Inferno: Chapter 21 (471 hits)
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Submitted by SoxSexSax (View user info) at 2005-07-27 10:39:51 EDT
Chapter 20: http://www.ubersite.com/m/71188
Chapter 19: http://www.ubersite.com/m/70997
Chapter 18: http://www.ubersite.com/m/70350
Chapter 17: http://www.ubersite.com/m/69845
Chapter 16: http://www.ubersite.com/m/68845
Chapter 15: http://www.ubersite.com/m/66508
Chapter 14: http://www.ubersite.com/m/65131
Chapter 13: http://www.ubersite.com/m/35192
Chapter 12: http://www.ubersite.com/m/34063
Chapter 11: http://www.ubersite.com/m/18528
Chapter 10: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=10676141967013473
Chapter 9: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1066487978166723780
Chapter 8: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=106595175399835122
Chapter 7: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=106549765998947541
Chapter 6: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064957367793418459
Chapter 5: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064708642207119853
Chapter 4: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=106445883547967169
Chapter 3: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064345511408928163
Chapter 2: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064195167876012309
Chapter 1: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=10639441118252674
Chapter 21
As Midnight watched in horror as the harbinger carrying the very-much still alive Kyriss up the curving staircase, the picture floating in the oval smoke-ring faded, followed seconds later by its wispy frame. Tears were welling up in his eyes; tears he desperately fought to keep in check. He was trembling with anger and disappointment. John couldn't be dead! He'd been talking to him less than an hour before.
Inferno chuckled and then let forth a huge bellow of laughter. "That was priceless, wasn't it Midnight? Did you see how John's brain was splattered all over his face at the end? What a truly wonderful sight!"
Midnight turned slowly to face Inferno, still visibly shaking with rage. Inferno smiled widely. "Oh, your little plan has backfired. How sad. Now you are trapped, with the fate of all humanity resting on your weak, little shoulders. If you lose, I win. It's funny how the tables can turn so quickly, don't you think?"
"I hate you," said Midnight, slowly and with difficulty. "You are a total bastard."
"Come now, there's no need to be rude," Inferno said back, still smiling broadly. "Think of it as a game of chess. What did you expect me to do? Sit here and leave my mighty queen completely undefended? No, much better to have my rook standing ready and poised to retaliate. You underestimate me Midnight...and it seems perhaps I overestimated you."
"I don't think so demon," Midnight furiously spat back. "I am going to beat you at your own damn game, right now."
Inferno's smile had transformed into a wry grin. "OK, Midnight. Give it your best shot. I am waiting for you."
Midnight closed his eyes and concentrated on making the mental connection between himself and Inferno. It took him barely two seconds to reach out with his mind and grasp Inferno's; he was getting quite good at this game. He channelled all of his will, all of his anger, resentment and hatred of Inferno into the struggle to tug his opponent's will away from him. Every ounce of energy he could muster he forced into his mind in a desperate attempt to take control of the entity they had become.
But he felt nothing, no give at all. He had hold of Inferno's will, but he could not move it even a metaphorical inch. It was as if Inferno had secured giant anvils to it, making it heavier than Midnight could ever possibly manage to shift. Every muscle in his body was tensed, every drop of stamina was being used and still there was no discernible movement.
After thirty seconds of stalemate he was appalled to feel Inferno begin to reel his own will away from him. The agonised ache returned to his skull as the very force of his existence was slowly tugged away from him. Never had he experienced a sensation like it
(KILL ALL OF THEM!!! KILL EVERYBODY AND TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS!!!)
and never had he felt a pain so intense. He started to hear Inferno's own thoughts in his head as the demon slowly began assuming control of the whole
(MIDNIGHT IS WEAK!!! HAVE SOME FUN WITH HIM, THEN FINISH HIM OFF!!!)
they now were. Every time he tried to gather his own thoughts, Inferno's demonic machinations drowned them out
(HOW COULD I HAVE RESPECTED SUCH A PITIFUL MORTAL? LOOK AT HIM, PURPLE FACED AND GASPING LIKE A GROUNDED FISH!!! HAHAHAHA!!!)
completely. He knew it was over...He could not beat Inferno
(LET HIM GAZE IN TERROR UPON YOU ONCE MORE!!! THERE IS NO HURRY!!! THE HUMANS HAVE NO HOPE LEFT NOW THEIR CHAMPION IS DOOMED!!!)
at this game...he was too powerful and experienced...
Out of the blue, the tremendous aching subsided and he felt his will literally ping back into his head. Without Inferno's own mind to support him, his legs crumpled and he sunk to his knees, utterly drained. He frantically took some huge gulps of air; his body had been unable to force any into his lungs from the second Inferno had begun to fight back. He felt as if he had ran two marathons back to back. Every single muscle in his body ached and he could scarcely raise his arm to wipe away the deluge of sweat that was pouring down his face.
Inferno looked at Midnight kneeling before him, totally spent and wheezing, and smiled. This was not how he had envisaged his final victory, and yet it was still as satisfying (perhaps even more so) than he had ever imagined. He waited until Midnight finally gathered the strength to raise his head before making his victory speech.
"Do you understand now Midnight? Do you realise that my power is infinitely greater than yours? Do you see why I have never been defeated and why this will forever be the case? You can appreciate at last why I found your confidence so amusing!"
Midnight could not reply; all of his energy was being expended just trying to get air into his lungs and blood to his aching muscles. Inferno chuckled evilly before continuing.
"Do not feel badly about yourself. You, I am sure, did everything your master could possibly have asked for. But, in the end, it was not enough. Everything has to cease at some point, and that includes God's reign over your world. I am the only natural successor. I am the only one with the power and vision to create a new world...a world where charity, peace, love and friendship are abhorred, feared and despised. Where hatred, selfishness, pride and gluttony are the values prized above all others. A world of my creation. A world of my dreams."
Midnight stared at Inferno with despondent eyes. He had nothing left to give. He doubted he could even offer token resistance to Inferno's next forage into his mind. He had lost. He had failed. Inferno's face suddenly took on a sympathetic look.
"For your efforts, I shall reward you. Get back to your feet Midnight. Die standing up, not crumpled on your knees like all those who have come before you. Make mankind's last desperate stand with dignity."
Midnight barely heard Inferno. He had no energy; for his foe to suggest he stand was folly...it just wasn't possible! He couldn't even wiggle his toes he felt so exhausted. Inferno held out his right arm and raised it. Incredibly, Midnight felt his legs straighten on their own accord. In just two seconds he was stood upright, almost like somebody had inserted a long rod of bamboo through his body to support him.
"There is nothing left to say," Inferno said to him. "It is time for you to feel the full extent of my power. Goodbye, Midnight."
"Hold on just a second," came a voice from Midnight's right. Inferno's eyes, which he had shut in preparation for the coup de grace, shot open in amazement. He spun on the spot to see what had just spoken to him in his own world. Midnight struggled to turn his head and just managed it. He gazed in wonderment at what was before him.
The speaker was a slightly built man with long brown hair that reached down past his shoulders. He was wearing a long, brilliantly white robe that almost seemed to glow. His eyes were bright blue and his skin pale and quite ethereal in appearance. He walked towards them both with slow, deliberate footsteps. Inferno looked as if he wanted to say something to the man but was still to shocked to get the words out. When he came within a few feet of the pair he stopped and smiled gently.
"Hello Satan, Midnight," he said, casually. Inferno's eyes narrowed to slits and finally he managed to speak.
"That is no longer my name, God, as you well know. And what in the name of everything do you think you are doing, intruding into a private wager between Midnight and myself?"
"I didn't hear you state that outsiders weren't allowed in as interested spectators," the figure replied. He then turned his attention to Midnight. "Pleased to finally meet you at last. I'm God, by the way."
Midnight couldn't reply. He was too tired to open his mouth but the feeling of relief that swept over him felt more pleasurable than anything he could ever remember.
"How did you get in?" Inferno snarled at God, and despite the fact that he could barely breathe or move, Midnight could see that angry did not even come close to describing his enemy's state of mind.
"Hey, I'm God," replied God. "There's not many things I can't do, if I put my mind to it." And he winked knowingly at the panting Midnight. Inferno glowered furiously, so God elaborated. "If you must know, I floated in up your bottom, Satan."
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Inferno screamed. "MY NAME IS INFERNO."
God held up his hands. "OK, Mr. Touchy...Inferno it is. Sheesh, I remember you being a lot more mellow."
"You cannot interfere in this God," Inferno snarled. "This is not your business. Midnight and I have a private arrangement."
"Ah, unfortunately I also have a private arrangement with Midnight," said God with a friendly smile. "When he first embarked on this little task for me, he asked me to keep him safe. So here I am, keeping him safe, as requested."
"YOU CANNOT TWIST THE SPIRITUAL LAWS LIKE THAT!" Inferno shouted at him, with pure rage all over his face. "Millions of people ask you for things every single day. You hardly ever respond. So get out!"
"I help those who deserve it," replied God expansively. "And I feel Midnight has done more than enough to earn a little assistance."
Midnight watched the two spiritual beings argue in silence, his body slowly recovering from its ordeal. He hadn't believed in either of them three days before, and yet here he stood in a dreamlike state, gazing upon the creator and would-be destroyer of all life bickering like children.
"I'm warning you God," said Inferno, threateningly. "Get out, or I shall..."
"Or you'll what, Satan?" interrupted God firmly. "Please, tell us, for we are both itching to know the diabolical scheme you have in mind."
Finally Midnight managed to summon enough strength to add to the conversation. "Yeah, Inferno, what you going to do?" he croaked, with some considerable effort. "What did you call God ten minutes ago? Pathetic, wasn't it?"
"Did he?" God asked him, incredulously. He turned to Inferno, with His smile missing for the first time since Midnight had gazed upon Him. "Did you call me pathetic, Satan?"
"You are pathetic!" Inferno snarled at him. "Your powers are weak compared to mine. Your kingdom is nothing any longer. I am the mightiest being in existence; next to me you are a worm."
God sucked in his breath. "They be fighting words," He said, in a very fine impersonation of Clint Eastwood. "If I am pathetic, you won't mind if I give Midnight a few pointers, will you?"
He turned His attention to Midnight. "The trick to defeating Inferno is to make him angry. He can't focus on anything when he's angry. His rage blinds him to anything and everything..."
God stopped in mid sentence and whirled around to face Inferno. Midnight looked at the demon's face, and saw it screwed up in concentration. He immediately guessed that his foe was trying to wrest God's will away as he had already tried three times to do to him. He looked at God, who was standing almost nonchalantly, and although His eyes were shut, there was little sign of any real struggle on His face. Without warning there was a huge flash of light and an ear-splitting crack. Midnight raised his arm involuntarily to cover his eyes. He heard a loud thud and then Inferno snarl furiously. When he lowered his arm he saw his nemesis sprawled on his back, with a look of half surprise, half fury on his face.
"Don't try that again Satan," God said calmly as Inferno struggled back to his feet, His smile present once more. "If you do, I'll tear your mind right out and I won't give it back."
God turned back to Midnight. "You see? It is easy to defeat him when he gets angry like that. He never could grasp the art of self control, which is the main reason I banished him to hell in the first place."
"Hell is a necessity," Inferno spat. "You NEED me to take the unworthy ones. What would you do without me? Heaven would be a joke without hell!"
"Did I say differently?" God asked, with a note of incredulity in his tone. "I don't see the relevance of that statement Sat...Inferno. You are a very good guardian of fallen souls. I have absolutely no complaints about your performance. But always you get ideas well above your station."
"I WAS SUMMONED!" Inferno bellowed. "You have no right to interfere with a summoning!"
"You were not summoned," replied God matter-of-factly. "It was a mistake, that is all."
"THE LAW ON THE MATTER IS UNBREAKABLE!"
"For you, perhaps. For me, the creator of all the laws, perhaps not. If you seriously believe I am going to allow the insane mistake of five fools threaten everything I have worked for millennia to create, you really have learnt nothing about me in all your years."
Suddenly Inferno smiled, and Midnight felt uneasy at the sight of it. "Well, it seems as though we have reached an impasse, doesn't it? Midnight has to defeat me to stop my returning to Earth, and Midnight does not have the strength to beat an egg right now. Tell me God, what do you suggest we do about this little situation?"
God returned Inferno's smile. "Oh, I think Midnight has the strength. In fact, I'm quite confident that Midnight has more strength than you will ever have. If only he believes in himself. Midnight, do you believe?"
Midnight didn't know what to say. He truly didn't believe he had the power to defeat Inferno...he'd felt his enemy's power and knew he couldn't do it. "Uh..."
"I'll take that as a yes," said God, beaming at him. "Excellent. Inferno, begin when ready."
Inferno looked utterly furious. "You are going to help him. THAT IS NOT FAIR! GET OUT GOD!!!"
"No, I don't think so. If you don't want to start, perhaps Midnight will?"
Midnight still felt terrible. His arms and legs still ached, and he stood upright only through a combination of Inferno's magic and unbelievable willpower. He was still breathing heavily and his heart was still racing like a freight train. But if God was beside him...and if He was going to assist him, what was there to fear?
He closed his eyes and sought out the passage to Inferno's consciousness once more. Just before he made the connection he heard Inferno scream with rage. "THIS ISN'T FAIR GOD!!! YOU'VE CHEATED ME!!!" Then there was the mental click he'd felt before as he grasped Inferno's will with his mind for the fourth time.
He immediately tried to tug his enemy's will away again. Every last drop of the (very little) energy he had left he devoted to the task but nothing happened whatsoever. He had hold of Inferno's will but did not have the strength to take it from him.
He felt resistance to his attempt almost instantly. He could sense Inferno probing in his mind, trying to dislodge his grip. But Midnight wasn't losing control like he had last time, even though he thought Inferno was putting just as much, if not more, effort
(STOP HIM!!! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!!!)
into the battle than he had the last time.
They stood locked in stalemate for well over a minute, both totally unable to take even a fraction of the other's mind away, when suddenly Midnight felt a surge of energy flow through him. It was more than just a second wind; he had never felt this powerful before in his life. He felt as if he could lift the entire world with one hand...as if he could pluck a star from the heavens and extinguish it with a touch of his finger. He felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder and then heard a voice whisper "Here's the deal Midnight: you believe in me...and I'll believe in you."
Immediately he felt a shift in his head. He was doing it! He was taking Inferno's control away. And it was getting
(NO!!! NO!!! THIS CANNOT BE!!! STOP HIM!!!)
easier with every passing second. He tugged mentally again and felt a major change in the landscape of his mind...he had a sizable chunk of Inferno's mind under his control! Again he pulled mentally, forcing more
(HE CHEATED!!! DAMN HIM!!! DAMMMMMNNNNNNNNN HIIIIMMMMMMMM!!!)
of Inferno's will into his own head. He could hear Inferno's thoughts again, but they were no longer
(NOOOOOOOOO!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!)
triumphant; his enemy actually sounded afraid. Afraid and furious.
Midnight continued to pull with his mind, and it was now as if Inferno's will was made of cotton wool. There was no difficulty whatsoever, no resistance to him at all. It was like taking candy from a baby. With another heave he stole a massive amount
(ARGHHHHHHHH!!! IT HURTS!!! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!!! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS GOD...ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!)
of Inferno's will. He was almost in complete control of the entity they had become. He tugged one final time
(HELP ME!!! HELLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP...)
and took the final threads of his foe's control away.
He felt the hand that rested comfortingly on his shoulder remove itself, just before he passed out.
User Reviews
Submitted by Psycosis (user info) at 2006-01-23 07:12:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Please come back and finish this series. It's been a good read, we've all been waiting to see the finale for ages.
Submitted by SoxSexSax (user info) at 2005-07-27 12:44:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2005-07-27 11:47:07 (#)
Ranking: 2
Golly gee whiz. One gramatical error in a year's worth of writting sure is horrible. How dare you.
Minus two hundred."
I get grumpy when I make silly mistakes. Just my nature.
"Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2005-07-27 10:57:22 (#)
Ranking: 2
You ought to be in UberMadness. You'd own."
I doubt that. Working to a deadline is not my strong suit. I'd almost certainly forfeit.
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2005-07-27 11:47:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Golly gee whiz. One gramatical error in a year's worth of writting sure is horrible. How dare you.
Minus two hundred.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2005-07-27 10:57:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You ought to be in UberMadness. You'd own.
Submitted by SoxSexSax (user info) at 2005-07-27 10:41:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Fuck it, huge grammatical mistake in the first damn sentence. Man I suck.