Freedom?

Alex woke up with a splitting headache. His mouyh was dry and his lips were cracked, "how long have I been asleep?" he wondered. His body felt incredibly heavy and thirst ravaged his mouth as though he was in the desert. Alex could not even see a couple of feet in front of him, the place where he was laying was incredibly soft but surrounded in a darkness which he was unaccustomed to. Alex tried to help his eyes adjust to his surroundings but it was useless. This incredibly deep black was strange, it wasn't frightening but refreshing. Alex felt as though his mental strength was beginning to recover. The physical strength that eluded his body seemed to begin to return. He was in a state of incredible comfort and safety, two of the emotions that he almost forgot about during his last year in hell.

"Oh right" he spoke softly as though he would be embarrassed by anyone hearing what he was saying.

"I am in hell". A single tear trickled down his cheek. The memory of what had just happened came back to him slowly, as if it were a person paddling against the flow of a river. Although the pain was real it had less weight that it did before.

"CRRUYNNCH-H-SSSHHHH"

That image of Abigail thrusting her arm through his chest, the hard snap and twisting sound that the bones and tissue made as they were blown apart around his heart, the soft hiss of his blood gushing forth like a splashing crimson fountain, and the look on Abigail's face. Her face... as his blood soaked her whole body... her eyes shining in the moon light...

She smiled.

"Disgusting bitch". Alex mumbled to himself.

"You called my dear boy?"

Within a fraction of a second Alex was once again on edge. The moment he heard that voice he knew something was wrong. Though hardly enough time had passed before the lights were turned on, Alex was already down on one knee in a defensive posture focusing on the direction of this voice which had come bursting out of the darkness without warning.

"Oh my"!! "You seem to be rather excited this early in the day, and so bold I might add".

Alex focused his attention on a woman who was staring at him with a gentle smile on her face. She was absolutely gorgeous and the smile was incredibly disarming to him.

"Who are you"? Alex asked as he tried to maintain a calm attitude and muster enough force within his words to sound intimidating.

"Why am I here in this strange place which uses darkness as a healing factor?" Thinking that he sounded authoritative and had a clue as to what he was saying alex rose to his feet and placed both hands on his hips as to bolster his wavering confidence (and to keep from falling over because of his weak knees).

"How about you get dressed and when you are ready to come out of your room we can talk in the kitchen". The woman was talking while giving Alex a once over, a perfect indication to Alex that things were not as dangerous as he thought. Also... that he should probably give himself some time to observe himself and his surroundings.

"Fuck!!!". Alex got the hint by following her eyes and then giving himself a once over. Upon his self-reflection he became all too aware that his body was missing something very important... his clothes... all of his clothes. As a screaming red flowed across his face he dove back onto the fancy bed he came from and in a now very polite tone asked.

"Umm excuse me ma'am but would you happen to know where my clothes would be?" his voice a couple octaves higher was kind and pleasant.

"Don't worry kiddo, they have been cleaned and are in the top drawer of the cabinet to your right" She explained with a smirk on her beautiful face.

"Oh by the way my name is Cleo, you met my husband who you call M (as he affectionately told me) 4 days ago at the Tower headquarters."

"Ah I see" Alex said barley holding back his embarrassment. "Thanks I will be out in a second"

Alex sat on the bed he woke up in trying to corral his thoughts. The worn and faded fatigues he was accustomed to had been replaced by a fresh dress uniform which was odd. Only official military administration staff and young, low class officers would be wearing these uniforms. Alex was now able to digest all that he had been through in the past five days. From waking up in a tight 6'x6' cell looking forward to the small portion (though particularly delicious) of breakfast prepared by hardened front line "Mechanics". To being overwhelmed by a mysterious power emitted by a seemingly innocuous young man in a tailored suit. He woke up next in an amazing office which could have almost been identical to the offices of ceo's and prime ministers back on earth. Across from him sat M, a powerful member of the Kingdom family which presides over the whole domain of hell. Then something blocked out his memory and he then woke up here in this large pink room.

"???? pink room???"

"what the fuck? where am I?" Alex was now aware of the fact that he woke up naked in a pink on pink room.

"Strange but whatever, I had better not make that women wait any longer"

Alex hopped up and headed to the door, as soon as he reached out his hand to grab the latch the door vanished into thin air.

"I will probably never get used to that" Alex thought as he entered into a very spacious hallway.

"Hey what's up kiddo!!" M was waiting for Alex in front of a pair of what looked like twenty tonne double doors made out of a pearly marble like stone.

"whats up M, you taking me to the alter now?" Alex spoke with clarity and a hint of sarcastic humor.

"Haha not today jack ass, sacrifices to the great family's of the Kingdom are only on Thursdays and today's Friday so your outta luck" M said with a handsome smile and a wink. His crimson eyes were amazing.

"Actually more like majestic" Alex thought to himself.

"So what's up, where in hell are we, the architecture is vastly different from that found inside the Tower which I am assuming we are not currently in"

"You would be correct on your assumption, and as for where we are, hmm how about we go inside first and I think you will be able to guess as to where you are" M said as he pushed open the massive doors.

Alex could barely see as the light seemed as though it was coming at him from every angle in the cavernous room he was now in. As his eyes adjusted to the light his mind could not help but to become overwhelmed at the sight which lay before him. In what could only be described as a football arena sized room Alex could only stare. With massive panes of clear glass forming the dome shaped walls alex could see that he was up extremely high, uncomfortably high which made him hesitant to continue forward. Resembling what could only be described as stained glass master pieces Alex noticed that from about two thirds up the sides made of clear glass, they transitioned into the staind glass which rose upward to form the crux of the dome. A massive column made of a black material which resembled coal with flecks of gold and silver, was positioned directly in the middle of the dome and seemingly was its own support structure which Alex guessed was about 300 meters tall. A ring of beautifully crafted stairs rose about fifteen meters from the doorway to a platform which encircled the black column, from there about half way to the column rose another section of stairs which was split into five sections rose a couple of more feet and then a much smaller stair case split into three sections rose up to the last platform at the center of the whole dome.

"Wow this is incredible, almost unbelievable if I wasn't standing in it"

Alex couldn't help but feel insignificant in comparison to this massive complex.

"Come on lets go, Cleo has been waiting for us" M said, his voice startled Alex who was absolutely dazed by the enormity of the dome he was in. It all worked out if Alex could see the ground around the building, but because he was clearly almost 1500 feet above the other buildings surrounding the structure which were also incredibly tall, it all just didn't make sense.

"Hey Alex, little buddy just relax and follow me" M said as he came to stand beside Alex so they could walk together. M's presence gave Alex a comfortable feeling which was the total opposite of the crushing fear that seemed to suffocate Alex when they had first met. Alex was hoping to ask M about what that feeling was but remembering the immense pressure he decided that it could wait.

As the two of them walked up the first flight of stairs and onto the first plateau, Alex was surprised to see a flowing river tracing a winding path along the platform. Grass of all types, exotic plants and flowers along with beautiful stone sculptures dotted areas around the river which was very calming to Alex. Though it obviously had no end or beginning, the river was soothing to his ears and a generous sight to behold. Strange colored fish swam below him as the two men crossed a bridge following a carefully laid stone pathway to the second staircase which led them to the second plateau encircling the massive black column.

"Holy shit this is incredible" Alex was extremely surprised that this next platform had a whole forest of every tree imaginable which began with the smallest out in the front and the largest located closer to the column.

"This is really impressive to you?" M was a bit perplexed as to why this forest was so obviously intriguing to Alex. M believed that it was a waist of resources and that it should be a traditional training ground or obstacle course.

"Yeah... I love nature... and I'm sure that sounds ridiculous after knowing everything that happened to me, but the natural world has been the setting for some of the best and most incredible memories I have made" Alex spoke softly, holding back tears but wearing a big smile. The memories Alex had came and went, he was aware that a lot of them were out of order and scrambled. He was also aware that he was missing many of them but notwithstanding the sadness he felt, there was also joy and relief in the fact that he still could remember his precious family.

Through the trees the two of them came upon the last set of stairs which was low enough for Alex to se above them. Alex was amazed at the size of the column which towered overhead, its ability to hold up the dome by itself was an engineering marvel.

"Looking at it from here... it almost looks like a giant tree".

Alex spoke with amazement while looking up so he didn't realize that M was looking directly at him with a gentle expression on his face and a wide smile.

"I would be lying if I didn't agree with you".

M spoke softly as if he were talking to a child who experienced going to a city for the first time.

"Not many people are able to recognize that this column and the staind glass together form a beautiful tree like structure" M was now walking ahead.

"Really!!? its actually quite obvious to anyone who would take the time to look at it". Alex said while breakinghis neck looking upward. "The way the staind glass only occupies the upper third of the dome and flows into the column, this makes it look like a giant black tree trunk with a beautiful crimson canopy with orange and dark red flames flowing outward to the edges of the stained glass".

Alex was so preoccupied by the pulchritude of the architecture laid out before his eyes that he tripped over the steps leading to the last platform which was at the base of the column.

"Damn!! That fucking hurt".

Alex was in moderate pain, but the feeling of him possibly being watched was overwhelming. Enough so that he immediately looked around and tried to identify a threat. Alex carefully picked himself up and realized that he was now looking around in what, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be a kitchen.

"Welcome Alex, if you want you can take a seat over there at the table"

Alex noded and headed over to an exceptionally large table situated off center in this open air kitchen. Alex sat down and was enjoying the different aromas coming from the range and oven. He noticed knives dancing around seemingly with a mind of their own, swinging and swaying around Cleo, they were cutting multiple different vegetables simultaneously. M walked over to a beautiful black sink and in an instant his sports jacket dissipated and he rolled up his sleeves and began washing his hands.

"oy I have it covered, go talk to Alex"

With a delicate sigh, Cleo began washing her hands as M began what seemed like final dinner preparation. Cleo wrung her hands dry and walked over to the large table. Alex watched her closely, her presence was overwhelming. A face as strong yet delicate should probably have been reserved for the goddes of beauty. Her flowing blond hair cascaded down her back like a golden waterfall. About 5'6" she was not physically imposing, though her breasts were large and firm and complimented her hips in an exquisite proportion. She was damn gorgeous and really young to boot, not even looking like someone past her twenty fifth birthday. She then sat directly across from Alex.

"Fuck!!"

Alex then realized that this absolute beauty was the same one that roused him earlier that day and almost certainly remembered his naked body. Alex froze, though his face felt hot and uncomfortable.

"I know that we had a tough first meeting earlier so I thought bringing you in here for a warm meal would be an ideal reset"

Her voice was warm and sweet, this disarmed Alex who was now able to meet her eyes with his. He sensed an ungodly amount of power emanating from her though it was different from M and his power which had a base in magic.

"OK good, I see that your doing much better than earlier so let me begin. I am Cleopatra the first Queen of Hell and that moronic goofball over there is my husband who has told me that he now preferably goes by M"

Her beautiful smile made Alex relax even more.

"I think its an honor to meet you your majesty "

Alex spoke while simultaneously standing up as if on a spring board and gave a perfect bow like a gentlemen should.

"I am Alexander Phillips ma'am but thats from my time on earth, I just go by Alex now and its an honor for me to have been acquainted with M from the other day"

Alex gave a bow to M whose back was turned, though he was aware of the respect and couldn't help to smile.

"He is as was promised by the previous demon lord, and much more."

M thought to himself as a single tear dotted the corner of his eyes.

" Almost ready over here ".

He said this while regaining composure and setting back to work.

"Alex it is so wonderful to finally meet you. I am assuming you have many questions but I will answer them as best I can though we are also full of questions ourselves".

Alex thought for a moment, then asked a peculiar question which caught cleo off guard.

"why can't I shake this feeling in my heart, I feel an incredible attachment to the both of you but I am unsure as to why"

Unbeknownst to him, in the whole universe there are souls born as a pair or at some point souls would become pairs and this was extremely rare for the universe in its infinite order would hardly generate something twice. This prevents a soul from holding the same power as another. Though sometimes this does occur, and in this instance it has occurred not only once but twice. Only Cleo knew the whole story so she began telling him about the last great war.

"At the beginning of the conflict between hell and heaven roughly one million years ago, I found out that I was carrying a child one night while leading a column of armored infantry through a small city six thousand miles away from this castle".

She spoke in a somber tone while still maintaining eye contact with Alex.

"Definitely not wanting anything to happen to the child I was able to take leave and be with M while we prepared to bring life to our world, and this is a rare occasion because most magic wielding species are unable to conceive life".

She continued.

"The child was born successfully and this marked one of the handful of times an actual baby was born in hell, though our fates were separated as I was called back to the front immediately. M had ministers duty to attend so we had relatives step in to watch the child while we were away".

Tears began to flow as she recanted the horrible conclusion to her story.

"Wanting power and security, some relatives conspired against me and M. Believing that if they had an assassin take our child to the Devin Realm and sold to a god that they would retain power as having believed Hell would soon fall to the gods. Untrue... the gods used this opportunity to crush Hells moral by publicly sacrificing our child and then releasing the identity of the ones who performed this unsavory coup".

Alex realized that what he was hearing was impossible, though it touched his heart regardless.

"You were that child Alex, and you were born again though on earth this time as a human child carrying a gifted soul. Like me you have a black Halo thouh no wings and this identifies you as part of the Reaper species. A powerful royal bloodline which has existed for millions of years guarding life on earth and its six moons".

Alex could not speak as his throat was chocked up with sadness and rage.

"I am glad to see you, mom..."

"CLEO Wait a sec...."

CRACKLE WHOOOP BOOOM!!!!!!

Alex was suddenly wrapped around and tightly embraced by Cleo who was now across the table on his side. Alex had everything played out in micro-slow motion, using her tremendous power Cleo instantly appeared next to him and the repercussions were blatant and immediate. The spot where she was just sitting became nothing, gone was everything but a sizzling electric orb which was producing an electric field exploding outward at an incredible speed. Picked apart everything that it flew through on its atomic level making it all disintegrate rapidly in to an exceptionally brilliant flash of blue electricity. This was a fearsome and indescribable representation of a much to powerful EMP discharge. Though that was nothing compared to what he saw next. In the next milliseconds a mammoth shockwave of light coming directly from where he was burned the ground and everything that was still standing. Everything was burning at once just because of the light smashing into it. Then the heat source producing the light began to expand outward. It was a horrific and unbelievable power, the air became nuclear fire and the ground turned into molten slag that boiled like it was water in a pot.

It dawned on Alex that what he was viewing was a ground zero perspective of the detonation of a thermonuclear warhead. Looking up just to see what had become of Cleo, he was surprised to say the least. Cleo's eyes were an incomprehensible mixture of gold and crimson which glowed from within. Atop her hed was a beautiful black crown which Alex guessed was her "halo" and the 7 spikes which floated just above it were a beautiful golden color which was glimmering in the light. To Alex she looked like an angel just one with no wings. Alex looked around the hellscape which seemed to spread out endlessly and the only thing that drew his attention was M.

"M.... what the fuck!"

M was standing in the area where Alex assumed that the kitchen was once located, with one hand on his hip and the other rubbing the bridge between his eyes, he looked like a twenty year old college student chastising himself for buying too much cup soup and not nearly enough vegetables. Though it seemed as if nothing was affecting him at all, just seemed encumbered by Cleo's power. Just then Alex glimpsed a figure whose silhouette was coming up from behind M.

"yo pops whats the deal?"

Then a few others emerged.

"I leave the house for one week and this is what I return to???"

"Hey guys shouldn't we try to calm her down"

"Easier said than done shrimp, take a look at what she has caught in her arms"

"holy shit what is some kid doing in the middle of all that"?

"Beats me but look at his crown, and those gold eyes, the crown is an exact copy of your mother's, and would you know it, he has your papa's eyes".

M was now crying, as he was overwhelmed with joy.

"Oh come on can it dad, and by the way where in the world is Charlotte?"

"I am right here"

Just then Alex saw one of the silhouettes materialized a huge black and purple glowing scythe.

"Heads up shrimpo Charlotte is about to get you out of there"

Just then the smallest figure sprang into the air above Alex and with a scream of power and triumph said.

"REVERSE CHRONOS STRIKE..."

WHAMMM CREEEEK CRACKLE CRACK

The scythe punctured the corona of Cleo's power and all of a sudden Alex was sitting down at the table still being held by Cleo who was sniffing and wiping tears from her face. Alex sat up and gave her a big hug. Then he turned towards M who was plating food and humming. Everything was back to normal, well except for....

"Yo little buddy you look a bit pale"

Said a big guy, body builder type with a military crew cut.

"who are yo..u.."

Alex then passed out once again, though he was able to take in the sight of his Mom and Dad as well as seven people who were wearing bright smiles, they were of all races, ages and made up of more girls than boys. Alex was completely comfortable now because an image of the ones he lost on earth was placed next to the ones he had found in Hell.

"To the newest member of our Family".

Cleo held his head in her lap under the beautiful sunshine coming through the staind glass. She stroked his hair and let him sleep in peace, her heart had ached for this moment for so long, nothing would ever separate thim again.