169 Make Your Choice

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(Aden's P.O.V)

The air suddenly got frigid. Even for my tastes. I pulled on my inner energy to stave off the shivering while looking around at the location Lucifer had brought us. A frozen wasteland everywhere my eyes fell. Nothing registered in my senses. No life, no movement, no heat.

"What is this place?"

I asked the other two. Usually hell was...well 'crowded' isn't the right word but it wasn't so... abandoned.

"This is... what happens when you piss off someone you reaaaaaally shouldn't." Lucifer answered, grabbing my attention.

"I'm talking about me incase you still haven't figured that out."

He added, making me roll my eyes.

"Well, let's get a move on, this place gives someone the creeps."

He stated, shivering in what I was supposed to interpret as fear? I stared at him slack jawed at the audacity, watching him walk away.

"Ignore the drama queen."

Maze comforted me. Atleast someone understands.

"If anything this is the ideal vacation spot."

Aaaaand scratch that.

I shook my head for the umpteenth time while hurrying to catch up to the Devil and his consort, though...I wasn't that eager to stop walking behind Maze. Damn that...

"Take a picture... I'll burn it along with you."

She threw over her shoulder making me laugh.

"Sorry. Can't help it and neither can you. I feel like you added a little more sway just to mess with the one of us suffering from the malady called Puberty."

I pulled up next to her and stated, nudging her slightly.

"Is it working?"

Maze asked me with a seductive smile.

"That's enough Maze, leave the boy alone. He already has problems getting a girlfriend. Anymore and you might break him."

"I...huh...I can get a girlfriend!" I sputtered at the unexpected dig from Lucifer.

"Really?" He chuckled. "The waft of your puri..."

"And what's that ahead of us?!"

I cut him off, not ready to have a conversation about my love life or the non-existence of one.

I took a step and flew ahead, the chilling wind moving around me, leaving a path open that allowed me to see where I was going. The fact that the chilly winds buffeted Lucifer and Maze's position was not my fault. Nah huh. Not at all.

I reached the edge of what turned out to be a giant sink hole in the middle of the ice land. It sank to an opaque bottom, darkness clouding the white walls just a few meters down the length of the whole thing.

Lucifer whistled from beside me.

"That's very deep. I wonder what could be down there."

"Stop trying to make this seem like an episode of Relic Hunter. You're as far from a hot Tia Carrere as it gets."

I grumbled.

"Nerd."

Maze muttered under her breath.

"Ok, enough games."

Lucifer spoke up, with a slightly serious look on his face. Though I could tell from his eyes that he was amused about something. I instantly went on guard.

"No...no, you can't be serious."

I told him.

"Wow...you catch on real quick. And yes, the reason why this entire section is closed off is because it's a special place. And what makes it special is..." He stopped before he could snap his finger.

"Instead of merely showing you, how about you see it for yourself."

And with that my body locked up for a second as I slipped into the hole, the darkness claiming me. I looked into the eyes of Lucifer just as I fell and understood that this was payback for the wind thing.

"Oh for fuck's sake."

My momentum came to a slow as the air moved to embrace me. I couldn't see anything and while the option of going back up was very enticing, especially because it seemed to get colder the deeper I went, what was the point? I'd already made it this far.

I spread out my hands, creating a ball of bright yellow flames above both palms, lighting up the surroundings in a burst of visibility. My eyes should have adjusted to the darkness without relying on lighting but this darkness made no sense. It almost sucked everything inside it. Then, I floated down while studying the walls on every side of me.

A layer of frost covered the walls. My boots started freezing from the chill but a snake of blue fire washed down my body like a shawl, keeping me warm against the drop of the temperature. I floated down for many minutes. At the 20 minute mark, I finally felt something through my senses. Labored breathing. There was still no signs of heat or anything too indicative but I heard something rattle and knew I was at the end of my descent.

Another sound became apparent, the drip of something akin to water. Might have been water.

What I saw next, sent chills through my spine. It instantly reinforced to me why I wasn't wrong to destroy the demons that had refused to surrender. This...this was fucked up.

"Bloody...hell...come to...come to continue where we left off?"

The voice was surprisingly powerful given the situation the owner was in. He had his head bowed so he couldn't see me as my feet touched the ground. I took that chance to properly study the prison and it's prisoner. Chains hung from the left and right of Constantine, holding him up by the hands, with manacles, stuck to his hands through spikes going through the joints between the wrists and palms.

Blood drops fell to the ice covered ground slowly, forming a puddle of red on both his sides. His blonde hair was long and cut in Patches. It fell down to his chest and he looked thin. Like a bag of bones.

"What the fuck did they do to you?"

The chains holding him rattled as he shifted in place. Likely surprised by the new voice.

"Go fuck yourself Mate. Neron...you piece...piece of overgrown monkey balls hair... your... your tricks won't work..."

I couldn't help it, I laughed.

"What a way to make a great first impression, John." I stepped closer to him and knelt at the foot of the raised platform he was suspended upon. His blue eyes met mine and opened a bit widely in shock.

"You're not... Where's the right prat?...I have a few more...words to have with the bumbling fool!"

I reached into my hammer space and pulled out a bottle of water, holding it up for him to drink. He drowned the whole thing in seconds, coughing slightly as he chocked on it.

"Thanks." He said, his voice losing its scratchy quality.

"Now who the fuck are you and where is Neron?"

"My name is Aden. Aden Strong." I introduced myself. "I know who you are, John Constantine, exorcist and demonologist extraordinaire. About Neron..." I winced.

"That might prove a challenge seeing as he's...ashes drifting in the wind."

The thoroughly tortured man stared at me askance.

"I killed him, I mean."

I explained.

"I heard you the first time. Just working on believing."

And I could feel his disbelief. Which I ignored in favor of studying the chains holding him captive.

I moved over to one and touched it.

"Careful!"

Constantine's words were too late as a numbing feeling overcame my fingers. A layer of frost crept up the digits. Quick thinking saved me before I lost some appendages. Blue fire blazed along the skin of my palms, melting the ice and burning the skin of my hand.

I gritted my teeth at the pain, cradling the palm to my chest.

"Goddamn...That hurts!"

Constantine seemed to find the strength of his voice as he admonished me.

"What sort of twat touches an enchanted chain meant to hold down a magician!!"

"Fuck you Constantine!" I shot back in anger. "I don't see your ass trying anything to free yourself from the damn things! And how was I supposed to know they were enchanted?!"

"It's called common sense, you prat!"

He responded.

"Oh that's rich coming from you, seeing as I'm not the one in chains!"

My voice dripped with anger at his shamelessness.

"What do you know?! You think I wanted to be stuck here willingly?!" The chains rattled as he buckled aggressively.

"If I try to escape these fucks go after..." He suddenly cut off his statement, clenching his jaw tight and sighing.

"Allyssa right? Or Cerial." I shrugged, feeling his body tense in surprise.

"I don't really know how that whole relationship works."

They were two souls inside one body. Just like Etrigan and Blood. The latter two needed a phrase to switch over. Was that the case with Allyssa and Cerial? Probably not.

"How do you know about her?" His voice was measured, deadly serious and overprotective. As if posed to attack me if I had harmed her in any way at all.

"Oh I guess news doesn't reach you down here."

I replied.

"Tosser."

Constantine's insult washed over me easily.

I stepped back and eyed the chains.

"I guess we'll start from the beginning. But first..." I looked at Constantine in contemplation, before a small smile worked it's way on to my face.

"You might want to cover your ears,oh wait, you can't. Sorry in advance."

He stared at me in confusion that changed into a painful surprise the next minute.

I opened my mouth and let loose a point blank sonic scream at the chain strapped to his left hand. The air rippled out in a sonic wave vortex, slamming onto the chain links and shaking the whole underground structure. A stream of fire escaped my hand in a massive wave that destroyed the icicles falling at Constantine before they could turn the fowl mouthed brit into a pin cushion.

"Bollocks! Are you mad?!"

I rolled my eyes,

"Oh come on, you weren't in any danger. I aimed the attacks at the chains."

"Exactly! You aimed them at the bloody chains despite explicitly telling you to leave the damn things alone!"

I sighed in frustration.

"Do you even wanna get outta here?"

"No. Hell no. Fuck no with a glimpse of side boob."

He refused vehemently. That makes no sense. No sense at all.

"Pussy."

I smiled at his fuming form, teeth gritting in anger.

"Oh you little brat, you're lucky I cant move."

I tried a variety of different attacks. Fire did nothing, combustion bending only brought a larger icicle down on our heads, Lightning merely fried Constantine as it ran down the length of the chain (I wasn't too bummed out by that). And trying to cut the chains with the black sword sheathed in a layer of vibrating air simply nicked the soul blade. A disconcerting wail escaped the blade, giving me the sense that I had hurt it. After that, I sent it to the hammer space.

All the while, I had made sure to tell Constantine everything that had happened. From Allyssa attacking Blood, to stealing the Star Compass, finding a mystically attuned place to cast a spell to pierce through the veils hiding the Fountain of Imperium's location and teleport her there, to Blood arriving, to them fighting before Neron's forces had taken advantage of their battle to capture them, to my involvement, to the challenges, my eventual win and how I was now in negotiations with Lucifer for Constantine's own freedom.

Of course, I heavily emphasized that I had only won mostly due to Gabriel's horn giving me the power to push through the challenges. Something that matched up well with it's innate ability to pretty much increase the bearer's strength to match his opponent.

Giving someone like Constantine information about my realm was dumb. Dumber than dumb. Of course, he would find out about it soon but the only people who knew about it, had no idea just how powerful I got by virtue of being inside the dimension. Lucifer knew, as did Iroh and Mammon. But I said people. One was a demon, the other a spirit and the last was a ball of bullshit power wrapped up in billions of years of experience and a side dish of deviousness.

"Dammit. I've tried everything I can without bringing this whole thing down on us."

Constantine snorted.

"Give it up. Nothing will work."

I ignored him in favor of trying to find a different way to tackle the problem.

"Why are you doing this anyway? I can assure you that no one else would be going to such trouble for a bloke like me."

"Is that self pity I hear in your voice?"

I asked, standing up and moving around the room to stare at the bolts holding the chains up. Maybe if I can open a boom tube at the spaces inside the chain links then...no it probably wouldn't work. something tells me those shining glyphs carved along the wall are a countermeasure to someone who finds a smart way to solve this as opposed to the straight forwardness of direct attacks.

Constantine barked out a laugh.

"Bah! You wish. No, I'm a realest. Human nature rarely surprises me anymore."

"And yet Allyssa was trying her best to come for you."

I told him, a dancing steak of lightning appearing on my finger like an unstable laser beam, trying to burn through the bolts. I kept the current small yet sharp. Constantine winced a little at the small shock but didn't complain.

"Yes, she tried. Not because she cares, which I'm sure she does but because of guilt. I wish she had just lived her life free of the accursed thing." His tone took on a melancholic note.

"Unfortunately for the lass, we all have our own share of demons. It just takes getting to know them and the countdown up until they try to drown you."

I paused what I was doing to mull over his words. A brief silence dominated the space between us.

"You're worth saving John. Everyone is."

I finally said, though the statement felt hollow to me.

"You don't sound like you believe that."

I stopped and turned to him.

"You're right. I don't. Just something someone once told me. I'd rather kill some people instead of trying to save them and let god sort them out...but I understand second chances. I just don't have mercy for the ones who fuck that up too."

"Mmmh... You never answered my question. What are you getting from bargaining to free me? And this time, don't try to change the subject... you're surprisingly good at that."

He insisted.

"Ok fine. You want the truth?"

He jerked his head in a nod.

"Hit me."

"It's really simple... I'm done with all this demon crap."

I admitted.

"What do you mean 'done with all this demon crap.'"

He copied me. I comforted myself with the thought that I was about to leave him stunned with my next words.

"You see John, I've fought Galiel, Mnemoth, Mammon, Agog, Beelzebub, Neron, Azazel, Blaze oh and like a million other demons." I listed out.

"Out of that line up, the only ones to survive were Blaze, Azazel and Agog."

If it was possible...his lower jaw would have completely fallen off his face.

"So yeah, I have had my fill of dealing with demons. But because this world is fucked, that doesn't mean Demons are done with earth. I can't exorcise them from humans either so...I need a replacement or rather a comeback. The world needs John Constantine."

And with that I turned away from him to study the chains some more.

There was the option of using Dr.Fate to unravel the spell woven in the chains. He was a master of the mystic arts after all. However that was the last alternative. Fate and I had come to an understanding but... ultimately, I had ended up not needing his help in the challenges, so who knows if he would honor that agreement? Plus, I didn't want Constantine to know I had the helmet of Fate this early.

I walked around and under the chain links, careful not touch one of them. The goal was to pay more attention to the glyphs on the wall. Maybe it was a formation? In that case, perhaps sabotaging it would allow the whole thing to untangle. The expert demonologist must have figured out my next plan of action as he spoke.

"There is no point. The enchantment uses a clause in my contract with Neron to keep me here. Now that he's dead and I am still not free..." Constantine looked up at me, dashing my hopes, before adding,

"...It was probably passed into someone else's hands. According to the terms, It should either be the one who killed him or..."

My eyes widened.

"Someone strong enough that such stipulations wouldn't work on him." We came to the same conclusion, our eyes establishing contact in mid air.

"Lucifer."

We both said.

"Yes. Someone called?"

A smooth voice answered from behind us.

"Speak of the devil."

I started.

"And he bloody well appears."

Constantine completed.

"Well, now I'm just feeling flattered."

Lucifer shamelessly replied, enacting a small and graceful bow.

"Lad, you have no idea who you're dealing with."

Constantine warned me in a serious tone.

"Stop that. You're the savee...let me do my job so that you can get back to destroying your lungs with more smoking."

I admonished playfully, my eyes never leaving Lucifer.

"Can we get this over and done with? Some of us have better things to do."

Maze grumbled from Lucifer's side.

"Maze, dear, you do not sound too happy to see me. I thought domination was your thing?"

Constantine teased her only for the Lilim to roll her eyes.

"Keep it in your pants Constantine. You're an asshole. I'm an asshole. Even on paper that just stinks."

"These two huh? It's almost like...get a room, am I right?"

Luci asked me, seemingly unbothered by the byplay occuring infront of him.

"Dude... she's your consort..."

I pointed out, only for silence to dominate the space before everyone burst out laughing. Everyone expect for Maze and I.

"Oh how innocent."

Lucifer shook his head while staring at me as if I was an adorable little thing.

"They're demons Lad. Ever heard of shamelessness? Yeah...they invented that."

Constantine added from his chained position. Maze simply showed him the finger. This was getting out of hand, I still needed to find a quiet place and check out my mission rewards and the new sub skills description. The banter while amusing was also kind of annoying.

I cleared my throat.

"What can I do to earn his freedom?"

The room instantly cooled down.

"Lad..."

"Shut it Constantine, let me do this. I have to do this."

At my words, the scruffy looking man settled down with a curious gaze.

Lucifer walked forward a little. I had constructed a permanent swirling fireball above us after reaching the bottom of the hole, so his features were plain to see. He had on a soft smile on his face as he stared at me.

"You know Aden, you have left me impressed at every single turn. You understand your... shortcomings and are always eager to take on any challenge and give it your all." He praised.

"So I decided to give you a little gift. Think of it as an early birthday present." How did he even know that?!

"However...you can only have one of two things."

He held out his left hand and a lone sheet of paper appeared. Constantine's demon contract and then his right hand rose up as well to reveal a swirling spark of blue energy enclosed in a transparent sphere, the size of a tennis ball. From the corner of my eyes, Maze stiffened slightly.

"On my left hand, you have the key to Constantine's freedom. Tear this and he gains back all he's lost." Lucifer stated holding up the very thing I wanted. A small smile worked it's way up my face. This choice was fucking easy. I didn't even care about what the other thing was. The Morningstar chuckled at my expression, as if amused by something. A second later I found out why.

"And on my right hand, you have the key to solving one of your immediate issues. The essence of Vandal Savage's abilities. His meta-human gene. His immortality. Make your choice."

My mind went blank for a few seconds.

"Oh come ooooonn!!!!!"