The End Trilogy
By "RedFanatic"

Link: http://forums.transfusion-game.com/viewtopic.php?t=1890

Part I ...of Gabriel:
Monday December 7, 2009 at 03:18 AM.

Gabriel entered the great hall of epiphany in long easy strides, there where many more pitiful minions than there usually was but then this wasn't a usual gathering.
Around him all heads were lowered all except the three other Chosen, he made his way through the Cultists pushing them aside until he was standing opposite Ishmael in his accustomed place only then did he turn and look towards the great throne that towered above them all with the ragged sharp and heaving mass of Techernobog sitting silently upon it.

Gabriel didn't have long to wonder why they had been summoned because suddenly blade like arms closed about him and an impact like a lance of the coldest ice struck him in the shoulder, before darkness enclosed him he saw great wings engulf Ophelia's tiny body, fire glowing with a violent red entwined about Ishmael and Caleb falling as if the very floor beneath him had suddenly vanish and then blackness.

When his eye's opened again everything was grey, a pale ghostly grey. His should was on fire now and he could feel the venom torturing his body as it crept ever deeper. His muscles flinched 'Ha I'm not dead yet!' he gritted his teeth and drew in a deep breath, the pain that hit him only served to invigorate him more, first his hand twitched and then grasped. Even though he now could force him self to move he was far from free the grey was web and he could feel it covering him from head to foot.....'Shial!' he thought 'power hungry bitch! she'll pay dearly for this betrayal'

He steadied himself and then with one great effort tore his arm loose, and then the next and as his muscles tightened the strands gave way until he was all but free. Clearing the web from his eyes he surveyed his surroundings, the dark stone walls were thick with web, hanging at random through the chamber were many large rounded egg sacks and many lifeless silken bodybags. Around him several gloomy low passage ways lead off, no air passed through this foreboding place but the layers of silk clinging to the walls seemed to be undulating as if moved by a breeze.

Slowly he drew a pistol from his boot, 'thats no breeze....' he just had time to whisper before the walls erupted with hissing spiders each as big as a dinner plate, Gabriel knew the games these foul things played and immediately turned and fell sideways just in time to avoid the crushing embrace of a massive spider that had leapt at him from behind, the grey chamber roared with the echo of gunfire as Gabriel rose and emptied half a clip into the massive beast, it howled and turned it's legs quickly gaining purchase on the soft silken floor, Gabriel turned and ran.

The noise of a thousand or more spider claws striking the stone and layers of silk sounded like water running behind him, into the blackness he sped relying on his highly trained ability to survive to avoid the various obstacles that came at him out of the near pitch dark, as more and more spiders of every size poured from the walls.
Ahead finally a light gave him hope, it was a candle burning weakly as it rode the body of a Cultists that was slowly being dragged deeper into this hell by three or four wiry legged spiders, his pistol lit the room again as he dispatched the spiders and he came to a skidding halt against the blood spattered body of the Cultist.

'A few more rounds...damn not enough....hmmm whats this?' Gabriel stood the candle held high it's feeble light told him nothing his ears could not, they were coming.
he struck a flare that he had found on the body against the roof and then as it sparked and exploded into life he dropped it on the chest of the Cultist, the heat almost immediately ignited the rough Hessian robe and the room was suddenly lit with the flickering light of fire. The spiders with their massive mother in their canter poured into the room, Gabriel smiled and lunged to meet her. His gun outstretched he fire once, twice, three times before landing heavily on the massive spider who instinctively curled up and the two rolled back down the corridor, smaller spiders either being crushed or skittering out of the way.

Even before they had come to rest the sharp jaws and blade like and barbed legs had begun to assault him scratching cutting and grabbing at his body, but Gabriel was now in his element and even weakened by poison as he was his immense strength allowed him to twist, divert and deflect the many blows and bites. With a violent twist of his waist he snatched one wildly twitching leg and tore it in half sending a great spray of yellow red liquid gushing over the wall he then rolled the beast and flipped it over on it's back, the spider reacted as he knew it would by pulling it's abdomen up and jetting a cord of web to ensnare him. Quickly he let go of the flicking legs and instead thrust his one chance a bundle of TNT he had found on the corpse in the way of the sticky goo.

As it saw what he had the spider hissed and splayed it's remaining legs wide trying to flip it's self back up, as it did Gabriel moved his hand with the TNT in anticipation of the spiders route of escape and with the web hanging like a rope from the bundle the spider rolled right into the trap tieing the TNT to it's self. Staggering back from the spider as it span and flicked trying to free it's self of it's new parasite Gabriel drew the pistol he had thrust into his shirt, the final shot of it's magazine sliced the wick in half igniting the rest.

Gabriel just had time to turn and leap the opposite way before he was struck by the blast and thrown back into the dark passage ways.

The other littler spiders had become more nervous now they knew even in their numbers they would struggle to take this prey down, Gabriel made his way slowly back to the burning corpse. His shoulder was now numb and he could feel his arm beginning to burn.
'it's not too late.....not yet all.....i have to do is get out of these catacombs, nothing can stop me now that i have slain that bitch'
He collected the rest of the ammo and putting his foot against the Cultists chest torn off his arm at the shoulder, then wrapping it in some extra shreds of robe lit it as a torch.

As he walked though the walls still wriggled every now and then largely he was left alone unless he wandered into a food store or nest then he quickly had to back track and find another way, until he finally came to a large tall ceilinged chamber with a still cold pool to one side of it, his torch barley reached the far wall but he could just make out a large stone door. As he approached the smaller spiders once again began to swarm their fear from before seemingly gone, as he reached the centre of the room they formed a semi circular barrier before him and more were closing the circle behind. 'Well then looks like you all want to die!' he gritted his teeth and gripped the handle of his pistol. Then a heavy thump made him turn, to his right a spider had dropped from the roof it was the same large size as the one he had defeated and then another thump.....and another, Gabriel looked about him as the spiders waited their multiple eyes shining black in the torch light.

It was only in his last vision before he died that Gabriel finally saw Shial who had silently slid down behind him, her huge bulk easily twice the size of the biggest spider he'd yet see hanging effortlessly above him, as he turned for the last time he caught a single glimpse of her just before her fangs pierced his throat sending a geyser of arterial blood up and out, and as he fell to his knees the terrible sound of running water loud in his ears he saw Shial her legs lit by the fire light dripping in his thick dark Blood. 

Part II....of Ishmael
Wednesday January 6, 2010 at 5:12 AM

Why were they being summoned to the Hall now? Ishmael didn't like the feel of this, there was something odd about the nervous speed with which the minions and cultists were hurrying about. As he walked into the Hall of Epiphany his lips moved silently as he muttered various dark and arcane rites and spells of protection, the air about him was charged and the hall stank of beast lord, one or all of them were here....but he couldn't see them.

Around him heads bowed cultists took their positions and he nodded to the other Chosen as they lined up. Silence suddenly filled the great dark hall all but for the sputtering of the torches and the hollow dry growl of the one that binds breathing relentlessly in and out.

Ishmael had only a few moments of chilling fear as his dark powers pierced the veil of mystery around him before the hall erupted. An invisible wave of energy burst forth from Techernobog striking those poor wretched cultists close by him and disintegrating them on the spot, as it tore out to wards Ishmael he only had time to turn before it hit him stripping from him all but the most basic magics he could command, staggered he fell back his head rolling sideways and back around him he briefly saw black wings engulf Ophelia, Caleb fall suddenly into the ground and a hissing mass gripping Gabriel and then he fell. As he did a jet of searing flame arced across his view incinerating a cultist next to him, closing his eyes to concentrate he only just summoned the power to shield himself before he too was wreathed by fire, and then he felt great dripping jaws tighten around him and a portal took him and his captor down to the unbearable torturous heat of Cerberuses caverns.

The beast loped down it's winding halls Ishmael hanging from it's massive jaws playing dead as best as he could until finally they arrived in the towering central chamber, and with a flick of one of his massive heads Cerberus launches Ishmael towards a pile of rotting flesh and bones.

"so you want to play do you?" Ishmael spits as he picks himself up out of the detritus, in his hand he grips an ancient Voodoo doll it's limp twisted form gently twitching in his hand. Cerberus bays it two huge jaws wide heads arched upward, then lowering it's four fire red eyes to Ishmael he pours two jets of white hot fire either side of him. Ishmael stands his ground awaiting the right moment turning to square up to the beast he draws a slender needle from a thin pouch attached to his coat.

With a growling grunt Cerberus charges he becomes bored quickly when things aren't afraid of him, Ishmael in the split seconds before he will be pulverized by the iron hard skin of the two headed behemoth slides the needle into the throat of the doll, with a howl Cerberus falters and his heads instinctively lower to
protect their suddenly burning throats, the doll which was far more alive than most dolls of it's type emanates a visible black aura for a moment and then crumbles to a fine dust as Ishmael springs into the air landing nimbly on the rumpled nose of Cerberuses right head and gripping hard on his neck.

The beast reacts flicking his head up and snapping with his left jaw but Ishmael has already let go and is now flying head over heels behind Cerberus. Ishmael lands hard but aware of just how slim his chances are gets to his feet quickly and sprints for the closest cover, only just dose he make it before the rock of the passage
way he ducks into shatters with the impact of the tons of dog and anger, As he darts off down the hall the tearing sound of claw on stone follows him.

Ishmael drawing from another pouch a more usual Voodoo doll calms himself before moving off down the flickering lava lit corridor, as the sound of Cerberus diminishes other sounds become more apparent, such as the sounds of other hounds prowling these tunnels. Pausing in a cross roads chamber Ishmael examines his surrounding, the tunnels are alive with Hell hounds no doubt, the main hall has Cerberus and is a dead end anyway....'How to reach the portal!?!' and then it hits him 'make them THINK you've thrown the ball....hahaha' he laughed quietly to himself and then moved off to his right.

keeping low he made his way to a passage way that had an open balcony that looked out over the central chamber and then taking one of his dolls and his long coat that he had fortunately fashioned himself from the skins of several close enemies he set abouts making a decoy, it was relatively simple to imbue the coat with a form of
zombie like life and then with the powers of the Voodoo doll he took control of the mindless Doppelganger sending it up and over the balcony and down into the arena.

Cerberus turned a fiery blast setting the floor a light as he snorted, and then with another great echoing roar he charged, but this time Ishmael move seemingly impossibly weaving in and out of Cerberuses clutches he called again and this time other howls and barks answered him, and from tunnels and doors small red skinned burning eyed hell hounds raced each snarling and drooling boiling hot saliva.

Ishmael mean while sauntered easily down the halls towards the portal. After a few frustrating moments Cerberus finally lost his fragile grip on his temper and with a guttural stomach turning gurgle two searing balls of white hot fire erupted from his mouths they flew for a moment and then impacted close enough to the possessed garment to incinerate it a fling two Hell hounds whimpering away to impact on near by walls.

Ishmael could hear the barks of anguish at discovering that they're prey was not there clearly as they shook the walls around him, but he had reached the portal and there was nothing those ignorant beast could do to stop him now..... He quickly set to deciphering the glyphs carved into the stones that surrounded the perpetually falling wall of flame that served as a gate between Cerberuses realm and the earth realm, it was of course simple the hounds were perfect warriors but the dark arts were not their strong suit.

With a few words and gestures he tried to open the gate, the burning surface rippled and then exploded. Ishmael only just turned and covered his face as a cloud of drops of lava showered him burning and melting his flesh to the bone in places, rolling back down the gentle slope that leads to the portal he fell back in disbelief, "It is 'him' the one that binds himself!?! that holds this door closed" the burning surface was already returning to is former solidity "I see... so this is my fate then.....hmmm it must be true...well i fear my lord you have made a grave misjudgment" "no matter i will play my part....mmmm all that remains now is to get that ignorant creature not to completely destroy me"

Picking himself up Ishmael turns and walks purposefully back to wards the hall, as he approaches hell hounds charge but unfaltering he flies by their jets of fire missing only by inches, yet more pounce and bite but on he goes and then he finally breaks through, a pack running behind him into the centre, Cerberus again lets forth with a blinding explosion of flame as two massive spitting fire balls are launched but Ishmael rolls and again the hounds take the brunt of the blast.

Ishmael rolls back to his feet still running and with a final thought held in his mind he dives straight into the waiting jaws of cerberus. The massive jaws close severing Ishmael inhalf a great explosion of blood spattering Cerberuses second head which then lifts and snaps closed on the spinning legs of Ishmael and with in seconds he is gone...

But deep inside he still remains and with him his final thought, his final words, his final hope.... "Seek Revenge Caleb...seek Revenge"

Part III....of Ophelia:

Still pending.