Taking a breath, Fukushu gazed out at the grey and decaying landscape. The search for the Superior Church was proving to be maddening. No signs could be found. The kitsune was growing desperate, taking him into realms he thought he would never visit.
The Realm of Sorrow.
The kitsune's search for the Superior Church had bore no fruit. No mortal or magical individual offering any information. Fukushu now turned to those veiled in darkness, namely Annie Pendragon the Demon Queen of Sorrow.
The problem for Fukushu though was traveling through this realm of Hell. After beheading Geshp, chances were he would cross paths with the devil. Needless to say he was none to thrilled about that meeting. Then, there was Annie. That interaction would prove to be quite problematic.
Decades ago, when Annie was still human and mortal, she resided in an alternate timeline. In that timeline, she was the middle sister of Katie O'Toole, Gloria Turner, and Lisa Turner. The girl was relatively happy, discovering her parents Kellie and Jack existed in separate timelines and slowly growing closer to them.
Then Fukushu and his allies arrived.
Although Fukushu was not there, his allies including Abolith proceeded to slaughter Annie's family, chasing the teenage girl from her home and destroying her timeline. Fukushu in essence assisted in wiping out billions, perhaps trillions of souls. Sentencing them to an existence as soulless beasts under his control. It would inevitably lead to Annie taking a darker path. A path that would lead her to ascending the throne of Hell when Lilith died at the hands of Demeter. A death, which Fukushu was in part responsible for.
Traveling towards the Queen of Sorrows throne, Fukushu could see the condemned souls of this layer huddled in corners, moaning in pain or sobbing uncontrollably. These souls in life inflicted pain and sorrow on others, whether for their own pleasure or out of cruelty. Now, those same souls felt all of that sorrow in eternal torment. These pitiful greying creatures unable to even lift their skeletal heads as Fukushu passed.
As he traveled, Fukushu's own thoughts now lingered on the sorrow he too had caused in his centuries of life. Entire cities wiped from existence in his rage. Men, women, children sent to the afterlife due to his temper. He tried to justify it. It was war. Those whose lives he took, took someone precious to him. In the back of his head though, he wondered. Was he wrong? When his time came, would he end up like these wretched creatures? Tortured until the end of time.
After what seemed like hours, Fukushu paused as he stood before the Queen of Sorrows throne. Needless to say, Annie, the demon queen, seemed none to pleased.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here," she growled.
Fukushu furrowed his brow, studying the demon carefully. Annie sported a sinister expression, her fangs slightly bared, her dark eyes boring a hole into Fukushu. Even the demons bat like wings stretched behind her. Annie adjusted her iron crown, pushing strands of blue and blonde hair behind her serrated ears.
"I wouldn't be here without a good reason demon," Fukushu growled. "It concerns the Superior Church."
"And why would I care about fanatics?" Annie scoffed.
"They have already attacked my nephew and others you may care about," Fukushu countered. "And they have a weapon, a soldier of lethal skill, related to someone you are quite familiar with. Sophie Kane."
"Sophie Kane?"
"Lilith's older sister," Fukushu replied. "I know you are familiar with Lilith. Am I right?"
Annie paused, the demon queen glaring angrily at the kitsune. Lilith was one of the few things that tethered her to her humanity.
"What do you want?"
"Information and assistance."
"You must be joking," Annie chuckled. "Why should I help you?"
"Because this Superior Church poses a great threat," Fukushu stated. "These fanatics will not stop until everyone different than themselves is smited from the face of the Earth."
"You mean just like you and your allies did to my...reality."
Fukushu was silent, watching as the demon queen snarled at him. Slowly, Annie rose from her throne, her dark eyes seeming to pierce Fukushu's very soul.
"There is an irony to all this," she sneered. "When I was a child, I prayed that you and the others would let my family live. Spare my sisters and my friends." Annie scoffed, a look of pain crossing her face.
"Little good that did," she said sadly.
Taking a breath, Annie composed herself her pupil-less eyes focused on the fearsome kitsune. "You and your followers destroyed my entire family," she bellowed. "My entire home. All to feed your insatiable quest for revenge. And now, you come to me for what? As some sort of atonement? Because you are trying to walk a different path? Because you actually care?!"
Fukushu stood solemn, a stoic expression on his face. As he looked to answer, Annie screamed, telling him to remain silent. Watching the demon carefully, Fukushu could see the scared teenage girl that Annie had once been.
"I'm not interested in your excuses," she growled. "The amount of souls you've taken could fill multiple layers of Hell. I also know why you are here. You need help locating this Superior Church."
"Then you are willing to help?"
"They are a threat," Annie said softly. "To not only my realm....but to Lilith as well."
"Then you will help?"
"Perhaps," Annie mused. "But, I have two conditions."
"Name them," Fukushu growled.
"Find Geshp and escort him back to S.P.E.A.R," Annie stated. "After so many years in the mortal realm, he's having difficulty returning."
"Done, what is your second request?"
A malicious grin now spread across Annie's face as the demon raised a clawed hand, beckoning for someone. The sound of heavy chains dragging along the Ricky terrain confused the kitsune, until an emaciated figure emerged from the shadows. Fukushu's eyes went wide, his jaw falling slightly ajar.
"Yomi?"
"Jiro," the eight tailed kitsune asked. "Help me."
Fukushu stared in despair at the eight tailed kitsune. The vixen's white fur seemed dull, unkempt. Her eyes sunken. Her body thin and frail as if she hadn't slept in years. She looked terrified, in excruciating pain as the heavy iron chain weighed her down, digging into her flesh, leaving some parts raw and bleeding.
Fukushu roared, golden fire erupting around him. Leaping at Annie, his mind clouded with rage he grasped the demon by the throat as he hoisted her into the air.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!!"
"This isn't my punishment," Annie choked. "This was decreed by Lilith after Yomi attacked her son. After your sister's death, Lilith decreed that Yomi suffer for all eternity. Weighed down by iron chains, forever feeling the pain and sorrow Lilith felt when Yomi kidnapped her son."
Fukushu roared in anger, slamming Annie to the ground. The demon queen's throne shattered, the rock beneath her cracking.
"RELEASE HER!!!"
Annie grinned, the demon savoring the pain Fukushu was feeling at the fate of his sister. After causing her so much pain, Annie relished the emotional strife Fukushu now felt.
"No," she choked.
"She doesn't deserve this," Fukushu bellowed. "One time. ONE TIME! She acted with evil intent. Stop her suffering!!!"
"Why should I?"
"Please," Fukushu whimpered, his vulpine face a mask of anguish and rage.
"I leave her fate in your hands Fukushu," Annie stated, a malicious smirk upon her demonic face. "It is more than you deserve after everything you have done. But, it comes with a sacrifice."
"Name it demon before I tear your head from your shoulders!"
"Killing me won't free her Fukushu," Annie grinned. "You may be able to kill me, but Yomi will still suffer. You have to make a choice, and it is more than you deserve after all the pain you have caused. You need to make a sacrifice."
"I will take her place then," Fukushu snarled.
Annie chuckled, the malicious grin fixed upon her demonic face. "That's not the sacrifice I'm talking about."
Fukushu raised an eyebrow, his iron grip slowly loosening around Annie's neck as the demon queen leered at him. "I offer you this choice Fukushu," she snarled. "I will help stop the Superior Church, but you have to choose who you will save."
"What do you mean?"
"Which part of your heart will you sacrifice to the realm of sorrow," Annie asked. "Your sister Yomi? Or...your precious nephew Mason?"
"What?!"
"Mason, Fukushu," Annie repeated. "The choice is yours. With my assistance, your nephew will survive the threat of the Superior Church and live a long...joyous life. Without my help...well....the boy may not survive."
"You LIE," Fukushu roared. "Nothing will happen to Mason!!"
"Can you be so sure?" Annie asked. "They've already taken him once, what's preventing then from doing so again? No matter how much you try to protect the boy who has opened your heart again, his life is in danger. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't true."
Fukushu growled, heaving Annie's body into the wreckage of her throne. Sadly he gazed at Yomi, his sister, the sibling who relied on him, loved him unconditionally, the one sibling he would travel through hell to save pleading with him.
"Jiro," she whimpered. "He..help me.... pl..pl..please!"
"Make your choice Fukushu," Annie stated. "I'm giving you more of a choice than you gave my timeline and my family. Who do you sacrifice? Yomi? Your beloved sister? Or Mason. The nephew you cherish and has opened your heart once more? Which part of your heart do you sacrifice?"
Fukushu's eyes went damp with tears as he released a roar of rage and anguish. Offering a meek apology, he turned to Annie, tears leaking down his cheeks as he made his choice.