Music: "Cobalt Blue Steel" from Evil Dead The Game OST
Pablo, Ruby, and Annie led the group through the woods, the former conjuring a flaming image of the map in his hand to give them direction.
"That's a new trick." Ruby remarked, eyeing the transparent spectacle.
"A lot's happened since you…" Kelly's voice trailed off, looking away.
"You can say it." Ruby muttered. "Since I died, right? Ash said my head was cut off?"
"Yeah." Pablo nodded, walking forward. "Hopefully once the Dark Ones are defeated, we can forge a new timeline where none of this happens."
"You won't have the power." Ruby warned. "The Necronomicon can only send you through time and space, it can't change reality itself!"
"Then we'll find a way to patch up the timeline." Pablo told her. "You guys already did it before to save me."
"And what of the temporal paradoxes I warned you about?" Ruby asked Kelly. "I told you and Ash that just one mistake would be catastrophic to the timeline."
"Eh, we'll be careful this time." Kelly shrugged. "It's like what Ash says, right Brandy?"
"Shoot first, ask never?"
"That's the one!"
"What a shitty plan." Annie muttered under her breath. "To think I trusted him to help me banish the Evil…"
"Hey, it all worked out in the end." Ash-3 spoke up.
"Did it?" Ash-2 pointed out. "Annie and Ed got killed, and we got sent back to the Middle Ages."
"We what?" Ed sputtered.
"Let's not talk about that." Ruby decided, just as they all made it to what looked like a small neighborhood, the Lost Pages swirling around in midair.
"This seems too easy…" Brandy mumbled, just as they all heard inhuman screeching.
"You had to say it." Cheryl grumbled, pulling the hammer back on her gun. Within seconds, humanoid creatures burst through the neighboring houses, but they didn't look like possessed deadites. More like… skinless husks.
"What are these wretched creatures from the depths of Hell?!" Arthur roared, pointing his sword at one of the mindless demons.
"Exactly that." Ruby murmured, while Pablo and Kelly stepped closer. "And if they're here…"
"That means Baal isn't far behind." Pablo guessed.
"Perceptive of you, El Brujo."
Pablo looked over his shoulder, just in time to see the Blacksmith hold up a finger, his nail elongating into a claw. In a swift and fluid motion, he slashed Ash-3's throat, splattering blood everywhere and killing him instantly, then cut down the length of his own entire body, pulling the sides apart like a suit to reveal a man wearing all black, grinning manically.
"Baal." Ruby growled, as Kelly tightened the grip on her gun. Right behind her, the humanoids roared, running towards them, as Arthur, Henry, and Annie slashed and shot at them.
"Honey, I'm home." Baal snickered, as Pablo cocked the hammer on his revolver.
"It's El Brujo Especial, asshole."
Pablo nodded at Kelly, who immediately teleported behind Baal and pushed him forward, as El Brujo took out a pendant necklace from his shirt and placed it onto the demon's head, burning his skin instantly.
"Hey Young Ash, give him a hand!" Bolivar called out. Ash-2 pulled out his sword, knowing what he meant, and ran over while Kelly held out Baal's arm with the claw. In a swift, fluid motion, the knight cut off the demon's hand at the wrist, making him unleash an inhuman roar. Still, Kelly held on, as Ruby rushed forward and grabbed Baal's legs when he kicked out, securing him in place, albeit in midair.
During the struggle, Ruby heard someone cry out, and as she looked over her shoulder, witnessed Ed getting his throat bitten out by one of Baal's meat puppets. With a grimace, she turned back to holding the demon down, as Pablo approached them.
"Hold him!" Pablo shouted, as runes began to appear on his face. His eyes rolled back into his head, while his fingers plunged into Baal's sockets, making the demon thrash around.
"Kanda Muerte Baal Necro-Kanda!"
The runes travelled down Pablo's arm and to his fingers, going into Baal's head, and the demon's skin glowed. A few seconds later, his entire body exploded, showering Kelly, Ruby, and Pablo in black blood and gore.
"Goddammit." Kelly grumbled, wiping the pitch-like fluids from her face. "At least he went down easier than last time."
"You've done it!" Arthur called out, chopping the head off a meat puppet. "You have slain the demon, and his minions fall dead!"
The Ghostbeaters looked out across the scenery, seeing the meat puppets were seemingly disintegrating before their eyes. They would have cheered, if not for Annie crying over Ed's body.
Kelly felt a sick feeling in her stomach, as she approached the young woman, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I get what you're feeling right now." Maxwell murmured. Annie looked up at her, almost in disbelief, but she continued.
"My mom came back as… one of them. I watched her stab my dad's eye out with a fork, then Ash cut her head clean off."
Wordlessly, Annie nodded, slowly standing up, while Pablo walked over and grabbed the floating Necronomicon pages.
"That's one down." El Brujo mused. "Let's hope our friends get the dagger soon."
Frank, Kassie, Beth, Ash, and Mia led their posse towards what appeared to be an old terminal station, with rusted boxcars laying around misshapenly just ahead of them.
"Williams, do you remember any of this?" Castle asked, looking towards the chainsaw wielding old man.
"Fuck no. My friends and I just stayed at the cabin!" Ash shook his head, pointing to Mia. "Maybe it's from her world!"
"My friends and I were forced to stay at the cabin, asshole." Allen grumbled. "A flood destroyed the only bridge out of there."
"Could've been a nearby station." Frank shrugged, while checking the boxcars.
"Why'd you ask?" Beth inquired.
"Hoping for some intel." Castle muttered, noticing a crate that seemingly glowed a bright orange.
"Is that it?" Kassie asked, seeing the box.
"Could be." Frank mused, walked over to the crate and kicking it open.
"Shit."
Instead of the dagger, a decaying, writhing hand scampered around, before jumping up like a spider and latching onto Frank's face.
"Goddammit!"
Castle immediately ripped the hand off of him, staying at it in annoyance. The thing flipped him off, causing Frank to growl and throw it on the ground, while Kassie stomped it into mush.
"That fucking thing again…" Hack muttered, wiping her boot on the floor.
"Hey, check it out!" Ash yelled, walking into the boxcar and lunging towards the crate. Frank followed his gaze, seeing there were bottles of pink fluid, small boxes of ammunition, and an old fashioned fire ax in there.
Huh. Didn't notice that before.
"They got Chet's Pink Fuck!"
"What?" Mia asked aloud, while Frank grabbed the ammo.
"Pink Fuck! Chet and I used to make this in high school all the time!" Ash said proudly.
"Sounds… delightful." Beth wrinkled her nose.
"Don't we still need to find the dagger?" David spoke up.
"Yeah. Yeah, we do." Frank nodded, stepping outside of the other end of the boxcar…
And seeing a dagger hovering in midair, glowing slightly blue.
"Convenient." Frank muttered. He began to walk towards weapon, hearing Kassie and Beth right behind them, when what could only be described as metal grinding against metal echoed above. Castle immediately whipped his head around, but Beth beat him to the punch.
Music: "Slasher Saturday" from Evil Dead The Game OST
"Ellie?"
Ash, Mia, and David- the former still inside the boxcar, the latter two coming around the side- looked up, seeing a grotesque monster with three heads and four arms crawling along the boxcars frame.
"Bethy-Boo! I missed you!" the deadite monstrosity cackled. "Kassie, how you've grown!"
Kassie's eyes widened, slowly backing away behind Frank and Beth.
"What the fuck is this thing?" David shouted, as the abomination jumped down from the boxcar, its three heads eyeing them all.
"Beth, Kassie, get the dagger." Frank murmured, cranking his shotgun. With a snarl, the creature lashed out, knocking David and Mia into the side of the car, while Ash revved his chainsaw.
"Kassie, come on!" Beth shouted, tugging on her niece's arm. When she didn't move, Beth's eyes darted from her to the deadite monstrosity, seeing Frank yell and run towards it, while Ash was already stabbing his chainsaw into the body.
Kassie was frozen in shock, as images of that night flashed in her mind. Seeing her mother convulsing, crawling on the floor. Her sister being impaled on her "Staffanie" toy. Watching Doctor Strange and America leaving, in an effort to protect them-
"Kass!"
Kassie blinked, seeing Beth was now staring at her.
"We need to get the Kandarian Dagger!"
The girl numbly nodded, allowing her aunt to lead her towards the glowing weapon. Just a few feet away now…
Kassie suddenly felt something grab her ankle, and she looked down, seeing the beast had caught up with them. The Marauder began to pull back, causing her to trip and fall, as Beth looked in horror.
"No!"
The aunt tackled her possessed sister, forcing Kassie free, as the two of them ended up in what looked like a macabre wrestling match.
"Kassie, Go!" Beth screamed, despite feeling Beth's many hands grasping her throat. The girl quickly turned back to the dagger, grabbing it, and suddenly felt a surge of power go through her. Ever slowly, she looked back at the monstrous deadite, who paused in strangling the aunt to look up at her.
"Put that thing away, Kassie!" Ellie hissed. "You'll poke your eye out!"
Kassie began to hyperventilate again, but she held the blade in front of her.
"Let. Her. Go."
Ellie cackled, showing her rotten teeth.
"If you say so!"
Ellie leapt towards Kassie, who stumbled backward and fell down. As the Marauder landed on top of her, the girl thrust the Kandarian Dagger straight up- into the deadite's chin. Ellie began to sputter, as hissing was heard from the wound, before the head suddenly exploded, showering Kassie in blood.
"Kassie!"
Beth quickly got up and ran towards her niece, attempting to push the massive deadite corpse off the girl. After a few moments of the pounds of rotten flesh not moving, Beth suddenly felt it begin to nudge, and looking up, saw Frank had grabbed onto the merged shoulders. Giving her a nod, Castle joined Bixler in shoving the body, pushing it just far enough where it landed just to the side of Kassie, with the two immediately helping her up.
"Kassie, are you alright?" Beth asked. Kassie's breathing became shallow, and her eyes began to dart around. Upon Frank squinting, he could see tears threaten to pour.
"Hey." Castle murmured, pressing his forehead against hers. "It's okay. You're okay, Kassie. Just breathe."
The hyperventilation slowed, and much to Beth's surprise, Kassie's breathing returned to normal.
"It's okay, kid. It's okay." Frank murmured, while Kassie placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry." the girl whispered. "I'm sorry, I…"
"You got nothing to be sorry for." the Punisher told her. "Seeing… her… it brought you back to that night, yeah?"
"Yeah." Kassie gulped, looking over to Beth.
"Are you…"
"I'm okay." Beth nodded, placing a hand on her belly.
"Here." Kassie held the dagger out to Frank. The Punisher looked at the weapon, eventually taking it, as a crack of thunder suddenly echoed, and the sky tore apart.
"That doesn't sound good." David murmured.
"No shit Sherlock." Ash snarked. "We gotta find the Dark Ones and send them back to Hell."
"Best thing you've said all day." Mia muttered under her breath. "But how are we going to find them?"
"Hey, Jefe!"
Ash looked over his shoulder, seeing Pablo's face floating behind him, while also appearing noncorporeal.
"Whoa, you're a ghost Pablo!" Williams shouted. "What, did you die again? Do I have to time travel to bring you back to life a second time?"
"No Ash, it's just a new spell I learned!" Pablo exasperated. "Listen, we found the Lost Pages. Did you get the dagger?"
"Yeah." Frank nodded, holding up the blade.
"Great, meet us at Castle Kandar. The Dark Ones are there, and they're going to use the Necronomicon to erase us from existence!"
Before anyone could question him, Pablo's visage faded amongst the wind, causing Ash to look out in the distance, just barely seeing what looked like a castle up ahead.
"Come on, we gotta stop those hooded assholes!"
"Wait, wait." Frank told him. "How does he know where the Dark Ones are?"
"Pablo has some kinda radio link to the book, he's done it before!" Ash told him. "Now let's go!"
"We're going on foot?" Beth asked, seeing the castle in the distance. Williams opened his mouth to argue, when suddenly, a vehicle at the terminal station caught his eye. He bolted towards the shape, turning a corner at the station to see…
"It is!" Ash's eyes lit up, seeing the yellow Delta in all its glory. No longer outfitted with the turret guns and mounted shotgun when he woke up in the future. Shame it didn't have the massive engine on the back though. "Oh how I've missed you baby!"
Williams looked back, seeing Frank, Kassie, and everyone else approaching him.
"Well, get in! Let's go kick some evil ass!"
Music: "Mettle Test" from Evil Dead The Game OST
Minutes later, the Delta raced towards the castle, Ash driving, Frank riding shotgun, with the rest piled up in the back.
"You couldn't have cleaned this?" Beth grumbled, picking up an empty beer can and tossing it out the window.
"Well, the car just appeared, kinda like the rest of us." Ash shrugged, pressing the gas pedal down further. "I didn't exactly have time to move my stuff."
Frank wore a grimace, deciding not to say anything, just as a deadite suddenly jumped out in front of them, exploding from the force of the car hitting it, and splattering blood and brains across the windshield.
"Damn it!" Williams groaned, turning on the wipers. "I just polished this thing!"
Once the wipers cleared away the gore, Castle realized they were even closer to their destination, as Ash drove them straight through Kandar's entrance, finding themselves in a courtyard… which housed the Dark Ones. In the middle of them were three different books of the Necronomicon, their pages turning on their own.
Suddenly, the Delta jerked to the left, as all the doors opened up on their own.
"Williams, what the fuck?!" Mia yelled, as Ash wrestled with the wheel.
"It ain't me sweetheart!" Ash shot back, as the car began spinning. "The damn thing's possessed again!"
"Again?" Beth asked, just as the car veered to the side, and everyone was thrown out into the courtyard. The Delta drove straight towards the Dark Ones, before shifting around to face the group, revving its engine, and sped towards them.
"Goddamit…" Frank growled, pulling out his shotgun and shooting at the tires. The yellow car immediately stopped, bucking forward, but was significantly slowed down. Almost immediately, the vehicle shut down, as if the engine was cut.
"Hey hey, watch it!" Ash yelled. "We gotta focus on the big guys in hoods!"
"Finally we agree, Mr. Williams."
Frank looked over his shoulder, seeing Pablo, Kelly, Ruby, and their team had arrived, unfortunately with less people. Castle grit his teeth, but looked back towards the Dark Ones, watching as all three Necronomicons continued flipping their pages, before suddenly melding together into one massive volume.
"That doesn't look good." Mia commented, as the ground around them stirred, and skeletal hands burst forth, clawing their way up to meet the survivors.
"Beware, friends!" Arthur shouted. "The army of the dead has awakened once more!"
No shit, Frank thought, as he began stomping on the bones. Nevertheless, the skeletons continued pulling themselves up through the ground, swarming them all, as mystical energy suddenly emerged, taking the shape of a humanoid that wore black armor, a red cape, and a bony helmet over his decrepit face.
"I live… again!"
"Aw shit!" Ash-2 yelled. "It's evil me again!"
"Evil you?" Brandy asked, punching a skeleton in the jaw before blowing it to bits with her own shotgun. "You already killed him!"
"No, this is the one that attacked Castle Kandar with all these bastard skeletons!" Ash-1 shot back. "You know, when I travelled back to the Middle Ages!"
"Then let's kill him again!" Ash-2 shouted, jumping over a rising skeleton and dashing towards the… Evil Ash. As the knight let out yell of anger, the deadite Williams simply held out his hand, grabbing him by the throat, and opened his mouth. Before should could do anything, a crimson fluid exited him orifices, travelling into the Evil Ash's maw, until his skin became deathly pale, his eyes widened in horror.
"No, younger me!" Ash shouted, as his demonic counterpart carelessly tossed Ash-2's lifeless body away. "That was the last one!"
"Mm… I'm feeling good!" Evil Ash gloated, pulling out a sword.
Back inside the destroyed Sanctum, Strange opened up the Darkhold on the floor, and a myriad of crimson orbs spilled out, each showcasing a different image of a different universe. Stephen rotated his hands, causing the orbs to turn in the air, until he finally found one showing America, with Chthon over her. Sucking her powers, and her life, away from her.
"Hang on, kid. We're coming." Stephen murmured. He was about to turn a page, when he noticed another orb, showing Frank- or at least he looked like Frank- fighting what looked like zombies and skeletons. Upon closer inspection, they looked very similar to those deadites that they've fought on multiple Earths now.
"Frank, if you're still alive… I'll pick you up next." Strange promised, before turning towards the page of dreamwalking.
"What are you doing?"
Strange looked up, simultaneously performing the ritual from the book, while seeing Christine walking towards him.
"Are you going to dreamwalk?" she asked, as he levitated in the air. "All you Stranges, you really are the same!"
Stephen sighed, looking down.
"You're right. We are the same." he whispered. "We always have to hold the knife. But right now, America needs me, and Frank might need my help as well. But I can't do this without your help."
Christine arched an eyebrow in confusion, prompting Strange to elaborate.
"While I'm under, I need you to protect my physical body." he explained, while magically lighting every candle and lamp towards him and bringing them together in a circle. "I'm not just dreamwalking, I'm dream walking into the dead body of my alternate self that landed on my Earth with Chavez, and the Souls of the Damned… they don't take kindly to possessing a corpse."
With that, Stephen levitated up into the air, his legs locking together, while he concentrated, focusing on his Earth… and the variant he would be possessing.
Music: "Swallow This" from Evil Dead The Game OST
Ash revved his chainsaw, swinging it at Evil Ash, who blocked the weapon with his sword. All around them, skeletons and deadites laid siege, as the survivors shot, stabbed, or punched through the demonic forces. Mia fought alongside Arthur, David and Henry, fully tapping into the deadite within her and tearing through the zombie like creatures, while the knights beheaded skeletons. The Ghostbeaters, including Ruby and Brock, blasted through the horrifying foes, or if needed, engaged in hand to hand combat. Somewhere between shooting a deadite and kicking a skeleton between its legs, Brock had gotten his hands on one of their swords, and was now swinging it wildly at the army of darkness, to varying results.
In the middle of it all was Frank, Beth and Kassie watching his back, as the three of them tore through the creatures like they were paper, coating themselves in their vile blood and bone fragments. When Frank needed to reload, Kassie put herself in front of him, firing off with a pistol, and slashing her kabar into the demonic zombies if they got too close. When she got swarmed, Beth would swing her chainsaw at the attackers, reducing skeletons into splintered bone and dust. Once he saw the girls could take care of each other, Frank began to make his way towards Ash-1 fighting his evil counterpart, pausing to club a skeleton with the butt of his gun, or stab a deadite, when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around, ready to shoot at what was undoubtedly another deadite…
Only to see the last person he thought would be here.
"Wanda?"
Frank faltered, lowering his shotgun. The woman smiled, her teeth sharp like fangs, as she punched him in the chest so hard, he was knocked back several feet.
"Dammit…"
"Aww, don't you think I'm pretty?" the deadite variant of Wanda said mockingly, stalking towards him.
"Hey, bitch!"
The deadite turned around, seeing Mia staring her down, golden eyes burning with hatred.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own strength-"
Mia stopped mid-sentence, her eyes changing to normal.
"Wanda?"
"Strike two, junkie slut!"
The deadite leapt forward, tackling Mia to the ground, and licked her face suggestively.
"Kiss me, you filthy whore!"
Mia struggled, trying to move away from the variant's tongue, when something blunt slammed into the deadite's head. The body fell to the ground, and Mia watched, as the instrument- a baseball bat- was lifted by Kassie, only to smash it into the deadite's skull and split the head open.
"You alright?" Hack asked, helping Allen up, while Frank slowly stood up. "Why'd you guys freeze? We've killed these things before."
"But… that was…" Mia murmured, shuddering.
"Wanda." Frank finished, looking down. "A variant of her, at least."
"Oh…" Kassie's eyes widened, remembering how her mother was a variant of the woman… according to Frank. It was how the Wanda of his world was able to possess her, which led to her becoming a deadite.
"I'm sorry."
"I didn't… I didn't freeze…" Mia murmured. "I was just… taken off guard."
"Right." Castle muttered, scanning the field to see the Ghostbeaters and Ash trying to fight Evil Ash and his army of skeletons. If the Dark Ones weren't taken care of soon…
"Find your brother." Frank told her. "I'm gonna go help Williams."
"Got it." Allen nodded, before slamming her head into a nearby deadite's face, then kicked another so hard, her boot became stuck in his torso.
"Kass, help your aunt-"
"I'm going with you." Hack interrupted. Frank looked at her, seeing her grip the kabar in determination. "Aunt Beth can take care of herself."
Castle sighed, lifting his shotgun and shot a skeleton to the side- without even looking at it. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to argue.
"Okay. Let's go."
The two of them waded their way through the chaos, shooting, stabbing, and bludgeoning the evil monsters into bloody or bony pulps. At one point, they noticed Brock and Ruby fighting side by side, but were slowly being overwhelmed. A swift hail of gunfire from Frank and Kassie saved them slightly, mowing down the circle of demons directly in front of them and giving the older pair some breathing room. Out of the corner of Castle's eye, he saw Annie get stabbed twice by two skeletons, while a third beheaded her. With a grit of his teeth, Frank shot at the bony trio, exploding their bodies, as Kassie punched a deadite then followed with stabbing it through the neck.
"Frank, go!" the girl shouted. Castle focused on the two Ash's fighting, and surged forward, elbowing and kicking deadites away from him, just as Ash-1 locked his chainsaw with his dark mirror's sword.
"I'm not falling for that again!" Evil Ash shouted, kicking Ash-1 between the legs, sending him to the ground.
"Poor goody two-shoes!" the deadite Williams laughed, raising his sword to stab… and suddenly stumbled forward at the crack of a gunshot, his sword falling out of his hand. Ash looked up, seeing Frank right behind right behind his evil twin, firing another round from his shotgun, making Evil Ash step back again. Unfortunately, Frank kept stepping forward, and when he shot again, the deadite didn't back up. No, instead, he merely backhanded Castle to the ground, as Williams stood up.
"You think you stood a chance against us?" Evil Ash cackled. "You're just a pathetic human who thinks he's special!"
"So am I, crater face."
Before he could do anything, a chainsaw burst through Evil Ash's chest, with Ash-1 learing over his shoulder.
"Except, oh yeah, I'm the chosen one, bitch!"
Ash-1 pulled the chainsaw up, bisecting his evil counterpart up the middle, then proceeded to cut the demon in half by the waist. Williams smirked, holding out his hand, which Frank took, and was pulled up.
"Thanks." Castle nodded, pulling out the Kandarian Dagger. "Time to end this."
NO!
The Dark Ones spewed a ball of mystical energy- which Frank realized looked a lot like chaos magic- right at them. Ash had just enough time to push Castle out of the way and hold up his chainsaw before the sphere crashed into him, knocking Williams off his feet. The older deadite killer was about to get back up, but widened his eyes, realizing the chainsaw on his stump immediately began to melt, as if it was dipped in molten lava.
Frank turned back towards the Dark Ones, angling the blade, as they slammed their fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent him, Ash, and the remaining survivors all flying, where they landed on the ground.
"Damn it!" Castle yelled, keeping a grip onto the dagger. Through his blurred vision, he could barely see the gigantic Necronomicon flipping pages, runes glowing on the cover. "Can't get close enough to those assholes!"
"There's still a way!" Ruby shouted, tripping a deadite and stomping on its head. "Pablo, give me a hand!"
El Brujo Especial nodded in her direction, as he clasped the amulet around his neck. In a moment, his eyes glowed orange, as he and Ruby chanted in unison.
"Kanda, Muerte, Necro, Vertere, Tenebras, Lucem, Kanda!"
Frank, his grip still onto the dagger, felt a surge of power run through him. That power culminated into the dagger, which erupted in the form of energetic lightning that arced through the deadites, burrowing into their bodies and detonating them from the inside. Dancing along the skeleton's bony bodies, making them explode into ash.
Once the creatures were destroyed, the lightning twisted out towards the Dark Ones, arcing into them. The demons screeched in pain and anger, conjuring another blast of chaos magic, but the lightning enveloped the energy, causing it to dissolve. With no other threats around them, no deadites the Dark Ones can summon, no magic they can conjure, Frank slowly stood up, stepping forward, channelling the power into the dagger to send another wave of energy at the hooded figures, beginning to burn their robes and their very forms, another push sending tendrils that lanced through the Necronomicon, immediately dissolving the fiery runes. Castle could hear roaring in his ears, and he could just barely hear Ruby and Pablo continuing their chants. He felt a hand on each of his shoulders, and he looked out of the corner of his eyes, seeing Beth and Kassie. They each gave a nod, which he reciprocated, and with one final push, the Dark Ones burned away, their bodies dissolving into black and red smoke that swirled around the Necronomicon, getting smaller and smaller, before imploding, sending a brilliant wave of energy out across the lands.
Frank sighed, falling to his knees. He looked down at the Kandarian Dagger, seeing its power fade, as he felt hands steady him.
"Frank… you okay?"
Castle slowly felt himself be pulled up, and he met Beth's eyes. He numbly nodded, slowly putting the dagger back in his belt.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."
Beth smiled, as she began to lean forward, closing her eyes…
Frank suddenly snapped out of a fog, leaning back.
"Hey." Castle murmured. Placing his hand on Beth's shoulder. "Hey, stop."
Bixler opened her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I'm sorry." he murmured. Her confusion slowly morphed into realization, causing her to reluctantly nod, averting her eyes.
"Holy shit… I didn't think that would work."
Frank looked over at Pablo, seeing him walk up to him and Kassie, Ruby, Brock, and Kelly following.
"That right?" Castle frowned.
"Yeah, that ritual can only be done if someone in tune with the Dark Ones' power could use the dagger to its fullest potential." Bolivar explained. "After what Ash went through, I thought the dagger would just fly into his hand."
"That's because Mister Castle is in tune with the Dark Ones' power." Ruby explained. Frank stared at her, dumbfounded, before sighing.
"You knew what I was, didn't you?" Castle murmured. "The moment you saw me."
"I did." Ruby nodded. "I know you're the Harbinger of Death in your universe. Marked by Chthon himself. Just like how I know your variant of Wanda Maximoff is the Scarlet Witch as well."
"And how do you know him?"
"Because I was one of the Dark Ones." Ruby revealed. "I've just been… depowered."
Before the woman could say anything else, blue mist coalesced into the form of Professor Knowby once more, a sad smile on his face.
"Thank you, my friends, for rectifying my mistake." Knowby's ghost echoed, as he began to fade away. "You have an old man's eternal gratitude."
"Fuck yeah! Evil is conquered, the world is saved! You're welcome, humanity!" Ash-1 hollered. "It is good to be back!"
Frank shook his head in annoyance and looked around the destroyed castle, seeing the piles of deadites on the ground. Right next to him were Beth and Kassie, with the Ghostbeaters joining him, all covered in blood. Pablo in particular was in the middle of picking up the now closed Necronomicon, confusion etched on his face. Ash and his daughter simply looked around at the corpses, with Brock keeping his arms around their shoulders in a hug, not daring to let go.
"Everyone good?" Castle asked. Everyone else nodded and murmured in agreement, until they all heard a scream of grief.
"DAVID!"
Frank quickly looked behind him, seeing Mia cradling her brother's body. He was still alive, but barely, coughing out blood. The fluid trickled down his lip, more was forming a pool in his stomach. Most likely, one of those skeletons had stabbed him.
"Shit."
Castle, Ash, and Pablo began to walk towards Mia, who looked up at them.
"I… I can't…"
"Sorry kid." Williams murmured, for the first time displaying sadness in front of Frank. "That's kind of the curse of what we do. We're gonna lose the ones we love."
"Mia… it's okay…" David coughed weakly, holding her hand. "It's okay… I'll be with Mom…"
Frank swallowed, thinking back to Wanda. Is that how she felt, when Pietro died? Or even Vision?
Mia's breathing began to pick up, and her eyes slowly changed from their normal blue color to deadite red and orange.
"NO!"
Before anyone could do anything, Mia grabbed David's arm and bit his hand, causing black blood to seep from the wound. Ash was about to raise his shotgun, but Frank quickly grabbed the barrels and lowered it, eyeing the Allen siblings.
"Wait."
"For what?" Ash asked. "She's turning her brother into a deadite!"
"She's bringing him back." Castle corrected, still looking at Mia intently. After what he saw when Constantine tried to exorcize the evil from her… and then what she said about controlling the deadite that lived within her… he had an idea what she was doing. And after what happened with Wanda… well.
Once Mia removed her teeth from David's hand, they all waited, as the skin around the brother's arm began to take a pale, grotesque appearance. Seconds later, his eyes snapped open, having the same color as Mia's, and he grinned maliciously at his sister.
"You… you fucking little slut-"
"David." Mia told her brother. "Come back to me."
"Your brother's gone, bitch!" David snarled, attempting to grab Mia, but she pinned his arms down, as they locked eyes.
"David, come back!" she shouted, despite her voice still sounding distorted from the deadite within her. "Think of Natalie! Think of Olivia, and Eric! Think of me!"
"You… the pathetic junky who got her brother and friends killed?" David smiled. "Why would he ever think of you? You ruined his life, you pathetic little whore!"
Mia widened her eyes, as she willed the color to change back to normal. Frank tilted his head, realizing that somehow, she still retained her inhuman strength- some of it, at least.
The young woman brought her face closer to her brother's.
"Baby, little baby… It's time to, say goodbye."
Frank blinked in surprise, still looking at Mia. Was she singing… a nursery rhyme?
"What? What the fuck is this?" David suddenly asked. Mia didn't answer, and kept singing.
"Baby, little baby… I'll miss you, day and night."
"No." David sneered. "Stop it! Stop! You're brother's gone!"
"Baby, my sweet baby… I'll write you, everyday."
"Stop! Stop, goddamn you!" David screamed, yet Mia continued singing.
"Baby, don't cry baby…"
"...I wish that I could stay."
Mia looked down at David, seeing his eye color return to their normal brown. He looked tired, slightly scared… but also confused.
"You… brought me back?" David murmured. "How? And why?"
"I…" Mia hung her head. "I couldn't… I couldn't lose you again."
"Holy shit." Ash exclaimed, making everyone look at him. "It actually worked."
"Yeah it did." Frank murmured, nodding to Mia. She smiled at the gesture, while Pablo approached him, color leaving his face. In his hands was the Necronomicon, opened to a specific passage.
"Ruby… she was telling the truth." Bolivar stuttered out. Frank looked over his shoulder, seeing the rest of survivors talking amongst each other, mostly of how to get out of the hellish landscape.
"Yeah. I knew she was."
"But I didn't." Pablo said with a shaky breath, holding up the book. Frank looked down at the open pages, seeing an image of two figures. The first one, having no distinct features, appeared to be a man, with a skull illustrated on its chest. The second figure appeared more feminine, with long hair spreading out in all directions. Upon its head was a curved crown, looking almost exactly like-
"Wanda." Frank whispered, swallowing his own saliva.
Despite what Ruby said, knowing what she knew… seeing himself and Wanda in the Necronomicon itself seemed too much. Was this what Wanda saw when she opened the Darkhold?
"Hey, Frank!"
Castle blinked, hearing Kassie call his name, and he looked behind him, seeing her and Beth approach him.
"So Frank… could you stay with us?" Kassie asked, staring at Castle with wide eyes. "I've… I kinda missed you."
Frank looked fondly at the young woman, but shook his head. After what he just saw in that damned book…
"No, I gotta get back to my world." he murmured. "You remember the ones who were with me the last time I saw you? Strange and Chavez?"
"Yeah." Kassie nodded her head. "They had to leave because Mom infected Strange, but they eventually came back and took us to a new universe."
"That's right." Frank remembered. "But she, uh… she got taken hostage… by Chthon."
"Chthon?" Beth knit her brows in worry. "The demon Ruby was just talking about?"
Frank shot her a sympathetic look, and nodded his head.
"Yeah. He's the reason my family died."
"What do you mean?" Kassie frowned. "I thought-"
"I know what I said that night." Frank interjected. "The real reason my family is dead is because I made a deal with Chthon, and he took his wife and kids as payment. Now he's taken Chavez, he's taken Wanda's soul…"
"I thought you said Wanda was possessing my mom before that demon did." Kassie interrupted, scrutinizing her gaze. Frank sighed, looking down. This was going to be harder to explain.
"Last time I saw her, I almost got through to her… then I fucked it up. Someone told me not long ago that just because someone's lost their way, it don't mean they're gone forever." Frank murmured, remembering what Professor Xavier said to him. "And Chthon… he's taken her body completely now. And I gotta save her."
Kassie's eyes hardened slightly, and she stepped forward.
"Frank… are you certain she can be saved?" she asked. "After what happened with my mom, and Danny, and Bridget? There wasn't anything left of them!"
"I gotta try, Kass." Frank told her. "I… I have to try."
Beth looked into Castle's eyes, and it suddenly clicked:
"You love her."
Frank met her gaze; a silent agreement. Or maybe an apology to her.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do. And it's my fault he has her, because I pushed her away. I just… I don't know how to stop him."
"Take the dagger." Ruby told him. "The other Dark Ones and I forged it using a piece of our father's essence. Only Chthon can kill Chthon."
"Won't be enough." Frank muttered. "It took all of us to stand a chance against the Dark Ones, and there were still casualties."
"Well, you could do what John and I did." Mia called out. Frank turned to look at her, just in time to see her eyes flicker from their normal color to the deadite yellow.
Music: "Getting Through" from Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness OST
"Allow the evil to possess you. Level the playing field."
"No." Frank shook his head. "I won't do it. It's too dangerous."
"Not if you anchor yourself." Mia told him, before willing her eyes to revert to normal.
"She's right." David added. "I didn't come back as a monster because I thought of Mia and our mother."
"And back when the evil tried to possess me, I was able to come back when I remembered my first girlfriend Linda." Ash chimed in.
Castle slowly nodded, looking over to Pablo, who still held the book. Maybe, just maybe… maybe it could work.
"Hey, Kass."
Kassie looked up at Frank, who looked at her with a mixture of grimness and guilt.
"If things don't… if they don't work out… I want you to-"
"It'll work, Frank. It'll work."
Kassie reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder.
"But if it doesn't…"
She looked down at her belt, pulling out the kabar.
"I'll do what I have to do."
"It's not just that." Frank told her. "If you have to… to kill me… find Chavez. Save her. Save Wanda."
Kassie felt tears prick her eyes, but she nodded nonetheless.
"You have my word, Frank."
Castle placed his hand on Hack's shoulder, giving her a firm nod, before looking over towards Pablo.
"You think you can summon that thing into me?"
"I'll bet I can find a passage." Pablo told him. "Just think about your anchor to your mortal soul."
"Yeah." Frank murmured, while Pablo opened up the book. After flipping the pages, he found what he was looking for, and began chanting.
"Kanda, Estrada, Verata, Mesarta, Mestrobene, Kanda!"
The hairs on the back of Castle's neck stood up, and he turned around, feeling some kind of presence rush towards him. Actually, it was invisible, but he certainly felt something come towards him, as it climbed into his mouth, and his back arched in shock.
"Frank!" Kassie yelled, running forward and stopping Castle's body from collapsing. She gently laid him on the ground, seeing him twitch, as she grasped his hand.
"Please make this work." she whispered, looking up at Pablo, as everyone began to crowd around.
Earth-199999
In Doctor Strange's home universe, lightning flashed across the sky, as a strong breeze swept across the rooftops. One such rooftop in particular, which housed a certain cadaver, rocked slowly, as the breeze seeped through the cracks, finding the body of the Doctor Strange variant that the ribboned monster killed. The corpse suddenly opened its eyes, and its decrepit hand formed a fist, smashing through the stone grave, and growled in annoyance.
Doctor Strange had returned home… partially. As he stepped out of the crude grave, his movements rigid, wooden, he flexed the left hand, finding that the sling ring was still there. Even though there was a chance he wouldn't need one, it was nice to have the safety net. With a jerk of his arm, he created a portal to Mount Wundagore, and with a look of determination, stepped through to find himself on a snowy mountaintop, overlooking the Darkhold's tower in the distance. He was about to take another step, when he suddenly heard a faint screeching, and he raised his hand, which began to smoke and move on its own. Stephen tried to pull his arm down, but a mass of black smoke billowed out, followed by another, and another, until there were six, which grew elongated arms and horned heads.
Stephen Strange! Possessing a dead body is forbidden! The souls hissed. Cease your dreamwalking, or suffer the eternal consequences, trespasser!
The souls latched onto Strange, as in his mind, it appeared he was being dragged down into an abyss.
"Christine…" Stephen gasped out. "They're… pulling me… under…"
Frank opened his eyes, finding himself back in the desert sands of Kandahar, but there was something… off. He looked up, noticing the sky was a sickly green, and the air felt thinner. Was he dead?
"Fraaank…"
Castle whirled around, seeing Billy Russo grinning at him with blank white eyes. Eyes that looked like a deadite's.
"You can't escape us, Frank…" Russo grinned, as Frank felt like the ground beneath him was beginning to sink. Castle tried to fight back, punching the deadite, but Russo quickly grabbed his arms and held him down, while two more deadites came from behind and secured his other arm and began strangling him.
"No, no!" Frank shouted. "Wait, stop!"
"No!" a deadite cackled in his ear, and Frank craned his head to see a corrupted version of Curtis Hoyle. "We will swallow your soul!"
Wanda stared into the darkness that was her mind, hoping, begging for Chthon to return. Alas, no one came, as she was stuck by herself. Alone in the dark, with her thoughts…
She suddenly heard a deep voice echo through her, sounding like a faint scream. What… who was that…
The scream got louder, and Wanda realized it belonged to Frank. She never heard him scream like that, except when Agatha forced him to relive his… memories…
"Frank?" Wanda asked aloud. "Are… are you okay?"
The screaming continued, setting off alarm bells in her head. Was Chthon finishing him off right now? It must be!
"No!" Wanda screamed into the void. "Chthon, stop! Stop this! Stop!"
"Strange!" Christine yelled, grabbing his hand in the real world. She placed her other palm to his forehead, shrieking in fear, as his skin was bone chillingly cold.
"Oh my god, hold on."
Palmer quickly checked the sorcerer's pulse, then pulled back an eyelid. One of the souls looked out through Strange's pupil, before erupting from his orb, knocking Christine over. Two more souls emerged, flying towards Christine and grabbing onto her, causing the doctor to scream.
"Get away, get away!" Christine yelled, kicking the one holding onto her off, and frantically looked around for something, anything, that could help her fight back. She found it in a giant goblet looking relic behind her, locked behind glass.
"The Brazier of Bom'Galiath."
Palmer threw an elbow into the glass, picking up the Brazier, and grabbed a nearby candle, just as the souls began to screech at her.
"Go back to Hell!" Christine shouted, pressing the candle into the Brazier. The relic roared to life, shooting flames out at the souls, obliterating them completely from the vicinity.
"Stephen!" Palmer called out, running back to Strange's body and taking his hand. "You're okay. I've got you. You can do this."
The deadites continued dragging Frank down under, up until he could no longer see above the sand, when he suddenly heard screeching, a brilliant crimson light blasting through the ground, and a hand suddenly wrapped around his. Slowly, he felt himself get pulled back up, and he kicked down at the deadites below him, until another hand grabbed his empty one, and he was completely pulled back to the surface.
Frank gasped the lungfuls of air back into his body, looking up for a moment to see two women looking down at him.
"Maria… Wanda?"
Indeed, the two women helping him up were his late wife and Wanda Maximoff. Right behind them were Frank's children, Lisa and Frank Junior.
"Hello, Frank." Maria smiled. Castle felt tears prick his eyes, looking between the four people he loved the most.
"Are you… are you all here?"
Wanda let a ghost of a smile play on her lips, as she shook her head.
"No. We're just the physical manifestations of what tethers your human soul." she explained. "I'm still being controlled by Chthon."
Frank's eyes lowered to the ground, but Maximoff placed her hand under his chin, lifting him up to meet her.
"It wasn't your fault, Frank." Wanda whispered. "It was mine."
Castle's throat tightened, as he looked over to Maria.
"I know what you're going to say Frank, and it's okay." she murmured. "You deserve happiness."
Frank felt his lips pull into a smile, as he felt Wanda turn him back towards her, leaning forward, and planting her lips on his. As their kiss deepened, Frank noticed the sky become lighter, almost white, as the light overtook his vision, and he felt himself awake.
Earth-199999
Stephen. You can do this.
The dead Strange's eyes opened back up, narrowing, as he realized something.
You can do this.
He was a master of the Mystic Arts. These souls were merely spirits.
He could use them.
The corpse parted his hands, causing the spirits to be pushed back in a supernatural wave, then Strange began to pull them back towards him. Some of the souls attempted to fly away, but Stephen encased them in an invisible force field, bringing them down, until they rested on his shoulders in a makeshift cloak. With aerial transportation secured, Doctor Strange flew straight towards Castle Wundagore, intent on stopping Chthon.
Kassie, Beth, and everyone looked down at Frank, as his eyes opened, revealing them to be white. The act caused everyone except Hack to step back, but the white faded away, replaced by his normal eye color, as he slowly stood up.
"Frank." Kassie grinned, hugging the vigilante. Castle awkwardly patted her on the back, eventually gently pushing her away.
"It worked." he mumbled, looking towards Pablo. "Can you find another passage that'll send me back to my world?"
"Not just that, but to where you want to go." Pablo revealed. "When I read the passage of you and the Scarlet Witch, I could see some of your thoughts. Wanda, she's your anchor, right?"
Frank nodded.
"The Necronomicon details Mount Wundagore as the place where her power and connection to Chthon and the Dark Ones are strongest. That's most likely where she is."
"Where she'll drain Chavez's power." Castle concluded.
"Just gimme a minute." Pablo promised, flipping through the pages.
"Kanda Sumondi Nosferatas Ackadeav, Wundagore!"
A bright blue swirling portal suddenly opened up, causing the wind to howl, as Frank looked into it. Funny, if he could squint hard enough, he could just barely see some kind of tower on a snowy mountain.
"Frank… we could come and help you." Kassie offered. Castle shook his head, taking a step forward.
"No. I gotta do this myself, Kass." he murmured. "You take care of your aunt and cousin, yeah?"
Kassie slowly nodded, looking down… and suddenly lunged forward, wrapping Castle in a hug.
"Goodbye… Uncle Frank."
Frank swallowed hard, eventually returning the embrace.
"If I get through this, and get Wanda back… I'll have you meet her. The real her." he promised, gently pulling them both apart.
"But I gotta go."
"Yeah."
Kassie stepped back, and Frank turned toward the portal, sighing deeply. Before he could have a second thought, ran forward and jumped through, causing it to close shortly after.
"See you soon Frank… I hope." Kassie whispered.
A/N: Man, these two chapter were fun to write. Sorry it took a while, and sorry in advance that it might take a while for the rest of the chapters to be completed as well. Once this story is done, I might take a hiatus, since it takes me over a year to finish these now. It's not that I don't want to do these, but I just lose motivation after a while, or get writer's block. I currently have a few story ideas I want to do, but unless I have it all written out beforehand, I'm not going to post anything else. I don't want to start a new story, and then leave it sitting for an ungodly amount of time. So for the time being, this is the final story I'm writing on FFN.
Take care everyone, and I hope you all had a happy New Year.