This story features Neo-X and related characters, which are characters of Psipher and Shaylinn; X-men are
trademarks of Marvel comics. This is an unauthorized work and no profit is being made on this work.
This work is © of Psipher 2007. Please do not archive without permission of creator.

Samuel Guthrie woke to a most horrific pain in his stomach and an overwhelming wave of nausea. With great difficulty he rolled onto his knees and began to retch violently. The muscles in his abdomen constricted uncontrollably and acrid bile spewed from his lips. He found it hard to breathe, as if something were constricting his airway. A final heave and something inky black and very snakelike was expelled from his throat and spilled onto the ground.

The grotesque creature writhed in agony; its wail piercing, and shrill. Horrified by the thing that had crawled from his body, Sam grabbed a fist-sized piece of stone and smashed the darkling with it. It continued squealing and Sam continued pounding it. Ultimately the creature's cry subsided, and it was left flattened in a pool of its own dark blood.

A second similar shriek startled Sam and he looked over to see another darkling slipping from Lila Cheny's mouth. This creature too was bludgeoned to mush.

Sam drew Lila close to him and struggled to regain his breath and composure. His throat was raw and felt as if he had swallowed a thousand shards of glass. Through the rasping of his overtaxed lungs, he swore he heard a faint, yet familiar voice.

"Can anybody hear me? Hello! Chase? Lee? Is anybody there?"

"Samantha?" Cannonball tried to speak his daughter's name, but the stinging pain in his throat was nearly unbearable. Fighting through the agony, he forced himself to his feet and stumbled towards the sound of his little girl's voice. Images, as if from a lucid dream, danced in his mind. He shuddered at the memory of his daughter being gunned down by a point-blank plasma charge.

"Hold on baby. Daddy's comin'," he thought to himself; teeth clenched in rugged determination, he pushed himself forward until he came to the edge of a deep chasm. He peered down into the gaping hole and his heart sprang with joy.

"Can somebody get me outta here?" the freckle-faced girl called out. "My Box Unit is broke and I'm stuck down in this stoopid hole."

Samuel Guthrie burst out into tears of joy and relief as he jumped into the gaping maw of earth and found his daughter safe and sound. He held her tight and feared he would squeeze the life out of her if he wasn't careful.

"Daddy, what's wrong with the sky?" she asked. Cannonball looked up and saw huge fractures of glowing red energy cracking the firmament. Seconds later, streams of demonic figures began pouring out of the rend between this world and that of hell itself.

* * * * *

Uzuri Munroe floated weightlessly in an ocean of utter black. How long had he been adrift? Which way was up? He felt completely disoriented, and for a brief moment, panicked. But unexpected waves of empathy and welcome washed over him like a tide rushing onto a sandy shore. He felt a cocoon of warmth envelop him; the spirits of his ancestors and kindred both departed and those still tethered to the land of the living.

"He's gone, isn't he?" a familiar voice whispered into Sirocco's ear. He turned to find his twin sister, Jamala drifting an arm's length away. She glowed radiantly, as bright as the sun.

"Mistral? How...?"

"I'm not sure. I was sleeping aboard the Shi'ar starship when I felt it. The scream..." she paused as if collecting her thoughts. "I sensed you were in trouble, and then found myself here. Where are we?"

"Dreamtime," he responded and willed himself closer to his sister. Her feather-light touch gave him strength and comfort.

"Children - come!" a stir of echoes wafted through the great dark. Tribal drums and chants rose and fell in rhythmic beats as ancient as life itself. A gray mist swirled about the two siblings, and was then replaced by a roaring bon fire. The two no longer drifted, but found themselves standing on solid ground in a clearing near their tribal home in Kenya. Dozens of oddly painted faces and bodies dressed in ancient ritualistic garbs of animal skins and dried raffia ringed the campfire.

"A great war is upon us..." One of the specters approached Mistral and Sirocco.

"Naze." Uzuri recognized the spirit.

"Years ago I instructed your father in the ways of the shaman. Folly turned him away from the path, but his blood, his power, his potential flows through you." For the briefest of moments, the phantom cut his eyes over to the children's father, Forge, who stood rigid several feet away among the spirits of other ancestors. Their numbers were countless and represented aspects from both Cheyenne heritage as well as African priests and priestesses who had held power and position for untold generations.

"Jamala, your time has not yet come. Your moment of ascension is not yet to be. Though your spirit stands here among us, your body is too far away to be of use. Lend strength to your brother in the burden that is to be laid upon him."

Reluctantly, Jamala took a step back. "Brother, you are my heart. Where you go, I shall be also." The ethereal light that shone around her pulsed wildly, matching the percussion of the drums that sounded around the encampment. The illumination dimmed as the energy flowed from Jamala into Uzuri.

"I also." Forge stepped forward and placed his hands on his son's shoulders. Electricity shot through the boy and he felt his father's spirit enter him. En masse, the gathered phantasms pressed forward and likewise focused thousands of years of knowledge and foresight into the young man. His body glowed white hot and his mind filled with voices of ages gone by.

Uzuri felt himself falling, end over end. The campfire was gone, replaced once more by the infinite dark. He felt as if he would go mad from the voices shouting in his head, and just when he felt he could take no more, Uzuri sat upright. He was back in his physical body, hyperventilating in a cold, barren cavern carved of rock and stone which had somehow replaced the dank confines of the Morlock tunnel in which he had sought refuge.

* * * * *

"Make no mistake, some of us may not return home from this battle," Doctor Stephen Strange had warned. The words still rang in Richard McCoy's ears as he struggled to press down the abject terror that threatened to overwhelm him. "Some rallying speech," he thought to himself regarding the doctor's dissertation on how no one was being forced into the fray and that there was no shame in choosing to cut bait and run. However, logic and a healthy dose of reality could let even the blindest of fools see that there was literally no place to run. The skies and streets were filled with demonic abominations hell-bent on the total destruction of mankind. And by his latest count, the only thing that stood between salvation and the total decimation of the human race was himself and handful of other poor souls brave enough or foolish enough to take a stand.

"I'm a doctor, not a fighter," Richard reflected as he tested his newly acquired musculature. "Sure, I was state wrestling champ at NYU, and I've watched enough 'Smackdown' and 'RAW' to know a few cheap shots, but I'm just not cut out for this hero biz." He fidgeted nervously, feeling out of place in the improvised body armor he had been forced into. He didn't really see the point if his body had truly been transformed into an indestructible dynamo. Still, he ultimately gave in, admitting that in the case of such adversity, you could never be too cautious or too padded. In fact the entire team had armed itself to the teeth and waited silently as Daniel Wagner, Transit, calculated the coordinates for a locus portal that would transport them from Westchester County and into the heart of the beast itself, Wundagore Mountain.

Arcane energies danced around Transit's hands. Once certain that he had triangulated the proper coordinates within the monstrous caverns of Wundagore, Daniel gestured towards an open doorway leading out of the Infirmary. Strands of mystic arc light jumped from his finger tips and traced around the threshold of the doorway. The space within the frame seemed to ripple, like a stone dropped into a pool of water. The ripples increased their motion, concentric circles expanding out from the center of the archway and extending out to the edges of the frame. After a few seconds, the ripple effect subsided, and when it did, the view changed completely. Instead of the hallway leading to the Infirmary, the assembled group looked directly into a narrow, earth-hewn tunnel that lead into a larger cavern within Wundagore.

"Let's Roll." Daniel moved to one side motioning for his friends to step through the portal. Dante, Valence and Kismet went first along with Anodyne. The latter girl frightened Daniel for a moment. She had garbed herself in a formfitting singlet of the darkest green. A serpentine dragon, in neon chartreuse outlined in vibrant red, snaked its way from her back and spiraled down around her left leg. An arsenal of traditional Japanese weapons ranging from Ninja throwing stars, sais, a katana and bo staff adorned her body. A pair of retractable, razor-sharp claws had been strapped to her hands and wrists. Jade suddenly reminded Daniel very much of her father, Wolverine. He just prayed that the healing wards he had performed on her would be sufficient to see her through the next round of the fight.

"You are up next, herr doctor." Daniel motioned for Richard McCoy to walk through the portal. Richard sucked in a deep breath and hesitated, trying to settle the army of butterflies that had invaded his stomach. Seeing Dante and the three young ladies on the other side waiting for him finally set him in motion.

"Richard..." his father, Hank McCoy called out.

Stephen Strange raised his hand in a silencing motion.

"This is outrageous, Stephen. Certainly I should accompany you all. My boy has no battle experience, no training..." the Beast protested. He had witnessed his son being mauled by a pack of hellhounds only to be later transformed into a living Juggernaut by Doctor Strange.

"As difficult as this may be, old friend, I assure you that it is necessary. Your presence is required here and would only hinder our efforts within Wundagore. Richard. Go! There is no time for indecision." His brow furrowed in determination. "Henry, there are others here who shall need your help. There are some among your keep who are out on the grounds and in dire straights. See to them."

"But..." Hank continued, trying to force his way past Stephen. "That seems so small."

"It's big enough," Stephen assured as he barred the way to the nexus. "Daniel. Go." He commanded and turned towards the portal. Doctor Strange stepped through the archway which collapsed once the doctor was safely on the other side.

Hank McCoy found himself alone with his grief and rage over his apparent helplessness. Fortunately his rational mind took over and he realized what Stephen had been talking about.

"Oh my stars and garters! The lake house!"

* * * * *

Basil Kirkwater roared in frustration. Fortune was missing, abducted by a host of demonic creatures. Her parting words were...

"'Find the Magician' Who the fuck is the Magician?" Band mate Cayenne wondered out loud.

"I don't know!" Basil shouted and slammed a chair into the far wall. "I need feckin' some air." He stormed out of the recording booth and sprinted down the hallway. He kicked open the metal door leading to the stairs and bounded down them two and three at a time. He hit the bottom landing and tried to open the exit door, but it was locked.

"Son-of-a..." He felt a primal rage building and twisted the handle one more time while plowing his shoulder into the heavy metal door. At first he was met by total resistance as the steel frame held its place. A second and third blow finally unhinged the door and it went sailing off into the alleyway.

It wasn't until Basil stepped out onto the street that he realized that something was totally amiss. Screams echoed up and down the alley and when he looked in either direction, he could see people running for their lives, chased by streams of demons and other atrocities.

Basil stuck his head back into the stairwell and shouted up. "Cayenne, Cradle...getcher arses down here, right the fuck now. We got one hell of a gang fight on our hands and I'm ready to bust some feckin' skulls." Not waiting for a response, Hooligan bounded down the left side of the alleyway and stopped a few inches from the sidewalk. He stayed pressed flat against the brick wall. His adrenaline was surging and he felt his strength increased with each heartbeat. His mutant power fed on negative emotions, and a city full of panicked flatscans was like manna from heaven.

Hooligan edged a little closer to the end of the alleyway and timed his move to perfection. A frightened man ran by with a demon grabbing at his shirt, and Basil thrust his left arm out and grabbed the creature by the throat. With his right hand, he grabbed one of the demon's leathery wings, spun him around into the alley and smashed him into the wall. Bricks shattered, sending a plume of dust skyward.

"Where did you bastards take Fortune. What have you done with her?" Hooligan shouted. The creature raked at him with sharp talons, but they glanced off his toughened skin. His resistance to physical harm had increased with his strength.

Hooligan slammed the demon into the opposite wall, leaving a sizable indention where its face and chest made contact.

"Who the feck is the Magician? Tell me or I swear I will pop yer feckin' head off and shite down yer gawdamn neck."

Again there was no response. The creature dangled limply from Hooligan's grasp. Dark, inky blood dripped onto the pavement. The demon was dead.

"Hit the ground, big guy!" Cayenne yelled from down the corridor; she was running at a brisk pace. Hooligan dropped into a barrel roll and narrowly avoided a sucker punch from a second, larger demon. The monstrosity advanced quickly on Hooligan, but a series of explosions riddled its body, sending it collapsing into a heap atop its cohort.

Sweat beaded down Cayenne's face and extremities. Something volatile happened when her perspiration and dead skin cells mingled with kinetic energy. Too bad for the demon, that now looked like a severely moldy chunk of Swiss cheese.

"Nice save, luv...Darla...what the feck are you doin? Get away from that fecking thing," Basil shouted past Cayenne. A few yards down the alleyway, Cradle was bent down on her haunches and seemed to be having a dialogue with another creature that had swooped in from the chaos on the streets. Its eyes darted about, terrified, and it seemed genuinely afraid, but it was talking.

Hooligan and Cayenne ran over, and the creature skittered away.

"That was bloody well stupid of you. That sodding thing could have ripped yer fecking head right off."

"My head, my choice." Darla Hinkle beamed a shit-eating grin. "I got some information."

Cradles gift was the ability to regress living things mentally to a childlike state. Speaking to the demon as one child to another, and promising that he would be severely punished if he didn't tell Darla everything she asked, had opened him up like a book.

"Fortune is safe for now - relatively speaking. She and a bunch of other geeks are being used to open some sort of gateway for some big bad named Chthon to pass through. That's what all this chaos is about. Beyond that, the sleazoid said there wasn't much we could do other than stick our heads between our legs and kiss our asses goodbye." Cradle stood and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm paraphrasing, of course."

"Feck!" Hooligan spat. "Just feck it all. Let's go break some heads." He stormed off towards the frenzied streets. Rational thought left him and he entered the fray, swinging at anything that came near. Cayenne and Cradle simply shrugged their shoulders and ran off after him with Cayanne laying down a strafing fire of sweat bombs. There wasn't a lot of style or finesse, but the Danse Macabre was determined to make an impact on the swarming demonic mass.

* * * * *

Two hours prior to the cracking of the sky, Kenneth Dahl piloted a small puddle jumper towards the Louisiana Bayou country. He landed the craft on the front lawn of the Redfern Estate where he was warily met by Cody LeBeau and his partner Vachon LaCroix.

Kenneth exited the shuttle with his hands raised as a sign that he was not a threat and meant no harm. Something about him seemed oddly familiar to Cody; something about the face, but he couldn't quite place it.

"You can put your hands down." Vachon tried to put Kenneth at ease. "Your call seemed urgent. What can we do for you?"

"I suppose it is urgent. I have a message for Bijon Neely regarding the end of the world as we know it."

* * * * *

Silently, the Neo-X team made its way down the labyrinthine tunnel towards a distant light where shadows danced along the quarried walls. Nerves raw and emotions on edge, the small band of heroes remained alert, yet moved forward with duly noted fear and trepidation. Anodyne and Dante took the point with Valence and the rest of the pack a few strides behind.

"Katya..." Daniel thoughtcast on intimate mode to his teammate. He was not a born telepath, but with his rise of mystical abilities, he had become adept at rudimentary facets of thought projection. "What we are about to face is going to be more difficult than we previously imagined. Are you sure you are up for this?"

"I'm good." She was a little startled by the mental invasion, and tried not to "sound" contemptuous. She was still upset to have learned that Daniel had known the whereabouts of her family for months and had not said a word. She would deal with that later. For now, all she wanted to do was play cavalry, save the day, and head home. Provided they survived, she would kick Daniel's ass later.

* * * * *

Bijon Neely levitated a few inches off the floor of his meditation chamber. Something had been troubling his spirit and he had retreated to his sanctum sanctorum in order to seek out what was amiss. Arcane energies swirled about him; his cybernetic tattoos glowed white hot. Scattershot images of unfolding events flickered through his mind filling in bits and pieces of the puzzle. The hardest part for the shaman was determining which images represented the past, which showed the present and which revealed the future.

He wanted to probe further, see more, but his expanded senses felt the urgency of kindred approaching his sanctum. With a deep cleansing breath, Bijon returned to his body, stood up and draped a thin blue robe over himself to cover his modesty.

"B, you decent? You've got company," Vachon called from the other side of the door. Responding to Bijon's mental command, the door swung open, releasing sweet fragrances of cardamom, patchouli and rosewood from the many candles burning in the room.

"Send him in." Bijon's voice was deep and had a rolling timbre. It was at once soothing and unsettling - hypnotic.

Ken Dahl hesitantly entered the mystic's chamber and bowed humbly. "Master Neely. I have been sent to you on a matter of utmost importance..."

"Say no more," Bijon interrupted. "I know why you are here. Show me the recording."

Cybernetic leads snaked out from Kenneth's fingertips and entwined themselves around Bijon's arms and burrowed beneath his skin. Bijon sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Data flowed from the leads and Bijon interpreted the information as a three-dimensional image in his mind.

"Bijon Neely, if you are seeing this transmission, then know that our time is very short." Lleander Neremani seemed grim; his face was gaunt from worry and lack of sleep. "My gift and my curse is to see into the future, and should what I have witnessed come to pass, then you are our greatest hope for survival." The child held a series of computer disks and nervously thumbed through them. "I have uploaded holoempathic recordings into this unit. Together we must find a way to stop the coming apocalypse."

File after file opened into Bijon's consciousness; some images more horrific than others. He mentally compartmentalized each thread, combining them with his own insights before sorting them into a tapestry of a crazy-quilt timeline. Visions of worldwide abductions, hit and run attacks by the Horde, civil unrest in Genosha, increased public hysteria, the immanent death of Charles Xavier followed by the gates of Hell being split wide open chilled Bijon's blood in his veins.

"Vachon! Gadder da bois. We on lockdown."

* * * * *

Two hours later Hell did indeed break loose.

"Nicholas! What is happening?" Storm felt a rush of dread sweep over her as she watched the horrific images feeding into the hundreds of video monitors of Rubicon's primary control room.

"Damned if I know." Fury chomped on his cigar as he barked out orders.

"Cooper... I want full OPs topside loaded for bear and I want it yesterday!"

The central screen showed the earth spinning in orbit. What once had been a glorious site of green continents, blue water, and white clouds had been perverted into something grotesque with a sky of fire.

"Rubicon Security Directive: Fury, Alpha, Alpha, Tango, Niner, One, One, Launch." Silos spread across the North American continent opened, sending a steady stream of Paladin Class Sentinels skyward. The robotic defense arm of SHIELD raced headlong into the mass of demons that flooded through the fractured skyline.

The Rubicon control room steadied itself for the first wave of impact. Tensions mounted as dozens of shuttle craft dropped from the underbelly of the space station. Individual armored troops descended in mobile battle suits. Similarly, shuttles and drop-ships from orbiting Shi'ar star cruisers made their way down. Inside the ship, transporter grids hummed to life, beaming battle-hungry soldiers into the fray.

Storm and Fury waited in anticipation, but the broadcast feeds momentarily went to static before being replaced by digital images of Bijon Neely and Kenneth Dahl.

Storm gasped. There was no mistaking it; in spite of the youthful appearance and shock of sandy blond hair, Kenneth bore a remarkable likeness to Charles Xavier.

"There is little time for explanations, but suffice it to say, Master Neely and I have devised a series of countermeasures that will assist in defending this global pandemic which threatens our survival. We shall require the use of Rubicon's broadcast antenna array as well as access to Earth's satellite network to implement our stratagem." Kenneth's face was expressionless.

"Ain't gonna happen in this lifetime, pal. I'm not turning squat over to you or anyone else!" Fury spat into his mic.

Ken's brow furrowed. "I assure you, Colonel Fury; this was not a request."

The monitors went to static once more before returning to images of a planet under siege.

* * * * *

In the heart of the Horde's stronghold, Wundagore Mountain, Minotaur snorted his outrage over the rough handling of his friend, Damien Morgan - his unconscious body lay cast aside like a child's rag doll. Powerful hoofed legs propelled Minotaur towards Colossus who stood impassively waiting for the worst the Hellion had to dish out. As he suspected, the boy's best was not nearly good enough. Minotaur pounded and pounded at the former X-Man until his hands were a bloody mess.

"Are you quite done?" Colossus, utterly corrupted by Perdition's touch, backhanded the Hellion, sending him crashing painfully into the cavern wall.

"Scotty!" Lamprey and Quill shouted. Thorny red spines covering Cassandra Morell's skin stood on end; an automatic defense that made her nearly untouchable. The razor sharp quills, the source of her codename, were fiercely tough and were known to penetrate steel. She prayed to whatever gods might be listening that the deadly spines would pierce the organic steel flesh of Colossus and cut out whatever corrupted heart he might possess.

Cassandra expertly ripped the extensions of her flesh off and hurled them at the metal behemoth guarding the Chaos Engine. Most were swatted aside effortlessly, while the other quills bounced harmlessly off of Piotr Rasputin. Though her aim was true and her strength significant, Quill hardly managed to raise more than a few surface abrasions on the skin of Colossus.

His wife, the former Shadowcat, had also been seduced by Perdition's thrall. Now called Hellkat, Kate Rasputin leapt towards Lamprey with every intention of ripping her heart out and feasting on it. She had already incapacitated Krystal Frost, and taking down her student would be child's play. That was the theory anyway.

Under Frost and Quill's tutelage at the Massachusetts Academy, Lamprey had undergone training exercises that, ready or not, would now be field tested. Lamprey held her defensive stance until the last possible second allowing Hellkat to get closer. As Hellkat phased her claws into Lamprey's body, Lamprey unleashed the full measure of her own bioelectric energy field. Hellkat screamed as arc light danced around her body; enough voltage coursed through to send her crashing to the hard earthen floor.

"Nice move, meat. You drew first blood. I won't make that mistake again." Hellkat attempted to turn her body intangible and prepared for another assault, but the traumatic shock to her system would not allow it. The ground beneath her feet heaved in an unexpected burst of devastating force and Hellkat found herself riding a shockwave of earthen rubble. She lost her balance and fell from the rockslide, but her uncanny agility allowed her to land rather gracefully, unharmed.

Teryn wasted no time using her power to manipulate the earth and redirected the tide of stone; shifting its course to completely envelop Hellkat.

A second later, fury rained down from above. Having jumped from an access tunnel high above the Chaos chamber, Juggernaut crashed down on top of Colossus. A spray of earth and stone radiated out from the impact. In less dramatic manner, Valence, Dante, Anodyne, Kismet and Transit touched down at the base of the Chaos engine.

* * * * *

"I am the vessel of Chthon," Chastity Wagner chanted. Her mind, body and spirit had been completely subjugated; made ready for the full indwelling of the elder god whose name she intoned.

"That you are, my dear. That you are." Samhain's dark eyes held a glint of pride and a deadly sparkle. He was consummately pleased with his handiwork. Freelove and her ability to manipulate perceptions of reality would be the perfect home for his master. He pulled the young girl close in a fatherly embrace. "The wonders you shall create will become the stuff of legend."

From the shadows, Pup looked on. He had never felt more conflicted. How many times had he snuck glances through scrying crystals to watch Chastity Wagner's life unfold on the earthly plane? He had been smitten from the moment the Horde had taken an interest in her. He felt a hint of jealousy watching Chastity now, and the hackles of his neck and spine bristled ever so slightly. His unease registered with the rest of the leashed hounds who began to pace expectantly.

"Sheol!" Samhain spoke with a cool authority. "Gather the talisman and send for the final sacrifice." He turned and led Freelove to a set of massive twin doors which in turn lead to the mouth of a hollowed out cavern that wound its way through Wundagore Mountain. Once in the corridor, torches illuminated the grotesque faces of Samhain's demonic army. They eagerly awaited the final ascension and following their master's command without hesitation. Their ranks parted, giving way for an honor guard, such as it was, to drag a torn and ragged body forward to be unceremoniously tossed at the feet of their liege.

"...The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..."

The voice, though faint, spoke with unbridled conviction.

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters."

"Ah! Praying to your God even to the bitter end I see," Samhain taunted.

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

"Very poetic, to be certain, but I assure you there is no righteousness here." Samhain lifted the man's head so that he could glare into his yellow eyes. Had he not known better he would have sworn that the supplicant belonged amongst his own minions.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and they staff they comfort me."

A mock crown of thorns made of hundreds of crystal shards cut deep into the man's brow. Trails of blood cut swaths down his face and perimeter of his head.

"Do you like her dress?" Samhain gestured towards Chastity Wagner. "Black suits her, don't you think?"

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."

"Come closer, my dear. Take a good long last look." Chastity Wagner stooped lower, gathering the material of her dress as she did so.

"Hi, daddy." The dark pools of here eyes were soulless and utterly devoid of true consciousness.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

"Amen." Chastity made the sign of genuflection, touching Kurt Wagner's forehead, chin and both cheeks before standing and turning her back to him.

"Delightful. Now, shall we make our way along the 'Way of Sorrows' to our very own Golgotha?" Samhain motioned for Nightcrawler to be lifted to his feet. Sheol moved into position behind Samhain. The pagan priest carried a long black box with him. Perdition fell in line behind him with Herne and his pack of hounds. Demonic creatures closed ranks behind them and the procession towards the Chaos Chamber began.

* * * * *

"Pass codes are complete. Full system integration in four...three...two...one. We are live," Kenneth Dahl informed Bijon Neely. Simultaneously satellite systems around the globe repositioned themselves and retuned broadcast frequencies.

"Tactical! Status Report!" Nick Fury shouted across the command bridge of Rubicon Station. Green light flickered from the wall of video monitors casting an eerie glow across the command station. Streams of zeros and ones rained down the screens.

"Despite a slight fluctuation in the power core and being shut out of our communications module, all other systems are nominal."

"Nominal, my Aunt Fannie!" Fury chomped the end of his cigar. "Tech Support - I want these hackers out of our system pronto! You've got sixty seconds to get yer thumbs out of your sorry asses or else I will pull the plug on Rubicon and we can sit here in the dark. Somebody get me a visual, dammit! I need to see what the Hell is going on!"

"Commander?" a soft, velvety voice droned from behind Colonel Fury.

"Delphi - this is not a great time for Psi-Ops to be on my bridge."

"Believe me when I say that my preference would be to avoid the mind-blind at all costs, however since I am on the company payroll, I think it beneficial to point out that any attempt to oust the hackers would cause more harm than good." The slight woman wore a standard SHIELD body suit of indigo trimmed in gold. Her short-cropped hair was so vividly black that it had a blue sheen to it - much like her outfit. Equally dark glasses covered her eyes.

"Do tell." Fury seemed dubious, and expelled a spray of cigar smoke through his nostrils.

"Don't take that tone with me, Commander. It's unbecoming, and though I may be physically blind, my sight is far greater than yours shall ever be." Delphi's voice remained steady and calm. Her expression remained relatively impassive. "The data stream being pipelined through our communications array is a form of virus protection. The complexity of the algorithms is beyond imagining." She gingerly touched one of the screens on the monitor wall.

"This is what one our operatives is seeing at the moment."

The data stream visual flickered briefly before converting to wire frame images of the battlefield of earth. A moment later the image clarified to vivid color with full audio.

Countless numbers of demons spilled from the sky. Some areas were so thick with the creatures that their presence blocked out the sun. SHIELD operatives in tandem with Shi'ar warriors and robotic Sentinel units engaged the enemy and dispatched them as quickly and efficiently as they could. The situation seemed like a lost cause with the sheer number of the hellish creatures threatening to crush the defending forces.

"What is this? Where is this feed coming from?" Fury growled. He didn't like surprises, and this was one for the record books.

"From agent Delco's mind. We have a full contingent of Linkers monitoring our troops. Regrettably our best, most powerful telepaths have gone missing over the past few months, but we are making do with second and third-stringers. Communications are rudimentary, but effective..."

"Communications...!" Fury was exasperated. "You telling me Psi-Ops is controlling this dog fight?"

"Pretty much."

"So, you knew something big was stirring and kept it to yourselves?"

"Don't try to brow beat me, Commander. You were given ample warning. Maybe next time a precog like Cassandra messages you regarding her intuition, you'll take your head out of your hind quarters long enough to give her the time of day." Delphi stood her ground. Nicholas Fury was good at intimidating most people. Delphi, however, was not one of them.

"You've got a lot of sass for someone in your position." Fury scowled.

"And you are full of yourself, among other things. I suppose that makes us even," Delphi stated without malice. She simply said the truth. Such was her gift and her way.

"Guards - please escort Miss Antonopoulos back to her station." Two security personnel made their way to the command station. "Don't think this is over, Del." Nick's threat had no effect on Delphi. She merely sighed and turned away from Fury.

"So, shall I have the Linkers drop their rapport and cancel transmissions with the troops?" she casually asked over her shoulder.

"Do that, and I will shoot you on the spot."

"Apology accepted." Delphi walked toward the elevator.

"I...wait a minute..."

The pneumatic doors of the lift slid open. Delphi and her armed escort entered and the diminutive telepath spun on her heal and held her chin high.

"You might want to pay less attention to me and more so to the monitors. Take a look at what our hackers' countermeasures are doing." The elevator doors slid shut and Delphi breathed a sigh of relief. From her first day aboard Rubicon she and Nicholas Fury had knocked heads. "Good to know some things never change," she thought to herself.

Returning his attention to the monitors, the smoldering stub of Nick Fury's cigar nearly dropped from his mouth. In the few moments he had looked away, the tide of battle had definitely turned. Ebony creatures of all shapes and sizes had materialized in the midst of the fray and were steadily dispatching the invading horde.

One of the smaller monitors displayed a scene from the streets of New York. An impressively tall man was smashing his way through demons at every turn. A female companion hurled some form of explosive charges that either incinerated invaders or blew them into tiny little pieces. A second female held some form of allure over others, causing them to curl up in fetal position. The trio was joined by inky black creatures that smashed, ripped, bludgeoned or otherwise destroyed the invading demons.

The scene was the same worldwide. A combination of computer technology and cybernetic wizardry had given rise to an amazing counter offensive. From the isolated confines of the Redfern estate in the Louisiana Bayou, Bijon Neely and Kenneth Dahl worked in tandem to upload the cybernetic spell. Every existing node or pocket of Earth's mystical energies was tapped into, giving rise to a digital army that felt neither fear, nor pain.

"Nicholas! Look!" Storm pointed to another monitor.

"Punch it up, Smitty."

The viewpoint changed, reflecting the fractured sky. Little by little, the scars and deep wounds of the firmament began to heal, staunching the flow of demons into the earthly realm. Moments later, primary control of the satellite network returned to normal functions and Fury was able to take full control of his bridge to call battle stations.

* * * * *

"So, the X-Babies have finally arrived. Looks like your mom and pop escaped the old folks' home, Katya." Teryn's tongue, at times, could be almost as sharp and deadly as Quill's barbs. Her problem was knowing when to use it, and when to be quiet.

"That will be quite enough out of you, girl," Quill admonished her student. "There is a time and place for everything and your petty blathering is ill-timed." She turned her attention to the newly arrived Neo-X team. "I am certain that if we cooperate, we can get out of this mess alive."

"What's to get out of? Bucket-Head has the Tin Man pinned to the ground and the kitty cat is taking a nice dirt nap."

"My apologies..." Quill bristled.

"No worries." Valence dismissed the Hellions and ran over to where the rockslide had fallen on top of her mother. Dante accompanied her.

"Look sharp, Caleb. There's no way she went down that easy," Valence warned.

"A little help here!" Juggernaut called out as he wrestled with Colossus. He wasn't sure how long he could keep his opponent pinned down, and didn't relish the thought of a slugfest with legendary X-Man. Colossus was already beginning to slip from his grasp, but Richard shifted his weight and entwined his legs with Piotr's, and locked his arm's around the man's neck in a vice-like grip.

"What are you waiting for?" Juggernaut shouted at Transit who seemed in a daze. The young man's emerald green eyes were slightly glazed over having shifted from normal sight into something that he called his "second sight". One of the benefits of his rise as a magic user was the ability to see across various light spectrums and particularly to see psychic and spectral auras. As he stared at Colossus, he saw two distinct energy patterns overlapping one another. He drew his sword, Spellbreaker, from its sheath and waited. He would likely get only one shot and it had to be true.

Colossus shrugged mightily and partially slipped from Juggernauts grasp. Richard's head rocked back from a thunderous elbow shot that caught him square on the chin. A roundhouse punch sent him flying backwards where he crashed to the ground and skidded several yards.

Colossus stood and advanced towards Juggernaut, convinced that the rest of the children were no threat. He took a few steps before letting loose an ear-piercing shriek. The end of Daniel's blade stuck through his chest. A black creature, a Darkling Soulthief, dangled from the tip. It struggled frantically to claw its way back along the length of the mystic blade and into its host body. It let out a final shriek before dying and dissolving into an acrid pile of goo.

Shocked from being separated from the demonic parasite, Colossus sank to his knees. His armored form softened, turning to pink flesh leaving Piotr Rasputin dazed and on the verge of unconsciousness.

"Spasibo, tovarisch. Thank you very much."

With the liberation of Piotr Rasputin, there was still the matter of dealing with his wife, Kate. Dante eyed the pile of rubble she had been "buried" under with a suspicious and rather cautious eye. He raised his adamantium-laced arms and let his mutant power to control the earth flow through them. Systematically, the huge chunks of stone shook, and one by one were moved aside in obedience to Dante's will. When all was said and done however, the shifting of the debris only revealed an empty space where Hellkat should have been.

"She must have phased at the last minute." Valence looked side to side for any trace of where her mother might reappear. Had they missed her in the debris somehow? It wasn't likely. None of the chunks of rubble were large enough for Hellkat to hide in. That left one other place.

"Dante, look out!" Katya's warning came too late. A clawed hand shot up from the ground and wrapped around the young man's ankle. His leg went numb and Dante lost his balance when Hellkat yanked downward. There hadn't been enough time for her to affect the denseness of his adamantium prosthetic, but she did manage to pull his leg through the phased earth. If she let go and Dante's leg rematerialized within the ground it could kill him.

Valence grabbed onto her partner and extended her own phasing powers to create a flux field around him to prevent such a disaster from happening. She tugged at Dante, trying to help him regain his balance, but his weight was too great for her and they both became in peril of sinking further into the earth.

A massive brown hand reached past Katya and grabbed Dante's forearm. "It's okay. I've got you both. I'm not letting you fall," Minotaur assured them as he used his brutish strength to pull the pair from the brink. He was bloody and looked the worse for wear, but the beating he had taken from Colossus had not done Scott Hensley in.

Valence relaxed her grip on Dante and allowed Minotaur to pull him to safety.

"You can't hold your breath forever, momma. Come on out and let's get this over with." Katya palmed a number of miniature versions of her Cha'kram disk. The primary weapon was an adaptation of a Shi'ar game piece. It resembled a hollow-core Frisbee, but was made of steel and had a razor-sharp edge. Flat motor gyroscopes gave it a great deal of centrifugal force when thrown. Valence had mastered throwing it with deadly accuracy.

The smaller versions were modifications of Anodyne's ninja throwing stars; small enough to do maximum damage with minimal effort. Valence pelted the ground with them, hoping their phased charges would be enough to force Hellkat to come up for air. It worked. Hellkat leapt up from her hiding place and uttered a string of obscenities.

Valence did not let up her assault. She raced forward, releasing her primary Cha'kram from its sheath. She swung it at Hellkat, as if it were a cutting blade. Hellkat backpedaled, remaining partially intangible so that the cutting edge of the blade passed harmlessly through her. All the while she was looking for an opening to lunge at her daughter and rip her throat out.

It came as a total surprise to Hellkat when Valence hurled the Cha'kram full force directly at Hellkat's chest. The projectile sailed harmlessly through and embedded itself into the dense rock wall behind Hellkat whose response was to simply lick her lips greedily for the kill.

"My turn." Hellkat lunged at Valence with deadly intent, raking her claws desperately at her daughter. Valence countered by phasing her fist directly into her mother's chest. For the second time in a matter of moments, the enormous cavern of the Chaos Chamber was filled with the death shriek of a Darkling Soulthief. The creature's foul body was severed; cut in two by the circular blade sticking out of the rock wall. Valence had successfully ripped the creature from her mother's body and impaled it on the Cha'kram.

"H...how?" Hellkat gasped as she sank into the quiet oblivion of unconsciousness.

* * * * *

The death knells of the Darklings did not go unnoticed. As the coronation procession led by Samhain made its way along the winding tunnel to the Chaos Chamber, Perdition sensed the destruction of her children. She felt the sharp sting of their deaths and felt the blood boiling in her icy veins.

"Come, my dear Herne. We have uninvited guests and your Wild Hunt looks hungry." Dark Force energies coalesced around the pair and the pack of wolfhounds. Wisps of inky fog evaporated leaving empty space where the group had been walking in procession. Their disappearance went relatively unnoticed; their places quickly absorbed by the swarm of demons pressing forward to welcome the arrival of the god. Chthon.

* * * * *

Uzuri Monroe was a little disoriented at first. The spirit walk with his ancestors had been unsettling. He could only assume that they had something to do with transporting him to this strange chasm. He felt the faint staccato of distant vibrations thrumming along his skin. Curious, he sprawled out on the ground pressing his hands and ear to the hard stone. He let his senses expand, engulfing the tunnel and beyond.

"Footsteps," he whispered into the darkness. "Lots of them." They were close and drawing nearer, but were not the cause of the seismic vibrations.

He stretched his senses out even further, trailing along the earth-hewn corridor which wound its way circuitously into a larger cavern. Something there pulsed with a tremendous amount of energy. Mentally, he followed the tether laid out for him, drawn by the rhythmic hum of the device. He felt his spirit racing along the pathway and marveled at the sight of a device constructed of a series of concentric circles spinning in opposing orbits against one another. Energy cracked the air as it was released into the aether.

A feeling of urgency started drawing Uzuri back along the tether, but not before he spotted his Neo-X teammates and a small band of Hellions approaching the device.

"Hellions?" Uzuri queried to himself as his spirit snapped back towards its body. He was more confused than ever, but followed the prodding of his ancestors, whose strength and wisdom were now a part of him. Light from torch flames bent around a curve in the tunnel signaling the arrival of the processional. Uzuri slid his way along the wall to get a better look. The chasm he was in bisected another tunnel. The glow of the firelight grew brighter and as the first of the attendants passed by, Uzuri felt a stinging chill pierce his heart. Chastity Wagner, garbed in a flowing black dress, was at the head of the procession, in step with Samhain. Several demons followed close behind, dragging the near unconscious body of Kurt Wagner along the way.

A steady stream of the hideous creatures ambled through the corridor before coming to an abrupt halt. They seemed agitated and Uzuri was sure that his presence had been detected. As a unit, the demons did a complete about face and began running in the direction from which they had just come from. Something at the back of the line had gotten their attention.

That particular something was Carrie Conway; the British superhero known as Spitfire. A previous encounter with the Horde had left Carrie dead by a fatal blow from the demon Maaxa's axe. A subsequent intervention from the equally deceased Conjur had restored Carrie to life only to have her tossed back into the fray. A rematch with Maaxa found Spitfire the ultimate victor, but upon trying to rescue Freelove from the clutches of Samhain, the possessed child had twisted Carrie's fear of failure and of dying into a palpable force. Terror had invaded Spitfire's mind as visions of Death's cold touch embraced her once more. She had screamed until her throat was raw, denying the phantasm, ignoring the imagined feel of the cold earth pressing in on her body, becoming numb to the wiggling and prickly bites of insects, worms and other slithery things that would consumer her corpse and return it to the ground from whence it came.

Protesting limbs forced Spitfire into a standing position. She had staggered a few times before grabbing onto the rough-hewn archway leading out of the preparation room. To her blurred vision, disgusting creatures continued to writhe and burrow under her skin. She refused to scream again. If she were going to die again, she would go out fighting and in the process, take as many as possible along with her to Death's door.

With thunderous force Spitfire slammed into the rear flank of the demonic horde. Carrie's trajectory sent her through the heart of the procession, scattering bodies left and right. She continued forward until the sheer number of the creatures impeded forward movement. Savagely, Spitfire lashed out at anything that came near her. She became a whirling dervish composed of punches, kicks, crotch shots, and headbutts.

In spite of her frenetic pace and gargantuan strength, the overwhelming number of demonic warriors swarmed Spitfire, burying her underneath their massive weight. The cavern became a free-for-all of demons piling onto the growing mound, each member trying to grab a piece of Spitfire.

"Hold on!" Carrie said to herself. "Wait for it. You can do this." A moment later the pile of demons erupted into a ball of flames. Spitfire's body was a living powerhouse, and under times of extreme duress the energy was released in radial waves of destructive force. Her attackers were either destroyed or scattered in every direction along the tunnel.

In the aftermath of the blast, Carrie stood teetering on the verge of exhaustion. Huge gouges had been ripped into the retaining wall of the tunnel which had become unstable from the impact. Wind began circling around Spitfire and as the last of her strength faded, instead of falling to the ground, she felt as if she had become feather-light. A cushion of air held her aloft and guided her down the tunnel.

"Spitfire! Are you alright?" Sirocco caught the weakened hero in his arms and set her gently on the ground. Carry managed to nod slightly that she was fine. In the distance, the remaining demons rallied for one more push and began running towards the two heroes.

Uzuri planted his feet firmly and pushed out with both hands. The earth in front of him exploded in a fierce shockwave. The floor of the tunnel erupted in a wave of seismic mayhem, as did the side walls. Ultimately, the ripple effect caused a total collapse of the tunnel, burying the remaining demons beneath tons of rubble.

A huge cloud of dust rushed towards Uzuri who simply redirected it away from himself and Spitfire.

"Are you alright?" Uzuri kneeled down and did his best to check Carrie for any substantial injuries. There were numerous cuts and scrapes, but nothing apparently life threatening. Carrie showed a very shaky thumbs-up. "Peachy," she rasped.

Bending the air currents to his will, Sirocco rose from the ground and soared along the tunnel towards the Chaos Chamber.

"You are safe now. Stay here and catch your breath," he called over his shoulder.

"We all know there's a bloody fat chance of that happening, now don't we," Spitfire mumbled under labored breath. She held her hands to her face; relieved that the vision of flesh-eating creatures and decayed flesh had left her.

* * * * *

The gyroscopic spinning of the Chaos Engine increased with fervor. The individuals grafted into its "fuel cell" screamed as more of their life energies were drained. Several emaciated faces withered, and crumbled to ashen dust. In response, the basin of the blood pool housed at the base of the device began to bubble as if burning from an intense heat.

On the outer periphery of the cell, Psihawk and Reaver hung precariously in the graft. Their eyes were hollow and vacant - oblivious to all that was transpiring around them.

"We have to do something!" Anodyne shouted over the hum of the Chaos Engine. "That thing is killing them." She pointed to the suspended mass hanging overhead.

"We've already tried." Quill indicated the Hellions' failure by drawing everyone's attention to the dead body of Victor Jones. "There could be hundreds of mutants absorbed into that monstrosity. There is no way to separate the person from the construct."

"We'll have to find a way..." Anodyne was cut short when a pseudopod dropped down from the power cell and constricted itself around her. A second tentacle swept around Kismet and began drawing her toward the collective unit. Instinctively, Jade depressed the palm release of her retractable claws and sunk them deep into the pseudopod. The tentacle reacted violently, writhing in pain. It released its crushing grip, but Jade hung on with her embedded claws. She pushed off of the squirming appendage and used her momentum to carry her towards the arm grasping Jeanette LeBeau. Anodyne slashed through the tentacle with relative ease before coming to a graceful landing.

Minotaur quickly positioned himself beneath Kismet and caught her before she hit the ground. He pulled the disgusting tentacle from her body and flung it across the chamber.

"THAT WILL BE QUITE ENOUGH!" Perdition shouted upon materializing in the room. A shroud of Dark Force energy coalesced around her. Herne stepped from the ebon darkness as well; his Hellhound pack in tow. Obeying his silent command, the massive leashes of chain links uncoupled from the dogs' collars and the monstrous beasts lunged at the Neo/Hellions team.

There were six in all, each measuring over five feet in height at the shoulders. With the exception of the alpha male, the hounds' matted fur was black as pitch and their eyes glowed red. Pup, however, wore a pelt of Tuscan red and his eyes glowed brilliant yellow. He reared up on two powerful hind legs and charged at Juggernaut; having singled him out as another alpha male.

The remainder of the pack circled rapidly around the intruders, sensing the weakest and determining where to strike. Colossus, Hellkat, and Frost were down for the count. Protecting them would make staying alive even more difficult for the Neo/Hellions.

Quill and Lamprey remained near Krystal Frost while Teryn and Dante combined their elemental control of the earth to shield Kate Rasputin. Valence stood guard over her father. Transit stood back to back with Katya, guarding against a rear attack.

Herne snapped his wrist sending a whiplash effect down the length of chains in his hand. They spun into one massive coil that wrapped around Minotaur. Herne flexed his arm, pulling it down and back with his enormous strength. Minotaur was lifted from the ground and sent barreling toward the huntsman. Fortunately for him, Scotty was low enough that he was able to kick off the ground with his powerful hooves. This sent him plowing directly into Herne and the two smashed unceremoniously into the cavern wall.

One of the beasts let out a savage roar. It had made an attempt at biting Quill who shoved as much of her forearm as possible into the hound's mouth and released dozens of spiny barbs. Without hesitation, she lunged onto its back and drove more of the razor sharp daggers into the hound's neck and one well-placed spike pierced its breast bone and stabbed through to the heart. The creature shrieked before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.

In the ensuing chaos, Doctor Stephen Strange came from his secluded perch in the uppermost reaches of the Chaos Chamber. Unnoticed by the combatants below, he levitated towards the mass of conjoined psychics and magic users who were being used to fuel the Chaos Engine. Mystic energies coalesced around him, enveloping him in a green, eldritch glow.

"I've come for you, my love. The time has come to put this all to an end." Without notice, Doctor Strange melded with chaos.

On the battlefield, Perdition vanished in a wisp of smoke. She reappeared behind Anodyne and sank her talons deep into the girl's skull. Jade froze - immobile. Dark, inky lines spread out in spider-like veins across Jade's face and flowed down her neck and body. The black substance pooled into Jade's eyes, covering the sclera, giving her a haunting, demonic appearance.

"Your angst has been a most delicious nectar, dea r girl," Perdition whispered into Anodyne's ear. "The inner struggle between empath and feral has severely hampered your full potential. So much like your father, yet too restrained by the shackles of your duality to be of much use. Let's unleash the beast, shall we?"

Anodyne shuddered under Perditon's influence. The demon mother's touch was corruptive. She had turned the Rasputins into minions under her control. Now Perditon twisted Jade's psyche to match her own demented soul.

Anodyne released a low, guttural growl. Her breathing was labored; her chest heaving as she gulped in air and released it through flaring nostrils.

"Now, you may follow your true nature and do what you were born to do." Perdition leaned in close and motioned towards the Neo and Hellons teams. "You are free to kill with no remorse."

Anodyne lifted her head to witness the ensuing battle. "It will be my pleasure." The inky veins had faded from her skin and her eyes shone their true emerald green. She spun and slashed her claws across Perdition's face. This caught the demoness completely off guard; Anodyne was supposed to be under her complete control. Another swipe of the claws severed the creature's left arm. Perdition shrieked her rage and misted once more before Anodyne could strike again.

"Yes. That felt amazingly good."

* * * * *

A comet streaked across the Eastern European skyline. Propelled by immeasurable power released from his extremities, Siege cut an amazing path towards the hamlet of Transia and Wundagore Mountain. Devoid of all rational thought, Nikola Rasputin's psyche had been supplanted by a Soulthief whose only desire was to destroy everything in its path. Responding to a mental command from his master, Samhain, Siege reveled with the promise of battle. He had already laid waste to the Siberian Terraform Project and Russia's Red Square was in ruins.

Siege smiled as the mountain range rose on the horizon. His blood lust rose and he poured on a final burst of speed. The air exploded around him when he slammed head first into an invisible barrier surrounding his target. The concussive impact flattened trees for several miles and the recoil slammed Siege to the ground with such force that a crater a hundred feet wide and twice as deep was blasted into the earth.

Twin disruptor beams cut down from the heavens and evaporated much of the lowlands leading to the foothills of Wundagore. A Shi'ar vessel parted the clouds and swung in low over the crater site. An extraction team comprised of both Shi'ar warriors and SHIELD operatives descended from the ship. More than a dozen men descended into the pit with neural lances trained on Siege who was quickly encased in a cocoon of energy. A second team descended with a containment pod and Siege was guided into it. A combination of high frequency neural disruptors and other bits of alien technology forced Siege into a vegetative state. The containment pod was secured into the cargo bay and the ship ascended beyond the clouds once more.

The tremor that resulted from Siege's impact was felt for miles around and did not go unnoticed within Wundagore itself. Several entrances to the labyrinthine tunnels collapsed and cave-ins occurred throughout.

Pushed beyond his infinite patience, Samhain entered the Chaos Chamber and his anger became a palpable force. Years of waiting, plotting, planning and manipulating had led to this singular moment and he would not be denied. Perhaps his own arrogance was to blame for the gnats that swarmed rampant through his sanctum, but their presence would be dealt with.

A hurricane force of dark matter erupted from Samhain, and swept through the Chaos Chamber. The cyclone's fury lifted the combined forces of Neo-X and Hellions and hurled them past the Chaos engine and into the mass of conjoined bodies that comprised the "Graft" fuel cell. In response, the cell ejected bodies that had become totally robbed of their life energies and gobs of protoplasm seeped out to cover the replacement fodder.

The Neo/Hellions resisted at first, but soon found their limbs growing tired before total paralysis set in. Whatever the otherworldly substance was, it even seemed to be effective in immobilizing the Juggernaut. Within seconds, the group found that all it could do was look on as Samhain carried on with his insidious plan.

* * * * *

Sirocco shot like a rocket towards the Chaos Chamber. He could see light spilling into the tunnel and he could see some activity within the room. "Not far now," he thought to himself. "Once more into breach."

For a brief moment, Sirocco's vision blurred and he felt a wave of vertigo wash over him. Instead of getting closer, the entrance to the Chaos Chamber seemed to recede, growing farther and farther away. The tunnel itself seemed to elongate.

Uzuri panicked at first, unsure what was happening until he felt a soothing calm reassure him that all was as it should be. "Not now." Quiet voices echoed in his mind. "Patience or all will be lost."

Sirocco backed off his speed a little, but continued pressing forward. He would reach the chamber in due time.

* * * * *

Doctor Strange sank deeper into the vortex of souls that fueled the Chaos Engine. How many lives had already been consumed by the ravenous appetite of the device? He would ponder that another day, for he had finally reached the center of the cell.

A white-hot orb of energy hummed with remnants of life energy leached from those unfortunate enough to have been absorbed into the Graft collective. Bound to the orb were three women: Wanda Maximoff, Illyana Rasputin, and Stephen's wife, Clea. Individually, they were among the premier of Earth's magic users. Their combined talents now controlled the ebb and flow of psionic, mystical, and life energies that drove the Chaos Engine. The device itself sent out wave upon wave of chaos magic that washed over the entire planet. Where it touched human lives, discord and disharmony grew.

A second aspect of the disergistic energy was to erode the barriers separating realities - both earthbound and extra-dimensional. One by one the walls of forbidding that imprisoned countless demonic entities had fallen, like concentric rings collapsing in on themselves until finally, one last barrier remained.

* * * * *

"Sheol, proceed with the ceremony. We have wasted enough time," Samhain commanded.

The pagan priest instructed attendants to lay Kurt Wagner's body out in the form of a cross. Samhain stood over the erstwhile X-Man and looked ominously down on him. "Your blood is the final key to the puzzle; the touchstone that shall herald in a new age. Long live Chthon."

Ebon spikes of Dark Force shot from Samhain's fingertips and drove deep into Nightcrawler's feet and hands. Kurt cried out in pain, less for his own torture and more for a world about to die.

* * * * *

"It took you long enough, Stephen," Clea admonished her husband. She was at once glad to be reunited but heartbroken that his arrival was too late. Her physical body was mostly consumed as were the bodies of the other witches. What little was left was held together by force of will and safeguards set into motion by Samhain to ensure that the flux of energy was regulated by the women. He had made sure their essence would remain until their powers were no longer needed.

"Forgive me. There is little time to explain..."

"Then do not." She gave him a knowing look. The Scarlet Witch and Magik nodded in agreement.

"Then you've known what is to come?"

"I wish there were another way."

"There is none."

"I love you."

"And I, you."

Stephen spoke an incantation - a spell he had spent years perfecting while in hiding within the realm of the Crimson Dawn. That had been the darkest time of his life. Between fits of senility and clarity he had forged on. An earlier encounter with Daniel Wagner had brought him to his right mind for the present, but there was no guarantee how long his rational side would remain in control. Now, his master spell was about to be put into place, and he hoped that he would someday be forgiven for his betrayal.

Flares of arcane energy erupted from his fingertips and enveloped the three witches. In a previous life, Stephen had been a masterful surgeon performing the most delicate of lifesaving procedures. The greatest of his triumphs as a physician and as a master of the mystic arts paled in comparison to what he would be performing now.

With microscopic precision, he undid the mystical bindings set in place by Samhain. Power and life essences culled from dozens of individuals within the Graft reversed their flow, channeling back into the captive donors. From there, Strange was forced into the role of judge, jury, and executioner. Individuals too far gone for the energy transfusion to be of any meaningful consequence were summarily "disconnected" from the Graft; their life energies absorbed and redirected into the myriad of souls conjoined within.

The central energy orb was restructured, refined, and reshaped. Clea, Wanda, and Illyana disappeared in its stellar glow. The orb pulsed rhythmically; its colors changing from white to yellow to crimson and back again. The sphere of energy expanded to twice its size before imploding to an ebon-black singularity.

A sizable void was left where the life-draining orb had been, leaving the middle of the Graft looking as if a cancerous tumor had been removed. The shell of the singularity began to splinter with threadlike cracks of light shining through. A final burst of radiance eroded the remainder of the casing and from it stepped a new creature. What once had been the three witches was now something quite unique and stunning beyond measure.

"We are the Morrigan. May our righteous vengeance rend asunder that where evil dwells."

Wrapped in golden armor, the Morrigan rose up through the Graft, freeing the imprisoned as she went.

* * * * *

"NEIN!" Daniel managed to shout from the Graft. This was too much. He had to be free. He had to escape, but his body, his magic, his teleportation powers all failed him. He looked away in grief and shame.

Samhain rose up, lifted Daniel's head and forced him to watch the rest of the indwelling ritual. "Watch, boy. Watch and behold the rebirth of greatness. Your sister, her power over reality has made her the perfect vessel for the elder god. Her innocence shall be no more. Behold the glory that is to be."

With a simple gesture, Nightcrawler was hoisted into the air and suspended upside down above the roiling pool of blood that was inset at the base of the chaos engine. Sheol opened the lengthy case that he had brought to the cavern and gracefully opened the lid. Samhain floated down to the edge of the blood pool and lifted a magnificent blade from the case; Magik's Soulsword.

Sheol took Chastity Wagner by the hand and led her to the edge of the blood pool. The ensorcelled child obediently entered into the crimson waters. Samhain tested the grip of the Soulsword and saw that it was good. He rose into the air, momentarily eye level with Kurt Wagner.

"Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Nightcrawler. We knew your mother well." Samhain plunged the Soulsword between Kurt's ripcage with the tip of the blade exiting through his back. A spray of blood gushed out when the sword was pulled back through. The crimson rain showered down on Chastity who seemed oblivious to what was happening. Sheol leaned the girl back, fully submersing her in the pool and then lifting her back upright - a mock baptism that symbolized death and rebirth. He then took a step back and stretched his arms wide.

"I am the Gateway. I am the Well of all Souls. Your vessel awaits you, our god. May your reign be eternal." Sheol's physical form shimmered and seemed to dissolve. The churning pool turned to a swirling vortex of ethereal energy with Freelove standing at its edge.

Wisps of dark matter encircled the child. She breathed in, intoxicated by the caress. More and more tendrils filtered up from the abyss - the essence of Chthon began indwelling its human host.

* * * * *

"Now!" the voices of Uzuri Monroe's ancestors shouted at him. The elongated tunnel truncated and in an instant Sirocco went sailing through the Chaos Chamber and into a power dive right through the heart of Sheol. The young man spiraled downward, guided by the spirits of his father and his father's father and many others. Once at the nexus between worlds, those same ancestral spirits exploded from within Uzuri and began an earnest grappling with the crescendo of mystical energy that was Chthon.

By the dozens they wrapped themselves around his essence and pulled. They would drag him back to the hell from which he sprang from if need be.

Chastity shuddered. "I am... I...I am the vessel of Chthon."

A blast of eldritch energy cut a swath through the tendrils snaking their way into the young girl. For a moment, they recoiled before renewing their efforts, greedily pouring into the child's body.

Samhain turned to see that something or rather someone had emerged from the Graft and hovered next to the Chaos Engine, which was losing power and grinding to a halt.

"We are the Morrigan, and this travesty shall not come to pass." She opened her left palm and the Soulsword was ripped from Samhain's grasp. The demon thrall lashed out with a burst of Dark Force, but the mystic blade repelled it with little effort. The Morrigan swung the blade in a wide arc, releasing arcane magic of sufficient force to knock Samhain to the ground.

Behind her, the souls of those locked within the Graft began reemerging and taking on their physical forms.

One by one, they joined in the battle against Chthon's emergence. A host of magic users, lead by Amanda Sefton Wagner combined their energies with the Morrigan. It has been said that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. The same can be said for a mother whose child's life is in danger. Grounded in the mystic realm of Limbo, Amanda stood within a stepping disk and channeled the fullest extent of her being into destructive hex bolts that tore at the essence of Chthon.

Aftershocks from Siege's explosive capture continued to rumble through Wundagore. A large boulder dislodged from the ceiling of the chamber and crashed onto the Chaos Engine. It careened off the side and smashed onto the ground near the base of the Well of Souls.

Undaunted, the Morrigan and gathered mystics forged a spell of binding designed to repulse the evil Chthon and send him back from the nether dimension from which he was crossing over. However, the elder god was a force to be reckoned with. The power he could draw from was limitless and he continued to flood into Earth's plane of existence and into the host form of Chastity Wagner.

The child's body convulsed momentarily, shaken from the psychic trauma of her invasion. For a brief moment her mind cleared and she became terrified of her situation.

"Daniel, help me!" she pleaded. He had always been her savior in times of need; her paladin and knight in shining armor. As children, Daniel was always defending her and kept her out of harm's way. Chastity needed him now more than ever before.

"Chase! Don't give in. No matter what, do not give in," Daniel shouted from the graft.

"Daniel, I'm scared. I can feel him inside of me. What do I do?"

By this time, Samhain was back on his feet. He recognized that the one source of the girl's strength was in her brother. He would remedy that situation and dispatch the boy as he should have done long beforehand.

Watching amid the chaos, Pup began to snarl. He felt something scraping against the surface of his consciousness - something alien. Sonja Valle, Fortune, materialized next to the werecreature. Free from the constrains of the Graft, she used her gift of Romany magic to take over the hellhound's mind, stabbing through his defenses and in a sense set him free as well.

"Sick 'em, Fido," Fortune whispered into Pup's ear. In obedient response he leapt into the air and slammed into Samhain like a pile driver. Pup hated Samhain; hated him for years of mental and physical abuse. He hated him for cursing him into a life of lycanthropy. He hated him for being a horrible father. Most of all, he hated him for what he was attempting to do to Freelove.

For as long as he could remember, Pup had adored the young girl; sneaking every opportunity to spy on her through scrying crystals or mirror pools. He had been too weak, too afraid to warn her or do anything to help her before. He was determined to do so now or die trying. Pup tore at Samhain, sinking his sharp incisors into his master's neck and shoulder.

It did little good, for the man had long since given up human form and had become totally consumed by Dark Force. Samhain grabbed Pup by the back of his neck and tossed him aside. Pup hit the ground with such incredible force that he left a trail of blood where he impacted and then slid to a halt. His body quivered and convulsed wildly before shrinking and losing its mass and formidable size. Within seconds the lupine form of Pup was replaced by the frail form of a young boy. Samhain resigned himself to dealing with his son's treachery later. For now, he would dispose of Daniel Wagner and then turn his attention once more to the Morrigan.

He would never get a chance to do either.

A magnificent bird formed of pure psionic energy emerged from the Graft. It grabbed Samhain in one of its giant talons and soared towards the top of the chamber. The apparition was the ultimate expression of Warren Worthington the fourth's mutant legacy. With unbridled savagery, he tore at Samhain - striking at whatever vestigial essence of humanity was left.

"You are a very bad man." A small child rode aboard the massive shoulders of the psionic hawk. It was Lleander Neramani. He glared at Samhain as he slid down the powerful leg of the bird, buoyed by his own formidable teke powers.

"How?" Samhain demanded. "This is impossible..." His exasperation evident, he tried to lash out at the boy, but found that he could not. A sudden paralysis overwhelmed the thing that was Samhain. His body became rigid and he found that he could not move.

"My father was a good man. You killed him. You want to kill Chase. You want all of us dead." Reaver placed his tiny hands on either side of Samhain's face. "I will not let that happen."

As a telepath, Lleander had felt the full sting of Charles Xavier's death cry. It was something that would be embedded on his psyche forever. He drew on that memory and that experience, the anger and the pain, and channeled it into Samhain with unrelenting fury.

Samhain screamed. He felt the pain of Charles Xavier's final moment. It was anguish beyond comprehension. That was soon replaced by physical pain. Pain gave way to terror which in turn gave way to hysteria. Reaver lanced a formidable psychic blast directly into Samhain's consciousness, totally obliterating anything that was there. The effort was redoubled with Psihawk's added strength. Like a fading vapor, Samhain's body lost rigidity and evaporated into nothingness.

With his passing, so did his control of the Dark Force. Not having been fully absorbed into the Graft, the Neo/Hellions fell free of the collective; however the initial paralysis was all too real. Lleander braced them with a teke field and lowered them as best he could. He scanned the area for Herne, but evidently the Master of the Hunt had found it wise to retreat along with Perdition.

While this was going on, Sirocco and the Morrigan continued battling with Chthon. The spirit of Naze and generations of warriors did their best to bar the demon's way onto the earthly plane. It became evident that their best efforts would not likely be enough.

While his ancestors did their part to stop the elder god, Sirocco noticed something falling towards him. It was the body of Kurt Wagner, no longer suspended by Samhain's influence. Uzuri drifted up through the Well of Souls and cradled the injured man as delicately as he could. He continued upward until he exited the Well and laid Nightcrawler gently next to Anodyne. Her mutant healing factor had already burned off most of the effects of the Chaos Engine's paralyzing neurotoxin, and she had regained much of her mobility. She immediately set about funneling her redactive healing powers into Kurt, doing her best to staunch the flow of blood and heal his wounds. She only hoped he wasn't too near death's door to be brought back from the edge of the abyss.

Amid the mayhem that engulfed the Chaos Chamber, a shape began to form around Freelove. She seemed taller and older somehow as the shade of Chthon began to overshadow her.

"DANIEL!" she screamed once more. She wanted to run, but couldn't move.

More and more of the mystic essence of Chthon melded into Chastity. The shade was nearly tangible.

"FOOLS!" Chthon's voiced boomed across the Chaos Chamber. The walls of forbidding have crumbled and I shall claim this realm as mine. The elder god struck back with the indomitable force of his own mystic might that shook the Chaos room and dislodged even more debris from the top of the earth-hewn cavern.

A second chunk of rock fell loose and tumbled towards the Neo/Hellions. Through sheer force of will, Sirocco used his gift as a geomancer to slow the stone's decent, but with the effects of the Graft's neurotoxin still in effect, it was going to be too little, too late.

Miraculously, the giant stone made a rapid lateral shift and went smashing into the opposite side of the chamber. A streak of crimson and jet bolted from where the boulder rested and alit next to Sirocco.

"Just thought I would return the favor," Spitfire beamed down at Uzuri.

"Consider us even." Uzuri forced a smile. The numbness he had been feeling was beginning to subside and with a little help from Carrie, he was able to sit up.

"Is everyone else okay?" Carrie asked of the Neo/Hellions. Everyone seemed none the worse for wear and in fact all were beginning to stir. Individually they marveled as more and more spirits emerged from the Graft. As the final souls did come forth, the protoplasmic sac that held them dissolved as it was no longer able to sustain itself.

In unity, they joined the battle against Chthon along side of the Morrigan, Doctor Strange, Psihawk, and Reaver

More aftershocks rumbled through the room threatening to send more of the ceiling crashing down on them.

"You feel that?" Uzuri addressed Teryn and Dante. "This place is becoming more and more unstable. We have to find a way to prop it up until this battle comes to an end." He scanned the room.

Together, the three youths combined their powers to manipulate the earth and its electromagnetic fields to stabilize the structure of the Chaos Chamber. Individually their powers were impressive. Now they had to pray that they would be sufficient to keep several million tons of rock from caving in on their heads.

Daniel Wagner made his way to the edge of the blood pool and got as close as he dared to his sister. Very little of Chastity Wagner remained visible as Chthon continued taking on corporeal form. It was as if an opaque film had been cast over the child while the elder god gained a foothold on the mortal plane of existence.

Daniel shouted over the din of the raging battle. "Chase! It's okay. Everything is going to be okay. I swear it."

"Oh, God, Daniel, I can feel him inside me. He is so incredibly gross." Chastity was desperate. "I don't want this, I don't want this..."

Daniel slashed Spellbreaker at the ever increasing number of wisps flowing into his sister. For each tendril he severed, several more appeared. Daniel was crying; his desperation matched that of Chastity. The irony of the situation was that the otherworldly magic protecting Chthon was also the only thing protecting Freelove coming to any harm.

"Daniel, it's awful - the things he's putting in my head. Oh, dear God, what am I to become..."

Daniel's mind became filled with images of a world torn asunder. The sky was dark and hazy. Flames engulfed the barren landscape and dead, rotting bodies were strewn everywhere. The surviving masses were subjugated under Chthon's dominion, twisted into things too horrific to imagine. Civilization as he knew it was no more. There existed only Chthon and at the base of his power on Earth, was the reality shaper that was his own flesh and blood. If Chthon gained full control of Freelove and completely entered the earthly plane, there would be no hope for mankind on any level.

"I'm tired of being afraid, Daniel. I'm tired of being a fraidy-cat. I won't let this happen. I won't become a monster."

"Don't say another word, Chase." Daniel continued his fruitless attack on Chthon. He had become totally oblivious to everything else that was going on around him.

"Kill me, Daniel. It's the only way."

"Nein! Shut UP!"

"You can see it, as clearly as I do," Freelove pleaded with her brother.

"I cannot do it."

"If you don't, then we all will die. The whole planet will die."

"I refuse to believe that. God would not allow this."

"I'm one life, Daniel. There are billions hanging in the balance."

"Chase, you can't. We can't..."

"I will be God's instrument."

"NEIN!" Daniel shouted his frustration. The girl stretched her arms wide and tilted her head back.

"Chase! Stop it! Don't. Please don't do it!" Daniel pleaded. He realized that she was going to release her succubus effect. The advanced form of her mutant ability created either intense euphoria or unbridled panic in its victims. In either case, anyone under the spell would kill to get to the heart of the succubus wave.

Chastity willed her feet to move and took a tentative step out of the blood pool. Of her varied talents, illusion casting was Freelove's forte. She conjured a mental image of herself remaining within the flux of Chthon's rapidly swelling form. Though he was bound to Chastity's essence, the illusion allowed her to briefly step out of Chthon's consuming, yet protective shell.

"Chase, don't do it. Suicide is not the answer," Daniel pleaded.

"Then help me," Chastity begged.

For as long as Daniel could remember, he had heard his father say that suicide was the one mortal sin that God could not forgive. The concept always eluded Daniel while growing up. How could a benevolent God sentence anyone to torment in Hell? Then again, wouldn't forcing Chastity to live as an avatar of corruption and evil be the same as sentencing her to a living Hell?

The succubus wave built and it would only be a matter of seconds before the very people fighting to destroy Chthon would turn their wrath upon the desperate child in his thrall.

Daniel shouted as he struck one final time with Spellbreaker. The mystical blade could function as a magical talisman or as a traditional blade depending on Daniels will and intentions. For this one strike, cold steel entwined with ethereal magic to pierce human flesh and a demon's heart.

There was a piercing scream that shook the cavern once again. Chthon's rage had become a palpable force. The wall surrounding the primary entrance caved in leaving only a handful of egress points in the ledges overlooking the chamber. Not yet functioning at their best, the trio of elementals struggled to keep the rest of the mountain from crashing down around them.

Chthon tried desperately to maintain his foothold, but his lifeline to the earthly plane had been severed. Not wasting the moment, Doctor Strange shot forward and grabbed the husk of the creature and sailed down with him into the Well of Souls. With every fiber of his being, Stephen lashed out at Chthon. Magical energy flowed through the Sorcerer Supreme and slammed into the elder god.

The Morrigan added their strength to Stephen's in an effort to force Chthon back across the dimensional divide. For his part, the demon determined that if he was to be denied an earthly vessel, then for hate's sake, he would spit his last breath at those who would defy him.

A rush of mystical energy erupted from the Well of Souls. The blast ripped through the ceiling, sending tons of debris showering downward. Sirocco, Teryn, and Dante formed a sort of protective cocoon around the perimeter of the Chaos Chamber to stabilize the shifting debris. Antigravitons and mental commands from the trio shoved the falling rocks aside, but more and more of the ceiling began tumbling down.

Psihawk, Reaver, and other mentats bolstered the defensive by lending their telekinetic powers to the cocoon. Inevitably, it was a short matter of time before all of Wundagore fell in on top of them. Meanwhile, the Morrigan pressed onward in their goal to vanquish Chthon. The Clea Strange aspect of the Morrigan continued her mystical barrage unrelentingly. The Scarlet Witch aspect altered probability in favor of victory, but the guarantee was unsure. The Magik aspect of the triune sorceress created a series of stepping disks that teleported the assembled Neo/Hellions and various abductees out of the chamber and out of harm's way. With nothing left to hold the ceiling in place, the chamber fell in upon itself.

* * * * *

Sam Guthrie and Lila Cheney joined the Beast in the War Room of Xavier's mansion. The couple, along with Sam's daughter Samantha, had teleported to the relative safety of the lower levels of the estate after the initial deluge of demons fell from the sky. They were soon joined by a blood-soaked Wolverine who had fought his way through unspeakable horrors to get out of the chaos that had erupted.

Much of the mansion was sealed off, and during the initial raid by the demonic horde, the group had remained safe behind omnium steel walls and electronic force shields. Now with the passing of the threat, they cautiously walked through the mansion, surveying the damage. Windows were broken and heavy oak doors had been kicked in. For the most part, the ground floor had been ransacked.

"Nothing a little time and elbow grease can't fix." Hank McCoy had tried to sound upbeat, but in his heart, he was worried about his son's fate as well as the rest of the children who had rushed off into battle.

Wolverine sniffed the air. "Company's comin'." He extended his razor sharp claws and made a beeline towards the infirmary. A second later, a cry of grief and anguish echoed through the mansion's halls.

"Gott in himmel! What have I done?" Daniel Wagner sobbed. The lifeless body of Chastity Wagner was pressed to the boy's chest as he desperately clung to her. Spellbinder had struck true, and had indeed disrupted Chthon's indwelling process. The elder god had been driven back, however, not so much from the blade's ability to negate mystical powers, but from the fact that the demon's host body had been destroyed. Able to cleave through both magical objects as well as physical ones, Spellbinder had stabbed through Chastity's heart and the girl's dead body lay in Daniel's arms.

For the longest while he rocked back and forth, moaning and whispering regrets and apologies into Chastity's ear. His mother, Amanda Sefton, and father, Kurt Wagner, along with the rest of the Neo-X team joined in the boy's mourning.

Spitfire held her stomach. There was a huge knot growing in her belly and she suddenly felt violently ill. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned to bury her face in Richard McCoy's chest.

"It is finished. Chthon is defeated." The Morrigan appeared into the room. "The elder god has been returned to the netherworld and the safeguards holding him have been restored and the gateway to this realm sealed." In her arms, the Morrigan held the unconscious body of Stephen Strange. "We have lost much today. Our sacrifices have been great and our wounds shall be open and raw for some time to come. Keep in mind, however, that in due time, all wounds may heal."

The Morrigan vanished as quickly as she appeared, leaving the attending group to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

Issue 49

Issue 51

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