The Raven Part 5: Hell On Earth

Chapter 9

Abaddon lumbered forward, her gut jiggling with each hulking step she took. Her eyes locked on the quartet that was her prey and she laughed, "All four morsels gathered together for me. Excellent, this saves me the trouble of chasing you all down! Feel free to struggle, though, I do love playing with my food!"

Spittle flew from her lips as she spoke, and the sight was revolting in many ways to the four of them. "Let's hope that little exchange you had with Lilith was worth it, Jake," Beth said as she watched Abadon continue forward.

"Guess we're about to find out," Jake said.

"Wait, what?" Alexis asked.

"We'll explain once we've dealt with this monstrosity and are away from here," Pam replied, "We have bigger problems to worry about at the moment."

Abaddon leaned back as she drew closer. She lurched forward and opened her mouth. Much to the disgust of the four of them, she let out a belch before spewing a thick green liquid from her mouth.

UUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPP

A noxious wind blew past them as a torrent of thick sludge splashed on the ground before rushing towards them. The four of them were forced to break their formation as the ooze drew closer. It burned the ground as it rushed towards them, and even at a distance they could feel the heat coming from what looked like bile. It coated the ground and Abaddon laughed as she watched them scatter. While Beth, Jake, and Alexis moved to the side, Pam merely stepped back and drew her hands back. Her cloak whipped back with her arms, and a powerful wind rushed out of her as she threw her arms forward. The red cloth flew forward alongside her arms, and to everyone's surprise the acidic ooze was sent flying back at Abaddon. The demon was halted in her tracks by the force from the gust, but she seemed more annoyed than pained as the liquid splashed on her fat frame.

She held out her hands and two massive clubs formed in the air as she snarled, "Humans with magic, how pathetic and irksome. I'll tenderize you then swallow you whole!"

Alexis took advantage of the now clear path to the Glutton and charged at her. The twin clubs were enormous, and their ends were surrounded by jagged steel curves. Abaddon spun them like they were light as a father in her hands, and tried to slam one of them down on Alexis as she got closer. Alexis leapt to the side to dodge the blow, and the marble at their feet was shattered by the force of the swing. She cartwheeled over the second club as Abaddon tried to sweep and break her legs. She pushed off of her hands and launched herself at the behemoth feet first. The Glutton let out a grunt upon impact, staggered back, but was otherwise unaffected by Alexis' attack. Her bulbous belly absorbed the majority of the force of the attack, and now Alexis was left standing directly in front of the hungry demoness.

Abaddon chuckled before sucking in air, and leaning over to expel more of her molten vomit. Alexis backflipped away from the green goop just as it splashed onto the ground where she'd been standing. She landed just as Abaddon's clubs were hurtling towards her. She braced herself for a painful reckoning, but the impact never came. She opened her eyes to see Abaddon fighting to free her clubs from ethereal chains that had wrapped around them. "Run, you fool!" she heard Pam yell.

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Alexis said as she took off away from the demoness.

Pam fought to restrain the demoness, but she was quickly losing the fight. This creature was much stronger than she looked. She poured more of her energy into the restraints in hopes of creating an opening for either Jake or Beth to seize, or at the very least allow Alexis enough time to get a safe distance away. She watched as Beth charged in with her blade still sheathed to try to slice Abaddon's stomach, but to her shock she felt a backlash from her chains. Abaddon's clubs started to glow a bright red, and whatever magic she was using was being channeled back towards her. She tried to fight the surge of pain and hold on long enough for Beth to strike. To her dismay, her chains were dispelled and Abaddon went to pulverize her beloved.

"No!" she screamed as the blunt weapons closed in on Beth.

Beth had been keeping a close eye on the demoness' clubs as she closed in on her. She saw Pam's chains snap and disappear, and by then she was too close to pull away. She heard Pam's scream and prepared to fend off Abaddon's attack. She was shocked when a glowing red image of Pam appeared beside her with its hands outstretched. A barrier appeared around both it and her that caused Abaddon's clubs to recoil upon contact. The barrier cracked from the impact, but it was enough for Beth to finish her attack. She closed the gap, drew her sword, and sliced at an upward angle before quickly bringing it back down again. Abaddon let out a screech as her sword drew a putrid looking puss from her belly. She began stomping in a rage and swinging her clubs wildly.

Beth was about to try to deflect the clubs when she felt a strange warmth envelop her. She looked over to see the red projection of Pam wrap its arms around her before everything disappeared for a split second. She felt dizzy for a second when everything came to, and a quick look around revealed she was no longer within the demoness' reach. She was beside Pam once again and she watched as the red image stepped into her girlfriend, "Take it your emotions are finally ready to fight again?" she asked.

"It would seem so," Pam replied as she readied herself for the next attack, "All it took was you being reckless to get them to come out."

"Overlooking that smartass comment, it's sweet that you care so much," Beth said as she sheathed her sword and drew one of her pistols, "Love you too."

Pam smirked at her girlfriend's snarkiness. She was glad that the two of them were fighting side by side once again. The sound of gunshots echoed off the marble columns as Beth opened fire on the ravenous and enraged demon. The bullets glowed as they rocketed through the air toward Abaddon. Some of them were swatted by lucky swings of her clubs, but others embedded themselves in her stomach and torso. The hungry demon turned her focus to both of them as she howled, "I am going to crush you beneath my ass, tear you apart limb by limb, and suck the entrails from what's left of your battered body! Annoying little worms, that actually hurt!"

Jake had been waiting for an opening. He had almost given away his position when he saw Alexis in danger, Pam had come to her aid in time. After watching what looked like a projection of Pam save Beth from getting pummeled, and Beth earn Abaddon's full attention, he decided it was as good a time as any to make his move. He'd hidden himself behind one of the columns for protection, and the second Abaddon's back was to him he burst out from behind it. He noticed he was much faster than he had been, but he didn't know if that was from Ashley or Lilith. Abaddon had a tail that was fatter than many of the demons he'd seen so far; shorter and stumpier than most, it whipped from side to side as she charged towards Beth and Pam.

He locked onto the tail and hoped that his plan wasn't a terrible one. He leapt into the air and wrapped his arms around her tail. He gave it a tight squeeze as he threw his weight down and planted his feet. The first thing he noticed was that this demon reeked! He'd spent countless years fighting smelly villains, and months sleeping next to Rebecca, but this thing smelled like she'd never even seen water. He felt the mark on his back get warm and start to tingle as he tried to stop Abaddon's charge. He hadn't expected anything to come of it, but to his surprise she was slowing down. He felt his muscles flex as he fought to hold on. Maybe he could sling this demon onto her side. He had to do something to create an opening for his friends.

"What new annoyance is this?!" Abaddon demanded with a snarl as she looked over her shoulder and smirked, "If you wanted to get close to my ass, boy, all you had to do was ask. Enjoy the fruits of my last meal."

He hoped she didn't mean what he thought she did, but he'd dealt with enough gross enemies to know better. Sure enough, a thundering blast of putrid stink ripped from her backside, and Jake was forced to fight through the burning stench of sulfur to hold on.

BBBBRRRRRBBBBBRRRBBBBBBTTTTTT

He coughed as the air around him became polluted by a thick cloud of stink, but he held on and kept her in place. "Let go of me, you worthless mortal!" she bellowed.

He threw his weight to the side and forced her to topple over. She cried out in frustration as her body was flung and she slammed into the marble floor. He was going to need a shower whenever he got back to Earth, but for now he would deal with the foulness. Abaddon growled as she rolled over to try to push herself back up, but Jake was already rushing towards her. Alexis must have had the same thought because she was racing from the opposite side. They leapt into the air at the same time, and they both performed a dive kick aimed at Abaddon's head. The soles of their feet connected with the back and side of her head. The demoness growled in response, and surprised them both with a burst of angry energy. She used her clubs to push herself back up, and spun in a whirlwind of fury that caused a gust of wind to knock both Jake and Alexis back.

"Insolent little toys!" Abaddon screamed as she slung one of her clubs over her shoulder, "I was going to just eat you, but now I'm going to make you suffer! The boy will become a toy for my ass, you two whores will become foot toys, and the traitor will be my pleasure slave! I'll make you all beg for me to devour you!"

"Jeez, this bitch is full of hot air," Beth said as Jake and Alexis rejoined her and Pam.

"You don't know the half of it," Jake sighed.

"Black hells, you stink," Pam said looking at Jake.

"Well aware of that, Pam, thanks for the reminder," Jake snapped.

"Focus!" Alexis snapped, "That is an Arch Demon, a Glutton Class at that. We can talk after the fact, and Jake we will be talking, but right now we have to figure out how to kill this cunt."

"Where's that spirited fire from moments ago, you four?!" Abaddon mocked as she stalked forward, "Don't tell me you've resigned yourselves to the inevitable! Surrendering won't earn you any mercy from me, you worms!"

"Ugh, she is as annoying as she is ugly," Beth said before looking at Alexis, "Got any ideas as far as weaknesses go?"

"Her belly is the softest point on her, but not by much," Alexis replied, "The head is always a good target, but she's fucking massive. Can you do anything with that sword beyond just swinging it? Your bullets can stun her, but they're not gonna drop her."

"So what do you suggest?" Beth asked.

"We split up," Alexis replied, "Divide and disorient her by drawing her attention to one of us. Jake's got some kind of strength boost, I've got my own agility, and Pam's got her magic plus that weird copy thing she did. Pam, try to protect us while we move in and maybe do some damage from a distance. Jake and I will flank left and right, and Beth you've got the wonderful job of getting in ugly's face."

"That's it?" Jake asked.

"You got any better ideas, Bird Boy?" Alexis asked, using his old moniker.

"Not really," he sighed.

"Then it's as good a plan as we're going to get," Beth said definitively, "Let's finish this ugly thing."

"Oh, are you finally ready to fight?" Abaddon mocked, "Come then, mortals, come and learn where you belong in this world!"

Jake, Beth, and Alexis took off in a sprint together. Jake and Alexis broke off to circle around Abaddon while Beth maintained her course directly for the she-beast. Abaddon let out a cruel laugh as she brought one of her clubs downward in an attempt to splatter Beth, but to her surprise Beth blocked it with her katana. The force sent Beth sliding back, but she held fast against the powerful swing. Abaddon snarled as she tried to bring the other club down on top of Beth, but her momentum was broken by cackling skeletons that crawled on her arm like insects looking for food. She began shaking them off, sending their bones flying with each flabby movement.

Jake and Alexis made eye contact as they circled around Abaddon's wide frame. They decided to try to capitalize on her distracted state. Alexis dashed behind the hulking monstrosity, and tried to get onto her back. Jagged spikes adorned the top of her tail and continued up her back. It was about as good of a foothold as she could get, and she hoped to be able to get to Abaddon's head. She flipped into the air and latched onto one of Abaddon's spikes. Holding on was a struggle as the behemoth tried to shake off the skeletons Pam had summoned and keep Beth at bay. It was difficult to, but she managed to plant her feet just long enough to push herself up to the next spike.

Jake watched as Alexis started ascending Abaddon's back, and looked for an opening to attack. He had originally thought about attacking her leg, but now he didn't want to risk causing Alexis to lose her footing. He clenched his fist and decided to try testing out his new strength. Since Abaddon was more focused on Beth and Pam, he charged forward before leaping into the air and reering his fist back. He threw a hard right straight into Abaddon's side that caused her to recoil as his fist sunk into her thick side. She howled in pain from the force of his blow, and whipped around to face him.

"Goddamnit Jake!" Alexis yelled as she was nearly flung off of her from the sudden spin.

Pam had been watching the battle ensue between the demoness and her friends. She'd continually sent out her chains to halt Abaddon's attacks, and she'd summoned her bone warriors to scale and distract her, but they were doing little in the way of damaging her. Seeing her turn on Jake, who surprised them all with a powerful punch, she knew she had to change tactics. She raised her arms and clenched her fists which shattered the links of her chains. With a simple thought she transformed the broken links into small knives, and she began guiding them through the air as though she were conducting a symphony of suffering. She felt a small tingle in her chest, and a surprise burst of power transformed the blades into large knives that glowed with a violet flame. They circled and sliced through Abaddon, and Pam took care not to hit Alexis with any of her attacks.

"Irksome little pests!" Abaddon bellowed, "Enough games, time to die!"

Abaddon jumped up before slamming both of her weapons down. The ends glowed a deep crimson, and they created a shockwave that sent Jake and Beth skidding backwards. Alexis miraculously managed to hold on by wrapping her body around the spike. Pam could sense a large uptick in power from Abaddon out of nowhere. She didn't know what was about to happen, but she knew she needed to act fast or risk the others getting hurt. She closed her eyes for a second and called on the other parts of herself, "I need your help, please! If we don't act now, we risk losing both of them."

Rather than receive an audible response, she felt herself being pulled in different directions. It was always a strange feeling whenever her emotions manifested into the physical plane, but there was something almost invigorating about it as well. She opened her eyes and noticed her body was emitting a faint purple glow and three copies of herself stepped out of her. One gold, one red, and one green and each of them had faint, whispy trails of raw magic trailing off of them. The red projection, anger, shifted into a beam of pure energy and rushed to Beth, while the golden embodiment, her knowledge and wisdom, stayed beside her. Her green clone, courage, phased into the ground before materializing in front of Abaddon at the demoness' height.

Pam watched as Courage tried to wrest the clubs from Abaddon's hands. The battle proved enough of a distraction to allow Jake to recover, and Anger stayed close to Beth acting like a shield for her beloved. She saw Alexis fighting to find a way closer to Abaddon's head by climbing up her back. Wisdom took control of her torrent of blades that continued to zip around Abaddon and dig into her demonic flesh. "Move up, and focus on protecting Jake," Wisdom's calm voice whispered in her head, "Anger will protect Beth, you need to give them the opening they need to finish this monster."

Beth had just regained her footing when a red version of her girlfriend appeared beside her. It swirled around her to create a shield that prevented any of the wind from Pam's gigantic green duplicate and Abaddon from knocking her back any further. "My Kitten!" the red apparition growled menacingly.

"Jesus, calm down," Beth said as she readied her sword, "Which one are you?"

She never got a response because as soon as she asked one of Abaddon's clubs came rushing towards her. The red copy swelled in size as it held up its hands and repelled the incoming attack. The red spirit struck Abaddon's clubs with enough force that it knocked the gargantuan Glutton off balance, and the green clone seized the opportunity and locked its hands on Abaddon's other arm. It yanked the club from her arm, struck the demoness in her stomach, and carelessly threw the weapon away. Abaddon doubled over in pain, but quickly recovered and swung her other arm in an upward arc that shattered the green apparition. Beth watched the display, and was about to run to Jake's aid when she saw Pam's Shroud curl around him to spirit him away from the free falling club.

Jake had been caught off guard by the sudden appearance of multiple Pams, most notable the gigantic green one that just appeared out of the ground. He'd only just recovered from the thunderous shockwave when the fight ensued, and shortly after it begun one of the demoness' clubs was taken and thrown at him. The last thing he saw before he was encased in a soft darkness was Abaddon shatter the green titan's head and start devouring what was left of its body. He felt himself get pulled in another direction before whatever had wrapped around him disappeared. He was further away from Abaddon than before, and he felt Pam's presence beside him. Confusing as it was, he didn't have time to question things. He could see her cloak billowing behind her, but her eyes were locked on Beth.

"We need to get back there," he said definitively, "Alexis needs my help, and Beth is going to get herself killed if we leave her alone."

"Part of me is with Beth, but you're right," Pam replied, "The longer this fight goes on, the more dangerous this thing becomes. I'm right behind you, and I'll make sure you get where you need to go."

He nodded and took off to try to circle Abaddon again. He needed to get closer to Alexis, and while he wasn't sure what Pam meant, he trusted her to know what she was doing. "A little help, here!" Alexis screamed in frustration.

"Why. Won't. You. Die?!" Abaddon demanded as she tried to swing at Beth once again, "This infernal magic and ridiculous desire to live is infuriating!"

Beth was preparing a defensive counter, but whatever part of Pam the red copy kept meeting her blows with explosive torrents of energy. The entire time Pam's ethereal knives, now glowing a brilliant gold, continued zooming past her and digging into Abaddon's body before ripping themselves out. She sighed and looked down at her sword. She widened her stance, squatted down just a bit, and hovered her hand of the hilt of the blade, "If you've got any tricks up your sleeve, any use beyond a dumb paperweight, now is the time to show me. I need to bring this oversized bitch down!"

To her surprise, the blade answered, "Do you fight for yourself or for them?"

"I fight to protect those that I care about," she thought back, "Anyone who needs my help, anyone who can't defend themselves, and I'd rather give my own damn life than let anyone else suffer."

The sword never responded, but she felt something clawing at the edge of her mind. It felt invasive, and it reminded her of whenever Goth tried to worm her way into her brain. She resisted the urge to fight it, hoping that it was the spirit of the Northwind probing her mind for whatever it needed to see. Strangely, time seemed to slow down around her while this happened. There was a heat that started forming in her chest, and she wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not. Then, she heard it speak once more, "Accept my gift, and bring down the giant before you. Show me that you can wield my power."

While Beth was off in her own little world, Alexis had finally managed to get to the top of Abaddon's back. Her constant flailing and fighting had made her trek incredibly difficult, but she'd finally made it. She heard Jake yell from below, "Alexis, catch!"

She looked down in time to see one of his sticks flying through the air towards her. She snatched it once it was close, and nodded her thanks to him as she flipped the switch on the side to cause it to crackle with electricity. She saw Pam's cloak fly over him with her floating in the air to whip away more of Abaddon's acidic drool that poured from her mouth. "I've always wanted to say this," she whispered to herself before driving the stick down into Abaddon's eye and yelling, "Smile, you son of a bitch!"

Abaddon was stunned and began screaming as she was blinded in one eye. Her club fell to the ground as she was overcome with tremendous pain. She was too dazed to realize what was happening until she felt a strong blow to her side that sent her tumbling over. The boy, the boy had hit her again! How? How was he so strong?! How were these weakling able to give her such a difficult time?! Who were these four, and why were they this strong?

Alexis leapt off of Abaddon's head and landed beside Jake and Pam. The three of them watched as Abaddon fell to the ground and created a small crater from her girth. Pam's cloak shielded them from the backlash, and they watched as something odd happened to Beth. Her body started to emit a blue glow as she stood still. To everyone's surprise, bright blue flames sprung to life along her back and they began to take shape. It looked like some sort of massive samurai warrior clad in armor was coming out of her back mirroring her movements. They looked on in awe as she suddenly took off in a sprint with her hand still hovering over the hilt of her sword.

Beth wasn't sure what was happening, but the heat from within her grew to new heights and she felt incredible! It was like some sort of power had taken root inside of her. She dashed forward with confidence, and waited until she was directly in front of Abaddon's exposed belly to unsheathe her sword. She sliced up then quickly brought it back down, but she wasn't through yet. Her body moved of its own accord, and she unleashed a flurry of lightning fast slashes along Abaddon's stomach. She counted thirty swings of her sword before she brought it back to rest in its home. A vortex could be felt forming inside of the sheathe, and she waited until it felt like it might burst before unsheathing the blade one final time. A flash of blue blinded everyone, and she exhaled slowly as she brought the blade back into its scabbard. The metallic clink of its guard hitting the sheathe caused the copius cuts to suddenly rupture on Abddon, and her stomach ruptured from all of them. The acid of her stomach spilled out, but none of it affected her. Whatever power had come over her protected her from it as she walked away.

She made it back to the others before falling to one knee as the power left her just as quickly as it had come. She felt Pam wrap her in an embrace and heard her whisper, "Kitten, that was incredible. Are you alright?"

She nodded as she caught her breath, "Yeah, I'll be fine. As long as that thing is dead, that's all that matters."

"What was with the samurai ghost thingy, Kitty-Cat?" Alexis asked.

"What are you talking about?" Beth asked.

"That thing that was above you, Beth," Jake answered, "It followed you, and every swing of your sword it unleashed a bigger slash."

"Don't know, but whatever it was I'm exhausted," she admitted, "It felt good, though, really good."

"My guess would be that it was the spirit that inhabits her sword," Pam said.

"And what about you?" Alexis asked, "What was with the crazy giant green thing, the gold you, and the red one? I don't remember you being able to do that when I was alive."

"Whichever one the red one was, reminded me of you whenever someone tries to flirt with me," Beth said with a grin.

"Anger, Courage, and Wisdom lent me their aid," Pam replied, "Anger is extremely protective of you, Kitten, and I wasn't surprised when she went straight to you. They are all manifestations of my emotional state, they're tied to my empathic abilities."

"Impressive display, you four," Lilith's voice called out as she sauntered over to them, "I admit, for a moment I thought you all were going to end up as her toys. But then, that wouldn't be so bad for you, would it Jake?"

Jake scowled, but his blush took away from his intimidating demeanor, "We weren't going to end up as food or toys for that monster."

"Quite right, at least not you, Jake," Lilith said as she traced her fingertips along his arm, "You belong to me, never forget that. Perhaps you four may be able to wrest control from Dorothy and her dull dominion. I'll be eagerly awaiting the results either way. At least I'll have a consolation prize should you fail."

Alexis glared at Lilith, but kept her mouth shut. "Great, are we done here?" Beth asked, breaking the silence, "Nice as this place is, I'd really like to get back home."

"Hold on," Pam said, stepping forward, "I want your word that you'll keep your legions of demons on this side of the veil. The only reason we are here is because of Dorothy's invasion, and I'd rather not make visiting a habit."

"You have my word, Pamela," Lilith said with a smile, "Although, I'd be more worried about what's been happening in your absence than any of my plans. I suggest you four get a move on, unless you want your world to be changed forever that is."

"What are you on about?" Beth asked.

"I will forgive your lack of formality simply because I like your mistress, girl," Lilith said, glaring at her, "I suggest you speak to Jake about it on your way to The Spire. You have a long walk ahead of you. Until we meet again, and I do sincerely wish you all the best. May your paths align with victory, and may all your endeavors be fruitful. Now, begone from my home."

The four of them nodded and began their return trip. They walked in silence along the marble pathway, and as they departed they noticed Lilith approach the remains of Abaddon. She seemed to be drawing power from what was left of the Arch Demon, but only Alexis truly knew what was happening. She was stoic and silent for a change as they walked through the marble expanse that Lilith called home. They felt the eyes of Lilith's daughters leering at them as they passed. It was unsettling, but they hoped they were bound to obey their mother. If not, then they would have another battle on their hands. They never moved from their perches, though, and after some time, they were once again tredding along the red wastes of Hell.

It was after they'd been walking for a while when Alexis marched to the front and blocked their path. She put her hands on her hips as she glared up at Jake, "What?" he asked.

She surprised them when she slapped him across the face, "How could you be so stupid?!" she demanded.

"Ow!" he yelled as he touched the burning bit of skin from where she'd hit him, "What are you talking about?!"

"You made a deal with Lilith, you idiot!" Alexis shouted, "Do you have any idea what that means? Nevermind the fact that you're mine, do you know what she does to mortals?!"

He glared at her and was about to reply when Pam spoke up, "She's right, Jake, it was a foolish move to deal with her."

"What choice did I have?" he asked, "She was going to give me to her daughters, and then keep what was left of me for her own amusement anyway."

"What happened to you?" Alexis asked, "The Jake I knew would have found a way out, and he certainly wouldn't have given into the demands of a lunatic. How many times did you turn me down, for crying out loud?!"

"You've got no idea what I've been through," he said, coldly, "While you've been down here enjoying yourself, the rest of us have been dealing with Rebecca!"

"You think I've been enjoying myself?" Alexis asked before sighing, "Newsflash, dumbass, I've been stuck down here missing you! Why do you think I made you go and talk to Ashley? It's because her and I bonded over you! You chose that bitch over both of us! Yeah, we're not perfect, but at least we would have actually cared about you! Everything I did down here was a way of distracting myself from the pain of having the love of my life reject me only to choose a bigger sadist than me!"

"Let's, uhm, give them a minute," Beth said, nudging Pam, "This has been a long time coming."

Pam nodded and the two of them moved on ahead, leaving Jake and Alexis to resume their shouting match. Jake sneered at her, "Every single choice I have made has been to benefit everyone else! I chose to be with Rebecca because she said she'd leave Metropolis and Beth alone, I chose to help her because I thought she'd change, and I chose to come down here because my city was in trouble!"

"And how has that worked out for you, Jake?" she asked, "She went back on her word and fucked Metropolis and Beth, and obviously she can't change because she's the one who opened the portals! Now I find out that you've made a deal with Hell's biggest sadist. You realize that she's the one who turned Goth into what she is, right? All that sadism, hatred, and evil is because her fucking mind couldn't handle the demonic influence! When she stole her powers, she opened the floodgates and her damn mind was altered!"

"Don't start with me, Alexis," he warned, "You have got no idea what you're even talking about!"

"Oh I don't, do I?" she asked, "I am a genius, and you fucking know it! There's records of every major event that happens here in Hell, and Goth stabbing Lilith in the back was one of them! Dorothy keeps tabs on everyone and everything that deems a threat, and that sociopathic bitch is high up on that list! Between absorbing the powers of an Arch-Lord, and walking through time only to keep losing you, she's insane!"

"What do you want me to do?!" he yelled, "I can't go back and undo these things, Alexis. All I can do is move forward and try to fix my mistakes. You think it didn't kill me inside watching you die? What about Ashley? You think it didn't break my fucking heart when I took her life?! This has been hell for me, and I'm doing the best I can to put the pieces of my life back together."

"Do you know what happens if you die with that mark, Jake?" she asked and he nodded, "No, I don't think you do. Your soul is bound to this place just like Ashley's was, but the difference is that you're tethered to Lilith. You'll be a slave to her, her daughters, and whoever else she wants to let use you. Then, once she's bored of you, she'll either cast your soul into oblivion or give you to a pack of demons to do with you what they will. You're an idiot, but I love you, damnit, and I don't want to see that happen to you."

"Then we win," he said, "We win and get out of here, deal with Rebecca, and then I figure out how to get rid of this mark. I haven't given up, Alexis, I've just had to adapt to these awful situations."

"So that's your plan, win?" Alexis asked.

He sighed and walked over to her, "It's not perfect, but you, Ashley, Pam, and Beth have shown me that I can't keep lying down," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders, "You're absolutely insane, but you've made some good points while we've been back together. If we get separated after we've dealt with Dorothy, then I want you to know that I have misses you too. I promise you, I will figure out a way to get rid of this stupid mark."

"You mean that?" she asked.

"On my life, I swear," he said and pulled her into a hug.

She stood there in his arms for a minute just savoring the feeling of being close to him once again. She had truly missed him. She pulled away and looked up at him before standing on her toes and kissing him. To her surprise, he didn't pull away. They kissed for a moment before she broke it and smiled, "I love you, you hard headed moron. You better keep your word, or else I'll have to get Beth to come back down here and kill an Arch-Lord."

He laughed, "Don't give her any ideas, she'll do it."

"I know, that's why I like the new her," Alexis beamed, "Alright, come on. We gotta take this whole thing one step at a time, and you need to tell us what's been happening back on Earth. I didn't like the sound of what Lilith was implying."

"It's not great," he admitted, "But I'll explain when we catch up with Beth and Pam."

The two of them walked up the hill to where Beth and Pam were standing and talking. He knew that his choices had led him here, and he knew that what he'd done was foolish. He did what he had to do, as he told himself again and again, and he would find a way to keep his word to Alexis. All he knew for sure was that they had to succeed. His own fate didn't matter, but he wouldn't see his friends suffer because of his own failures. He'd made a promise too, and he had every intention of keeping it. The four of them resumed their trek back towards Dorothy's base, and he began explaining just what he'd seen happening in their world as they walked.