red hung his head mournfully, "the very thought Agnes could meet the same fate..." he shook away the thought, "I couldn't take it."
Swallowing convulsively, Red stared sightlessly at the gold engravings on the wall.
"Considering I'm here," he waved a sharp hand at his surroundings, "it looks like I lived up to my end of the bargain, at least. I did as promised and took the needed steps to protect Agnes." The man shook a weary head. "Thanks to one pissed off bull."
"She's alone, Red." Tears spilled from Liz's eyes. "You left our baby alone!"
Jerking about, Red scowled hard. "What?"
Stepping into the man's sphere, Liz jabbed her finger hard into Red's chest with each punctuated word. "You... left...our... baby... alone!"
Stumbling back from the touch, and the venomous words, Red was left reeling.
"...Lizzy?" Red's voice, a mere whisper compared to what it had been, shook.
No... it couldn't be. It had to be a dream.
This had to be a fucking nightmare. But...it wasn't.
It was all too real.
Why was he torturing himself like this? Satan hadn't even arrived yet and Red was already in a living nightmare of his own making.
The bull gored him, and now he was lying unconscious in the field, imaging all this as he waited to bleed out and die.
That was probably it. He wasn't even dead yet, and it was beginning...his own personal version of hell, pulled from his own worst imaginings and fears.
It was a perfectly valid explanation.
All he had to do was touch Lizzy, or at least try to... and he'd die. That's what happened in all his dreams when he tried to embrace the woman, after all.
She would vanish like a whiff of smoke into nothingness, along with his will to live.
Tentatively reaching, Red watched the tremor in his hand intensify the closer he got and sensed the radiating warmth of Lizzy's flesh.
The man was full on trembling as his fingers brushed against the silky surface, before curving his fingers to her arm.
Her flesh was petal soft, just as he remembered.
Lizzy was here! He could touch her!
"Oh, my god..." Overcome with emotion, Red choked on the words. "Oh, my god!"
Afraid he was wrong, or worse yet, that this was his only chance before she was taken from him once more... Red hurriedly clasped Lizzy's arms in a possessive hold.
Unable to form a coherent thought, Red caressed the baby-soft skin reverently.
"Not that I'm complaining," Red rasped, nuzzling his face into her neckline, "but what the hell is going on here, Elizabeth. You explain this to me."
Not only had he been powerless to stop the life from vanishing from Lizzy's eyes before she collapsed against him on that sidewalk. He had felt Lizzy leave him, and it was the most gut-wrenching experiences of his life.
One minute, they were talking... the next; she was bleeding out on the ground before succumbing to that massive blood loss.
"Please tell me," Red felt fear grip his heart, "... where are we?"
Red full well expected to go to hell. Unless he was wrong, and he sincerely hoped he was, evidently being in Lizzy's life led her down the same path.
The heavy grating sound Red heard moments ago...had it just been moments... filled the surrounding space. That heavy, ominous grate caused both he and Lizzy to turn.
Red's brow furrowed when a man swept into the room. He wore the same long, black garb as Lizzy, only this being had added a billowing cloak which dragged the floor behind him as his powerful body sauntered forward.
There was a confidence which radiated from the...thing. Red, even as a male, could see the attraction of the ruggedly chiseled features. The dark, probing stare robbed a person of any form of equilibrium.
"Ah, Elizabeth," the man smiled at the woman, "you little minx. Did I not tell you, it would be better if I greeted our guest first? I'm slightly vexed with you."
Liz's cheeks flushed a charming pink before she glanced back up at Red, her body tensing. The horrible misunderstandings between them brought to mind.
Sensing the tension in the room, the tall man smirked. "Trouble in paradise already?"
"Not now, Ba'al." Liz sighed her woe, asking more than telling, Red sensed. He eyed the new arrival belligerently. Red didn't like the familiar way the guy was speaking to Elizabeth.
"With the way you spoke of him," Ba'al waved an imperious hand towards his guest, "I expected a different reaction from you upon his arrival."
"Oh, my god.." Liz's tone held her disdain.
"...Yes?" Ba'al turned, spinning his cloak about theatrically before taking a seat on a satin draped throne.
Sighing heavily, Liz rolled her eyes, having heard it all before. "Would you stop with the role-playing shit already."
Red's brows lifted high on his forehead for the remark. It was allowed? To take potshots at the big guy down here? Without repercussions?
Chuckling, Ba'al inclined his head to their guest. "Dr. Jackson, it is good to see you again." That statement was mulled for a beat. "It isn't really, of course, but being the consummate host I am...no play on words meant there...I feel it would behoove me to put my best foot forward, so to speak."
Glancing over his shoulder, Red found no one other than Lizzy and himself there.
"I told you," Liz grumbled, "his name is Raymond 'Red' Reddington." She stressed the fact.
"In this reality, perhaps." Ba'al shrugged. Noticing a bowl of apples beside him, the man brightened before reaching for a shiny red orb. "He will always be Daniel Jackson, the subsequent pain in my ass, to me."
"Would someone like to tell me what the fuck is going on?" Red exasperated.
"You didn't tell him?" Ba'al asked before biting into the crisp apple in hand. "How remiss of you, woman. I'm so disappointed in you."
Red's brow furrowed as Ba'al hummed his delight. It really was true. Apparently, everyone did like apples.
"Well... no." Liz winced. "I was just getting round to it when you butted in."
"No," Ba'al disagreed. "You were bitching at him, and don't try to tell me you were doing otherwise." The man cocked a brow. "I know you."
Narrowing his eyes for the overly familiar remark, Red tamped down his reactionary flare of jealousy to shoot a glance the woman's way. All waited for a reply, for that's exactly what she had been doing.
Huffing her aggravation, Liz sent the man a perturbed glare. "Well, it's not an easy thing to explain, now is it!"
"For mere mortals such as yourself, perhaps." Sitting forward, Ba'al directed his attention. "It's mere child's play for me. I'll make this as simple as I can, Dr. Jackson."
"Red!" Liz exclaimed. "Red!"
"You dare raise your voice to me?" Ba'al seemed slightly taken aback, were his expression any criteria by which to judge.
"Stop!" Red bellowed, silencing the two. "Just answer me one thing."
Liz and Ba'al fell silent, giving Red the floor.
"Am I alive?" Red asked plaintively, "or...not! And if so, where the fuck is this place and why isn't there any electricity?"
"That was three distinctly different inquiries." Ba'al pointed out the obvious with a distinct smirk.
"Yes."Lizzy's eyes had softened, as had her manner. "Of course, you're alive."
"Are you alive?" Red looked hopefully at Lizzy.
"She's alive, you're alive...I'm alive. Is everyone happy now?" Ba'al asked.
"...Yes." Liz's eyes glittered with happiness. "I'm very much alive, Red. Promise."
Closing his eyes, Red exhaled a shaky breath of relief. He believed her because he wanted so desperately to do so.
Red refused to question his good fate.
Opening his eyes, he cupped Lizzy's face in hand, roughly dragging the woman flush against his body.
Gasping her shock, Liz looked up at the man. "Wait–"
Pressing his mouth to hers, Red effectively silenced the woman for some long few moments.
Wrapping his arms about her body, Red deepened the kiss, languidly flicking his tongue against Lizzy's.
Ignoring the subtle sound of a clearing throat, Red lost himself in Lizzy's scent and the sensation of her mouth against his own. He smiled when he felt the woman respond and lift to her toes before wrapping her arms about his neckline.
"Should I book you two a room?" Ba'al asked, his tone allowing his boredom. "Either do something worth watching or have the good manners to remember... you are not alone."
Slowly breaking his lock on Lizzy's lips, Red gently placed a strand of hair behind her shell-like ear, staring down into Lizzy's sensual stare.
"I have so much time to make up for..." Red replied, his voice husky with pent-up tension.
"As I was saying," Ba'al continued as though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place, "we have just beamed you onto my ship, in the nick of time, too," he made mention. "You can thank me later. An enormous cow creature was about to dispatch you from this very life."
The being seemed momentarily confused. "I thought you humans ate those things. Have they planned a well-organized rebellion?"
Looking around his surroundings, Red's confusion became more apparent. "You did what to me?" He had caught those words. "As in...beam me up, Scotty?"
Red's eyes darted about frantically. Was he in freaking space? No! What the shit! What was going on?
Hoping to explain their present situation in better terms, Liz turned to the man beside her. "What he means is..." she began, then scowled when nothing came to mind.
Ba'al waited patiently, his look an indulgent one.
"Okay," Liz shrugged irritated shoulders, slapping her hands against her thighs, "oh, great one. You explain it."
"I will, and much better than you ever could." Ba'al stood from his perch. "Before I do, however, why don't we adjourn to the dining room for food and liquor." He suggested. "I assume Red would very much enjoy some libation along about now." The man's cape flowed majestically as he traversed the steps down from his throne. "I know I would."
Red wouldn't deny the need for a stiff drink.
Taking the hand Lizzy offered, Red trailed after their host, though his focus remained steady on the woman beside him.
"There's food and libation and...you." Red leaned, his mouth caressing the lovely pout intimately. "This isn't hell, baby...it's heaven."
"Or a reasonable facsimile thereof, if I understand the human concept presented." Ba'al called back over his shoulder, continuing on his way.