by Ramy Vance
Terra tried to wipe off the muck covering her. "Ugh. Why does this always happen to me?"
Anabelle's stone spires burst into flames, setting Beelzebub on fire. "Because you always get as close as possible."
"It's not my fault I don't have any long-range attacks! I'm not all magical and shit."
Terra and Anabelle glared at each other, then Anabelle laughed. "I don't know, you seem pretty magical to me."
Terra waved away the elf’s compliment. "Aw, you're just saying that 'cause I'm cute."
Beelzebub was still gurgling, choking on his own blood.
Terra motioned toward the demon. "Uh, whose turn is it this time?"
Abby picked up Terra's axe and walked over to him. She stood before the main head and brought the axe down, slicing clean through the neck.
Beelzebub's flames flared and he disintegrated. A portal opened among the bones.
Abby tossed the axe back to Terra. "What is that, three more levels?"
Terra ran past Abby and jumped into the portal. "Who cares? I'm having a blast!"
Anabelle walked past the scientist. "It has been pretty fun."
Abby bowed theatrically. "After you."
"Hey. I'm sorry for all the—"
"Don't worry about it, Belle. I know that wasn't you."
Anabelle smiled and looked away. "Thanks. Catch you on the other side." She dropped into the portal, disappearing.
Abby cast one final glance at the half-eaten angel corpse, then followed her friends.
Chapter Eighteen
They walked across concrete pavement flanked by decrepit dead buildings, rust, and rot covering them all. Flies filled the sky, and the stench of decay was in the air. Time seemed to lose all meaning since each building was the same, no distinction between them, stretching on for as far as Abby could see.
Finally, there was a break in the monotony. They saw a lake of ice in the middle of a parking lot the size of a football stadium.
As they got closer, Terra drew her axe. "Anybody down for ice-skating?"
Abby scanned the ice, hoping to learn something about it. "Hell isn't about subtlety. Might as well have a sign that says Bad Guy Here."
They crossed the rest of the concrete until they were at the lake of ice.
Anabelle tentatively stepped onto the frozen lake. "Seems stable enough."
Abby looked up from her scan. "Looks like there's something under the surface. It isn't moving, though. Must be frozen."
Terra sighed loudly. "I hope we aren't going to have to dig our way down to it. Personally, I don't think we should have to work to get to the demons we're going to kill."
Abby slid onto the ice, her feet converting to ice skates. "We usually don't have a say in things like that. Maybe we won't have to kill anything, it'll just give up. We've already torn through most of hell."
Anabelle skated by on a thin layer of mana. She waved her hand over Terra's feet, casting a similar mana field around the human's boots. "Yeah, you would have thought it applied to everyone we’ve had to fight. After we got through the first three circles, I would have called it quits if I was a demon."
Abby led the agents to where she was picking up the vital signs. It was in the middle of the lake. They stood over whatever was beneath the ice and stared down, trying to see something beneath the surface. "Can't really make anything out."
Terra heaved her axe up and brought the blade down on the ice. "Might as well get cracking."
She let her axe fall one more time when the ice shook violently.
Anabelle looked around for the source of the commotion and gasped.
Terra continued to hack at the ice. "What is it?"
"Us."
Abby and Terra turned around, facing where Anabelle was pointing.
A few feet away, in the surface of the ice, were the DGA agents’ reflections.
Abby converted her hand to a plasma cannon. "That's a little unsettling."
The reflections shimmered and then pulsed. The ice beneath them cracked and water shot up, swirling and then forming doppelgangers of the DGA agents.
Anabelle's doppelganger took a step forward. "The reason nobody gave up is they all know you're wasting your time. You won't accomplish anything you're trying to do. You're a terrible leader."
Anabelle scrunched her face and pressed her hand to her chest. "Me? A terrible leader?"
Terra's doppelganger, which was hunched over like an ape, dragging her axe with one hand and grunted. "You hardly have the brains to get to the bottom of this. All you are is an idiot with a big axe."
She had turned back to the small hole she'd been working on and was busy deepening it. "Wait, huh?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder.
Abby's doppelganger floated into the air, her feet only a few inches from the ground. "At least it's better than me. I shouldn't even be here. Without these nanobots, I'm nothing. Just dead weight."
Abby tried to come up with a retort, but nothing came to mind. She tried not to think about what the doppelganger had said.
But she did think about it. Only a little bit, but still.
A fiery aura shot out and consumed Anabelle. She commented, "Could this be any more boring?" and dashed forward, covering the ground between her and the doppelganger in seconds. Her hand sliced through the surprised doppelganger’s neck, severing its head.
Terra was still hacking. "Would you mind taking care of mine?"
Anabelle flipped over and brought her foot down on Terra's doppelganger, crushing its skull. "Done and done. How about you, Abby?"
Abby was caught off-guard by Anabelle's words. She wasn't certain when she'd stopped paying attention. "Uh, yeah, sure."
Anabelle sliced at Abby's doppelganger. Her hand passed through it, but the doppelganger continued to stand. It smiled and turned to Abby. "See? That big brain of yours is already failing to take care of this. What happens when you can't figure out the solution to your next problem?"
The girl didn't have an answer. It was something she was constantly worried about. Luckily, Martin was always there to help. But what if he wasn't?
Anabelle punched the doppelganger again, her hand once more passing through it. "Huh. Abby, I think you have to take care of this one."
The scientist raised her hand to convert it to a cannon.
Nothing happened.
She peered at it. Concentrated on bringing her nanobots out to cover her body with armor.
The nanobots didn't come.
Abby slammed her hands together as she tried to keep from panicking. "What's going on?"
Abby's doppelganger laughed wildly as her body dissolved into water and slipped back into the lake.
Anabelle walked over to her. "Hey, is everything all right?"
Abby shook her hand as fear began to settle in. "Something's wrong. I can't feel them in me anymore. Martin, the nanobots, they're gone! What's happening?"
The ice trembled.
A loud crack made everyone jump. The ice between Terra's foot split open. "Oh, shit, not again."
A column of water burst through the ice beneath Anabelle, and she tried to steady herself as a geyser blew up underneath her.
Terra cracked up. "It's about time that happened to someone else."
The ice continued to break apart.
A feathery white wing with an eagle's talons at the tip tore out of the ice, grasping at the slippery surface. More followed until there were six. The wings were covered in eyes, which were scanning the area, looking for prey.
A seraph flew into the air, its six wings swirling around a black nexus that seemed to be a fetus. An eerie screech came from the fallen angel.
Anabelle hit the ground, then got to her feet, rubbing her sore ass. "That's not something you see often. That's an excessive number of eyes."
A beam of celestial energy flew from the seraph. Anabelle and Terra leaped aside.
Abby tried once more to summon her nanobots, but nothing came. She threw herself out of the way of the
beam at the last minute. "Something’s wrong! I can't do anything!"
Terra made a beeline for the seraph. She leaped into the air, axe drawn, ready to bring down one of the wings.
The seraph's wings began to spin faster around its nexus, creating a forcefield.
Terra hit the wall of energy, which shocked her and knocked her back. She hit the ground with a thud, groaning as she tried to get up.
Anabelle ran toward the seraph. She slid underneath it and raised her hands, causing water to explode upward around her. She froze the water as it headed toward the seraph, the water forming sharp, jagged shards.
The ice melted as the seraph launched a wave of energy and converted the falling droplets of water into knives.
Anabelle dodged, sending a wave of fire at the knives for good measure.
Abby just watched, concentrating on her nanobots and screaming for Martin to help her. Behind her, the doppelganger reappeared. "What are you waiting for?" it whispered. “Aren't you going to help your friends?"
Abby turned around to face the doppelganger, who stared back at her with a lopsided smile. "What did you do?"
The doppelganger took a step back and spread her arms. "What did I do? This is all your doing, Abby. Your weakness will be the death of your friends."
Across the ice, Terra threw her axe at the seraph. Before it could connect, it was transformed into a swarm of wasps which promptly went after Terra.
Anabelle let out a roar of rage as her eyes flashed and she slipped into the Path of the Lost. She slammed her hands into the ice, ripped up a piece, and tossed it at the seraph.
The fallen angel vanished, instantly reappearing behind Anabelle. It hit her with a white energy blast.
Anabelle fell to her knees, smoking.
The doppelganger was behind Abby again, whispering into her ear. "You're going to watch them die because you can't help them. You are nothing. Everything you've ever accomplished has been because of someone else. The most you ever did was give yourself that AI—your crutch. You can't even think of yourself as separate from the AI consciousness. You're hardly even a person anymore. No personality. No skills. You're just meat, wishing it was something better than it is."
Abby spun and hit the doppelganger in the face. "Shut up!" Then she marched toward the seraph Anabelle and Terra were fighting.
Anabelle looked at Abby. "Thought you were never going to join us."
Abby gestured at Terra. "Give me one of those axes. I don't know how, but this asshole cut me off from Martin and my nanos."
Terra tossed Abby the axe. "And you need an axe to reestablish contact?"
"No, I need an axe to help you guys kill this thing."
Anabelle and Terra looked at each other. "You mean, without your powers?"
Abby was still staring at the seraph. "Yes. Without my powers."
Terra raised her axe. "Fuck, yeah! No-power Abby combat! I've been dying to see this."
The seraph floated toward the DGA agents, its wings spinning faster. Abby watched them. "Terra, could you attack that thing? I'm working on some math," she said.
Terra cracked her knuckles as her eyes burned white. "You know it." She slashed with her axe, tearing up the ice and sending a sheet of it at the seraph.
A blast of energy destroyed the ice as it approached the angel.
A telepathic voice blasted through Abby's head. "Humans, you are wasting your time. I fell from the heavens to hell, and even this place was not strong enough to reduce my powers. What do you think you will accomplish?"
Abby watched the spinning wings. "Belle, could you hit it with something too? I need a little more time."
Anabelle slammed her hands together and slowly pulled them apart, lightning crackling between her palms. She molded the lightning into a spear and let it fly.
The spinning wings connected with the lightning spear, shattering it and sending bolts in all directions.
Abby bit her lip as she thought. "Okay, that's it." She spread her legs for balance, taking a knife-throwing stance. She counted under her breath, then she threw the axe.
The axe sailed through the air.
Just as the sets of the seraph's wings lined up perfectly, the axe landed between them, wedging into place and keeping the wings from spinning.
The angel dropped from the sky.
Anabelle saw her chance and charged forward, as did Terra, both of them arriving at the seraph together. They jumped into the air and brought their fists down on the seraph's black nexus.
It exploded in a bright flash of light and dust. When the dust settled, the seraph was gone.
Abby looked down at her hands. She made a fist, and her nanobots flowed over her body. "That's better." She turned to Anabelle and Terra. "Thanks for not freaking out about me."
Terra shrugged as she walked over and picked up her axe. "Why would we? The three of us have kicked every ass we've seen. We're practically gods. We knew you'd be fine."
Anabelle nodded. "It was a very good throw."
The surface of the entire lake cracked, then exploded without warning.
The DGA agents tumbled through darkness for what seemed like an eternity before hitting the ground.
Terra stood up, rubbing her neck. "You know, I'm really getting tired of that happening."
Abby got to her feet and looked around. They were in an underground cavern. Candles hung from the walls, casting flickering shadows. "This must be the end. It looks spooky enough."
"Who dares to enter my sanctuary?" a voice called from the darkness.
Abby looked in the direction of the voice. A throne could barely be seen in the darkness, with a figure sitting on it. "Answer me!" the voice thundered.
Terra rested her hand on her axes and then got a giddy look on her face. She reached over her shoulder and unsheathed her broad sword. "It's the Dark Gate Angels, fuckface."
"You've got to be kidding me."
The figure stepped down off the throne and out of the shadows.
Grok stood before the DGA agents. "What are you three doing down here?"
Abby looked from Terra to Anabelle. "We could be asking the same thing."
Chapter Nineteen
Anabelle stared at Grok from across the throne room. Even though an entire year had passed since she'd seen the orc, Anabelle still wanted to rip her face off.
She could probably do it now; her strength had continued to grow. But that wasn't why the Dark Gate Angels were down here, and feeding her personal vendetta wasn't going to help anyone. "Don't tell me you're the boss of hell now?"
Terra, who had her axe out, chimed in. "Yeah, what happened to the Devil? Isn't he supposed to be the one in charge down here?"
Grok approached the DGA agents and waved her hands. The lights on the wall grew brighter, but it wasn't all that happened. The walls blurred and then stretched outward until the room increased tenfold in size.
Terra jumped back in surprise when she saw the reality manipulation. "Whoa. You could not do that last time."
Grok did not look happy to see any of them, but she also didn't look like she was spoiling for a fight. "Only here. Comes with the territory of ruling the inner circles of hell. Unfortunately, it doesn't extend outward."
Anabelle pointed an accusatory finger at Grok. "Were you the one who sent those demons after us?"
Grok shook her head. She looked worn out. She had dark bags under her eyes, and the fierceness and intensity that had terrified Anabelle were gone. "No, those were demons or angels I had forgotten about. Hell has been going through a shift in management over the last year. Namely, our management."
Abby sighed as she looked around the cavernous room. "Don't tell us—"
The ceiling exploded, sending rock and magma flying, only to freeze in the air and separate from each other.
Rasputina floated through the hole.
The lich wore a gray cloak that stretched out and clung to the rocks and ceiling around her as if it had a mind of its own. Her skin was lively
for a lich’s although still as pale as death, but the rotting bits and exposed muscle had healed.
Her feet softly touched the floor as the ceiling reformed above them. "Hmm. We weren't expecting company. Did Myrddin make the ill-informed decision to send you after us?"
Grok rested a hand on Rasputina's shoulder. There was a familiarity between the two that Anabelle had never seen before. From their body language, you would assume they liked each other. "I don't think they came here for us. They were as surprised as I was."
Rasputina cast a quick glance at the DGA before turning around, her cloak sweeping behind her. "I did not want to deal with this today."
Grok followed Rasputina, leaving the DGA standing there as if they were intruding.
Terra followed their former-enemies-turned-tentative-allies. "You two the ones sending all the Dark Melody and weapons to humans?"
Grok looked over her shoulder. "Stop being stupid."
Terra halted in her tracks. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Anabelle. "What the fuck is going on?"
Anabelle shrugged, still uncertain what to make of all this. "Might as well find out."
The DGA agents followed Rasputina and Grok farther into the room as it broke apart and reset itself, forming into a dimly lit living room, complete with furniture and bookcases.
Rasputina collapsed into a chair and pulled back her hood as she kneaded the bridge of her nose. Grok took a seat in the chair next to her.
Chairs appeared behind the DGA agents, and they sat down. Anabelle noticed they were much more comfortable than the chairs in Myrddin's study. "If you're not sending the Dark Melody, what are you doing here?"
Rasputina opened one eye, looked at Anabelle, and closed her eye again, then turned over on her side so she didn't have to look at anyone.
Grok leaned forward. "We've been hunting the Dark One."
Anabelle's heart stopped. "He's still alive?"
"Barely. He's alive in a way that he wasn't before. Rasputina could still feel him in the Netherverse. We hunted him down and confronted him when we finally found him. He was weak, weaker than I thought anything could be and still be breathing.” She sighed heavily. “He was still too strong for us. Very strong, but not strong enough to kill us. That was when Rasputina found hell."
