How many can say they'd raise hell for love?

What now..?
He opened his eyes slowly, feeling so drained and empty. He had never been to the Abyssus but something about this place just felt like home. Though it wasnt a feeling he had been looking forward to, because that would mean he had gotten to the end of his life. The shadows of the realm had quickly found their way to him, clinging onto his limbs, keeping him in place as he felt like he was just frozen in place. "The world as we know it will crumble," he whispered quietly, clenching his teeth as he felt the shadows dig into his skin. Pain was different in this damned realm, it was like a scratch brought the pain of tenfold scratches at once. "You were wrong to put your faith in me," he said as he looked up to look at the fenix. It was a wonder that she had been able to make it into the realm, but on the other hand, he was fully believing that she was just some manifestation in his mind of the soulmate he had lost. He hadnt even thought of the possibility that the artifact could be keeping her soul safe from the darkness of the realm they were in right now.

It was scary, not because she didn't trust him, more because it was a place that she had only heard about in scary stories. However she trusted that things would turn out right. Looking at Baal she saw him being swarmed by shadows, what she presumed were daemons, or at least once were. "Just because it crumbles doesn't mean it's going to break apart," she argued, moving closer to him. In this world the artifact had more power, making her appear more alive and not see through. However it was as if the shadows didn't even dare touch her because of her light. "Belial," she said in a more clear voice, reaching out to him, her hand caressing his cheek. She was warm, feeling almost like she was there physically. "You can't give up yet, we have to find a way to solve this," an argument that sounded easier said than done.
She stepped away from him, looking around as if she was looking for something. To be honest she wasn't sure what it was, but soon enough what seemed to look like a door appeared. "Take my hand," she said rather instinctively, reaching her own out. There wasn't any sure way to know if he could even grab her hand, but she wanted to pull him out of the shadows and make him follow.

"It wont be a world for our daughter," he just said because that was all that had to matter now. He just couldnt believe that Buffy could be brought back and it was all his fault. As pathetic as it might have seemed, he was far more comfortable with just letting himself wither away in his guilt and shame. She spoke his name and he looked up at her, shifting between her eyes as he felt her warmth as she touched his cheek. He gritted his teeth and looked away from her. "There's nothing to be done. People are safer off in the afterlife where the gods protect them," he said which was quite cynical, but then again, the Abyssus had never been opened. As she told him to grab her hand, he looked to her for a second before he felt what he could describe as another shadow biting into his skin. "I cant move," he just said, looking down with a deep sigh. "They're draining me," he remarked, feeling his eyes get heavier. Could you even sleep in this damned realm? "If I could draw blood, the beast would come to me... Maybe," he said as a possibility, but how was he going to do that if he couldnt move? He scoffed. and shook his head again in a defeated manner.

"And what afterlife might await our daughter?" a question that had always been on her mind, but she had been too afraid to ask. Part of her had always hoped that their daughter would live an immortal and happy life, but after the incident with the hound and the unknown daemon it had taken a toll on the fenix. Her nights were spent worrying
He couldn't move. Buffy stopped in her tracks, knowing she couldn't stray far from him. However why she couldn't she wasn't sure of, perhaps because her soul was still inside of him. Maybe that could be the key. "Our daughter is out there, your son and sister is out there - don't you think they are doing everything they can to keep things afloat while you are gone?" she asked. Turning her back to the door she walked over to him, but it felt more like she was just floating over the darkness. Could she ever really feel anything while in this state? Reaching him, she cupped his face between her palms, a bit surprised that she wasn't just phasing through him. "You always said that I was your light," she whispered softly, smiling as she looked at him. "Use me to make the shadows subside," she said. She knew all he had to do was just look at her with those loving eyes he had. The grey color with the green specs hopefully looking back at her. "I love you, Belial, and clearly I am not gone yet," she said calmly, leaning in to connect their lips.

The question was valid enough because Baal had no idea what would happen to Saoirse if she ever died. It was only something the gods would know off. But the current situation they were in was keeping him in place and he didnt even want to fight it anyway. Even if she made sense when she brought up all the people he cared about, it was like it just couldnt compare to what he had lost.
He felt her cup his face and was forced to look at her, frowning a little at her whisper. It was something he had said because he believed it, but what did that mean now that he had swallowed her soul? The kiss was quite bittersweet, making him grit his teeth and move his face away from hers once again. "I swallowed your soul! This is nothing more than my mind playing tricks on me, probably to keep me from completely losing it. But it doesnt change anything! There's no way back from what I've done!" he exclaimed in anger, but it was towards himself. He felt his eyes sting and let out a soft sob. "You're dead Buffy. And I dont want to be without you,"

He moved away from her, and it stung in her heart, but she knew he was in denial. She couldn't believe this either, because she should've disappeared by now. Baal's body should've consumed her soul and yet here she was, still hanging around. Pressing her lips together, she hated seeing him like this. They had known that eventually she would die and move on to her next life, why she had even dreamt of nothing for the last couple of weeks. "Even if I'm dead I'm still going to tell you to get it together, you know!" she yelled back, shaking her head as she felt her own tears press on. "This wasn't how our story should've ended," breathing out in a sigh as she took some time to compose herself. There was no need to be screaming at each other when they had people waiting on them.
Reaching through the darkness, she placed a hand on his chest over where his heart and the artifact resided. "And I don't know why I'm still here, but I really am, and you have to realize that before we can move on," she said, feeling the heat radiate from his chest. The artifact was quite pleased, or so it seemed, to be reunited with the darkness. Leaning forward, she placed her forehead against his cheek, if his face was still turned away. "You haven't consumed me, I'm not fully gone, even though it might seem that way ... I can't explain it, but the artifact is keeping me here," it was a bold statement to make, but somehow she felt it. Her own body had contained the other half of the artifact. "I am not ready to give up, and neither should you!"

He didnt seem much affected by her yelling, other than just sighing to himself and keep his eyes away from her. This definitely wasnt what he had imagined either, them yelling at each other in the hell of Abyssus. But even if her touch felt so real, it was like his mind couldnt fully give in and believe it. It just didnt make sense, there was no reason for the artifact to be keeping her there, at least to what Baal knew. "Even if I believe you, it's no use. I am stuck here, and I probably will be till they tear me apart," he said in a calmer tone than before, feeling the shadows around him. He had been able to take the corruption from Raziela so easily, but back then it had been for the sake of Saoirse. "If you're really alive and your soul is trapped inside me. Surely there's something you could do that could make me bleed," he pondered. It would just make sense to him that she could do that, because he had seen how Simeon had been fighting with the guy for control. But he sighed and shook his head. "It's all just fairy tale thinking. There's no way," he mumbled, feeling his body getting heavier.

He didn't believe it, and why should he? She barely believed it herself. His words made her blink a few times, as if she was trying to understand what he was saying. Was he actually suggesting what she thought he was? But maybe he was right, maybe she was what he needed. Moving her head away, she looked down at his constrained marked hand, pondering for a bit before she took his hand. The shadows scurried away, finding another spot on Baal that was untouched where it could fester, but that didn't discourage her. Lifting his hand was easier than she thought. Even if it felt heavy, it was also almost like lifting her own arm. Lifting it high enough for them to reach his mouth, Buffy mimicked the biting motion he usually used, and it was as if his body followed orders, biting down on the tender flesh to the blood would spill.
The what? Buffy knew nothing of the daemonic language. What was she supposed to do? However it seemed as though she didn't need to utter words, as a chanting started from the artifact itself. It was a deep voice, one that she couldn't recognize. Only the words she knew rather well. It was some of the words he had used to call upon his summons. "Belial," she said in a weak voice, not knowing what was going on made her a little scared.

He was just going to stay in this miserable state, which was probably for the best as she otherwise wouldnt have had the chance to make him move. For him it just felt like his limbs were moving on his own and before he knew it, he was tasting his own blood. He closed his eyes as he just seemed to chant the words on his own, unable to control what was happening. A loud howl was heard as if it was nearby but also very far away and it made him open his eyes. "It's okay, you're safe" he mumbled to her, blinking a few times as his body just felt completely frozen to him. Loud thumps were heard in the distance and a moving shadow was slowly growing larger. The hound appeared and lunged forward, grabbing one shadow off of the summoner that it crushed between it's teeth, making the shadow fly away with a shriek that echoed into the distance. The hound continued lunging till every shadow that held onto the summoner was gone and he was free. He fell to the ground or whatever it was that was supposed to be the ground. It just looked like a never ending void to him. The hound was growling angrily, placing itself next to the summoner. "I cant keep you safe forever, you fool," it spoke in daemonic tongue which made Baal scoff. His body felt so weak. "I sense her soul in you," the hound remarked, and since Buffy was technically a part of the summoner for the time being, she would be able to hear the beast too. "Can you hear me?" it asked, a voice that didnt sound human at all.

Was he comforting her now? She really couldn't tell at this point, and as the hound appeared, she felt compelled to run away. Only she couldn't. All she did was stand still, looking at it as she felt the fear in her rise. It had been the one to hurt her daughter - maybe not directly, but the teeth marks in Saoirse's neck told another story. The hound spoke, and it sounded like a mixture of a bark, growl and a deep voice. While Buffy understood none of the words, it was as if she didn't have to - it was almost as if they were translated in real time.
"Y-yes," she managed to stammer, looking briefly away from the large beast to look at Baal. He was weak, not only that but she could feel it in him. Was he still not willing to fight this? Gritting her teeth she looked back at the hound, not sure whether she should keep an eye on it or not. "Now what?" she said, strangely feeling rather confident as if she could take on the beast if it lunged at her. Maybe it was stupid to fear something she had no control over, but she had a feeling like she had the upper hand in this. Rather weird as she had no idea what they were meant to do now, or even why Baal had let them sink in to the Abyssus. This wasn't a place you just left.

"Good," the hound spoke, looking ahead for a bit as if it was thinking about what to say. "When I bit Haeven, I never thought it would go to the daughter instead," it said, scoffing through it's snout before sighing. Her question made it barren it's teeth, the red eyes looking around. "Either you find the hole that you came from," it said, looking at Baal. "Or Belial opens another into the real world,"
Baal placed a hand at his own chest, but he was very weak at this point. "I'll just slow you down," he said, feeling nauseous all of a sudden. The hound looked at him, lifting a paw to place over his hand, the sharp claws digging into his skin. "I can take her soul and bring it to her body. If you give a part of your own soul, I can protect her in the over-world too," it said but it was up to the summoner. Baal scoffed and sighed; Was it obvious that he still didnt believe it? "Or the fenix can take control and lead you to the over-world. Not that you deserve it anyway," the hound said.

Buffy felt like the two were actively talking over her. Didn't she have a say in this? Swallowing she looked around, feeling the dread of being in this darkened place. "I'm not leaving him behind," she said in a stern voice. It didn't matter what the hound had said, it didn't change what had happened to Saoirse, so for now she wouldn't comment on it. "You are too deep in your own pity to realize that we might have been given a second chance; I am willing to grab it for the both of us, even if I have to drag your sorry ass back to Gambion!" Buffy had always been stubborn, always known what she wanted and right now she had made up her mind.
The sensation was weird at first, it felt almost like a hug or maybe more like being enveloped in a blanket. And then she felt the heaviness of Baal's body as if it was her own, looking out of his eyes, wondering if the world really looked this small from this height. And then for a second she wondered if she looked stupid from up here, but that thought was quickly pushed aside as she looked around, turning Baal's head. It didn't feel right to control his body, but if he wasn't willing to fight, she would have to fight for him. "Let's find a way," but the voice coming out was not her own, it was Baal's. Her eyes widened a bit, but it was only because this was too weird. Things like this just didn't happen - or well it did in weird movies - but not in real life. She moved the body with relative ease, wondering how Baal felt about all of this. Was it unpleasant for him? Was he even conscious at this point?
Moving through what felt an endless void, they reached a group of shadows feasting on another shadow. The stench of rot filling the air, making her wrinkle Baal's nose at the sent. Why did it smell so bad? Moving further through she felt like there was so many options for a direction to choose, but she had a feeling in her gut about where they were heading. "Do you still not believe me?" she asked Baal, unsure whether he could hear her or even answer.

"Suit yourself, child of Faeth," the hound replied, moving it blood red eyes ahead, making sure that no shadows were looming around them. The summoner didnt answer anymore, just laying still and not doing anything. Maybe this way he could just perish and be alone in his despair. He felt his body move but didnt fight against it, just idly watching through his own eyes as Buffy seemed to assume control. The hound growled, but it was more as if it was impressed. It followed the summoner's lead, keeping it's eyes moving around to make sure that the way was clear.
Baal was gone by the time Buffy spoke to him, or at least he just wasnt responding. The artifact however started lighting up slightly, making the hound glance towards them. "There will be a price for leaving this realm," it said, looking back ahead. "The blood of Bael flows through Belial's body, it may protect you from that price right as you leave, but one day both of you will have to pay it. Bael doesnt let anyone in, so letting you back out will have to cost something," it spoke, but it was from what it knew. It was a beast of this realm, mended by the god of daemons himself. It knew all and everything, but not about the rifts that had opened. That was something new, that might even surprise the god himself. "How did you end up like this?" it asked the fenix, looking up at the summoner.
It stopped in it's tracks, looking at a few shadows looming around something bigger. "When Bael made this realm, he wanted to make sure that there would be nothing but suffering. So all that you see here, no matter how big or small, is some daemon's hell. You can watch, but never interfere," it explained, looking on as the shadows tore apart some daemon till there was nothing left, just for the daemon to reappear.

Everything had a price, she knew that more now than ever, but what price could this have? And was it even one that they could just so easily hand over? She remained quiet as she tried focusing on just moving around with Baal's body. It didn't feel heavy, it felt more like a mental strain, like she would get a headache in the long run. But for now she would manage.
This place was both jaw-droppingly amazing and also incredibly scary, but what made her feel most uneasy was the thought of their daughter back in the living world. Was she alright? Had Alyssa gotten in to contact with Amos? The hound then spoke, a question that made her smile slightly, but even that felt weird cause it wasn't her lips. "I was ambushed on my way home and before I knew it I was just this floating orb ... I've tried it before, but it was only for a brief moment, and this is far from anything I've ever tried," she confessed with a small sigh.
As they stopped and watched the shadow daemons she felt this dread running through her system. Suddenly she was rather pleasantly satisfied with the fact that she would have no afterlife to look forward to. Instead she had another lifetime right after this one, but she was unsure if that was much better. One thing was for sure, she was trying not to let the surroundings get to her. "Every shadow was a person once?" she asked in a more careful voice as they moved ahead.

Her explanation made sense but the hound simply scoffed. Not that it had a lot of choices in regard of reaction. "Floating orb. So a soul," it said to itself. It wasnt going to dig further into what had happened, because it kind of made sense already. The shadows were merciless and the hound seemed completely unfazed by it. But it was after all just another ordinary happening in this damned realm, so there was no need to be surprised.
Her question made it lift it's gaze to her, gritting it's teeth as if it was trying to smile. "No. They're different. Once in their afterlives, are daemons given the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of returning to the world of the living. But it's not just for anyone. And the ones that doesnt pass are turned into something far worse than what they were when they came here. They become a part of the mechanics, a turning wheel put in place to make the machinery work, to torture and hurt their kin," it explained, looking back at the shadows. "They're malevolent, filled to the brim with everything negative and horrible," it said, looking up at Buffy. "Which brings me to my next question. How have they managed to leave this realm that they were doomed to?" it asked, since it hadnt been able to feel a balance in the Abyssus for a while now. "Dont tell him everything." Baal mumbled in a weak tone as if he was right behind Buffy but not through his own body.

Hearing all of this was as if she was being let in on a secret. It was probably known by the daemons, but to her it was the first time she had ever heard of such a thing. But even so, she pitied those lost souls. It was one thing to be doomed for a hellish afterlife, but being used to that degree made her feel sad. Looking down as they walked, she looked at Baal's mark. He had always hated his marks - was this part of the reason why?
Then the hound mentioned the seemingly unbalance in the Abyssus, making her frown, stopping up shortly as she heard Baal's name. Turning around, she realized that of course he couldn't be wispering in his own ear, but something about it had felt so real. Swallowing she skipped a few paces until she was once again next to the beast. "The honest answer is that I don't know," which wasn't a lie. She wasn't sure what had happened, only that she had awakened to Baal being on the ground and some eerie feeling in the air. "But I want to figure it out ... I think something worse is waiting around the corner, and it's only a matter of time before things happen that will show themselves as irreversible," she said in a pondering tone. She wasn't really sure why she felt that way, but it was just one of those things that she could feel in her bones - or whatever she was right now.
"Have you noticed a severe difference in this realm?" she asked, turning to look down at the hound by Baal's body's side. It was still weird looking down and not recognizing the body that she moved. Of course she knew who it was, she knew this body better than anyone, but it didn't make this sensation any easier.

The hound narrowed it's eyes while not looking towards the summoner, because it wasnt sure that she had no idea. How else would she had ended up here? It just didnt make sense otherwise. Baal wasnt dead to what the hound knew. "Belial knows. I can feel it in my core," it said but what could it do? A hound was a slave to the realm and it's master which meant that it couldnt just do whatever it pleased to get the information it wanted.
Her question made it growl angrily as it's claws dug a little into the ground; Or whatever it was the ground was made of in this place. "Yes. Shadows has gone missing without notice. And the hounds see everything. Even a couple of hounds has suddenly gone and left this realm. To where, none of us know yet," it said, sighing through it's snout again. It looked at the summoner and continued walking ahead. "We're nearing in on an imbalance," it warned them, but clearly didnt know what it was.

While it wasn't a pleasant conversation, per say, it was better than walking in silence. Buffy had never really understood these creatures from another realm that Baal seemed so connected to. At least his summons seemed to be somewhat genuine, in a way she couldn't quite describe. And as this was a rather unusual opportunity to get some sort of insight in to it all, it also felt like she was having more questions now that real answers.
The mention of some hounds going missing made her frown, looking ahead with a thoughtful pout. "But aren't you guys bound to a summoner?" she asked, knowing she must've sounded so clueless. She didn't know much about the daemon lifestyle, mostly because Baal had insisted on not speaking about it. For him it was always about creating something different than what he had known. "Does that mean that summoners are going missing too?" she pondered, biting her lower lip - or rather making Baal bite his. Man, expressions were weird when it wasn't your own face.
His warning of an imbalance up ahead made her uneasy once again. She could take them to the place, but was it just so easy as to just walk through the opening?

"Yes." it just said, looking up at the summoner with it's red eyes. Every summoner was given their own hound from the realm, which meant that there was only as many hounds in this realm as there were summoners in the over-world. Her ponder made the beast shake it's head. "If a hound ever makes it into the world of the living on it's own without being summoned, it will only have one goal. It's ingrained in all of us because Bael willed it," it explained, sitting down as it stopped and sat down, not moving any further. "We will seek out our master and kill them," it finished, looking up at the summoner before it opened it's mouth to yawn, a red light coming from the back of it's throat, the same light that seemed to be glimmering under the shadows surrounding it. "Go ahead, I'll stay here, for reasons that should be obvious to you now" it told the fenix.

The beast would kill the summoner. The thought alone was hard to swallow, making her feel a coldness in the body she was in. Was it true? It sounded like the end of the world if something like that happened. She decided not to comment on it, but letting it rummage in the back of her mind. What kind of sick creator was Bael really, and could they even be allowed to call him a god? It was all so different from what she had learned of Verity and Faeth, and definitely much more violent.
As they reached the point of no return, she felt a little weird. It was as if the darkness was both trying to stay here in the Abyssus and unleash itself onto the living realm. It was a weird feeling, one that she felt the body react to more than herself. "Thank you," she replied softly, but it was more of the uncertainty that was ahead. Stepping forward it felt like being sucked up in to a vacuum.
Reaching the real world again was not an easy feat, and as the body landed, Buffy found herself still in Baal's body. Her soul couldn't just run off, it was stuck, and she feared for how long. "Where are we?" she asked, rising up on the body's feet and looking around as the shadows were swirling around them and making the world feel unsure. The surroundings seemed almost distorted.

"Home," a soft voice replied, turning her head to look at the summoner, the silver hair flowing nicely with the shadows like it was moving wind. Her grey eyes looked the summoner up and down before she looked away. A smile smile spread on her lips but they couldnt have been able to see it, because it disappeared just as she got up and turned to the world. "Just keep calm and move through," she said before she went out of the shadows herself, becoming a part of the distorted image of the world.

"Follow her.." Baal said in the back of his own mind in the same weak tone. He had no intention of taking over any time soon, or really converse by the looks of it.

Buffy felt a little out of it, and now she was seeing things as well? Baal's voice made her feel reassured, and as she moved forward it was as if everything happened at once. Moving through the shadows felt almost like moving through quicksand, and she felt like for each step the body took, they were closer to getting sucked back in. But one thing was for certain; they had come this far, and she refused to give up yet.
Getting out of the mass shadows, she looked around for the pale haired lady, her guiding had helped them, and she trusted Baal's instincts in these. Spotting her, she moved the body, but she could feel it heavy from the travel it had already made. Her spirit was strong, but she wondered for how long she could keep this going.
"Wait up," she called out, reaching up to the grey haired woman, coughing a bit as the body was exhausted and she felt like she had to fight to keep breathing. "Who ... Who are you?" she asked, feeling dizzy.

The girl looked out on the gravestones, they were back in the graveyard where Simeon and the others had been. Not that Vanessa knew that, but she had felt drawn to the pillar. And oddly enough had none of the shadows seemed interested in her and she wasnt really sure why. As the summoner reached her, she turned around with a innocent smile on her lips, the same as a child's, but her eyes seemed so empty, like they had seen more than anyone looking as young as her should have seen. "It's okay that you've forgotten me Baal. I've been quite busy," she said with a shrug. She looked the summoner up and down before she wrinkled her nose. Something was off, the posture, the expressions. It wasnt like the friend she knew. "What has happened to you?" she asked with a frown forming over the empty eyes.

Baal knew this person? Buffy felt even more confused right now, but she needed to get the most important parts out. "I need to find a body ... Blonde, fenix, green eyes," she managed to say, feeling like the control she had over the body was slowly slipping away. "It shouldn't be too far away," she managed to say, Baal's voice sound almost in pain, but it was only because she had such a hard time controlling the limbs at this point. Falling to the body's knees, she felt it shake, and she could feel herself letting go of the control - not willingly, but she had to get this person to help them. If she knew Baal, then she probably knew how to knock some sense in to him.

The description confused the daemoness, because she couldnt really recall someone like that. Unless he was talking about Alyssa look wise but Vanessa had never personally met her. However, she found her quite beautiful. But definitely not a fenix. She wrinkled her nose and scratched the back of her head. "From here?" she asked, looking around before looking at the summoner as he fell to his knees. She drew in a deep breath and leveled down to him, placing her hands on her knees. "Do you expect me to carry you? Like honestly?" she asked in a soft yet chastising voice. She scoffed and got back up, looking around for a bit before she decided to cut her arm quite strategically. She formed it through her hand as it solidified, lacking a cane of some sort that she offered the summoner. "Try this," she said, tilting her head a little to the side.