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Savages: Reign in Hell
Chapter 3: All Hell's Breaking Loose
Carmilla couldn't have called this emergency meeting of her fellow Hell sovereign Overlords fast enough upon hearing the news.
While the rulers of the various circles of Hell were convening at the Morningstar mansion to speak with Lucifer directly, the weapons dealer knew that she had to discuss this matter with the other lords of the Pride ring to ponder the questions that were, no doubt, on all of their minds. It seemed that this sense of urgency was mutual to her fellow Overlords, as evident by them making their way to her board room, one by one, in an almost panicked state, taking their seats once they were inside.
Well, rather, most of them, as it was clear one of them would, once again, be late, and another...
"It would appear that Alastor will not be joining us, per usual," Carmilla stated. "So, I'm going to just cut to the chase. I'm certain that you know why I've called you all here."
As she spoke, she gave Odette a single nod, signaling her to turn the screen behind her on. The news report of the attempt on Lucifer's life played before her as she continued to speak to her peers. "A brutal attack on our lord had just transpired right under our noses! And yet, still, nobody knows who would have the audacity to make an attempt on his life."
"Well, whoever they are, I'm hopin' they taste good," Rosie chimed in. "I heard Drayton's got a new chili recipe he's been cookin' up, but he thinks it's missing a little something to spice it up a bit."
"I don't care how they taste, Rosie," Carmilla groaned. "I just need to know who they are, what they are, and how they got here in the first place!"
"Is it not obvious to thou, my friend?" Zestial spoke up. "Our angelic oppressors doth crossed many a lines, moving thy Exterminations' timetable six months! Clearly, this barbaric atrocity t'would only be brought about by thy hands."
"Yeah! And somethin' tells me that dead angel Velvette brought us last time only stirred 'em up even more!" Zeezi added.
"An angel's never been so bold as to try and go after Lucifer," Carmilla argued, placing a hand on her chin as she pondered. "Not even during the Exterminations."
In spite of this, she couldn't help but wonder if they were right in their assumptions. Tensions were high between the two kingdoms, so it would stand to reason that, perhaps, this was a ploy by Heaven to pay the kingdom of sinners back in the guise of retaliating for slaying one of their own. She assumed this, of course, out of fear of what might happen to her daughters if they knew she was the one who killed that Exorcist.
So riddled with paranoia was she that she failed to notice the doors to the board room opening, revealing the last demon she and the other Overlords expected to see tonight.
"Do you not see the opportunity that has presented itself to you, Lady Carmilla?" a deep voice suddenly cut in.
Said voice was one Carmilla never thought she'd hear in this room, and it caused her heart to nearly jump out of its body. A feeling that she shared with the other Overlords as their heads darted to the now open doorway. There, standing before them, was Pinhead. Being a human who surrendered his body to Leviathan, gaining unspeakable power that surpassed even them, the Overlords had reached out to him in the past about joining them. The leader of the Cenobites, however, rejected them, being uninterested in their trivial pursuit of power and usually keeping himself and his other pleasure seekers separated from the rest of Hell in Leviathan's dominion. Such appearances in any of the rings of Hell were rare, and the Overlords never thought they would live to see a Cenobite, much less the Hell Priest himself, being among them.
"Apologies for the sudden intrusion, my fellow denizens of Hell," he greeted as he slowly walked past each of them to approach Carmilla.
"N-None are necessary, Hell Priest," an uneasy Carmilla assured. "P-Please, by all means, have a seat if you wish. We would all be honored if you join us."
She motioned to Alastor's empty seat, something Pinhead took notice of. "The Radio Demon is not among you?" he questioned.
"Alastor's seldomly graced us with his presence as of late," Carmilla explained, rolling her eyes at said demon's frequent no-shows.
"Most intriguing," Pinhead said as he took his seat at the table.
"Thou must forgive me, Cenobite, but thou's arrival is a most bewildering sight, if I may say so," Zestial claimed. "I would ne'er have assumed thou would ever humor the very thought of being amongst us."
"Hell had become far too... ordered, for my tastes, Zestial," Pinhead clarified. "However, word has reached our lord, Leviathan, of what has happened to Lucifer. As such, he has sent myself to represent him so that we may aid in thwarting these assassins."
"You had said something about an 'opportunity,'" Carmilla reminded. "What did you mean by that?"
The priest opened his mouth to answer her, only for the door to suddenly burst open, once again. This time, though, it was a belligerent Velvette who was responsible, speaking to Vox through her phone while showing off her clear lack of respect for her fellow demons.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Vox, I know, you're practically jizzing your fucking pants over all this," she said as she approached her own seat. "You can tell me how many zeros we're milking outta those twits later. Gotta deal with these fossils first. Kisses!"
She gave her phone a quick smooch before hanging up, failing to notice the wide eyes that surrounded her as she sat down. "Alright, you old cunts! Let's get... this..." she tried to mock, only for her to freeze up upon seeing the Overlords' guest of honor on top of the other demons running their hands across their throat to silently tell her to stop talking.
"Velvette," Pinhead blankly greeted. "I see that your ideals of pleasure haven't changed."
"Uh, heheheh, yeah, well..." Velvette fumbled through her words in fear. "Well, *ahem!* when you're uh... when you're... uh..."
"Impressive," Carmilla admitted. "There is someone who can shut her up."
"And what of Vox and Valentino?" Pinhead continued. "Will they be joining us this evening?"
"Oh! Uh, no, no, no, they're tied up in o-other matters, b-b-but, uh, they send their regards!" Velvette rather uncharacteristically answered. "I'll be here representing them, though, so, uh, wh-why don't we just get started, then? Don't want to keep our favorite Hell Priest waiting."
"Indeed," Pinhead agreed. "But you will want to listen to what I have to say. All of you will."
"Our ears doth listen, Hell Priest," Zestial stated.
The former captain shifted his attention to the Overlords as he began to speak of his proposition. "This assault against our lord is most concerning, but I believe that all of you could mutually benefit from such a tragedy. A means to acquire more power. Perhaps even extend your reach to the other rings and climb higher up the hierarchy of Hell than ever before."
First, he turned to the one who called this meeting in the first place. "Carmilla, you are the leading arms manufacturer of this kingdom. This band of rogues who attacked Lucifer are still out there. Panic will surely spread throughout this city. Panic... that could be sedated by what you could offer them."
Then, he shifted his head back to Velvette. "Sedated, as well, by what you and Vox could give them, Velvette. You grant the masses your voice, feeding information that could save their lives, whilst Vox gifts them with his technology to keep these madmen at bay."
"Well, you ain't the only one who thougha that," Velvette informed as she shifted back to her phone. "Voxy wouldn't shut his cocksucker over how many backorders orders his security systems've been getting."
"And then there are the rest of you," Pinhead continued. "So soon after an Extermination and with Heaven promising to return much quicker for the next, the lord of Hell nearly has his life cut short by these assassins. Fear is gripping this city unlike ever before. Fear which the damned would give anything to pacify... including their souls. Is that not why you are all here in the first place, my friends? The souls of the desperate, the lost... and the afraid?"
Hearing this caused the Overlords to mull over the Cenobite's words. Most of them had been so preoccupied panicking over their lord's plight, fearing that they could be next on these assassins' hitlist, that they hadn't even considered how they could easily turn this situation around in their favor. A multitude of sinners would come groveling at their feet for protection, willing to surrender anything to obtain it.
As they did so, Velvette's phone began buzzing, prompting her to check whatever was causing Hell's social media to blow up. "Hold up, hold up, looks like Calypso's nabbed two of 'em right now!"
"What?!" Carmilla exclaimed. "What did that freakshow say?!"
"One moment, calm your tits," Velvette responded, much to Carmilla's ire. "...Ah! There we go! Says here he's puttin' on a show in that colosseum of his with Voxy sponsoring. Breakin' out his new champion for these two."
"Never mind that!" Carmilla yelled. "Who are they?!"
"Uh... Okay, says here one of em's named Raven Brawnwen, and the other's just called Akame..." the demonic influencer answered, only to then realize something. "...Hold on a bloody minute, says here they're not even dead!"
"Well, no duh, ain't that the point of an execution?" Zeezi pointed out.
"Ugh! No, you fuckin' moron, I mean DEAD dead!" Velvette irritably countered. "They're mortals!"
That certainly gained the attention of most of the demons in the room, who found their mouths hanging open before beginning to whisper amongst themselves. The only ones who didn't were Pinhead, who remained as calm as ever, and Carmilla, who was muttering several expletives in Spanish directed towards her colleagues... though mostly towards Velvelle.
Several seconds passed before the Cenobite spoke up. "An unknown element at play. One who could summon the living to the gates of Hell to carry out their deed while they sit idly by and watch. The one responsible must be hiding in this kingdom as we speak. And if the lot of you were to put that out there... surely many would flock to you, hoping you might be able to find this traitor... for a price, that is.
"Think of it, my friends. Now is the time to spread your reach. Assume more power. Collect more souls. Now is the time to make your mark on this kingdom. One that will last to the end of time itself! And I believe Leviathan can help bring each of you to this new height... I ask only one thing in return."
"Oh? Well, what might that be?" Rosie asked.
"Slim as the chances are, it might be best if we prepare for the worst," the priest began as he approached the end of the table, facing each of the Overlords head-on. "Prepare for our king's reign to come to a... premature ending. His daughter, as you no doubt know, has these foolish aspirations for redeeming our damned souls. So much so that she has brought Adam and the forces of Heaven to push the next Extermination to a mere six months from now. Clearly, she would not be fit to assume the throne. Someone outside of the Morningstar bloodline must become Hell's new ruler if it is to survive."
"And who doth thou have in mind?" Zestial pondered.
The lord of the Cenobites slowly took his seat, eyes locked on his fellow demons before he answered with just one word.
"Me."
Sasha awakened with a throbbing headache, groaning as she held a hand up to her forehead. She slowly began to rise, finding herself in what appeared to be a futuristic holding cell, albeit one that was burnt to a crisp with only one light flickering on and off. She couldn't help but wonder about her encounter with the Hell Priest earlier. Somehow finding herself in the pits of Hell itself. Was it a dream? A hallucination she had as she was brought to this new location?
These thoughts were quickly dashed when she heard the familiar sound of Vader's breathing, confirming that what she had encountered was very much real, and she was stuck in the infernal pit with no way to get back to Amphibia. She noticed that the dark lord stood in the middle of this cell, motionless as if he were a statue. His lenses stared only at the door that led out of this small prison, paying no mind to Sasha as she awakened. Almost as if she wasn't even here at all.
"Ugh, can you please stop breathing like that?" she requested. "It's really starting to get on my nerves."
"No... but I can make you stop breathing if you complain to me again," Vader bluntly answered.
"...Okaaaaay, you do you, then, dude," Sasha relented, already knowing it was best not to test the Sith's patience, before getting back to more important matters. "Where are we, anyway? Last I remember, we were tossed out of Lucifer's palace, and then I woke up here."
"I cannot be certain... but I do have a suspicion as to where we are," Vader answered as he began to reel his arm back.
With a mighty thrust, the Emperor's right hand channeled the Force to knock the blast doors before him off, causing them to smash against the back wall. Now freed, Vader wasted no time marching his way out of his cell, fully intent on making whoever brought him here suffer his wrath. Despite knowing fully what the fallen Jedi was capable of, Sasha knew her best chances were to follow him for the time being and quickly caught up with him whilst taking in her new surroundings.
The halls the two of them traversed were similarly dilapidated. Scorch marks and jagged pieces of metal decorated them, fires burned all around them almost without reason, and massive holes were scattered about, allowing the unlikely duo easy access to what seemed like a hangar bay of some kind. One that had the wreckages of several TIE Fighters lying on the floor and provided a great view of Hell down below. For Sasha, it only prompted more confusion as to her predicament.
But for Vader, it lead to a confirmation of his suspicions.
He knew now that he and Sasha were brought to the remains of a battle station that was meant to be the crown jewel of the Empire. A weapon so powerful it could destroy an entire planet, only for a cleverly hidden failsafe, courtesy of a disgruntled scientist and Vader's own flesh and blood to have the mighty war machine literally blow up in the Empire's face.
"The Death Star..." he uttered.
"Uh, the what now?" Sasha asked, an eyebrow raised as she continued to try and make heads or tails of her own situation.
It was at that moment that a voice echoed through the hangar. One that Vader had not heard in years yet was unmistakable. "A monolith to one of your greatest failures, Lord Vader."
The helmeted head of the hound of the Empire quickly turned, looking up to a balcony where a demon wearing an Imperial uniform slowly emerged from the shadows, hands behind his back as he gazed down at the duo. Though his skin had turned pale, his eyes almost inhuman, and two horns had grown on his forehead, Vader could not mistake this damned soul as anyone other than Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Feeling something was about to go down, Sasha instinctively reached for the hilts of her swords, ready to draw them out at the first sign of trouble.
"What was it that the Emperor once told you? 'Truly, you are the Chosen One,'" Tarkin stated before motioning to the ruins of the battle station they stood upon. "'Chosen to be the one responsible.'"
"...Thought that idiot with the chainsaw was supposed to be the 'Chosen One,' but-" Sasha whispered to herself.
"Indeed," a much more ired voice suddenly said as a second figure emerged from behind Tarkin.
This demon, much like the Grand Moff, wore an Imperial uniform. However, his was white and was adorned with a matching cape that, while singed, still flowed from behind him. "Look at what you have wrought on MY creation!" Director Orson Krennic growled as he stood beside Tarkin. "Our Empire's mightiest weapon, reduced to ashes! Years upon years of preparing for our ultimate triumph wasted! All because YOU could not best a moisture farmer from Tatooine and a smuggler in a RUST-COATED FREIGHTER!"
"My apologies, Director Krennic," Vader sneered, not unlike his meeting with the short-tempered director on Mustafar before he met his end, "that I could not have made up for your own misteps. Was it not you who forced Galen Erso to help you complete this station? You who allowed him to sabotage its plans and lead to the Rebels' victory on Yavin? You who was to ensure the Emperor that such compromises were not inflicted on your precious technological terror? You are gravely mistaken to point your finger solely at me like a petty child."
"Don't be so vain, Vader," Tarkin interrupted as Krennic continued to seethe in anger. "Yes, Director Krennic does deserve to share the blame, but need I remind you that none of this would have happened had you simply retrieved the plans from the Rebels in the first place? You could have easily thwarted them on Scariff and prevented any of this from happening."
"God, will you two geezers shut up already?" Sasha muttered before looking up at the two deceased Imperial officials. "Hey! Listen, I'm sure you guys have quite a bit of catching up to do, but Iron Lung here and I have more important things to worry about, so if you could just point us to the exit, that'd be just great!"
This sudden outburst caused Tarkin to smirk in an amused manner before responding. "Charming... to the last. But I'm afraid, young lady, that neither you nor Lord Vader will be leaving this station alive."
"And you intend to see to that yourself, Governor?" Vader inquired.
"Oh, no, no, no," Tarkin answered. "Director Krennic and I are but observers. For you see, we are not the only ones here who have unfinished business with you."
Before the lord of the Sith could inquire the deceased Moff, footsteps began to echo across the charred halls of what was once the Death Star. Both he and Sasha turned around to see yet another demon approaching them. This one appeared to be older than either of the Imperial officials that greeted the unlikely duo. Interestingly, both of his hands appeared to be skeletal, one of them holding a curved hilt of some kind, while his neck seemed to have a burn mark singed into it. Almost as if he had previously been decapitated.
A fate he had been delivered by the armored man before him onboard the Invisible Hand as it hovered miles above Coruscant.
"You've changed, Skywalker," one Count Dooku of Serenno stated as a blade of hellfire erupted from his hilt. "So much... and yet so little."
As he stepped closer and closer to both Vader and Sasha, two more demons dropped from the rafters above to surround the two of them. Beings that already would've already fit the bill for creatures of Hell with horns growing out of their heads and their faces tattooed, one red and the other yellow, the red one with skeletal legs. Both of their hell-sabers were longer, with blades coming out of both ends.
When they were alive they were known and feared as Savage Opress and Darth Maul.
Then, just to make matters worse for the duo, out of the hallways and from behind Dooku, dozens upon dozens of Stormtroopers, each with gruesome injuries that represented how they died, ranging from being coated with holes to having entire sections of their bodies burned off, sprinted towards their former superior and the human commander of the Toads. They all then pointed their blasters at them, obviously intending to make Vader pay for allowing them all to die. Such a sight would make any normal man quiver with fear, possibly regret.
Darth Vader, however, was far from an ordinary man. And as such, he was unwavered by this sight.
"How I have waited for this moment," Dooku said. "And yet... it seems you have forgotten us. Haven't you, boy?"
"The only thing I haven't forgotten about you, Count..." Vader began before igniting his lightsaber whilst Sasha drew her blades. "...is how you died."
"What are you doing, John?"
"Looking at you."
"Come here."
"Are you still filming?"
*SMACK!*
"Will you wake the fuck up already, John?!"
The harsh words of Revy sprang the former assassin of the New York Continental from his visions. Visions of a much happier life he shared with his late wife, Helen. The woman whose memories John fought practically through Hell and back to preserve. It was almost funny. Both during his and the others' attack and after being cast out of Lucifer's domain, landing harshly on the burning brimstone gravel, he had briefly found the one thing that was all but lost from his chaotic and blood-soaked life.
Peace.
Unfortunately, it was cut short by the foul-mouthed gunslinger, who was also brought to bring down the ruler of Hell. The feeling of being pistol-whipped across the face by one of Revy's Cutlasses shot through him as he began to pick himself back up, groaning from the wounds he had sustained from both Lucifer and his 'ally.' Fortunately, even after the beating he and the others took, it seemed as though none of his bones were broken. Once he was on his feet again, he turned to face the one who had harshly brought him back to reality.
"Finally. Been trying to get your sorry ass up for five minutes," she sneered while checking the ammo on her pistols. "Thought that bastard actually got you for a second. Don't want that happening before I get a chance to do it."
"You could've killed me right there, you know," John pointed out. "Why didn't you?"
"Don't think I did that out of the 'kindness of my heart' or some sappy bullshit like that," Revy stated. "Not every day I get a chance to gun down John fucking Wick. If I'm gonna kill you, I'm not going the pansy's route."
"...Uh-huh," was all John could respond with.
"Besides, I don't have Dutch or Rock or anyone else covering my ass right now," Revy added. "And whatever this place is, probably best to go with the whole 'strength in numbers' thing."
"Agreed," the ex-assassin replied as he began to check his own weapons and his suit. "But something tells me you're going to want to settle things with me once our job is done."
"Bingo," the pirate confirmed with a smirk.
"...I'll just worry about that later," John stoically stated before shifting the conversation. "Any idea where we are?"
"Beats me," Revy answered as the duo began to walk down the city's road. "That dumbass with the chainsaw talked about this city being in the 'Pride Ring,' or something, but that's all I caught."
"You don't really think this place is Hell, don't you?" John theorized.
"John, I'm just about the farthest thing from some Bible-thumping religious nut like that Anderson prick," Revy informed. "We're born from nothing, go about our lives as nothing, and die nothing. That's all there is."
"Then I suppose you can explain all... all of this?" Baba Yaga inquired, motioning his hand to his and Revy's surroundings.
"Some kinda drug-induced hallucination we're sharing somehow? I don't fucking know," the gunslinger irritably admitted. "You and I live in a world where we have drills conducted for whenever a giant lizard throws a shit fit in the middle of a city. It's not implausible."
"And yet the very thought of an afterlife existing is where you draw the line?" John countered.
"Let me tell you something," Revy, now obviously growing irritated, responded as she ceased her stride, John doing the same. "If there really is some bearded idiot sitting on a cloud up there, getting high off of his hypocritical sheep kissing his ass, and preaching his bullshit teachings of 'love' and 'forgiveness' and 'glory' while most of 'em go about touching little boys and girls, how come he's never there for people like us no matter how many times we beg him to make things okay? Be it when a little girl scrounged through New York without a roof on her head, left there to die by her own father, then beaten and raped by one of Manhattan's boys in blue... or when a man's forced to watch his wife wither, suffer, and die before his eyes?"
Hearing that caused John's head to sharply turn towards Revy, who simply glowered at him with a blank slate on her face before continuing. "Yeah, I know about Helen. Word travels fast when you have Hotel Moscow regularly signing your paychecks. So tell me, John, were you that man who prayed to God, hoping he'd make your wife's pain go away?"
The excommunicado assassin fell silent for a few seconds, thinking back to those horrid nights he could do nothing but watch as Helen lay in a hospital bed, dying a slow and painful death after they had been married for only five years.
"...Yeah," he admitted.
"So you were foolish enough to think that bastard was listening to you?" Revy concluded.
"...No," John answered.
Clearly, that wasn't the answer Revy was expecting, as evidenced by her raising an eyebrow in confusion. "...No?" she repeated. "Then why fuckin' bother in the first place?"
"...Maybe I was wrong," John answered.
"Oh, now I see," Revy responded. "Just a last-ditch effort after the doctors couldn't do shit. But that's how it is. We have to find out the hard way there's no one up there listening to us... That, or he just doesn't give a damn. And if that's the case... I would just love to get my hands on him."
John was about to continue this conversation when he noticed something up above the roof of one of the buildings. A glistening of a suit of armor worn by a man who watched them the entire time. In response, he quickly pulled out his pistol and started shooting at the stranger, who quickly evaded the bullets and hid behind a satellite dish.
"About goddamn time!" Revy cheered as she pulled out her own guns. "Was starting to get bored!"
She too began to fire upon the stranger, only for him to propel himself upwards with a jetpack strapped to his back, much to both John and Revy's surprise. While in mid-air, he pulled out a pair of pistols of his own and shot at the pair of killers, his more advanced weaponry firing laser bolts instead of bullets.
"The fuck?!" Revy exclaimed as she and John sprinted out of the man's line of fire.
In her desperation to avoid this mystery man's offensive, Revy nearly failed to notice a second figure lunging from the shadows to try and tackle her to the ground. The newcomer, a woman with green scales for skin, a grey mohawk, eyes that were now completely yellow, and bone-like fangs for teeth, managed to swipe Revy's Cutlasses out of her hands. John, seeing Revy's predicament, opened fire on the woman, forcing her to draw back and allowing Revy to rejoin him, just as the one who first ambushed the two of them landed beside the woman, who grinned deviously with her fangs showing.
"So... You're the one they call 'Baba Yaga,'" the man said to John.
"You know me?" John questioned.
"You're practically a legend down here, John," the man explained. "Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if you sent half of Hell's population down here. And all of them have been counting the days til they could finally see you again."
"Uh, hey, you do know I'm standing next to him, right?" a slightly ired Revy pointed out, noticing her attackers almost didn't even acknowledge her presence.
"And you are?" the woman asked in an uninterested manner.
"Wha-Revy?! Two Hands?! Any of that ringing a bell to either of you?" Revy boasted.
"'Fraid I can't say it does," the woman answered, mocking the gunslinger with a toothy smirk.
"Oh, you're gonna make for a damn good purse when I'm done with your scaley ass!" Revy, her ego taking a major blow, shouted.
Before either party could escalate things any further, Wick placed a hand in front of Revy to silently tell her to knock it off before he continued the conversation. "You know me, but... I don't know you."
"Jango Fett," the armored man introduced. "I was a bounty hunter where I came from." Afterward, he pointed towards a burn mark that encompassed his entire neck, suggesting his head was chopped clean off before being cast down to the infernal pit. "Was just trying to make my way in the universe til I was struck down by a Jedi on Geonosis."
"Figured he'd start over down here," the woman continued. "Joined up with Hell's bounty hunters guild and took me in as 'is new partner."
"Yeah? Then what's your deal, guv'nor?" Revy sneered, mocking the woman's thick accent as she did so.
"Name's Tock, love," she answered. "And all you and Mr. Wick need to know about me is that Fett and I are gonna drag your sorry asses back to Lucifer an' be set for life."
"So he's set a price for us, I presume?" John concluded.
"666 million souls, to be precise," Tock answered. "And, on top of that, immunity in the next Extermination."
"Extermination?" Revy repeated. "The hell is-?"
"Ah, you can worry 'bout that once you're dead, love," Tock interrupted. "Same reward for the rest of your cronies, case you were wonderin'. Well, 'sides of the ones who ended up in Calypso's arena that is."
"And trust me, there's quite a few people here in the city who want a shot at that reward... and a little bit of payback to go with it," Jango continued as he reached for his holstered pistols. "Now, there's only one matter left to attend to. Tock and I can bring you in warm... or we can bring you in cold. Which will it b-?"
Suddenly, John raised his own weapon with such speed that Jango had no time to react before he fired a shot, the bullet bouncing off his helmet as his focus was thrown off slightly. "Revy, run!" he advised as he ran towards a nearby alleyway and fired upon a surprised Tock, who quickly pulled out a pair of swords to slice the bullets in half.
Revy heeded the assassin's words and dashed towards him, grabbing her Cutlasses from the ground before firing a few shots at the duo of assassins. Jango quickly returned fire as he took to the skies while his partner gave chase on foot. The duo of gunslingers quickly ran into the dingy alleyways of Hell in an attempt to lose them, but Jango was easily able to spot the two of them and took aim. Just as he was about to fire, however, a laserbolt shot by him, grazing the side of his helmet. Stunned, he turned towards the source, easily able to spot a familiar-looking figure on the rooftops before one of his pistols was shot out of his hand thanks to the figure's sniper rifle. Knowing that he couldn't retaliate in time before his head was blown off, the bounty hunter elected to make a hasty retreat before his attacker could make good on that.
Back down on the ground, Tock continued on her own search for her bounty, her Faunus eyesight giving her an advantage over them as she traversed the dark alleys, grinning deviously when she finally spotted them. But right before she could lunge at them, an armor-clad figure jumped out from her left, delivering a harsh kick that instantly sent the crocodile-Faunus flying into a brick wall. Snarling with irritation, Tock grabbed her swords once more and was about to return the favor... only for her to stop dead in her tracks. Her look of fury quickly fading to one of terror, she quickly turned around and fled from the stranger, who didn't give chase. For she wasn't the reason he was here.
Not trusting their 'savior,' Revy and Wick both brandished their pistols, ready to pump him full of holes if he tried anything. "So... the rumors were true..." the figure said in a deep voice, not even bothering to turn around to face them. "Rebecca Lee and John Wick have found their way into the depths of Hell."
"Well, nice to finally get some damn respect around here," Revy responded, she and John not lowering their guns even an inch. "Still, don't be expecting a 'thank you' for that any time soon."
"And you would be foolish to assume my actions were an act of generosity, especially given where we are," the stranger retorted.
"If that's the case, why did you save us?" John questioned.
"Because the living do not belong among the damned, much as the dead do not belong among the living," he answered.
"And he has a proposition that would benefit all of us," another voice said from behind.
John was the one who elected to face this newcomer while Revy kept her focus on the man that stood before her. What John's eyes were greeted by was the same figure who ambushed Jango earlier: A woman clad in a light shade of purple with a headpiece that held a pair of goggles and had a cloth facemask that covered the lower half of her face. Said face, John gathered, was green while her eyes were completely yellow.
"And you are?" the former Continental assassin inquired.
"Zam Wesell," the man behind him answered for her. "Someone who wishes to get even with Fett and his new accomplice."
"So, what kinda deal are you talking about, stranger?" Revy demanded.
"It is unwise to discuss them here," the man answered. "Follow us, and we will explain everything."
"Okay, and who the fuck are you, anyway?" the female gunslinger asked.
The man didn't answer her right away. Rather, he brought up something he had been holding in his hands the entire time: A helmet. Once he put it on, three horns, one on each side of his head and one growing out of his forehead, slipped through three holes drilled into the helmet to complete his look. Only then did he finally turn around, causing Revy's eyes to widen when she finally realized who she was speaking to.
"John, you need to see this," she stated.
Wick obliged, turning to face the stranger who had saved his and his ally's lives. And although his face remained neutral, inside, he was just as surprised as Revy was to uncover the man's identity.
"...Oroku Saki," he finally said.
"I see Balalika and Winston had educated both of you well. A smart move on their part," the deceased leader of the Foot Clan responded. "But I would prefer you address me as the title that once struck fear in the hearts of an entire city... The Shredder."
"Well, ain't this just peachy fucking keen!" Ash irritably shouted. "Normally, I'd be all nice and cozy in my trailer, cold one in my hand, Lions playing on the TV, you know, just a day in the life of the former chosen one! Not bothering anybody! But noooooooo. That spikey-headed freak had to literally drag me to Hell with a bunch of bozos to go get our asses handed to us by the Devil himself, and now I'm stuck in the middle of fuck-all nowhere with some living jack-o-lantern and-!"
"Do you EVER shut your mouth, Williams?!" Scorpion angrily interrupted, flames peeking out of his mask as he did so.
The sight of said flames was miraculously able to silence the Deadite Slayer for once. Now that he had some peace and quiet, Hanzo could better assess his and Ash's surroundings. They seemed to have almost been transported to a demonic Medieval kingdom. Complete with pathways that seemed to be made of cobblestone rather than brimstone, several statues of various demonic beings, and a castle off in the distance.
Everything pieced together quickly for the revenant. "The Makai," he said to himself.
"The Ma-whatsit?" Ash asked.
"If you've studied the Necronomicon as thoroughly as you claim to have, you should be familiar with where we've ended up," Scorpion explained.
"Oh, well, excuse me, toasty pants," Ash countered. "I tended to get jumped on by Deadites most of the time, so you'll have to forgive me if I've spent more time looking up-!"
"Well, well," the voice of a Scottish female suddenly interjected, causing the two to cease their argument. "What do we have here?"
Both Ash and Scorpion turned around to see a green-haired woman with bat wings on her back and the sides of her head. She was donned in hot-pink tights and a sleeveless black leotard with feathered trims that showed off her cleavage, a detail that, naturally, got Ash's full attention.
"Whoa!" he chimed in before giving her a smirk to try and woo her. "Hi there. How you doin'?"
This, of course, didn't work in his favor, as she was mostly focused on Scorpion. She was levitating to his eye level and had her fist against her cheek in an almost curious manner. The former Shirai Ryu though stared back at her blankly, not impressed by her charm, though he certainly knew exactly who had intruded on his and the Deadite slayer's mission.
"Morrigan Aensland, I presume?" he finally said.
"Indeed," the Succubus confirmed as she began to float in circles around the ninja. "And you... are a most peculiar sight to behold. The Makai's a bit far away from the Netherrealm, wouldn't you say, revenant?"
"You know I'm standing right here, babe," Ash reminded coyly, still trying in vain to charm Morrigan.
At this point, she ceased circling Scorpion so she could briefly focus on the S-Mart employee. "Oh, are you now?" she asked with a hint of mockery. "Forgive me, mortal, but I didn't even notice you there."
Feeling his ego taking a blow, only then did Ash hold his tongue as Morrigan turned her attention back to Scorpion. "So, what exactly is it that brings you here? Attending to business? Seeking pleasure?"
"We did not come here by choice," Scorpion answered. "And I do not have time for your games, Succubus. Point us to Pentagram City, and we will leave you be."
Suddenly, Morrigan swiftly positioned herself right in front of the Shirai Ryu, gazing into his fiery hues. "And what if I do not wish to let you leave?" she challenged, placing a hand onto Hanzo's cheek, the latter growing more and more irritated by this delay in his mission. "I can feel the fires of desire in your soul..."
"Not for you, creature," Hanzo denied, grabbing her hand and forcing it off him. "For vengeance."
"Oh? Well, that's certainly unfortunate," Morrigan responded, following with a playful giggle as she backed away from the yellow-clad ninja. "You know, you're starting to remind me of another spirit of vengeance I had crossed paths with from another multiverse entirely once. Just like now, revenant, in spite of our shared passion and... wonderful bone structure, I suppose it wasn't meant to-"
"The way out, Aensland," Scorpion interrupted. "Now."
"*sigh* Alright, fine, have it your way," the Darkstalker relented. "But... I'm afraid leaving here will be much more difficult than you'd think."
"Yeah, well, I'm used to 'it's not that simple,' at this rate, hot stuff," Ash stated. "So, what's the catch?"
"Since the last Extermination, some of the denizens outside of the Makai have grown... ambitious, to say the least," Morrigan explained. "They've been expanding out to the furthest regions of Hell to try and make a new home out of ours, thinking that might spare them from the Exorcists' wrath. Of course, we're not exactly too keen on outsiders trying to break into our domain, but they don't take 'no' for an answer. They were a fun little distraction at first, but now they've become irksome as of late. Even worse, they've all elected to unite under one banner, strengthening their numbers tenfold. So, why don't the three of us make a deal?"
"We're all ears," Ash answered.
"I will grant the two of you safe passage back to Pentagram City, provided that you assist me in killing the leader of this band of the damned," Morrigan offered.
"If that is what it will take for us to continue our task and for you to stay out of our way, then so be it," Scorpion relented. "Who is it that you seek to slay?"
"He once went by the name Colonel Joe Moore," the Succubus informed. "But he and his cult of followers prefer he goes by another name... Immortan Joe."
"In case any of you fuckwits haven't been paying attention, the bounty for the eight still at large for attempting to murder our Lord Lucifer has been revealed to a staggering 666 million souls," Katie Killjoy stated from the televisions that were on sale at an electronics shop, multiple denizens having crowded to it. "Any lucky sinner or hellborn looking to stuff their wallets and set themselves for life is free game, so long as their corpses are dropped off at the gates of the Morningstar Palace. Of course, unless your dumb ass dozed off in the middle of our newscast, you'd know that two of them, Raven Branwen and Akame, are now being held captive inside Calypso's gladiatorial arena and are scheduled to be executed by his new champion in the next hour. Anyone too much of a pussy to go after the other eight are more than welcome to watch or even attend the televised event, sponsored by none other than VoxTech, which, of course, we're contractually obligated to mention only every two minutes!"
As the broadcast continued, one hooded figure slowly backed away from the entranced crowd, cautiously looking around as they made their way to an alleyway. Upon being assured no one followed them, the figure pulled the hood down to reveal none other than Aisha, who approached Anderson as he stood almost blankly in the middle of the alleyway.
"Okay, here's what I've gathered," she began. "We're somewhere in the middle of a place called Imp City. We're still in the Pride Ring, just in what I'm guessing are the slums of this place. But we need to get moving and find the others quickly. There's a bounty on all our heads, and a lot of people are looking to collect it."
Much to her frustration, Anderson said nothing. Rather, he continued to have a blank expression on his face, contrary to his normal grin of arrogance. Unknown to the Ctarl-Ctarl, a lot was on the priest's mind, and all of it had to do with what he witnessed in Lucifer's palace. Surely, the lord of lies was playing a trick on him, right? The Catholic Church seeing to the birth of the Antichrist? Pure fantasy... At least, that's what he wants to believe, but after being forced to confront all the sins his church was guilty of and all the cover-ups he had to do to ensure Christ's name was not tainted, he came to an impasse.
He wasn't sure what to believe anymore.
Unfortunately, given his inability to talk this only made Aisha more irritated with him. "Hello? Terran?! I'm talking to you!" she shouted. "Speak!"
Silence was all she was answered with.
"Ugh! Fine, just stay close and don't wander off!" she relented, motioning Anderson to follow her. "I might've seen my fair share of bastards in the galaxy, but there's no telling who or what's gonna be after our hides for that bounty."
Meanwhile, at IMP...
"Sir, I can't stress enough how this is a terrible idea!" Moxxie pleaded as Blitzo happily stuffed a duffel bag full of various guns and explosives inside their office for the two of them, plus Millie and Loona. "Trying to claim that bounty isn't going to get us rich, it's going to get us killed! Not only are our targets metahumans, but every denizen of Hell is going to want to go after them too!"
"Yeah? Well, that's all the more reason we need to get going, Mox!" Blitzo countered with a smile, much to his employee's chagrin. "We're gonna be practically bukkaked by souls!... Well, not really, in that sense, but hey, I'm willing to try anything."
"But we still have clients waiting for us!" Moxxie argued. "We can't just close up shop early now anyway!"
"Well, go take care of some of them! I'm busy," his boss requested as he continued to try and stuff a bazooka into the bag. "Millie, Loony, we're leaving in five!"
"But... Ugh, fine," Moxxie grumbled as he made his way to the waiting room.
"Swallowed up by a Florpus... not how I expected to go," a dejected Tallest Red said to himself as he sat next to his fellow Irken leader in IMP's waiting room.
"Right? And really? What'd we do to end up in Hell?! I mean, seriously?!" Tallest Purple asked. "...Well, okay, maybe the whole mass genocide thing, but I'm pretty sure most of 'em had it coming!"
As he continued to ramble on, Moxxie walked out of the door to the meeting room and grabbed a list from the front desk, grumbling a few not-so-nice words about his boss. "Okay, uh, let's see here... the 'Almighty Tallest?'" he called out.
Just hearing the sound of the Imp's voice was enough for Tallest Red's eye to start twitching slightly as memories of who was, in some way, responsible for his demise came flooding back to him. Then, suddenly, he jumped out of his chair and grabbed a surprised Moxxie by the throat.
"WHY YOU LITTLE-!" he shouted as he strangled the struggling Imp against the wall.
"Hey, kid, wake up!" Akame heard as she slowly began to regain consciousness.
The assassin of Night Raid could make out that Raven was the one trying to get her to awaken, and her blood-red eyes confirmed her theory the instant they opened. Almost immediately she began to observe her surroundings, noticing that Murasame was still latched into her hilt. Odd, considering to her right was a heavily armed gate of some kind, leading her to suspect that the two swordswomen were in a prison cell of some kind. It made no sense to her as to why she wouldn't have been disarmed.
Then she noticed that, to her left, was a plethora of weapons mounted onto the wall. Swords, knives, axes, and even guns and grenades. Perhaps this was an armory of some kind? But why here instead of a cell or even a torture chamber? After all, this was Hell she found herself in, and she, Raven, and eight others just tried to assassinate its ruler. So, the punishment would fit the crime.
As she began to get back onto her feet, she turned to the chieftess of the Branwen Tribe, thinking maybe she knew something she didn't. "Where are we?" she asked.
"Don't know," Raven answered. "But something tells me you and I are about to be in the fight of our lives."
"What makes you think that?" Akame questioned.
Suddenly, the sounds of several demons chanting bled through the iron gate and into the room.
RIP AND TEAR THEIR BONES AND BLOOD!
RIP AND TEAR THEIR BONES AND BLOOD!
RIP AND TEAR, FIGHT TO THE DEATH!
RIP AND TEAR, FIGHT TO THE DEATH!
RIP AND TEAR THEIR BONES AND BLOOD!
RIP AND TEAR THEIR BONES AND BLOOD!
TO THE DEATH, NO SURRENDER!
TO THE DEATH, NO SURRENDER!
"...Call it a hunch," Raven bluntly answered.
"Your hunch would be correct," a man's voice suddenly interrupted.
Hearing this stranger and not wishing to take any chances, Akame reached for Murasame's hilt as she turned towards the source. Her eyes were greeted by a man facing the wall, donning a suit of white armor with red highlights.
"Who is he?" the swordswoman asked her ally.
"Don't know," Raven answered. "He was in here with us when I came to."
"Perhaps you'd know where we are, then?" Akame suggested to the stranger.
"Hell's gladiatorial arena," he answered as he placed a gauntlet into his right hand. "Run by some freak named Calypso when he's not hosting his usual demolition derbies. Lucifer usually sends criminals like us down here to be executed by the arena's champion. That is if the Beast doesn't devour them whole first."
"And how did you come to be here?" Raven asked.
"Busted out a few war buddies of mine," the man answered while slipping his left foot through a white-clad boot. "None of them even deserved to be here, far as I'm concerned. But the man upstairs doesn't take too kindly to anyone crafted by hands that weren't his own. Crafted in an image that's not his. And laying the groundwork for an Empire to wreak havoc across the galaxy? Well, their chances of seeing the pearly gates with their own eyes were next to zero. Even if they were deceived into it... stripped of their free will behind their backs the moment they were born. Hell, I'm almost lucky I never lived long enough to help burn the Republic to cinders... Can't say the same for the rest of my squad, though."
He then put on the final piece of his outfit: A helmet that covered his face. "'Least Calypso values a good show over whatever Hell claims to be justice, so we're good on weapons. Bastard even went as far as to snatch my old armor, as you can see." As he said that, he grabbed onto what appeared to be a futuristic sniper rifle. "You two should do the same. Best shot at surviving."
"Who are you, anyway?" Akame questioned, suspicious over whether or not to trust this damned soul.
He said nothing at first. Rather, he simply turned to the women in silence, allowing them a good look at the red-clad Clone Commando helmet he had placed over his head.
"Call me Sev," he finally answered.
Heeding Sev's advice, Raven advanced to the armory, analyzing the various weapons on display. She had utilized most of her dust blades in her duel against Vader and used the rest when she vainly tried to bring down Lucifer, so she was in need of a new blade to bring into this impending confrontation.
"You should find something for yourself while you're at it," the chieftess said to Akame as she grabbed a pair of katanas and carefully analyzed the blades. "Gods know what's going to be beyond that door."
"I'll be fine," the swordswoman answered, unsheathing her own weapon as she did so. "Murasame is all I need."
"You seem to be plenty used to this kinda stuff for someone so young," Raven pointed out as she sheathed one of the swords whilst holding onto the other. "Then again, that pin-headed freak said you were already damned to rot here at seventeen, eighteen, maybe nineteen at most. What is your story anyway, kid?"
"Yeah," Sev agreed. "Not every day you run into someone so young down here."
"You could say that I've carried quite the burden on my shoulders. One that cemented my place among the damned when my time comes," Akame began. "I was born into a cruel world. One controlled by a tyrannical Empire with an iron fist. I know this because I saw this Empire for what it truly was... from the inside.
"Since my sister and I were children, we committed many heinous acts for our Empire. Our minds were impressionable, so, naturally, it was easy for them to sway us to their cause. Deceive us into believing that they were in the right to oppress our people. Because of that, I had killed so many innocent people for them. Even... Even someone I... cared for greatly."
Memories of the assassin being forced to prove her loyalty to the Empire by bringing a woman named Martha's head back to Gozuki flooded her mind. She struggled to continue amidst her remorse but pressured herself to keep talking.
"This seemingly endless cycle continued until I met Najenda. She had helped me open my eyes and see the callous, fascistic government I had fought for what it was. She had swayed me into defecting and joining her group of assassins... but I wasn't able to save my younger sister. With myself gone, the Empire was free to continue poisoning her mind until a monster took her place. Until she wanted nothing more than to exact her revenge for me leaving her behind."
"Sibling rivalries. Can relate," Raven muttered as she recalled her fractured relationship with Qrow before speaking up. "Probably for the best, anyway. Attachments are for the weak, kid. They'll only bring you down."
Hearing this caused Akame to turn to the thief queen, her blood-red hues delivering an icy glare right into her soul. "It's because of the people I care for that I'm even still alive," she countered. "You might think the bond I share with the rest of Night Raid is a weakness, but you're wrong. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's my greatest strength. They've given me purpose. They are the reason I continue to fight for those who cannot. Pride? Arrogance? Those are the true mantras of the weak."
"Hmph, you keep telling yourself that," Raven harshly retaliated.
"Who are you really trying to fool here?" Akame pondered as she continued to glare at the older woman before her. "Me... or you?"
Raven opened her mouth to continue this argument going, but couldn't muster the words. A sign that, perhaps, she couldn't find a strong argument to challenge the young assassin's words. Not unlikely, given the facade she had always given others of a strong, fierce survivor crumbled by the second after her daughter called out the lie she projected for so many years. Her encounters with Vader, the Lead Cenobite, and Lucifer only caused it to fall apart faster and faster.
"She's got a point, you know," Sev chimed in. "I was like you once. When we were first deployed on Geonosis, I was every bit as brash and stubborn as you. Thought I could win the whole war by myself. But the moment 38 led us to victory when I watched as Sun Fac was blown out of the sky, I knew just how wrong I was. Sure, Boss, Scorch, Fixer, we might've had our squabbles here and there, but... they were the only ones I could consider brothers. Even with tens of millions of Clones that looked just like me, fighting together in the Grand Army of the Republic, it was only those three I shared that bond with. And they were the finest damn soldiers I ever knew. I'd have probably ended up here the second the Clone Wars started if it weren't for them keeping me in line."
"Grrgh! I don't need to listen to any of this shit!" Raven attempted to declare, but her eyes told all. She just wanted out of this struggle she knew she wasn't going to win. "Sev, was it? You know about this place better than either of us. What are we dealing with here anyway?"
"Here's the deal," Sev began. "Any minute now, those doors are gonna open and we're gonna confront Calypso's champion. They're probably gonna be tough, but they're not invincible like he wants you to think. I saw that with the previous champion not long before I ended up here. And let me tell you, I knew him even when he was alive. Watched him slaughter many Jedi and Clones during the Wars. So you better believe it was really damn satisfying watching him get humiliated and bite the dust." [1]
"Well, that's a relief," Raven acknowledged. "And how did they accomplish that?"
"Easy. They worked as a team," the Commando answered before tossing the two women a set of comlinks. "We do the same and we should have no problem taking their new champion down."
"...What is this?" Akame blankly questioned.
"Wha... You never seen a comlink before?" a dumbfounded Sev asked.
"What's a comlink?" the One-Cut Killer questioned.
Her newfound ally groaned a bit before answering. "You talk into it, and the three of us can hear each other no matter where we are. Think like what some of the people down here call a 'phone.'"
"...What's a phone?" Akame asked.
"...Oh, by the Force," a now slightly irritated Sev muttered. "Just speak into the damn thing to talk to us."
"...Okay," was all Akame said, much to Sev's further frustration.
"And I thought Scorch could be hard to work with," he admitted.
"What now?" Akame asked.
No sooner had she said that did the doors behind her and Raven slowly began to open, the sounds of various sinners cheering growing louder and louder the higher the doors rose. Sev responded by holding his sniper rifle up high before answering the One-Cut Killer.
"We fight like hell."
Meanwhile, two guards slumped against the wall of an empty area, one dead from having his head sliced vertically in half while the other had burnt holes on both his chest and forehead, the roars of the crowd echoing through the halls. The two damned souls responsible stood atop their bodies, having slain them just seconds ago. One was a short-haired woman with light-blue eyes, while the other was a Clone Commando like Sev, though his highlights were primarily yellow. The Clone looked in all directions, checking to make sure no one saw or heard the two of them.
"Looks like we're in the clear, Vernal," he commented. "Crowd must've drowned out the scuffle. Man, they are at it like it's Boonta Eve on Mos Espa."
"Lucky us," the woman named Vernal dryly replied. "Especially since stealth isn't your strong suit, Scorch."
"Hey, we've been over this," the Commando, Scorch, defended. "I'm the guy you send in when you need something to go 'boom!' Speaking of which..." He then pulled out a detonator and propped it against the wall, beginning to set the charges up. "Keep a lookout while I'm busy here."
"Make it quick," Vernal requested as she looked down at a watch on her wrist. "The event is supposed to start in five minutes. We need to get everything ready before it begins."
"Look, I'm not used to working with Carmilla's detonators, so keep your space pants on why don't you?" a slightly irritated Scorch responded before shifting his focus back on charging the explosive. "...Now, was it green, red, green or red, green, red?"
Annoyed and impatient, the Maiden decoy couldn't stop herself from burying her face in her open palm. Irritation gave way to concern, though, the moment she sensed something with her semblance. Hearing the sounds of footsteps from afar, she detected that a pair of guards were approaching the hallway she and the Clone were busy sabotaging the arena.
"Damnit, we've got company!" she sharply whispered to Scorch.
"Uh-oh," Scorch replied before checking on the explosive. "Too far in, can't pull it out now!"
"Hide then, quickly!" Vernal urged.
The Clone Commando complied, quickly running into a dimly lit corner and hiding behind a support beam with Vernal. True to her detections, two security guards were making their rounds and casually walked down the hallway. One of them stopped upon seeing the charge attached to the wall.
"Hey, come look at this!" he called out to his fellow guard who just walked by without noticing anything wrong.
Realizing their cover might be blown, Scorch pulled out his DC-15 and watched as the second guard caught up with the first. "The fuck is this?" he asked, motioning towards the wall the explosive was propped onto as he did so.
"That's it, just keep your eyes on the charge..." Scorch whispered to himself.
However, before he could attempt to ambush the guards, the second one suddenly plastered something over the charge. It was a poster for VoxTech's 'upcoming' anti-Angel defensive products. This prompted the Clone Commando and the decoy Spring Maiden to reel back to their hiding spots, an absolutely dumbfounded look on the latter's face.
"How the hell did we miss that spot?" the second guard asked as he and the first resumed their patrol. "Boss wanted one every five yards, and-"
"There is no fucking way that just happened," was all Vernal could say as the two were out of their hearing range.
"Wow, security here's just as dumb as the clankers'," Scorch commented before pulling out a comlink. "Scorch here, charges are all set. Sheele, you and Bulat in position?"
"We are," a hooded Sheele answered from within the stands as she and an also hooded Bulat observed the arena just as the doors began to open. "It looks like the event's about to start."
"Any sign of them?" Vernal asked from the other side.
"Yep, looks like Vox wasn't lying," Bulat confirmed as he watched the three captives walk into the arena. "That's definitely Akame, and I take it that's Raven and Sev with them."
"Alright, everyone, stay put and wait for my signal," Scorch instructed. "We only get one shot at this."
"Just remember your part of the bargain," a fifth voice suddenly interrupted.
"Look, don't worry, you scratch our backs, we scratch yours," Scorch assured. "You help us get our friends out of here, we help you get even with Calypso's champion."
"For your sake, Clone, you had better make good on that promise," the mystery ally sneered, anger rising in her voice at the thought of said champion. "That traitor took everything from me, and if it's the last thing I do... I will soak this entire arena in his blood!"
It took all of a half-hour for all six of the other lords of hell to fully mobilize. All rings of the infernal realm went into lockdown. No demon was allowed to cross into another ring until all ten of the now-displaced assassins were dead. The legions of sins were mobilized as whispers of war flowed through the streets like a river that had broken free from a dam. However, while some of the Hell lords were busy trying to keep control of the situation and be ready to unleash their armies, several had gone to Lucifer's side to aid their lord in his time of need. Those in particular were Bee-lzebub, Asmodeus, and Mammon. Granted, the deadly sins weren't on good terms with one another, but they were willing to put aside their differences for the sake of their lord and brother-in-arms.
So, they gathered at the palace, which had now doubled its guards and had broken out stronger weaponry. The trio of Hell lords were allowed inside the palace before being escorted to Lucifer's throne room. There they found their lord sitting on his throne, wincing in pain as a doctor, or what could pass as a doctor in Hell, tending to his wounds. For the three sins, it was an upsetting sight to see for them. The last time they had seen the king of hell wounded was during the rebellion against heaven.
"Ow! Okay, stop! Fucking stop!" Lucifer shouted at the doctor before shoving him away from his person. "Jesus, do you even know how to make a proper stitch?"
"If I did, you think I would've gotten hit with so many medical malpractice lawsuits?" the doctor shrugged before walking away. "Fucking whiner, I swear..."
As the doctor exited the throne room, the lord of the abyss finally noticed that the sins were in the room. "Oh, hey guys, come on in," he beckoned as he gestured for them to come closer. "You like what I've done with the place? I needed to feng shui the room, so I had some uninvited guests come over and put a fresh coat of blood all over the place. If you noticed, you came to see a bit of mine is mixed in too."
"Holy shit..." Mammon gasped as the three sins moved further into the room. "How the fuck did this even happen, Luci?"
"Oh, well, y'a know, Mams, sometimes you just gotta socialize with the outside world. So I let some very nice people into my-What the fuck do think happened?!" Lucifer snarled. "Someone snuck a group of some of the most dangerous killers that aren't down here to try and fucking kill me!"
"Yeah, we figured that part out already, brother," Asmodeus answered. "And we could do without the snark."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ozzie. It's just that I tend to get a little tense when I'm absolutely livid!" the devil snapped back. "I mean, I was only nearly killed in my own house while you guys did jack shit to help!"
The sins glowered back at their lord, who in turn let out a sigh of defeat. The last he needed was to turn his closest allies, the very few people he loved like his own family, against him when he needed them most.
"I... I'm sorry, my brothers," he apologized in a small voice. "That wasn't fair to you."
"Hmph, fucking right, you're sorry," Mammon grumbled before getting elbowed in the side by Oz.
Bee-lzebub then went over to her master's side to closer examine the wounds he had received from the assassination attempt as well as the hack job the doctor had tried to mend it. Out of all the sins, Bee had known Lucifer the longest. During the war with Heaven, Bee-lzebub was his second in command and closest confidant outside of Lilith. If the lord of flies was being honest, she was secretly happy that the assassins had attacked the palace, if only it was an excuse to see her brother again. After Lilith had vanished from Hell, Lucifer had become a recluse in his palace, hardly speaking to the other sins. The queen of gluttony had tried to reach out to her brother several times, only to be pushed away again and again.
"Those stitches need to be redone before the wound gets infected," she observed. "I think I can properly mend it before that happens."
"Not the first time you've had to patch me up, huh, sis?" Lucifer jested weakly. "Remember the battle of Zion?"
"I try not to," Bee chuckled before getting to work.
"So, can you identify who attacked you, Luci?" Oz questioned.
"Yeah, all ten of 'em," Lucifer confirmed as Bee started to work on him. "Darth Vader, Revy, John Wick, Aisha Clan-Clan, Ash Williams, Alexander Anderson, Raven Branwen, Akame, Sasha Waybright, and Hanzo Hasahi."
The other sins were stunned by the names that were being listed off by their master. Any one of those killers is dangerous enough, but to have ten of them together? That was more than enough to put some fear into them.
"Wait, did you say Hasahi was among them?" Oz pointed out. "Well, now we know who's behind the hit."
"What do you mean, Ozzie?" Bee questions.
"If that Ghost Rider wannabe was one of the assassins, then it has to be that skeezy little shit bag of a wizard Quan-Chi pulling the strings," the lord of lust explained. "The Netherrealm has been the most aggressive out of any of the underworlds in trying to expand into our neighborhood. Figures he'd try something like this to try to hit us hard."
"Meh, I doubt it," Mammon brushed off. "Quan-Chi may be lord of the NetherRealm right now, but he wouldn't try shit like this without his big dick demon god daddy Shinnok in his corner to support him."
"Hate to say it, but Mammon's got a point, Oz," Lucifer grunted as Bee reworked his stitches. "Quan-Chi's arrogant, but he's not stupid."
"Maybe it was Jedah?" Bee-lzebub theorized. "He and the rest of those Darkstalker bastards could be gearing up for a big push and trying to kill you as the opening salvo?"
"If Jedah wanted to kill me, he'd do it himself," Lucifer refuted. "Besides, I don't think it was any of the other underworlds who's behind this."
"Then who else could it be?" Mammon questioned.
"The weapons those fuckers were packing were blessed, and the guns they had shot angelic bullets," the king of Hell answered. "Which means either A: Heaven wants to kick the extermination day into overdrive or B:-"
"Someone down here is behind this," the queen of excess finished, stunned at the theory.
The other sins didn't like the thought of some demon lord gunning for their king, but it was an entirely plausible scenario. It was no secret that many of the overlords were becoming dissatisfied with how Lucifer was running things in Hell as of late, and things only got worse with his daughter's hotel standing in the center of the city. It made some overlords become restless to the point where there were whispers that some of the lords were considering taking up arms against the king of Hell and putting the infernal pit back to normalcy, or at least as normal as Hell can be.
Obviously, the thought of civil war was a scary one among the sins, but on the other hand, they could see where the lords were coming from. Ever since Lilith had left Lucifer seven years ago, coupled with his estrangement from his daughter, who had further divided the denizens of Hell, the lord of lies was more concerned with being shut away in his home making rubber ducks than he was with ruling his people. And the only time he stepped outside was when he went to Townsville to pick fights with the Powerpuff Girls. So, it was easy to see that a very disgruntled lord would want to 'correct' the current state of things by both hiring and supplying assassins to kill the devil and take his place. But the question remained. Who would be crazy, or stupid, to do it?
It was then that Mammon noticed that Oz was glancing at him with suspicion in his eyes. This, of course, pissed off the king of greed.
"Got something to say, Ozzie?" he inquired sharply.
"I mean... out of all of us, you bitched the most about Charlie's hotel," the lord of lust began. "And it ain't like you're short on cash."
Mammon snarled at that remark as he lunged forward and got right in Asmodus's face, who stood his ground. "I don't know how that little clown imp Fizz is able to gargle balls that big!" he shouted in his face. "How dare you fucking accuse me of betraying our lord after EVERYTHING we've been through! I fought and bled in the war alongside the lot of you! I stood by Lucifer's side in that last stand against Michael's army, and you have the fucking audacity to accuse me of being a traitor?! FUCK YOU OZZIE!"
"Well, maybe you got tired of being a servant and wanted something more profitable?" Asmodeus shot back.
"Why you motherfucking-"
"Both of you shut the fuck up!" Lucifer's voice boomed.
The two sins instantly backed down upon their lord's command. It was moments like this that reminded them why Lucifer was the king of Hell. "I know none of you would pull a Judas on me," the lord of lies continued now in a calmer tone. "But I'm also not a moron. We need to investigate the overlords and see who might have the motive and means to get those fuckers down here. Start with the Ars Goetia. Those assholes have made it no secret about how they hate how I've been doing things lately."
"What about Charlie?" Bee suddenly chimed in.
Lucifer went rigid with shock before turning to his sister in arms.
"W-what?" he stammered.
"Yeah, I mean, if someone took a shot at you, they'd try to get at your kid too, right?" the queen of gluttony pointed.
Lucifer's eyes widened in shock as his whole body tensed up in fear. How could he forget Charlie? If someone wanted him dead, then they'd try to kill his daughter too, and he stupidly dumped the assassins throughout Hell. A Hell, that, if they managed to get through, could attack Charlie next.
"Jesus H. tap dancing motherfucking Christ!" he exclaimed as he shot up from his throne. "We need to go get Charlie now! Bee-lzebub, rally my legions! We need to-"
It was then that, mid-way through his frantic orders, Lucifer saw something that caught him so off-guard that he stopped talking altogether. Confused, the sins turned to see what their master was looking at and gasped upon seeing what, or rather, who, it was.
"Uh... hey, Dad," Charlie greeted with her friends standing behind her.
[1] - As shown in Angel Dust and Tom Lucitor's team-up