A/N: Sorry guys, it's been a really long time since I updated. What's it been... four months now? Jesus this took longer than I thought. It might take even longer to finish the story, because I've already finished the segments that actually are lifted from the Multiverse Of Madness film. Unfortunately, when I don't have that kind of template, I just... it takes a while for me to finish.
I was gonna have this be one chapter, but it ended up being over 70 pages on my doc, so just like with the Evil Dead Rise arc, this will also be split into two parts. I didn't think this would be that long, but it's based on the Evil Dead video game that came out a couple years ago. As expected, seeing as how Frank met a grown up Kassie at the end of the previous chapter, there will be plenty of returning characters from the entire Evil Dead franchise, including a few who didn't get the chance to show up in the game. Also, there wont' be a note at the end of this chapter, or the beginning of the next.
Without further adu, enjoy!
Frank and Kassie found a remote cabin within the woods, with a faint light flickering in a window. Odd, Frank thought. It reminded him of the cabin he, Strange, and America found… in the universe Mia was from…
"You coming?" Kassie suddenly asked, having walked up the porch and opened the door. However, she quickly felt a hand wrap around her throat and drag her back, causing Frank to pull out his gun.
"Hey!" Castle yelled, rushing into the cabin… and seeing a familiar woman in a red dress throw Hack to the floor. The black haired girl didn't stay down for long, and she quickly flipped back up to her feet, while pulling out her ka-bar.
"Come on." she growled. "Let's dance, bitch-"
"STAND DOWN!" Frank bellowed, causing both women to look at him. "Easy, Mia. She's a friend."
The woman in red softened her expression, recognizing the Punisher.
"Frank?" she frowned. "How'd you get here?"
"Long story." he grunted. "But I'll bet that's how we all got here."
"You got that right."
Frank turned towards the hall, seeing a young man in a light blue shirt walk towards them all.
"Williams?" Castle narrowed his eyes.
"You know me?" Ash Williams looked on in confusion.
"No, but I know you when you're older." Frank revealed. "The fuck's going on?"
"You're telling me." Mia groaned. "Constantine and I were training me on using my new hand- which can somehow turn into a chainsaw- when this weird portal thing opened up and sucked me in. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."
"You too?" Ash asked. "I was just trying to leave this cabin when that… that evil tried to take me, and I felt myself get pulled away just in time!"
Frank cursed under his breath, looking down.
"This is my fault." Frank muttered. "I disrupted whatever the Dark Ones were trying to do by cutting out pages from the Necronomicon, and now we're all here."
"Who?" Ash asked.
"The Dark Ones." Mia realized. "John mentioned that they were the authors of the book."
"Yeah." Castle growled. "We gotta find them, and end this-"
The front door was suddenly ripped open, and several deadites rushed in, screeching loudly.
"Shit!" Kassie yelled, while she and Frank brandished their weapons. "Get down!"
Hack and Castle quickly shot and stabbed at the possessed, dodging their deadly limbs. Kassie made a mistake of looking over to see who Frank was doing, and a deadite took advantage by tackling her to the floor.
"You can't stop us!" the deadite laughed, extending his putrid tongue. "We'll kill you, then your groupie slut aunt and her bastard child-"
The deadite was suddenly flung off, and Kassie looked up, seeing Mia had grabbed the demon by the shoulders and slammed him against the mantelpiece. That wasn't what got her attention though. No, both she and the deadite could see her flesh had taken a slightly palish-gray appearance, and her eyes… were now bloodshot with yellow irises.
"No… it can't be…" the deadite gasped, turning around and began to run away. He was stopped however, when Mia tripped it, sending the monster to the floor.
"You're supposed to be in the other world… serving the Taker…"
It tried to crawl away, but Mia grabbed its ankle and crushed the bones with her bare hands, before dragging it along the floor.
"Come here… I've got a secret…" Mia said in a demonic voice. The deadite screeched in frustration, as Mia threw it across the other side of the room, then proceeded to rush over to it and place her hands in its mouth on either ends of its jaws.
"You call yourselves evil?" she cackled. The deadite widened its eyes, just before Mia pulled its skull right off its body, painting the walls with its blood.
The woman in red grinned, turning around… and saw Frank pointing his gun at her. The sight made her frown, realizing what he was thinking.
"Easy Frank. It's me."
"That right?" Frank asked. "I thought Constantine cut you out."
"He did… sort of."
Mia's eyes dilated slightly, and Frank watched, as her irises returned to normal.
"But we found out there will always be a piece of the demon inside me." she explained. "So instead, John taught me how to control it… by thinking of the people I love the most."
Frank kept his gun on her, so she leaned forward, resting her forehead against the barrel.
"Go ahead and pull the trigger if you don't believe me. But I assure you, I'm still the Mia that you and Strange met."
Castle kept the gun on her, though loosened the trigger. He looked in her eyes, seeing them flicker gold once more, before retaining their regular color.
Frank sighed, lowering his gun, just as they all heard a demonic laughter coming from the floor. They all looked down, seeing a cellar door, which was chained shut, but was dangerously trying to bang open.
"We… live… still!"
The four humans cautiously approached the door, as it opened partially, revealing an old, decrepit deadite wearing a torn blue dress.
"What the fuck is that?" Ash asked in alarm.
"We are what once were and shall be again!" the deadite cackled. "Everyone here will die by dawn! Dead by dawn, dead by dawn!"
Kassie's eyes widened, and a chill went down her spine. Those words… the same ones the demon possessing her mother had said… coupled with the deadite threatening to kill her aunt and cousin…
Hack turned around and bolted out of the cabin, just as Frank looked at her.
"Kassie wait!"
Music: "Evil Dead The Game Main Title"
Ash and Beth slowly walked through the forest, with Williams flexing his fake hand. Beth meanwhile fidgeted with her chainsaw, before they all heard a high pitched screech.
"Sounds like another deadite asshole." Ash guessed. "Wanna make it a threesome?"
"Gross." Beth wrinkled her nose in disgust, but began to jog in the direction of the noise. Ash simply shrugged, before heading after her, as the deadite's animalistic growls became louder. Another voice joined in though, one that made him pause.
"God dammit, why won't you assholes just leave me alone?!"
Williams raised his eyebrows. That was his voice, yet he sounded… younger…
Ash felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, as he finally caught up with Beth, just in time to see a deadite was wrestling someone wearing knights armor to the ground. Upon further inspection, and to Ash's unfortunate hunch, the knight looked exactly like he did, thirty years ago.
"Why does he look like you?" Beth whispered, looking over to the older man.
"Because he is me, but decades ago." Williams muttered, strolling forward.
"Hey!" the younger Ash yelled at the two humans. "A little help?"
"Keep your panties on." the old Ash snarked, taking Beth's chainsaw and bashing the deadite with it like a club. The demonic zombie snarled, and Williams revved the machine up, slashing wildly, and cutting the head clean off.
"Looks like we got here just in time." Beth murmured, helping up the Ash in knight's armor stand up.
"A few seconds earlier would've been nice." the knight grumbled, looking at his older counterpart. "Shit, did I mess up the words again? I thought I'd wake up in my own time again after drinking that magical jungle juice!"
"It worked for me." old man Ash shrugged. "I'm guessing that you got pulled in here, same as Beth here and me."
"Ash?"
Both Ash's and Beth snapped their heads to the side, seeing a young brunette woman in a blue jacket and white dress.
"Ash, is that really you?" the woman repeated. "Two of you?"
"Cheryl?" the knight Ash asked with uncertainty, stepping forward, only to be stopped by the older version of him.
"Hang on."
The old man walked forward, and without warning, struck Cheryl across the face, making her reel back.
"Ashley, what the hell?"
Ash narrowed his eyes, as her face remained normal.
"Huh. Okay."
"Okay?" Cheryl asked. "That's all you're going to say?!"
"Yeah. I guess that botched spell brought you here too." the older Williams murmured, looking from her to his younger self.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Beth asked. The knight Ash still looked at the brunette in shock, before opening his mouth.
"She's my- our- sister."
Kassie had heard Frank call after her, but she chose to ignore it, running through the darkened forest.
"Aunt Beth? Aunt Beth, where are you?!"
A rough hand suddenly grabbed her arm, and without thinking, she pulled out her knife and swung around, only for her wrist to got caught by another hand.
"Easy!" Frank told her, letting go of her knife hand. "Easy, kid. It's just me."
"Let me go!" Kassie yelled, trying to wriggle her arm out of his grasp. "Aunt Beth's out there!"
"We don't know that." Frank argued. "The deadite could've been lying."
"I can't take that chance!" Kassie fired back. "What if it was your family Frank?! Your wife and kids!"
As soon as she said that, she regretted it, but the damage was done. Anger flashed in Castle's eyes for an instant, but it was soon replaced by hurt and sorrow. His grip slackened, eventually letting go completely, and Kassie backed away, rubbing her arm.
"You heard me talk to Beth that night." he realized. "When we met you."
Kassie timidly nodded, hanging her head in shame. Maybe it was from spying on them all those years ago. Or bringing it up now.
Maybe it was both.
"I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"
"Nah, kid, you're right." Frank murmured, looking down. "A guy I knew, he, uh… he kidnapped a friend of mine. She was around your age right now when it happened. But the people he worked for, they had his own kids hostage. Two sons."
Frank swallowed hard, as Hack's eyes began to hold back tears.
"He and I, we weren't so different. He asked me if I had a chance to save my kids, how far I would've gone, right? What I'd do. And you know what I told him, Kass?"
She looked deep into his eyes, just as he cast them downward.
"Anything. I said anything. Told the same thing to Wanda too."
Kassie nodded in understanding, while Frank shrugged.
"I know you wanna find your aunt, kid. I get that. But you can't just run out without a plan. So why don't we turn around, head back to the cabin, and think of something, yeah? You can trust Allen. Not sure about the younger Williams, whether he'd be dead weight or not."
Kassie let out a small snort of laughter, but before either of them could move, something suddenly grabbed at her arms. She looked at Frank in alarm, but the same thing was happening to him, as well as these blackish appendages wrapping around his legs.
"What the…"
Castle looked around, his eyes trailing from one end of the limbs to another, where he found…
A tree in place- and it's branches had ensnared them.
"Gotta be fucking kidding me."
The tree let out some kind of howl, as it raised its branches high into the air, when a shot rang out, splintering wood. Frank felt himself fall, while another deafening crack was heard, and Kassie was released as well.
"Hang on, kid!"
Castle maneuvered himself towards Hack's direction, reaching out and holding onto her, wrapping his arms around her and pressed her close, allowing his back to collide with the ground.
"Frank!" Kassie shouted, quickly getting up. "You good?"
The Punisher groaned, but still managed to grunt out a "yeah". The teenager breathed a sigh of relief, looking up to see their savior was a young man with a short black beard, holding onto a double barrelled shotgun. Next to him was a man in a ripped blue shirt, having a chainsaw for a hand…
"Ash?" the girl asked. The man paid her no mind, and instead rushed toward the tree, revved up the saw, and began cutting through it. The tree screamed, or what sounded like a scream, but the other guy with the shotgun kept reloading shooting the branches that got too close, until the possessed oak was cut down.
"I swear, if I gotta see one more of these…" Ash muttered, turning towards Kassie. "How do you know who I am?"
"I… I… I just met you." Hack murmured. "But what happened to your hand?"
"It got possessed, so I had to cut it off." Ash said nonchalantly.
"He could be another version of Williams." Frank muttered, standing up. "The one we met looks a bit younger than you. And the one I know before was older by about thirty years."
"Thirty?" Ash rubbed his chin. "Damn, I live that long?"
"Apparently." Frank grunted, turning to the bearded man in recognition. "You David?"
"I… yes?" the man widened his eyes. "How do you know that?"
"Your sister. Mia." Castle murmured. "Call it a hunch."
"Mia?" David exclaimed. "Is she here? Is she okay?"
"She's fine." Frank told him. "She's back at the cabin."
"The cabin? But I blew it up!" David shouted. "I shot that can of gas and lit the whole thing up like a match-"
"I know." Frank interrupted. "Listen, I think we've all been pulled out of our worlds into… into this."
"And what is this exactly?" Ash asked. "I just remember falling through that portal with the demon and the Delta!"
"Not sure yet." Castle shrugged. "But you're here, and I've already seen two other version of you Williams. Kassie here-"
He pointed to the teen.
"Is older than I last saw her."
"Way older." Kassie chimed in.
"And we've both encountered you and your sister now." Castle finished, addressing David. "You know what I think? I think that the Dark Ones' spell transported everyone who in someway had contact with them and their deadites here."
"The spell you said you screwed up." Kassie added.
"Yeah." Frank murmured. "Yeah, that's right."
David looked back behind Frank and Kassie, a look of hope in his eyes.
"If my sister's back at the cabin, then we should go there."
"I agree." Ash piped up. "That place might be creepy as hell, but it does a damn good job keeping evil out."
Music: "Hero From The Sky" from Evil Dead The Game OST
With the decision made, the four of them all began going back to the cabin, when a red haired man in medieval garb approached them, holding onto an ax.
"Who be ye lads and lass?" the man asked, tightening his grip on his weapon.
"Easy." Frank held up a hand. "If you think we're deadites, we ain't."
The man squinted his eyes, but open noticing Ash, broke out into a smile.
"Hark! The Hero From The Sky has returned! Sir Williams, it is good to see you again!"
"Uh, what?" Ash frowned, while three more people emerged from behind the trees.
"Oh, hang on, Henry." a Hispanic man with curly hair groaned. "I'm sensing that this isn't the same Ash that Kelly and I know."
"What? Is he a deadite after all?" Henry inquired.
"No, Pablo's saying he got pulled out of time." the black haired woman next to him rolled her eyes. "I mean, makes sense. Wouldn't be the first time we time traveled."
"Oh, you're talking about that time you brought me back to life, right Kelly?" Pablo asked.
"Sure, Pablo. Exactly that." Kelly smirked.
The whole time the adults were talking, the third person, a brunette with long hair, who looked only a year or two older than Kassie, and wore what seemed to be a prom dress with a jacket over it stared right at Ash, her mouth agape.
"Dad?"
Everyone stopped talking, as Ash did a double take.
"I have a daughter?"
"Oh, sorry." Pablo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ash, meet your future daughter. Kelly and I are your future best friends, and if you haven't met Henry the Red yet, I'm guessing it'll be soon."
"Aye lad." Henry nodded. "Sir Williams here doesn't look any different from when we were marched to be executed. Same dirty face, peasant clothes…"
"Way to rub it in." Ash groaned, as Frank grunted.
"Sounds like you guys have a lotta catching up to do."
Just then, the wind began to howl, as a distant growling could be heard.
"We can catch up back at the cabin." Kassie declared, as she and Frank led everyone back.
Mia paced around the cabin floor in anxiousness, while Ash sat in a corner, eyes glued to the cellar door. Having found a shotgun in the hallway, he trained the weapon on the trapdoor, should that grotesque deadite pop out.
"Where are they?" Allen asked, looking out the windows. "It must've been an hour!"
"How can you tell?" Ash asked, still dully looking at the cellar.
"I can't, and that's the problem!" Mia snapped, turning on her heel and going towards the back of the cabin…
Just in time to see it get flung open, and a man wearing knight's armor with his long brown hair flowing down entered, flanked by an African American woman wearing a police badge, another woman wearing a yellow wool sweater, and a young man in plaid-
"Scotty?" Ash stood up. "You're here too?"
"Ash?" the boy, Scotty, raised his eyebrows. "What's going on?"
"Sir Williams, you are here?" the knight asked.
"Uh… look, 'knight in shining armor', I don't think that's your Ash. Or mine, for that matter." the cop narrowed her eyes. "He looks way too young."
"Hmm…" the knight tilted his head. "That be true… perhaps he is a deadite?"
"Whoa, what?" Ash widened his eyes, backing up. "No, I'm not one of those things!"
"He's not." Mia added, putting herself between the younger Williams and everyone else. "I can vouch for him."
"And who the hell are you, huh?" the officer asked, folding her arms.
"I'm the bitch who's gonna kick your ass in a minute." Allen growled, balling up her fists. Just then, the front door opened, making Mia look over her shoulder.
"Well, looks like we're not the only happy campers here." A man who looked like Ash, but was way older, remarked. "Hiya kids."
The older Ash walked in, followed by Beth, yet another version of himself in knight's armor, and Cheryl, making the youngest Williams' eyes widen.
"Cheryl? You're alive?!"
"Hey Ashley." Cheryl smiled sadly.
"But how! I thought I had to kill you!"
"You did." the sister murmured. "But I guess I was given another chance at life. Dad too."
"Hold on, you basically came back to life?" the oldest Ash raised his eyebrows. "And Dad's here too?"
"Yes, and yes." Cheryl nodded.
"Sir Williams! Is it really you?" the other knight asked.
"The one and only." Knight Ash groaned. "Well, three and only, I guess…"
"Ash?" the cop widened her eyes, looking at the old man. "Your hand didn't grow back again, did it?"
"What? Oh, no." Old Ash rolled up his sleeve, showing cybernetics in his wrist.
"Future, baby."
Beth cleared her throat, looking around.
"Um… has anyone seen a little girl with blonde hair? She's… she's my niece."
"Aunty Beth!"
Everyone looked outside, just in time to see Frank and Kassie march up to the cabin, the younger Ash and David right behind them, and followed by Pablo, Kelly, Brandy, and Henry the Red. Seeing her aunt, Kassie picked up the pace, tackling Beth in a hug.
"I didn't know you were here too." Hack mumbled.
"Kassie? You're grown up." Beth asked in disbelief. "How is this possible? The last time I saw you, we were sent back to our world… after being detained by that wizard and those robots…"
"Mordo." Frank clenched a fist. "That means…"
"You're still carrying." Kassie realized, widening her eyes.
While Beth and Kassie conversed, old Ash approached Frank, shaking his hand.
"I was wondering if you came here too, Frank."
"Likewise, Williams." Castle grunted, seeing the Ash in knight's armor greeting Arthur and Henry. "I take it you knew those guys?"
"Yeah, when I traveled back in time to the Middle Ages, I helped them fend off a deadite invasion." the old man shrugged, before Brandy, Pablo, and Kelly walked up to him.
"Brandy. Guys."
"Hey Jefe." Pablo smirked, while Brandy simply wrapped her father in a hug. "Ghostbeaters are back!"
"Hell yeah we are!" Kelly laughed, while Mia ran over to David and trapped him in a bear hug.
"I'm sorry." Allen cried out. "I'm so, so sorry that you went to the cabin for me…"
"Hey, hey, it's alright." David told her. "It's okay. I'll always be there for you."
As everyone was catching up, Frank looked around the woods, realizing he couldn't hear the demons growls.
"How the hell do we get out of here?" he said aloud.
"I believe I can answer that."
Castle looked up, as blue wisps of fog materialized into the form of an old man with white hair, looking at everyone.
"My name is Professor Raymond Knowby. I know now that I have unleashed a great evil onto the world, but my only hope is to guide you all into stopping it. Follow my instructions, and you may have a chance at banishing the demons."
"Hey, I remember this guy!" Kelly shouted. "He's the one who pulled me and Pablo into the cabin last time!"
"Aye, he also brought me through to stop that deadite hag!" Henry added. "I drove my ax into her, but he refused to dismember the remains!"
If Knowby heard them speak, he didn't respond, and continued to address the group as a whole.
"I created a map that reveals the locations of the Kandarian Dagger and the torn pages of the Necronomicon, then split it into three pieces to keep them safe from the deadites." Knowby stated, as a bluish map slowly appeared, three points glowing brightly.
"Should you find the map, retrieve the items, then you will have a chance to defeat the evil and banish the Dark Ones back to Hell. And possibly, return to your own timelines."
The ghost of Knowby vanished, leaving behind the noncorporeal map for everyone.
"What the…" the oldest Ash frowned, inspecting the image. "There's… there's pieces of Castle Kandar and Elk Grove here!"
"Shit." Frank murmured, seeing the three points. One was at what looked liked a crashed airplane. Another appeared hovering over a convenience store. The third was in some kind of graveyard, with twisting branches and roots around the tombstones.
"Okay." Castle decided. "Williams-"
"Yes?" all of the Ash's asked simultaneously. The Punisher groaned, having a sense of deja vu.
"Okay, I'm not playing this game again." Frank muttered, pointing to the oldest Ash.
"You're Ash-1, alright?"
He turned to the Knight Ash.
"Ash-2."
Then to the Ash with the ripped shirt and the chainsaw for a hand.
"Ash-3."
Finally to the youngest Williams.
"Ash-4. You all got that?"
"Sure. But who put you in charge?" Ash-1 asked.
"I gotta get back to my world asap. I don't have time for anyone's bitching." Castle murmured, looking back at the map.
"Ash-1, Mia, Arthur, with me. We're taking the plane." Frank declared.
"I'm coming too." Kassie told him.
"No you're not." Frank shook his head. "I need you to stay here, protecting your aunt and those teenagers, alright?"
"But-"
"Don't." Frank interrupted. "You said Beth's still pregnant right now, yeah? You gotta keep them safe."
Kassie glared at Castle, but he stood his ground. Her stare dissolved, as she reluctantly nodded, marching back into the cabin, with Beth, Ash-4, and Scotty following.
"Right. Ash-2, I'm guessing you've been to that graveyard before, it looks close to the castle-"
Frank pointed to the glowing marker above the cemetery.
"Take Henry and the 'Ghostbeaters' with you."
"Actually, I'm joining you." Brandy spoke up, walking up next to Ash-1. "I only knew my father for a week before he left. I'm not asking."
"Fine." the Punisher growled. "Ash-3, you and David go get the one at the gas station. Take Cheryl and the cop-"
"The name's Officer Amanda Fisher." Amanda responded.
"Officer Fisher." Frank repeated. "We meet back here."
"Hold up, don't get your shorts in a knot!" Ash-1 suddenly shouted, running over to a woodshed behind the cabin. After a few minutes, he came back out, sporting a chainsaw on his arm.
"Yeah, the chainsaw was still there! Groovy!"
"Anyone else need a minute?" Frank asked, being met by silence. "Right. Move out. Unless the map instantly shows us where the dagger and pages are, we meet back here."
"And what if they are on the map?" David asked. Frank formed his mouth in a grim line, before clearing his throat.
"If it's close enough, have at it." Frank shrugged. "If it ain't, get back here."
Music: "Ex-Mortis" by Ice Nine Kills
Everyone nodded, before dispersing into their groups, with Frank, Ash-1, Brandy, Mia, and Arthur heading towards the downed plane, north of the map.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Mia asked. "Bad shit happens when people split up. It's how my friends died…"
"Why do you think I had us form groups?" Frank mumbled, trudging along.
"Touche." Ash-1 shrugged, fiddling with the chainsaw. "So uh, Brandy… how've you been kid?"
The daughter shrugged, looking straight ahead.
"It's only been a few weeks, Dad…" Brandy murmured. "You sent me, Kelly, and Pablo away, while you fought that… giant monster…"
"Hey. I did that to protect you." Williams stopped, looking at his daughter. "I told you, I had been running from this all my life. My dad didn't believe the demons were real, and said I was always running away, and he was right. Whenever I tried to avoid this Evil, people died, okay? I didn't want to lose you guys too."
Brandy looked at her father, blinking tears, before they two jogged to catch back up to Frank and Mia, who were still conversing.
"Allen, listen… sorry you got dragged into this."
"What are you talking about?" Mia asked in bewilderment. "You and Strange gave me a second chance! Even when Constantine offered to find a way to send me home, I told him not on his fucking life!"
"Because you didn't have anyone else to go back to." Frank mumbled. Just like Beth and Kassie…
"Yes." Mia whispered, placing her hand on Frank's shoulder. "You guys saved me. Thank you."
Frank numbly nodded, seeing a crashed plane up in the distance.
"How's… how's your Wanda?"
"My Wanda?" Mia raised an eyebrow. "You mean the one that helped then attacked us?"
"That's right." Castle muttered.
"Well, after I apologized for cutting off her hand… we became friends. Almost sisters even." Mia smirked. "John was quick to explain that she wasn't herself when she attacked us. He mentioned something called 'dream walking', and how the Wanda of his- our- universe was being possessed."
"Yeah." Frank grunted. "Possessed by my Wanda. Like you and that deadite."
Mia's fingers curled, causing Frank to look over and see her eyes go bloodshot for a moment, before reverting to normal.
"That's not the same thing, Frank." she told him. "The thing that's inside me, I can control it. But what Wanda described, this 'dreamwalking'... she said it was like she was in an endless void, having no idea what was going on, until she was somehow freed of her other's control."
Frank felt his mouth go dry, before walking forwards, towards the plane.
"If you have to face her again, what will you do?" Allen asked. Frank kept walking, staring ahead.
"I don't know." he admitted, because it was the truth. He didn't know what to do, now that Chthon was in permanent possession of Wanda's body. Would he have to find Strange, convince him to somehow remove Chthon, if possible? Or would he have to kill her?
"Take heed, friends." Arthur announced, looking at the plane's ruins. "Those blackhearted bastards from the depths of Hell are coming."
Frank snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to see several deadites waiting for them by the debris, their faces stretched into maniacal grins.
"Time to tell evil to eat my butt." Ash grinned, revving up his chainsaw. "Hey Brandy, did Kelly ever teach you how I do things?"
"Shoot first, ask questions never?"
"That's the one!" Williams laughed, tossing her the boomstick, just as the deadites began to charge. Frank grit his teeth, as he balled his fists. If he hadn't tossed his pistol when confronting Wanda…
As Mia's hand morphed into a chainsaw, she looked over at the Punisher, noticing his lack of arms.
"Someone get Castle a weapon!" Allen shouted, slashing at a deadite close to her.
"Sorry, I'm a little busy!" Ash called back, sticking his own blade through three demons. "Moe's literally joined to me, and Larry's keeping my daughter company!"
"Don't worry about me!" Frank hollered, elbowing a deadite behind him before roaring, charging a larger monster and tackling it to the ground, driving his fists into it until the head was a mushy pulp.
"Friend Castle!" Arthur yelled, throwing his sword at a deadite that had tried to sneak up from behind. Frank quickly scrambled to his feet, pulling the sword out of its chest, and cut off its head, looking over at Arthur and nodding.
"What about you?"
"Not to worry!" the knight grinned, reaching from behind his back and pulling out a crossbow. With deadly accuracy, Arthur fired a bolt at a cluster of deadites, and everyone watched as the mass exploded.
"Hey, you guys remembered what I taught you!" Ash laughed, slicing through even more demons.
"Indeed!" Arthur smirked, punching a lone deadite with his metal gauntlets. "The Wise Man modified your technique so that the bolts would explode upon impact!"
"Boys, focus!" Mia rolled her eyes. "We still need to find the map!"
As soon as she said that, two of the bigger deadites picked her up and held her on the ground, causing her to growl in anger and activate her deadite side. Unfortunately, that didn't help much, as the deadites possessing the vessels were too strong.
"We will feast upon your soul, you ugly junkie!" one of the deadites cackled, licking its lips.
"HEY!"
The demons looked up, seeing Frank plunge the sword into one of the deadite's chest, while Arthur rammed into the the other one, using his armor's momentum to send them both to the ground. Before the monster could do anything, the knight jammed the crossbow into its mouth.
"Feast on this, foul creature."
Arthur pulled the crossbow's trigger, and the bolt hit the roof of its mouth, obliterating the head. Meanwhile, the deadite Frank stabbed recovered, beginning to pull the blade into itself to get close to Castle, before Mia darted forward, stabbing her fingers into its eyes and pulling upward, ripping its head off. With the monsters destroyed, Allen looked back at Arthur, staring at him with… affection.
"You saved me…" she murmured, as Arthur stepped closer.
"It was an honor, Lady Mia." the knight told her.
"What was that about the map?" Frank muttered, interrupting the moment. Mia's face quickly went red, as she looked back at the plane.
"Go." Arthur spoke up. "We will hold the deadites at bay."
"Right." Frank nodded, running towards the destroyed cockpit. Strange, something in his gut was telling him it was there…
A few moments later, Castle bounded into the ruined plane, finding an old, weathered piece of parchment sitting in the pilot's seat, quickly picking it up. Oddly enough, in the passenger's seat was a single barrelled shotgun, which he picked up.
Well done! I see you have collected the first piece of my map. Knowby's ghost spoke in his head. You are all one step closer to defeating the Evil!
Frank turned back the way he came, about to join his new "friends", and that's when he saw a pale creature with long black hair draped over her naked body.
"Mia?" Castle frowned, realizing the resemblance. The creature looked up, smirking.
"Ah shit."
Back outside, Ash, Brandy, Arthur, and Mia finished killing the last of the deadites, when Frank was thrown out of the cockpit, landing on the ground.
"Frank?" Ash asked, as he and Mia helped him up. "What the fuck happened to you?"
The question was answered as the creature slowly walked out of the plane, "her" eyes fixated on Mia.
"No…" Mia stammered. "Not again."
"You've fought this creature before?" Arthur asked.
"It's the reason why I lost my hand." Allen murmured.
"Sister, you and me are in the same boat." Ash snarked, holding out his chainsaw. "Let's go carve up this witch!"
The creature screeched, as Ash swung his saw at her head, causing the deadite abomination to duck and grab his hand made of flesh. A hissing noise rang out through the air, and Williams screamed, slamming his weapon onto the demon's arm and slicing it off.
"Holy shit! You never said she could burn us!"
"She came from Hell, what do you expect?" Mia growled, running forward.
"So do all the deadites, they can't do that shit!" Ash shouted back, while the demon advanced. It was about to grab Ash again, when out of nowhere, a shot rang out and exploded the deadite's other hand. Ash looked behind him, seeing an older man with white hair and wearing a faded blue shirt, holding a rifle. Next to him was a woman wearing a loose tie, with half her hair died pink.
"Dad?" Williams asked.
"Miss Privet?" Brandy added.
Back with the deadite, Frank blew the abomination's legs off with the shotgun, and Mia finished it by bisected it before it hit the ground.
"Huh." Allen breathed heavily. "That was easier than last time."
"That's because you had me." Ash grinned. Frank grumbled, checking the gun. Three more shells, not accounting for the ones he thankfully had still on his person.
"Did you find the piece of the map?" a woman's voice asked. Frank looked up, seeing the woman with pink hair approach him.
"Get back!" Brandy shouted, pointing her gun at the older woman. "I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else!"
"Easy kid." Ash told his daughter, lowering the boomstick. "It's okay. It's Good Ruby."
"I wouldn't exactly say good, but I'm not the Ruby that tried to kill you or your friends." the woman, Ruby, said assuringly.
"Now that I think of it, you look about the same back when the younger you cut your head off. What, did you grow it back?" Williams asked.
"No you moron." Ruby narrowed her eyes. "I was pulled out of the timeline, same as you. Same as everyone here. Well, almost everyone."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Frank asked.
"It means I'm technically dead." the older man grumbled. "My son's car got all possessed and then splattered me across the road."
"You remember that?" Ash asked, eyebrows raised. "So how are you here?"
"I came back to help you, Ashley." the father told him. "Why do you think Cheryl's here too?"
Williams opened his mouth to speak, trying to find the right words, but Ruby cut him off.
"We don't have time for this, and you never answered my question. Did you find the map?"
"Yeah." Frank nodded. "Let's hope the other guys didn't have to deal with these shitbags."
As Ash-3 and David neared the gas station, he looked behind him, eyeing Cheryl. Just the other day, he watched her become one of those… things. And now she was back?
"So your sister got possessed too?" David asked, snapping Ash out of his thoughts.
"Uh, yeah." Williams murmured. "She and my friends got taken over by that stupid book. I didn't think I'd see her again…"
"She's right here, Ashley." Cheryl scolded. "Now come on, you heard what Knowby said. The sooner we get the map, the sooner we stop the Dark Ones."
"You seem to have listened thoroughly." Fisher snorted. "You have photographic memory?"
"I have spoken to Professor Raymond before." the Williams sister explained. "Since technically, I'm dead, it was a miracle that I was able to break through into this world and manifest a living body for myself. Knowby wasn't as lucky."
"Wait, you're still supposed to be dead?" Ash-3 whirled around.
"I'm not one of those deadites, if that's what you mean." Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Dad's here too, out there somewhere."
"How do you know this?" Ash-3 frowned.
"We both felt our souls being transported, but we got separated." Cheryl shrugged. "But our best bet is to find that piece of the map."
"That might be a problem." David nodded, looking at the gas station to see an old woman in a corner, muttering incoherently.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Oh, I'm thinking a whole lot more." Ash-3 grumbled, pulling the string on his chainsaw. "Looks like I'm gonna carve up another witch."
"Another one?" Fisher snorted, racking the slide on her pistol.
"Just follow my lead." Ash muttered, walking up to the decrepit creature. Just as he raised his chainsaw, the woman turned around and screeched, grabbing Williams by the throat and throwing him across the gas station.
"You will never find the map!" the deadite howled, as Amanda and Cheryl began shooting. A dozen rounds crashed into the old woman's body, and she quickly collapsed, closing her eyes.
"Huh. That was easy." David raised an eyebrow, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder.
"It's a trick." Ash groaned, slowly getting up. "We need to cut her damn head off."
Almost immediately, the deadite opened her eyes and levitated off the ground, flying towards Amanda and grabbing her by the throat. Before everyone's eyes, the witch grinned, tearing into the officer's neck, before David shot her in the back. The witch simply cackled, turning around and rushing towards Allen, just as Ash jumped in the way, impaling his chainsaw through her chest. The deadite screeched in fury, as Cheryl pointed her rifle up at the head and pulled the trigger, blowing off the top of her head.
The body stilled, and Ash lowered his chainsaw, kicking the remains off.
"Shit…" Williams grimaced, looking at Amanda's mutilated corpse.
"We don't have time to mourn her." Cheryl mumbled, looking around the gas station. "The map must be here…"
"Looking for this?"
Ash looked behind the gas station's counter, seeing two individuals emerge from the back entrance. One of them was a man that had blonde hair, wore a blue jacket, and carried a crossbow. The other was a woman wearing a blue shirt, shoulder length hair, and holding an ax.
"Annie?" Ash-3 asked, recognizing the woman. "What are you and Ed doing here?"
"We were transported here, shortly after arriving at the cabin." Annie frowned. "It was like… a portal just suddenly opened up."
Ash-3 turned to Cheryl, eyebrows raised.
"Did she come back the same as you and Dad?"
"Not that I know of…" Cheryl shook her head. "I think she arrived the same way you and the others did."
"Who cares?" David sighed, grabbing the map from Annie. "We got the piece of the map, let's get the fuck out of here!"
"I second that." Ed murmured. "I knew nothing good was gonna come from reading that book…"
Music: "Feeding Frenzy" from Evil Dead The Game OST
Ash-2, Henry the Red, and the Ghostbeaters Kelly and Pablo trekked towards the cemetery, hearing the wind howl around them. The whole time, Ash was on edge, while the Ghostbeaters seemed to fall in line behind them, and Henry never broke pace.
"It is good to see you again, Sir Williams." Henry nodded. "These two filled me in on your adventures since your departure."
"Yeah, Jefe said he once time traveled to the Middle Ages, but I didn't think we'd meet someone from that time period!" Pablo grinned.
"Hey Knight Ash, you've been here before, right?" Kelly looked over to Ash-2. "Got an idea where the map might be?"
"Well… it could be where I found the Necronomicon last time…" Ash shrugged. "Come on, its on the other side of the graveyard."
As soon as he said that, the ground beneath them rumbled, and skeletal hands burst out, making Henry and the Ghostbeaters cry out in surprise.
"By God, the army of the dead has returned!" the Scottish knight bellowed, stomping on the bones, as Kelly took out her rifle and began shooting at the limbs.
"Ash, find the map!" Pablo called out. "We'll hold these deadites off as long as we can!"
"Sounds good to me!" Ash-2 yelled, running towards the the center of the graveyard, jumping over bony fingers and gravestones. "Yo Fancy-Pants! I'll be back soon!"
"Make haste, friend Williams!" Henry called out, pulling out his sword and cutting the skeleton's hands off at the joints. "The mere three of this will not resist forever!"
Just then, a skeleton grabbed Henry's ankle and pulled him to the ground, cackling with mad glee. The red knight felt the wind get knocked out of him, as the skeleton loomed over him, holding onto a spear.
"If this be the end…" Henry murmured. A second before the skeleton killed him, its bones suddenly exploded from a blunt impact, and in its place was a bald man with a mustache and goatee, holding a sledgehammer.
"It is good to see you again, Henry the Red." the man grinned, helping the knight up.
"Sir Ash! Hurry to find the map!" Henry called out, seeing the two of them begin to get surrounded by more skeletal soldiers.
"Alright, alright, don't get your shorts in a knot!" Ash-2 grumbled, getting closer to the stone dais where the three Necronomicons were, hoping to find a fragmented piece of Knowby's map…
Only to find that platform empty.
"Shit. Now what?"
"Looking for this, Ashley?"
Williams turned around, seeing a pale humanoid creature grinning at him, electricity crackling all around his body. Razor sharp teeth were housed in his maw, and his clawed hands were stained in blood, but the oddest feature was his bald, pale head had no eyes. And yet Ash had a feeling the thing was staring right at him.
"Oh great. What kind of deadite are you?"
"I am no deadite, Ashley Williams." the demon cackled. "You may call me Eligos!"
The demon levitated in the air, its body flickering as if phasing in the air, and pushed forward. Ash felt a force akin to the wind push him backwards, and he flew across the graveyard, back towards the Ghostbeaters and Henry, where he slammed into Pablo.
"Oh shit! Jefe- I mean Ash-2- what happened to you?" Pablo asked, helping the man up.
"Some freaky demon got me, kid." Williams grunted. "Never seen it before."
Just then, Eligos teleported in front of them, telekinetically lifting nearby rocks and tree branches around them.
"Shit, this asshole again?" Kelly grumbled, aiming her gun at the monster.
"You've battled this creature before?" Henry the Red growled.
"Yeah, Eligos possessed Kelly once, but Ash blew his head off!" Pablo said cheerfully, dodging a boulder. "Hey Kelly, time to show off those new moves!"
Maxwell smirked, as her body vibrated, and blue sparks formed around her, not unlike the electricity that generated around Eligos.
"What the fuck?" Ash raised an eyebrow, as the young woman suddenly sped towards them, putting the demon in a headlock. Eligos tried to teleport, but the sparks around Kelly intensified, holding him in place.
"Kill him now!" Maxwell shouted. "I can't hold him for too long!"
"Wait!" Pablo shouted, pulling out an amulet. The Brujo ran over to the three individuals, kicking over skeletons on his way, and slammed the trinket onto Eligos' head, causing it to burn into him.
"Maybe he can give us answers on how to stop this."
"Really Pablo? You're gonna trust what this pale piece of shit says after last time?" Kelly asked.
"What choice do we have?" Pablo shot back, taking the map piece from Eligos as Ash used his sword to cut the demon's legs off. "Come on, let's bring him back to the cabin and wait for everyone else."
Henry walked forward to help, with the blacksmith following him.
"It is good to see familiar faces here." the man murmured, looking across the graveyard, while stomping on a lone bone hand. "There be black magic afoot."
"You know this guy?" Kelly asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Williams is an old friend." Henry smiled. "Sir Ash, do you remember this fine blacksmith?"
"Kinda." Ash-2 scratched his head. "Well, come on. The more the merrier."
While the other groups were gathering pieces of the map, Kassie paced around the cabin impatiently, looking for weapons and ammunition, while Beth, Ash-4, and Scotty sat around.
"How can you guys just sit here and do nothing?" Kassie shouted angrily, glaring at the others, particularly at her aunt. "We should be doing something!"
"Hey, that guy told you to stay here." Ash-4 shrugged. "I'm just doing what he says."
"And what about you, Aunt Beth?" Kassie growled. "You fought tooth and nail that night to make sure I survived!"
"And we still lost your siblings and mom!" Beth retorted, standing up. "I only fought because I had to in order to keep you safe! I have a child growing inside me, Kassie!"
That made the teen pause, as she stepped back. She looked down at the floor, blinking back tears.
"I'm sorry." she murmured. "It's just been… years since Mom, Danny, and Bridgit died… at least for me."
Beth looked at her niece in pity, walking over to her and placing her hand on Kassie's shoulder.
"I don't know what happens in your future. Maybe I'm a different person then." the aunt told her. "But I'm sure I taught you that you should do what's right."
Kassie slowly nodded, looking back up. Beth's eyes trailed down to Kassie's wrist, seeing the charm bracelet she gave her niece the night their world went to hell.
"If you want to go out there, help Frank stop… whatever this is…" Beth shrugged. "Well, who am I to stop you?"
Kassie's face broke into a small smile, before pulling away.
"Thanks Aunty Beth."
The young teen turned and walked out of the living room, searching the cabin's small kitchen, as well as what looked like a tiny bedroom. There, at the foot of the twin sized bed was a chest, which seemed to be glowing. Like it was… calling out to her…
Out of curiosity, Hack approached the chest, and with her knife pulled out, she kicked the lid open. She was expecting, or hoping, for some kind of weapon to be used against the Evil. Instead, she found five tiny figures, where if she squinted closely, they all looked like miniature versions of Ash Williams.
Music: "Carving A Witch" from Evil Dead The Game OST
"Hey, look boys!" one of the Ash's exclaimed in a high pitched voice. "Fresh meat! Get her!"
All five of the mini-Ash's leapt towards her, hanging onto her arms, clothes, and face. Kassie cried out in surprise, falling backwards into the hall, startling Beth.
"Kassie?" the aunt called out. "Are you alright?"
The teen flung her arm into a wall, splattering one of the tiny menaces, before she grabbed another and crushed it with her bare hand. A third mini-Ash was pulled off of her and stomped under her boot, and the fourth that was on her arm was plucked off her sleeve, as she used both hands to literally rip it in two.
The final mini-figure bit Kassie's ear, causing her to yelp in pain and fall towards the floor, in full view of Ash-4 and Scotty.
"Oh shit, a mini-me!" Ash yelled, running over. "Hang on, I got it!"
Kassie looked over at the young Williams, just in time to see his foot crash into her face, making her see stars.
"Hey!" she heard Beth yell, followed by some shouting. Kassie blinked rapidly, trying to process the pain despite her ringing ears, while slowly standing up, seeing Beth push Ash. When her hearing returned to normal, she stormed over to Ash-4, pulling back her fist and punching him square in the face.
"What the fuck was that?" the niece yelled, grabbing Ash and forcing him against the cabin's door.
"C'mon, I was aiming for the little guy."
"And you didn't think of picking him up instead of treating my head like a fucking football?!" Kassie shouted, letting go of him in a huff.
"Arrogant jackass."
Ash-4 was about to say something, but the door was suddenly opened, smacking him in the face. Kassie's mood changed on a dime, wearing a delighted grin upon seeing who was facing her.
"Frank, you're back!" Kassie said happily, as Castle, Ash-1, Brandy, Mia, and Arthur stepped back into the room, followed by an older man and a woman with pink hair.
"And I see you've brought friends…"
"Name's Brock Williams, missy." the older man introduced himself. "And this here is Bigfoot- I mean Ruby."
Ruby glared at Brock, who wore a playful smirk, and sighed in exasperation.
"Where's the rest of your merry band, Williams?" Ruby grimaced, just as the back door opened up, with Pablo, Kelly, Henry, Ash-2, and a robust bald man walking in, the former two carrying a pale skinned demonic figure with no face.
"Ah… Ruby." the demon growled. "Or would you prefer I call you by your real name?"
"Ruby's fine, Eligos." Ruby sneered without missing a beat. "Why did you bring him here?"
"To get answers." Pablo stated. "Particularly why we're all here, since you should be dead Ruby."
"Sorry to disappoint." the woman smirked, as Pablo pulled out a small vial and poured the contents- which appeared to be salt- around Eligos' body, trapping him.
"You sure that'll hold him?" Beth asked curiously.
"It worked last time." Pablo shrugged. "I don't see why it won't now."
"You fools…"
Everyone turned their attention towards the demon, as it tried to stand, despite having no legs.
"Talk, asshole." Frank demanded, stepping forward. "The Dark Ones brought us all here for a reason. Why?"
The demon chuckled, staring- at least it seemed that way- right at Castle.
"They brought you all here to destroy you all. Tie up every last loose end."
"How do we stop them?" Brandy asked.
"You submit and die!" the demon growled. "Free me, and I will make your deaths swift!"
"Not my style." the Ash in the knights armor rolled his eyes. "How about we kill this freak and find our own way out?"
"Works for me." Kassie pulled out her kabar. Eligos simply chuckled, turning his head across the room, seemingly staring at everyone.
"It doesn't matter if you kill me." the demon growled, tilting his head slightly. "Once the Dark Ones have the lost pages, they can use the Necronomicon to reshape the world as they see it."
"We won't let that happen." Beth narrowed her eyes.
"You won't be alive to see it." Eligos grinned, still looking past Frank. Realizing the demon was staring behind him, Castle turned around, just in time to see a tiny figure- who looked like Ash- was pointing a shotgun at the cellar door.
"Fire in the hole!" the mini-Ash yelled, squeezing the trigger. Everybody covered their ears, with Kassie and Beth falling to the floor, as the cellar's lock exploded, and the mini-Ash laughed maniacally, swinging the gun around to shoot anyone else.
"Dammit, I hate those guys!" Ash-1 yelled, pointing his boomstick and shooting his tiny self, completely obliterating the minifigure.
Kassie groaned, as Frank helped her and her aunt up.
"You good?" Castle asked.
"I'll live." Hack muttered, while Ash-1 pointed his boomstick at the cellar.
"Oh fuck…"
Kassie followed his gaze, realizing the cellar door was unlocked. Her blood ran cold, remembering that something was in that cellar that taunted her earlier.
"What… what exactly is down there?" she gulped. Her question was soon answered when the cellar door was thrown open, and a bloated, grotesque deadite flew out, cackling sinisterly.
"Oh Ash! So nice of you to visit!" the monster howled with laughter. "I've missed you!"
"Sorry Henrietta, the feeling isn't mutual." Ash-1 grunted, firing his boomstrick right at where her heart would've been. "Time to send you on the express lane back to Hell."
The ugly deadite simply laughed again, as the shotgun pellets poured from the holes in her body.
"That didn't work last time, honey!" she screeched, flying towards Williams… only to be intercepted by Mia, whose arm glowed red and took the form of a chainsaw.
"Aw, little Mia Allen, trying to play hero?" Henrietta snickered, as her neck grew, and the deadite's face became even more grotesque, if possible. "Soon, your soul will be ours! You are only delaying the inevitable!"
Mia swung her chainsaw, but Henrietta dodged the blade with her elongating neck, then proceeded to bite her shoulder, tearing into the flesh and muscle.
"Lady Allen!" Arthur shouted, running forward and plunging his sword into the beast's side. That caused the monster to let go of Mia, but also turned its attention to Arthur, smacking him against a wall. The deadite advanced, levitating into the air, when a chair was suddenly thrown, hitting it in the back. The creature turned around, seeing one of the teenagers, Scotty, was right behind her, his eyes wide as saucers.
"Oh shit."
The deadite screeched, rushing towards the boy, and with a gleam of its fangs, bit into the teen's head, devouring the top of his skull. The entire time, the rest of the cabin's inhabitants were frozen in shock from the carnage, not to mention the grotesque monster itself.
"Hmm… thanks for taking me to dinner, Ash!" Henrietta laughed, while Frank grabbed the shotgun off the floor and began pumping shell after shell. "Time for dessert!"
The deadite flew towards Castle, picking him up and opened her mouth wide, slapping Ash-1 away. As the creature opened its mouth wider than humanly possible, the door was flung open, and the cavalry arrived. The first woman, whom Williams recognized as Annie Knowby, fired a revolver at Henrietta, blowing off a portion of her face, while her boyfriend Ed rushed forward, swinging his axe and cutting off the arms that held onto Frank, then buried the axe into her neck to hold her down. As Castle fell to the ground, one of the other Ash's- Ash-3, if Frank was right- pushed past Annie and Ed, levelling his shotgun at Henritetta's head.
"Oh, there's my old playmate!" the deadite grinned.
"Playtime's over." Ash-3 growled, pulling the trigger and exploding her head, showing the room in gore.
Frank pulled the deadite's arms off of him and stood up, stomping on the flesh for good measure, and looked back at the circle of salt…
Only to find the circle had been smudged, and Eligos wasn't there.
"Ash!"
Everyone turned towards the corner of the room, hearing Cheryl's voice scream. The reason for said scream was because Eligos was now on top of Ash-4's body, biting into his neck while his claws were digging into his head, electrocuting him to the point where everyone could see his skeleton.
"Hey, hands off!" Kelly shouted, shooting the demon until it was a bloody pincushion. The creature slumped over, and Cheryl ran to her brother, cradling his body.
"Oh god, Ash…" the sister murmured, while the other Williams all had a sinking feeling.
"Wait, if that's the youngest of all of us…" Ash-3 murmured, looking at his hand. "How the hell aren't we dying?"
"This world is a form of limbo." Ruby explained. "If the Dark Ones get what they want, it will cause irreparable damage to our world."
"Then we need to find the lost pages and dagger first." Beth decided. "That's what that ghost said, right?"
"Right." Frank mused, giving a passing glance to Ash-4's body, before turning to David, who appeared white as a ghost.
"Where's Fisher?"
Mia's brother gulped, looking down.
"She didn't make it." he muttered, before looking to Annie and Ed. "But we found those two. She says she's Knowby's daughter."
"That right?" Frank arched an eyebrow, looking over to Annie and Ed. "Did you find the piece of the map?"
"Yeah." Annie spoke up, revealing the scrap of parchment. "I think Dad said there were three?"
"That's right." Frank nodded, pulling out his own paper, while Pablo joined them. When they were close enough, the pieces levitated in the air, fusing together and creating glowing blue markings, one of which took the form of swirling pages, the other was a dagger.
"God dammit." Frank grumbled, seeing both objects were on opposite ends of the map. "Okay. Two teams this time. Pablo, I want you to take Kelly, Knowby, you there-"
"My name's Professor Ed Getley." Ed said proudly.
"Right." Frank nodded. "You all, take the younger Williams', Cheryl, your knight friends and Ruby, get the pages. The rest of us will go for the dagger."
"We're coming too." Beth exclaimed, stepping towards Frank.
"We're not asking this time." Kassie added.
"Kid… it's dangerous. For you, and for your aunt-" Frank tried to say, but was cut off.
"Frank, look around." Beth interrupted. "We were just attacked here. There is no safe."
Castle breathed out his nose, before conceding, murmuring out a "Good point".
"Fine. But you too stay close, alright?"
The two women nodded.
"Alright. Let's end this."
Everyone began to file out, but Frank paused, gently grabbing Kassie's arm.
"You sure about this?"
The girl looked up, giving him a determined nod.
"It's like you said, Frank. We have to be strong." she whispered. "It's the only way we'll survive this."
Frank closed his eyes, sighing. Of course he remembered telling her that, it had only been a day or so since he saw Kassie as a child. For her to have held onto that for years…
"Yeah." he finally mumbled, letting go of her arm, and the two of them joined Beth in heading out of the cabin.