Rick looked around and admired the chaos around him. He hadn't been sure he could even pull this off, but he'd been able to, and it was a beauty. If destroying candles brought pain, then he looked forward to seeing what damage ruined temples would bring. Everything was falling into his place, and he knew just who to thank for that. Three months ago, things hadn't been so great, and he frowned at the memories as they played through his head. 

 - - - - - -

Showering was an issue, so he was never quite clean anymore. His hair hadn't been washed since he return from the realm of the devil, and no matter what, there was always the smell of urine one him, because without his hands, he's couldn't aim little rick properly. He didn't even want to begin to think about what the lack of being able to use toilet paper did to his rear after six months. 

He broke every mirror in his house to avoid looking at his reflection. He avoided going out into public if he could help. Except for those nights when he was insane with need and sought out release from anyone, or anything. Hell, he'd fuck a snake if he thought the could get him off. But every time he lost his mind and went out, he met with the same end. Alone, crying, with a painful painful hard on, in some dark alley till he finally regained enough of his sanity to get up and walk home before anyone important saw him. 

It was on one of these nights that his luck had changed. He went out, half mad with lust, and a burning desire to get himself off. He stalked through the alley's looking for her, this was when she got off work, so she should be within sight shortly. Suddenly, there she was. A vicious beauty, sporting a tall frame with just enough curves to make men chase her. Currently her blonde hair was down, and she was wearing a skin tight red dress, with red stiletto heals. They clicked as she walked down the side walk. She was alone, and there was no one around, it was now, or never. 

"Addie." He said from the shadows.

She flinched visibly, then turned toward him. Having recognized his voice saved them from having the mix up of a crazy stalker. "What do you want!?"

Now he flinched at her words. "A shower would be nice, been having some issues with that. After that a decent home cooked meal, and from there, who knows, we'll just see how the night goes."

"Ugh! Rick it's never EVER that simple. It's never, 'let's see where the night goes.' You always want a blow job, or a quick easy fuck that stays between us. Alyson was never supposed to know, like my father and whatever husband I was looking into was supposed to know." She stamped her foot and glared at him. "Well I told you back then, and I'm tell you now, the answer is no damn it! You know the last time we fucked around I got pregnant, I would have had the baby too, but after everything that happened, I risked worse than my father disowning me. I had to dig into my savings to get an abortion."

"You . . ." he chocked on the words. She was pregnant!? With his baby? And she killed it!? That would have been the one person in the entire world who could have loved him now, and she killed it!?

She turned and walked away, leaving him to stumble back into the alley shadows breaking down crying. This time, not just because of the unsedated lust. There had been a Rick Jr, and he never got the chance to know that baby. He had always planned on having children with that wench, but now that she was a Devil's whore, that was impossible. Besides she was carrying a Devil's spawn, and there was no chance he'd have anything to do with that creature unless it involved killing the damn thing. 

With the way his life was now, he was never going to have a wife, he was never going to have children. Addie killed his one chance at fatherhood, at having a family. They could have been a great family, and she destroyed that chance. Well, now she was another name to add to the list of people he was going to kill in a horrific way once he put his plans into motion.

"You do know that in your current state, those plans will never come to pass."

Rick froze. That voice, he heard it, but it wasn't like any voice he'd ever heard before. It was similar to the ones he ones he'd heard when he was in Hell. This one was far more chaotic, this one promised to do damage, because it had the power to do so. He slowly looked up from the ground, expecting to see a vicious monster standing before him, but there wasn't one. There wasn't even a physical form for him to be afraid of. Instead, there was floating mass of black, as if it were thickly packed fog. It was so dark, he could see it clearly despite the already darkness in the alley. What really set the thing off from the rest of the place, was the blood red glowing eyes. Interest reflected in them as they stared at him. 

"What are you?" He asked. 

He knew it was cliche, but in his defense, he didn't exactly have all his wits about him. And to be fair, there was a freaking ghost of darkness talking to him. 

"What I am . . . does not matter." The ghost answered him patiently. "What matters, is that I can help you."

"Help me? How?" He was desperate this point, so much so that yes, he would even listen to a ghost, who may or may not be there.

The ghost chuckled. Rick hadn't been aware ghosts could do that. "I am something with power, but am unable to use it. I could, lend it to you, if you want."

It spoke suggestively, like a hooker looking to be taken home by the highest bidder. Trying to tempt him with what he wanted. Well, it was working. 

"Why would you lend your power to me?"

"Like I said, I am unable to wield my power. I need a physical form, something I am lacking in this moment." The Ghost said drifting closer to Rick. "But if you let me rest inside your body, I can regain my full power, and you can use what reserves I have until. You will want to be clean for your revenge I imagine."

"I don't need to clean like I once was." Rick snapped at the ghost. "I want that damned devil and his family of heretics to see what they made of me. To see how much damage they did to me, and then make them suffer for it!"

"So you want to make a God suffer, not an easy task you have created."

"It may not be easy, but I will find a way." 

"Not as you are." The Ghost said with a tone of sympathy. "You are a mortal, they are gods. You cannot battle them even if you were at your best. What would you have done? Taken them to court? What good will that have done. You know very well that they planned this all from the beginning. Going through it by the rules will accomplish nothing."

"What are you suggesting?"

The Ghost drifted even more closer. "Simply that you allow me to reside in your body. I am weary mortal Rick. I have been without a host for far too long, and I have no more power, other than my reserves to show for it. I need a host to do anything. If you allow me to reside in you, I can regain my former power, and together, we can make the Gods you so detest pay for what they have done to you."

Rick was not foolish enough to think this came without a price. "What's in it for you?"

"The Devil Spawn you so desire to kill. . . ."

"What of it?"

"You must let it live."

"Why the fuck would I do that!? That little shit ruined my life!"

"No, it the woman who betrayed you and the God who lured her who ruined your life." The Ghost corrected in that ever patient tone. "The child is innocent. But since you asked so nicely, I will answer as to why you should. I need a host, otherwise I cannot use my power and enjoy the pleasures of Earth. Do you really think I wish to reside in a mortal body? Mortals die, and the body will still age. I need permission to even enter a body, so hopping from one mortal to the next is not exactly an option for me. I require the child, because I need a body that will live forever, and has more power than I currently possess. While a full grown God would be preferable, I would never be able to get their permission to reside in their body. I have been around long enough to witness the bonds that holds them together. Even the ones who rebel would never allow me to possess them and would surely slay me before I could try again with another. The child will fresh, new, innocent, without a will of its of own other than its basic needs for survival. I can claim that body as my new one."

Rick stared at the ghost for a long time before speaking. "So, you'll let me use your power, and when it's time, you want me to enact my revenge, but leave the baby unharmed so you take over it instead?"

"I will not be taking over your body, more like resting in the background, perhaps offering advice when needed, but other than that misunderstanding, yes. That is my deal."

Rick didn't answer right away, he merely thought over what the ghost was offering him. A chance of revenge, a chance to actually do what no one had done before, take down a god. But, if what the Ghost was offering as true, not just the one who ruined him, but them all. Before it had been a fantasy, taking them all down, realistically, he visualized he could only destroy one. Now he had a chance to kill them all. Actually kill them all. But to do so, he needed to merge with this ghost to have access to it's powers, and in return, the baby Alyson was carrying, was to be left alive. An easy enough demand he supposed. But what would happen to him after the ghost left his body in favor for the other?

"Did I mention you would get hands? Actual hands again, and you could finally do something about that lust?"

Rick looked up at him now, "And just what would I do about it?"

"Well, that Addie woman who wronged you has stopped down the way and is chatting on the phone as she waits for her ride."

Rick grinned, "Hop on in Blackie."

One blink, and the ghost was in front of him. Another blink, and he was alone in the alley once more, but not alone in his head. He could feel the demon there, sleeping he supposed, as it recovered it's power, in the mean time, Rick had access to a little of it. He looked down, the metal rods that they had attached to his wrists to replace his hands were now laying on the ground, and his new hands moved as he tested them out. He thought it would be strange to have hands again, but it was as if they had never left him. The only visible proof that these were new hands was the fact that they were charred black with long nails. He could do some damage with those, he just needed to file them to points first. 

Before any of that though, there were two things he needed to do, and the first was right up the road, laughing at something that was said on the other end of her phone. He stalked in the shadows, unseen even though he was no longer in the alley. He grabbed, pulling her into the darkness with him. There, he ripped off her clothes, and took what had been denied him. 

He arrived home in the early dawn, licking the blood off of his new nails. He hadn't expected he would like the taste of blood, but he supposed that's what happens when one merges with a ghost of unknown origin. He walked up to the bathroom, and proceeded to clean himself up. The bathroom, the house, and his laundry was always cleaned, but he never saw who did it all, they went to great lengths to avoid him, and that was fine, the less he met people the better. He didn't want to have to explain the new hands to them. He wanted to wait and save his killing sprees for those who actually deserved it. 

Cleaned for the first time in months, he laid down and slept like a baby. 

- - - - -

Three months had passed since he made that deal, now the ghost in his head was at full power again, and together they brought down several of the temples, and he waited now, in the temple of the Divine couples, staring at the rubble that had been Alyson's statue next to Alekzandor's. He waited now for them to arrive. He knew they would, because he had after all, just committed that grievous sin again. 

Be wary. The ghost suddenly warned him. Your enemy has arrived. 

"Come on out Alekzandor!" He shouted. "I know you're here."

Alekzandor materialized at the entrance and inclined his head. "Impressive new skills you have there Rick. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you weren't human anymore."

"Oh I'm human." Rick assured him. Bring his arms up and flexing his hands. "Just a bit more than before."

"A bit?" Alekzandor repeated. "Looks like you've traded those bloody stubs in for a couple of demon paws. Good job there buddy."

"You are no friend of mine." Rick snarled at him. "And I lost my hands because you."

"You were the one who chose to beat that glass to excessively." Alekzandor bought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That sounded a lot less sexual in my head. Oh well, just goes to show, not everything you think should be spoken. A lesson I'll have to remember to teach my daughter."

Daughter? The child is a girl? The ghost groaned in his head. Damn it. I'll have to make it procreate to get a damn boy.

"Congrats on the little bitch."

Alekzandor froze, and looked up at him. "Never call my daughter that again."

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Rick laughed. "What are you going to do huh? It's not like you can attack me? I'm just as powerful as you are now. If you come at me, you'll die. Which you will, just not before you're on your knees in front me. I'll call your wife, your daughter, any damn thing I want! They're both devil whores anyway! Or at least, one of them will be once I'm done with you and your family."

Rick blinked and Alekzandor was no longer in front him, and his senses could pick him up. 

BEHIND YOU!

But the Ghosts warning came too late, and Rick was soon on his knees screaming. His back now bare to the world, a deep gash going down from his left shoulder, down to his right hip. Blood ran down and pooled at his knees. Alekzandor once again appeared in front of him. 

"Looks like you're the one on his knees before me"

Rick growled and ran at Alekzandor. His claws extended and his teeth bared. 

- - - - -

Alekzandor jumped back, evading the attack. So far the plan was working perfectly. Neither Rick, nor the demon had yet to realize the transition that had been made. If he kept this up, soon the threat to him and his family would be eliminated, but it all banked on the demon not realizing they weren't on Earth anymore. 

When they came to Rick at the temple, the place had been restored to it's former glory. All of the temples were. Thankfully, there were no souls inside of the temples they needed to return to life, which would have drained more of Hektor's power. After examining both of the minds within Rick's body, he transported them all back to his realm, creating a place that looked exactly like destroyed temple. Only this time, Alekzandor let the full power of the realm hit Rick, and his mind was slowly being withered away. 

But, the demon would start to notice this, to keep that from happening too fast, Alekzandor blocked the attacks, even let Rick get a few hits in before rearing back and decking the man right in the face. Once the initial blow was made, Alekzandor punched several more times. 

"Never! Call! My Wife! My daughter! Devil Whores! AGAIN!" He shouted with each punch. Throwing in a kick here and there as he went. 

Rick knelt in a heap on the floor. Blood falling from his back, bruises and welts already appearing on his face. Alekzandor was somewhat breathless, but he was banking on being able to recover a lot faster than Rick. So far, the wounds showed no sign of healing, and his very soul was falling apart now. 

"FOOL!" A voice shouted from within Rick. "What have you done!? You're soul is withering away!"

"That's just part of my natural charm." Alekzandor told the demon. "Any mortal I touch goes more and more insane till their very soul ceases to exist."

Rick slowly stood again, but didn't make it to his feet. Balor materialized, pulling out his swords and slicing Rick to pieces. Nothing was left but a bloody mess on the floor. The demon rose from the body screaming. 

"I will have that baby! I will have it! And you all will die!!!"

"No we won't!" Hektor thundered

 - - - -

Hektor stepped forward as his son and grandson stepped back into the shadows. He knew they wanted desperately to go to their wives to make sure they were okay. But Alekzandor was needed to keep this illusion stable and see to it the demon didn't escape, and Balor wasn't about to leave until the threat had been eliminated. While both were fully capable of slaying this demon, they both had already done enough, and extended a great deal of power to do so. Now, it was his turn. 

Hektor materialized a weapon he thought he would have to use again. It was a long wide bladed sword with a serrated edge going down one side. The metal was black, and power radiated from it. It was the only thing he brought with him from home. The sword made from the pieces of the Earth and the magic of his parents. This, could kill a demon. Even if it had no physical form.

"Come at me demon, and if you can best me, I will let you have my body." 

The demon, who had been trying to leave the place Alekzandor had created, stopped bashing it's self against any and every surface it could, and looked back at Hektor slowly. 

"That's what you want isn't it? A powerful, male, body for you to inhabit? That's why you weren't happy when you found out my great grandchild was going to be born a girl. You were born a male, and unlike some of your fellow demons, who decided they preferred to be female, throughout all of your long years, you've gone to great lengths to be a male. Well, now I offer you my body. Once you kill my son and grandson, no one will be able tell you took over. You can use your power to claim every female in the Divine realm as your own, and none of the others could fight you one it. I will say this again, best me, and my body is yours."

- - - - - 

Balor watched, horrified as his father made a deal with the enemy. The demon slowly descended from the ceiling, the last place he'd tried to escape, and floated toward Hektor. The weapon that his father had materialized vanished, and was replaced by one of the swords Balor had been carrying. In it's place, Balor now had his father's sword. Hektor didn't mean to really fight it, instead, distract it. So far, everything had worked. 

"You would give me your body?" The Demon asked interested. 

"If you can best me." Hektor reminded him, 

"With that pitiful weapon, you won't do any damage to me." The demon laughed. 

Balor lunged from his hiding spot, and sliced through the spectral form. He expected there to just be the feeling of slicing through air, but instead, there was resistance. The sword was cutting through the demons very existence. The sound of a vicious scream filled his hearing and he was forced to pass the sword off to Alekzandor and stumble back till the ringing in his ears stopped. 

- - - - - 

Alekzandor took the sword and proceeded to slash it through the demon several times. Not letting up until specks were left floating in the air and the sound of chocking could be heard from the remnants of what had formerly been the demon. He fell back breathless and the sword would have fallen to the floor as well, had Hektor not taken it up again again. 

- - - - -

Hektor looked at his son and grandson, they had done him proud today. They stood and faced the enemy, and saw to it that when they couldn't carry on, the other would. They didn't let pride get in their way of the battle, both of them knowing the demons death was far more important than admitting they couldn't continue the battle. That was the way Hektor had raised his family. To work as a team, as a unit. So when one fell, the others would take a stand, and help each other. That was the problem with his parents pantheon, they may have been good friends, but when push came to shove, most would rather battle on their own, and that's what led to the problems his parents were still dealing with. 

He took the sword and raised his free hand, gathering the demon into one small round black mass, floating in his hand. "You underestimated the Divines in my realm. You have no more power demon, you couldn't possess my great granddaughter even if you wanted to. But, I'm not going to let you go and let you restore your power so you can try again. Instead, this seems fitting, that I squash you like the pathetic little parasite that you are."

With that, his sword came down and flattened on the demon in his palm, then, there was nothing. Nothing left of the demon that promised to do so much damage, but in the end, only managed to give them one hell of a work out. 

He looked up at his two boys, smiling. "It's done."

- - - - - -

Alekzandor collapsed onto his back with relief. "Man that was something else."

"I have to admit," Balor said raising a finger, "that, was a difficult battle."

"I must say, had we not already weakened him while he was inside of Rick," Hektor said sitting down. "Things would have been a lot more bloody. As it stands, it used a great deal of power to keep Rick alive, and most of his soul intact."

"That's my cue." Alekzandor said standing up and walked over to the mortal backed into the corner sobbing. 

Rick once again had no hands, and his body was too weak to even support his weight. Alekzandor had seen it all in the mans memories. He went to great lengths to make himself look the part of the abused man in the temple. Rick was committed to the cause. And now, that revenge had failed. There really was no one left to help Rick. 

"You tried to kill my family."

Rick continued to sob.

"You have killed innocent people yourself."

"They deserved it!" Rick shouted at him. 

"Why? Because they left you? Because they hurt you?" Alekzandor asked. "Rick, you broke a Divine law, and then you were granted mercy, had to gone to a temple to repent, perhaps we could have given you your hands back so you could find some work, and try to make a decent life for yourself. I can't say you would have found a wife and had kids, but I can say you would have reconciled with your parents and society wouldn't have gone to great lengths to ignore you."

"I did nothing wrong!" Rick shouted. 

"But you did." Alekzandor assured in, surprised that his tone was calm and patient. "You did wrong then, and you did wrong after. An innocent woman was found raped and mangled. Your parents were found in pieces. They did nothing wrong other than try to leave you alone so you could discover the mistakes you made."

"I did nothing wrong!"

Alekzandor stood and stepped back shaking his head. There was no reasoning with him. So, there was one thing left for him to do. He erected a prison around Rick, and summoned the innocent souls who had been wronged by him. Before him appeared Rick's parents, and the woman he'd killed. 

"Where are we?"

"You're in the realm of the Divines," He answered. "More specifically, my realm."

Rick's mother looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Because Rick tried to take down the Divines with the help of a demon. The demon is dead, but Rick still needs dealt with." He looked over the three. "His punishment, has to be unique, and I was wondering, if I could use what happened to you?"

"Why not make him suffer through what he did before he was possessed by the demon?" the woman asked. 

Alekzandor shook his head. "No, that only made him more determined. I need a different kind of punishment."

"Well, being raped won't make a difference, even if he's slowly killed during it." The woman sniffed. "He'll just rationalize he's not a woman."

"Couldn't you wipe his memory?" Rick's mother asked.

"Then he wouldn't understand why he was being punished." Alekzandor said. 

Rick's father stepped forward. "Nothing."

Alekzandor looked at the man confused. "I'm sorry."

"His greatest fear is nothingness." 

"I think I see where  you're going with this. Thank you, all of you. You may now go and rest in peace."

"Wait!" Rick's mother stopped him. He nodded so she could continue. "Can my husband and I be together in the next life as well. So we can try again?"

Alekzandor smiled at the request. "Yes, you'll be able to, and the child you will have will this woman here. If you have more, then they will be fresh clean souls. As you will be. There will be no memory of anything that happened, but the bond between you three, will never be able to be broken."

With that, the three vanished once more and Alekzandor turned back to Rick. Nothingness huh? He raised his hand and made a circling motion. The temple vanished, and the three were standing on the beach in Alekzandor's realm, his house just up the way. In his hand, was a clear sphere. Inside, was Rick's soul. 

"What are you going to do with that?" Balor asked.

"Well, if his greatest fear is nothingness. I can give him that. Unable to move, see, hear, or know what's going on. He's going to just be there, surrounded by darkness, never knowing when, or if I'll start the pain. When his end will come. He'll relive all of his pain, and have nothing but his failure to keep him company."

"Not much a punishment." Balor commented. 

"True." Hektor said taking the sphere. "Compared to the others Alekzandor has created, it's almost childish, but consider it this way Balor. This mortal caused us a great deal of trouble, anymore extravagant of a punishment would be telling Rick we deemed him as a threat, and we want to teach him a lesson. A lesson he will never learn because all he will be able to think about is that he scared us."

Balor glared at the sphere. "Give me the damn ball so I can chuck it into the ocean already."

Alekzandor and Hektor laughed as the sphere was tossed to Balor. He winded his arm back and brought it forward with everything he had in him and sent it flying. Alekzandor could tell it landed a couple hundred miles off the shore line, and drifted down deep into the black abyss. There Rick would indeed lay for all eternity. Seeming like it was just moments after the battle, and he would be waiting for the punishment to come, never knowing that he was already experiencing it. Perhaps someday he would gain enlightenment, and perhaps on that day, he could start the road of his redemption. But, that day was a long long way off. 

"Come on." Hektor said resting a hand on Alekzandor's shoulder. "Our family is waiting."

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N

There is supposed to be one more chapter after this, then book one will be complete and I can start on book two.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

WD