Magical Girl Exorcist Squad: Descent into Hell Act I

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***

Nicole stood before the altar inside St. Joseph’s Cathedral and asked, “So how do we do this?”

The others, including Winona but sans Gabriel, stood behind her, all of them clad in their Magical Warrior garb, while Bishop Gonzalez, Sister Quinn, and Abe all stood before her. Dawn had yet to break over Boston, while the previous evenings’ gentle snowfall had accelerated into the beginnings of a blizzard. Frost gathered on the stained glass windows, chilled air creeping in to increasing levels. It drew goosebumps on Nicole’s soft skin, furthering the dread clawing at her stomach lining and lungs. 

“Before we start, there’s something you should probably know about me,” Sister Quinn said, stepping forward and rolling up her sleeves. The interior of the chapel was darkened but for a menagerie of candles lining the columns of pews, pinpricks of radiance in a hall gripped by the cold of night. 

“Sister, are you sure about this?” Bishop Gonzalez asked. He looked somehow more haggard than he’d already, the gray of his temples spreading to the charcoal-black hair atop his head and waging a winning campaign. 

“I think we’ve passed the point where keeping secrets is in any way practical,” Sister Quinn said. She closed her eyes and held out her palms. Spheres of obsidian flame ignited in her hands, the acrid stench of Hellfire impossible not to recognize. 

“Holy Hannah,” Iris whispered.

“No freaking way,” Matt said. 

“Dios,” Cass said, crossing herself. 

“Huh,” Winona said. “This whole time. Right under my nose.”

“Sister,” Amy said, gasping, “A-are you… Like me? Are you a Cambion?”

Sister Quinn opened her eyes, and Nicole balked when she saw they were solid pools of midnight black. “No. I’m a demon. See, here’s the thing: Calpurnia Quinn was possessed by a demon when she was in college, and that demon was me. She cast me out through sheer willpower, and I was left reflecting her image, tethered to her soul. But the experience… It changed her. She began down a dark path, one that led her to an early grave. And the more she sinned-”

“The more solid you became, until finally you found yourself back on Earth with your own body and the face of a newly-dead woman,” Nicole said, tilting her head to the side and looking at the Sister with wide-eyed fascination. 

Sister Quinn closed her palms and extinguished the bales of hellfire, the heat they provided and the foul odor they emanated dying alongside them instantly. “That’s correct. And I found it… Ghoulish, if you’ll pardon the expression, to continue to live the life of the woman I’d helped destroy. So I took my own name- Claudia Quinn- and I tracked down the priest who’d tried to exorcize me from Calpurnia all those years back.”

Bishop Gonzalez raised his hand and gave a pained smile. “That would be me.”

“And lacking anywhere else to go, anyone in my corner besides God… I gave myself to Him and set about becoming a nun,” Sister Quinn said. 

Silence sat in the chapel as everyone processed this information. A beehive of disparate thoughts all buzzed inside Nicole’s mind, flying at different speeds in different directions, but a single impulse took hold and pressed her to action. She extended a hand. “That’s amazing. You’ve gotta be one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met,” she said. 

Sister Quinn blinked in shock, then smiled and shook Nicole’s hand. Her eyes were still solid black, but they exuded a kindness and softness like Nicole had never seen before. “Thank you. And likewise, Nicole.”

Nicole smiled back. “So. How does this work?”

Sister Quinn cracked her neck and said, “Reach deep inside your mind. Find the connection to your demon and seize hold of it, like reaching for a branch on the side of running rapids. Close your eyes, and let yourself get caught up in the Floodwater, and then take hold of your counterpart. This will open a doorway. You and your demon will always be connected, always able to find and go to one another as long as you draw breath.”

Nicole closed her eyes and let the Floodwater come for her, washing her away in its dark flow. She treaded water atop rapids, barely able to keep her head above the surface, the hideous momentum of the ever-moving liquid threatening to break all her bones and pull her into a watery grave beneath. But in the distance she saw a light, purple and silver neon, extending from the endless darkness above. She was carried near it by the water, and she reached up and seized hold of it with both hands. She was very nearly torn away, the flow of Floodwater wanting to keep her adrift, but with all her strength and faith she pulled herself above the surface and gripped the light. She grew close enough to see it for what it was: a doorway. 

She turned the knob and pulled it open. 

Nicole opened her eyes, and the doorway stood in front of her in the Church, a wide-open arch leading into a fiery castle of black rock and charred bone. 

She breathed in deep, and felt Amy’s hand around hers. She looked at her girlfriend and offered her a scared smile, and Amy did the same. 

They both looked back at all their allies, and Nicole said, “Alright. If anyone wants to back out, now’s the time.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sis,” Iris said. 

“I still owe Astra for what she did to me,” Heather said, cracking her knuckles. 

“Same here,” Winona said. 

“I wouldn’t be a very good leader at all if I let my team undertake a mission this dangerous without me,” Debbi said. 

“If my sisters are going, then I’m going,” Cass said. 

“And if my heart is going, then I’m going,” Matt said, gripping Cass’ hand. 

“And you?” Nicole said to Amy.

Amy answered her with a warm, gentle kiss. 

“Alright then,” Nicole said. “Let’s do this!”

“What in God’s name is going on here!?” cried an unfamiliar voice from the back of the chapel. Father Samuel Bianco, a short, stout man in his late fifties with olive skin and a mostly-bald pate, stormed towards them, raging thunder in his eyes. Nicole hadn’t met St. Joseph’s new rector until now. She’d been hoping for a more auspicious first meeting than this.  

Cardinal Roberts trailed behind him, a pained, fearful expression dripping off of his face. “Wait, Father- please, I beg of you, wait! This isn’t the right time-”

“I’d certainly say it is! Just what have you been hiding from me, ArchBishop!” the priest said. 

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Bishop Gonzalez said, stepping forward, hands held up diplomatically. 

“It looks like you’ve opened a portal to Hell inside this church!” Father Bianco said. “And it looks like that nun has the eyes of a demon!”

Sister Quinn gulped, then blinked and turned her eyes back to a human state. 

“We can explain,” Bishop Gonzalez said. 

“Oh really?” Father Bianco said. “Then explain.”

“We need to go to Hell to save my sister,” Nicole said. 

“If your sister has been sentenced to damnation, then Hell is where she belongs!” Father Bianco hissed. 

A rancid, rotting sensation went through Nicole’s mouth and throat. “I’m sorry, what?”

Bishop Gonzalez, Sister Quinn, and ArchBishop Roberts all gaped at the priest, while Nicole marched over to him with her fists planted on her hips. 

“I spoke plainly and truthfully, young lady,” Father Bianco sneered. “Those who’ve been sentenced to Hell have no hope of salvation. It is a simple fact.”

The Box’s open lid poured forth a red river of rage and indignation, all aiming for one target: Bianco. “How dare you?” Nicole whispered. 

“Um, Nicole,” Debbi said, “Maybe don’t-”

“How DARE YOU?!” Nicole screamed. “How could you, a man of the cloth, say something so horrid, so… So EVIL?!”

“Excuse you? Who do you think you’re talking to, young lady?” Bianco barked. “Who do you think you are to talk to me in such a way!?”

“Who do I think I am?” Nicole said, eyebrows shooting up and eyes bulging. “I’m a hero. I’ve saved this city a dozen times over, healed so many sick and injured people I’ve lost count. I expelled a demon through willpower alone, and I’m saving her through love. Because last I checked, that was what this church, what Jesus, is about- love. Redemption. Forgiveness. Not writing anyone off and consigning them to a fate they didn’t even know they could reject.”

“You’re going to Hell to save a demon?” Bianco sneered. “What is the matter with you, girl?! I don’t care who you are- what you’re saying, what you’re doing, is heresy, and I have half a mind to have you excommunicated for it-”

That was when Father Gonzalez walked up to him and pressed the soft spot between Bianco’s ear and neck. Bianco’s eyes rolled back into his head and he fell face-forward, unconscious. Gonzalez caught him on the way down, and placed him on his back inside a pew. 

Everyone stared with heavy silence at the sight of it all. Except Nicole, as she trembled with outrage and clarity. She had half a mind to spit on the man where he slept. 

Gonzalez looked at them all and breathed out heavily. “He should be out for at least ten minutes. I’ll think of a way to deal with him. You all need to get going now if you’re truly going to do this.”

Nicole’s jaw set and she closed her eyes and nodded furiously. 

“Wait, there’s one more thing,” Sister Quinn said. “Your return. Nicole, once you and your demon are reunited, you will need to pool your energy together to create a portal out of Hell. The two of you together will be able to reopen this gateway and bring everyone home. And remember- sins committed down there are still sins. They carry a lot of weight.”

“Gotcha,” Nicole said. She looked at her team, and said, “You guys ready?”

“As we’ll ever be,” Amy said. 

The others nodded, and Nicole led the charge. 

On that day, she led her friends into Hell.

Walking through the portal felt like grasping a hot metal sheet right out of the oven with a mitt that was still a bit damp: the searing heat was dulled considerably from what it should have been, but it still stung immensely, set the parts of her brain meant to lead her away from pain and danger alight as she walked further and further in. An overwhelming stench of rotting meat and burning hair forced its way down her throat and made her gag, while her lungs demanded relief from the soot-rich air. 

She touched foot on a sheet of ice and nearly slipped as the rest of her team came through behind her, one by one. Nicole found herself unable to move as she processed the sight around her.

“Oh God, what is that smell?” Debbi said. Then she did a double-take as she registered the thing Nicole was staring at. 

They were caught in the middle of a standoff between Lilith and Astra; Lilith was wreathed in Hellfire, while Astra held a burning skull aloft and surged with shadowy vapors. Below her feet, a pounding of fists hammered the ice sheet she stood atop. Nicole looked down and saw her demon shivering and screaming.

“What the fuck?” Astra said. 

“What are you people doing here?” Lilith said. “You were supposed to call, not just show up uninvited! That’s horrible decorum.”

“Give us the girl, and we’ll leave,” Debbi said plainly. 

“Excuse you? You want me to hand over my child to you?” Lilith said. 

“Well given what’s going on here right now, I’d say she needs to be removed from your custody!” Cass said. 

“You cannot be serious!” Astra said. “Do you sluts have any idea what’s going on here?”

“No, and we don’t care!” Amy said. “Give us the girl.”

“We’re in the middle of a fight, Amanda!” Astra said, in the tones of someone chastising a sulky teenager. 

“And a siege,” Lilith said. 

“Wait, what?” Nicole said. 

The room shook with a hideous thunder, while a wall of cacophony slammed into Nicole. Her ears rang as she fell over to the ground, the hot black stone hurting to touch. Astra, however, remained on her feet and used her flaming skull to summon a bolt of lightning and send it flying towards Lilith. Lilith took it in the chest and was sent flying back, landing against the wall and crying in agony as her clothes and skin began to burn. With a flourish of her hand, she willed away the flames, leaving only burnt flesh and pulsing rage. 

She leapt at Astra, but came up short as Debbi shouted, “Nicole, now! Like we practiced.”

Nicole nodded and willed her Pink Healing Light to jet out of her hands and collide with both Debbi and Heather. Debbi launched a giant glowing purple fist of hard light out of her hands and connected it with Lilith. The ArchDevil groaned in pain as she landed against the wall once more, while Heather jumped towards Astra and delivered an audible blow to her face. 

Astra was launched through the air and out the door, tumbling into the hallways of Pandemonium as her skull slipped free of her grasp. 

“Round two, bitch!” Heather said, singing with green and pink light as she chased after Astra. 

“Winona, Cass, take care of Lilith,” Debbi said, flying after her girlfriend. “I need to back up Heather. Nicole, Amy, Iris, Matt, you know what to do!”

Amy nodded and held out her hand. Nicole squeezed her girlfriend’s soft palm and infused her with a fresh burst of Healing Light, and Amy’s own hands soon burst with black Hellfire as she pressed them against the frozen heart. Matt focused his power into his chainsaw and began breaking apart the ice with it, carving through the layers of the frozen heart with his holy power. 

“Iris,” Nicole said, struggling to breathe evenly as she maintained three different power-ups from remote distances. “We’ll need you to-”

“Use my powers to restore the frozen heart once we get her out, to maintain the structural integrity and prevent this castle from collapsing on top of us?” Iris said. 

“... Yeah, actually.”

“Didn’t think I was paying attention?”

“Heh. Maybe.”

Her little sister shrugged. “I like architecture.” 

“Good to know,” Nicole smiled. “Amy, how’s it going?”

Her girlfriend held her burning hands over the ice, and slowly, slowly, water and steam broke free of the frigid sphere. Matt’s chainsaw tore away at more and more ice, and inside the heart, Nicole swore she saw the demon crying. 

“She’ll need a name,” Iris said. 

“Yeah, she will,” Nicole said, her head pounding from the concentration. 

“Maybe we should ask Mom to-”

That was when the building shook, and the wall behind Nicole exploded in a massive spray of thunder and shrapnel. 

“Oh, FUCK!” Matt said, nearly dropping his chainsaw as Hell rushed in. 

***

Cass and Winona gave chase across the fiery sky, while Lilith soared on smokey black wings above the chasm of damnation. Cass extended the reach of her telekinesis, but it was like pumping water through a bucket of oil: Lilith just kept slipping away. 

“You’re not gonna catch her,” Winona said. “Trust me.”

“How do you know something like that?” Cass grumbled. 

“Because she’s- LOOK OUT!” Winona cried. 

A hunk of flaming rock launched through the air, and Cass managed to catch that with her telekinesis just fine. The weight was heavy on her shoulders, but even still she kept hold of it. She wound it back like she was throwing a baseball, and she chucked the meteor at her target. 

Lilith stopped her flight mid-air, turned around, engulfed herself in Hellfire, and punched the meteor. It shattered into rubble instantly. 

“Oh you’ve gotta be shitting me!” Cass screamed. 

Winona lobbed several blue energy missiles at Lilith, but simply took flight again and dodged around those. Cass and Winona sped up, trying to keep pace, but Cass…

Cass looked down and saw the armies pouring into the castle below. 

“Mierda!” Cass said, slowing and turning. 

“Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing, Ortiz!” Winona said. 

“Helping my friends!”

“You’re gonna let Lilith get away!” 

“It’s not worth catching her if everyone I care about dies!” Cass said. “My boyfriend is in that castle, and so are my sisters and my friends!”

“This is war, Cassandra! Sometimes sacrifices are necessary!” Winona scoffed. 

Cass’ forehead creased. Shame and regret burned inside her, hot as the Hellfire all around. “You know what? You handle this, then!”

“What?” Winona said. 

“I’ve been asking myself nonstop if giving you a second chance was the right thing to do,” Cass said through gritted teeth. She extended and closed a hand, and Winona was pulled closer to her. “Time to find out.”

“What are you doing?! Let me go!”

“Phrasing, Winona,” Cass said, winding back another throw. She chucked the nephilim at the ArchDevil with all her might. 

“Oooohhh fuccccccck youuuuuuuu!” Winona’s cries trailed off as she careened after the ArchDevil and crashed directly into her, knocking them both out of the sky. 

Cass turned around, aimed herself at the castle under siege, and flew. 

A fragile candle of hope burned down in her chest. Faster, faster, FASTER! She thought.

***

Heather boxed with Astra as the ex-demon dodged energy-staff blows from Debbi. Human though she may be, Astra’s body was that of an athletic young woman in her prime and peak physical condition, and she dodged all of the blows with ease. She’d retrieved the skull, and glowing black and purple veins ran through her milky skin, humming with unholy radiance.

Heather swung a hook punch and grazed the side of Astra’s cheek, her heightened strength tearing off a swath of pale skin. 

The flaming skull throbbed with black light, and Astra was healed. 

Debbi swung her staves towards Astra’s wrists, and the skull was knocked loose and tumbled across the floor. “No!” Astra screamed. 

Heather landed a blow to Astra’s gut, and felt a snap beneath her fist. Astra screamed as she landed on the ground in an unmoving heap. “Can’t feel my legs,” Astra groaned. “Can’t feel my legs! What have you done you fucking dyke!? What the hell have you-”

Heather put her hand over Astra’s mouth and raised a fist. “Shut. Up.”

“Heather,” Debbi said. “Let’s not get carried away-”

“Why the hell not?” Heather said. “This bitch has made everything worse for us at every turn. She’s a monster-”

“She’s human,” Debbi said.

“Not like she’s crazy about that,” Heather said. “Hell, I’d be doing her a favor. Putting her out of her misery.”

“It’s wrong.”

“Why? We’re at war, and she’s the enemy-”

“Because we’re supposed to be better than them!” Debbi screamed. 

Heather flinched. But then the memory of her own spine snapping overtook her, and the absence of sensation shot through her once again, just for a moment. Just for a moment, she was back there, lying on the ground, unable to defend the woman she loved or her family from this monster. Rage and fear and desperation exploded through her, and she wound back her fist. “Maybe you are. But I’m not.”

“Heather, you can’t do this.”

“Someone has to get their hands dirty!” Heather said. “Otherwise this will never end!”

“Heather, as leader I am ordering you to stand down!” Debbi screamed. 

Heather blinked. Her chest heaved and her brain spiraled in an endless loop, replaying her fight with Astra, and every moment this monster had stalked and harassed Amy and Debbi and Cass and Nicole and everyone… 

And that entire time, Heather had been an afterthought to Astra. 

Well no more. 

“You might be a leader to the others,” Heather said, “But you and I are partners. And you already dropped the ball on leadership about this bitch once. No more. I’m making an executive decision.”

“Heather, no!” Debbi said, her hard-light staves breaking apart as she lunged towards Heather. 

Heather’s fist lowered. 

That was when the walls exploded inward, and a platoon of flaming skeletons rushed towards them from the outside. 

***

Winona and Lilith fell together, Winona’s wings of blue-white light burning Lilith’s demonic skin as they hit the ground. All around them, monsters and damned souls surged forward towards the castle. But they gave the two of them a wide berth as they ran down the ashy hills from the upper levels of Hell, out of the impenetrable living darkness that permeated everything above. 

Winona kept Lilith pinned down. 

“Let me go!” Lilith screamed. “If they destroy Pandemonium, Hell goes with it! You know that!”

“Pandemonium won’t fall, not with that team in there,” Winona said. “Trust me, they’re much more capable than you think. You and I, though; we’ve got some unfinished business to take care of.”

Winona’s skin tore open, revealing the angelic form underneath, all wheels and wings and eyes singing with Holy Power and hideous wrath. She let go of Lilith, and she floated in the air, a monument of power and conviction. “Now come on. Let’s do this-”

She stopped, and her many eyes were drawn upward to the sight of familiar forms flying above. And they took notice of her, their own myriad eyes focusing on her and Lilith below. Angels descended towards them, her father’s council of Watchers ready to dispense their own twisted ideal of divine vengeance. 

One angel floated down from above, and on their shoulder stood a human. A Magical Boy, clad in light blue chainmail armor, wielding a glowing claymore. “Well, Michael, it appears Winona and Lilith have both decided to come out to play. Shall we dance with them?”

“I believe we shall,” Mike Callahan said. 

“Oh, no,” Winona said, her eyes all wide and her hearts all thundering with panic. 

Mike charged her, and the angel at his side charged along with him. 

Lilith stood and wreathed herself in fire, and Winona readied her attacks. 

And so, old enemies all fought.