The events of Aftershock yielded wonderful success for Zeus; as he sat in his dimly lit office, he contemplated the wonders of what had occurred over the past two days. Not only had Dr. Zeus vanquished the demon Ace Stevens, showing him that second chances are only for the deserving, Zeus also coaxed Kurtesy from hiding for good. Now, there would be no more hide and seek; Kurtesy would no longer have the blessings of cheap shots or trickery. After all, trickery was the work of the devil; but now the demon was to be stripped of his toys. When Zeus got his hands on Kurtesy, it would be a fair fight of good and evil. Or, at least as fair a fight as evil was capable of presenting; Zeus knew there was absolutely no way he could trust Kurtesy to present a fair fight. But he had found the weakness of the demon, in Sandy Deserts.
Now, all that was left was to sway Sandy away from her demon roots, and guide her towards the light. Zeus knew now that Sandy was aware redemption could be hers, if she walked towards the light. Even demons can see the just nature of God's soldier, when faced with eternal damnation in hell. Dr. Zeus offered both, in the palm of his hands; either she can cling to Kurtesy and sear in the flames of the fire, or she can take Zeus' hand, and reach enlightenment. Zeus offered to Sandy the chance to escape the fire.
Of course, he only offered. He certainly wouldn't give it. And as Zeus thought of this, he laughed a hearty laugh, for perhaps the first time since Kurtesy's reappearance. As he lounged in his leather easy chair, Zeus looked over to a bottle of brandy that lay on his table. He had hardly noticed this before this moment, and wondered as to how this had appeared. He picked it up and noticed a note-
Doctor,
To the eventual demise of the wicked. For I know you were the one chosen to return these hell spawn to where they belong.
Cheers,
Chastity
What a noble thought, from such a noble woman. She, of virtue, had surely received God's grace, and understood Zeus' worth. It felt nice to be recognized; while he understood Michael's intent in taking Zeus to the fiery pit, he couldn't help but feel Michael didn't understand how far he was in his mission. Worse, Michael had simply sent back to the Wells Fargo Arena when they were finished. There was no explanation for why Ellie was in Hell, nor why Alistair had welcomed them into his home, without a fight. Indeed, Michael held Zeus back from a fight; what was his intent?
Dr. Zeus began to tense up at the thought, and could hear the same laughter from last week. The feeling that something was creeping in the shadows. Now, Zeus had more than Kurtesy and Sandy to worry about; maybe Alistair was spying on him, preparing for the imminent holy war by studying God's soldier. But, that couldn't be; Alistair had a certain presence to him. A dark aura, perhaps even more powerful than Kurtesy and Sandy's. Had Alistair been occupying the shadows of the room, Zeus would know immediately. Still, Dr. Zeus bowed his head, in a silent prayer. As his eyebrows furrowed, he prayed to the Lord to guide him, should Alistair be present.
After a moment of pure silence passed, Dr. Zeus deemed that no demons were in this room. So he went to look towards his brandy, and an almost expecting tumbler glass next to the bottle. Dr. Zeus asserted, to no one in particular;
"Surely even Michael would understand,
Should I celebrate, with a drink in hand."
And so Dr. Zeus topped the empty tumbler glass with what seemed a fine brandy, and set it on the table. After letting it settle, Zeus took a drink, and deemed the drink excellent, befitting a god. Or, even a soldier of god, as he chuckled to himself. And Dr. Zeus decided it would be a waste to not have more of this wonderful nectar, so he poured himself another glass.
And once again, Dr. Zeus drank. And he drank. And he drank.
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When Dr. Zeus awoke, he was greeted by a blinding light, once more. Though his head pounded, Zeus knew enough that this must be Michael, once again. But why? He had vanquished Ace, and now had Kurtesy right where he wanted. What purpose did he-
Dr. Zeus lost his train of thought, as he remembered; Michael still hadn't explained anything of last week. His blood pressure rose, as he thought of the injustices he had to suffer last week. He boomed out to his spiritual guest, in a somewhat angry tone;
"You've come to apologize, hopefully?
Now that you know I've brought you Kurtesy."
Michael looked over the doctor, thinking his words but all the while seeming distant. Finally, he walked over to Dr. Zeus, and took the glass that was still in his hand.
"What happened, last week," he began, never breaking eye contact,
"Was an act of necessity. You were going down the wrong path. Congratulations; you did your job." Michael dropped the glass to the ground, letting it shatter to millions of pieces.
"I'm sure you still have questions-"
"And you have answers you'll never share,
You don't need to tell me last week was unfair!"
Michael fumed for a second, as his nostrils flared. He took in a deep breath, and calmly stated,
"It's in your best interests to keep a respectful tone. Need I remind you what I'm capable of?" Michael looked down at the shattered glass below his and Zeus' feet; he lowered his hand, as he did, a hole formed in the ground. The hole seemed bottomless, as shards of the glass fell into the pit. Dr. Zeus backed his feet away, as Michael looked on in a scornful manner. When all of the glass had fallen, Michael raised his hand, and the hole was full once again, as though it never existed.
"Don't you hate having to clean up messes?"
Dr. Zeus kept his distance, and hushed tone to his voice; after all, he and Michael were after the same goal. No point in being hostile; God surely wouldn't enjoy his best soldiers' at each other's throats. Michael turned his back to Zeus, and examined the room.
"He's said that it was ok to explain the events of last week." Michael explained, turning his head around to look at Zeus.
"Much of what happened last week... Wasn't supposed to happen that way."
"I assumed so much, but what part went well?
Why were we even allowed down to Hell?" Zeus asked, sure to mind his tone.
"Alistair welcomed us; he asked Him to see us."
This answer took Zeus back; Alistair spoke to God? That was impossible to even consider; the thought of demons hearing prayers was puzzling enough to Zeus, but the thought they can speak to God? Dr. Zeus took a seat, almost unable to stand with this new information in mind.
"Dorian... There's something bigger going on than you can ever imagine. Hell is rising on Earth; demons are escaping the Pit, and no one is happy about it. God is dismayed... And so is Lucifer."
"But I thought this was all Lucifer's plan!
Isn't this how this whole ordeal began?"
Michael turned around, with a concerned look on his face.
"Lucifer wants to keep his minions in Hell. Think Dorian... Lucifer's job is to punish the wicked, and keep them in damnation. Who do you think lets the wicked act, Dorian?" Dr. Zeus thought for a second, puzzled.
"God, Dorian. Heaven and Hell? We work together. There has to be a balance to light and darkness; God knows this, and so does Lucifer. If that balance were to ever be broken..." Michael trailed off, allowing for Zeus to put the pieces together. He thought this over, and took a deep breath. He prepared for the question he'd wanted to ask so much, though he never wanted the answer. In a hushed tone, Dr. Zeus asked;
"He said Ellie's in Hell; that can't be true.
How could you all allow this? How could you?"
"Dorian... Demons live off manipulating the wishes and the prayers of the living. She prayed that the demons would leave you two all alone. Where was she was going to go; Detroit?"
Dr. Zeus paused for a second, to look at the ground. Ellie.... Ellie, no...
"She'd been so good in life; this cannot be.
She can't be in Hell; not my poor Ellie..."
"I need you to focus, Dorian. You've brought Kurtesy to the light; you've exposed him. But your job isn't done yet. Because there are hundreds of others like him. In fact, there's someone just like Kurtesy running around. Have you seen this man?"
Michael took a picture, and showed it to Dr. Zeus. It was a face Zeus had seen, but never had contact with.
"He's the worst kind of demon, just like Kurtesy; a demon who imagines himself an angel. One who pretends to do God's work, judging the good and evil, and who should be saved, and who should be punished. This man," Michael says emphatically, pointing to the picture,
"believes he is justice. He's nothing more than a petty thug. He must be stopped."
Dr. Zeus looked up from the photo, with a building rage. This was a man who passes judgment on who needs saving; how dare he?
This foe's a heretic, that much is sure.
He does evil, and pretends to be pure.
"Dorian, I want to show you something... I have to show you something. Why you're a soldier of God, and this," he turns the picture of Corvus over to Zeus, to show the face of a demon in hiding,
"This is just a demon." And with a brilliant bright of light, Dr. Zeus and Michael appeared in a room of black and grey trimming. This appeared a normal room, like any other, with decorations of different artists. Zeus saw pictures of popular rock bands across the room, along with pictures of girls together. Zeus went over to look at the pictures, and noticed that one of the girls looked eerily familiar. It's at this point that Zeus noticed the raven black hair and the peering eyes; these were the same eyes that could stare directly into Zeus' soul.
This was Chastity. But she appeared far, far younger.
Michael, I know of her; she does God's work.
Can you explain why, in her room, we lurk?"
"We're not actually here, Dorian... You're witnessing what angels are able to witness. Yes, this is her room... Or was. This is her idea of hell, Dorian."
Then why's this something I'm allowed to see?
It's her Hell; this doesn't belong to me."
"Because, Dorian, she's entrusted you with her heart. She fully believes in you, Dorian. You have saved her from this, Dorian. From living this hell."
A pounding sound, and tears could be heard. Yelling from an older man, incoherent ramblings that made no sense. Glass shatters, as the crying grows hysterical.
"What did you do?! What did you do?!"
More loud poundings, as the sobs grow louder. There comes a rush to the door, and a younger Chastity storms into the room, sure to lock the door and press her weight against the door. As she does, she slinks to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She looks little like the Chastity Zeus has known; she's a little pudgier, with braces. But more noticeably, she has bruises across her boy. Deep bruises, repulsive to look at but easily covered with the right clothing. Chastity bangs her head on the door, still sobbing. She looks around the room, desperate to escape. No window to break out from. She rummages through her dresser, and she hesitantly opens a small chest.
Inside the chest is a dagger. Still crying, Chastity ponders over the dagger. Dr. Zeus attempts to stop her, as Michael stops him. He screams to her, but she can not hear him. After all, this is
her hell and her hell alone. As she holds the dagger, she begins to sing.
[YOUTUBE]YSC0zQnLIWQ[/YOUTUBE]
As Chastity sings, she holds the dagger over head, staring as it perilously swings over her.
"My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation."
"Where's Corvus to save her, Dorian? Shopping for new makeup at Hot Topic?"
"Do you remember me
Lost voice so null?
Will you be on the other side or will you forget me?"
"Is she not pretty enough for Kurtesy, Dorian? He could save Sandy, but Chastity deserves this?"
"Am I too lost to be saved?
Am I too lost..."
"The truth is, Dorian, you were the one to save her. Men like Corvus and Kurtesy? They exist to make Chastity like... This. You saved her. Corvus can roam the streets all he wants saving the downtrodden, but he's done nothing."
"My wounds cry for the grave
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied
Christ
Tourniquet
My suicide"
Chastity prepares to plunge the dagger deep into her heart... And can't do it. She throws the dagger to the ground, as she weeps on the floor.
"You're an agent of God. Save who you can; destroy who you must."
And with that, Zeus was left alone. There was no Michael, nor Chastity. There was only Zeus, in his room. All alone. In darkness, now.
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Backstage at Aftershock, a woman walks the hallways, with a note in hand. Wearing leather pants, she saunters over to the women's locker room. As she opens the door, she stakes to look for a specific locker;
Sandy Deserts
She holds the note in her hand, and opens it up. It reads as follows;
Sandy, I hope you've considered your choice
Fear not, dear Sandy; you soon shall rejoice!
Come to the light with me now; leave your sin
And find that last bit of goodness within
The brightest light even shines within caves.
Kurtesy destroys, while Dr. Zeus saves
She sets down the letter, and walks out of the locker room. It is Chastity, as she meets Dr. Zeus, waiting for her. Chastity hugs her arms around Zeus, as he strokes her head.
"All will be well soon, I promise you this.
Corvus is the first to fall on my list.
Kurtesy, Kurtesy, look at the clock.
Time's run out; Hickory, dickory dock."
