For the past few hours in the hotel room, Marx had been calm, sparking up the
occasional conversation to distract Abby's mind from what was happening to Sakura. But for
the last few minutes, he was becoming increasingly nervous.
"...Abby," he finally said. "Do you... have any lingering doubts about your love for
Sakura?"
That question caught her off guard, but she began to glare at him from where she was
sitting on the side of the bed. Marx cleared his throat. "I mean, do you truly love her
more than anything?"
"Yes!" Abby huffed out, her chest searing with pain. "Why are you-"
"Often times in Purgatory, one must go through trials to prove themselves. Sakura has
already gotten through the same kind of struggle as the one that allowed her to become the
Living Inferno."
"What do I have to do with any of that?" Abby asked, slightly frightened at what
would come next.
"Love is a hard thing to test," Marx said. "So you have to help out on the final
part."
"What's going to happen to Sakura?" Abby asked, starting to get frightened.
Marx played with his hat and started to sigh. "You're going to have to go help her.
We're going to take a trip to see her right now."
Abby opened her mouth to ask him another question, but from the look in his eyes,
there was really no reason to. He took her hand and said, "Just hold on to me."
She did just that as fire erupted around them. It felt like they were falling, or
maybe they were flying? Abby shut her eyes and held onto Marx as ground started to form
beneath her feet. It was definitely solid, but had an almost deceptive softness about it.
"God, don't hold on so tight," Marx said, trying to push Abby a little bit away from
his body. "You should definitely hold on to my hand, but if Sakura catches you all over me,
she's going to scorch my crotch off!"
Abby pulled away, about to hit the man, until she noticed that they were definitely
no longer in the hotel room. "This isn't Purgatory," Marx said, answering the unasked
question. "It's like... a different part of it. If Purgatory is the top floor of a
building, we simply took the elevator to one of the lower floors."
"Right," the blonde said shakily, looking around. The place oozed a sort of
controlled darkness with definite light coming from unknown places and walls that seemed
so... liquid like. There were disjointed pillars, some mirrors and a pathway. It was almost
like field, with many different places to go, each for a different purpose. "Then what is
this place?"
"Uh..." Marx trailed off. "The name for it is beyond any earthly understanding. I
hope you know that this is a very special position you're in - places like this are only
for agents of Purgatory or souls of the dead."
Abby swallowed and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to be in trouble for being here
am I?"
"No, I got specific orders to bring you here," Marx said nonchalantly. "Anyways,
think of this as a sort of... Hall of Memories! Yeah, that sounds like a good, mysterious
name..."
"It's corny. Did you steal that from a movie or... or a videogame?" Abby asked.
"Who knows? But the power here is very manipulative. In Purgatory, souls can linger
and be brought back as apparitions in this place depending on who enters... the Hall of
Memories creates things based upon what we hold inside ourselves." Marx let out a sigh.
"Sakura took me here when I first became an agent of Purgatory. It's something like... like
training grounds or a way to get over your fears. She told me that if you can't literally
stand up to the ghosts of your past, then you're nothing."
Marx began to walk and Abby followed him, hand in hand. "So this place assaults your
memories?"
"Eh... well, more like it prods at your guilt to force you into a state of peace with
what has happened. I try to avoid coming here because there are some dead people I'd rather
not call back," Marx murmured, anxiously looking around. "Try not to think about any one
dead you know, alright?"
Abby frowned, "Of course I'm going to think now that you said it."
"Well!" he protested, "At least you know not to dwell on those thoughts and bring up
heartache! I'm not sure if you're at peace with all your dead associates, but I sure as
hell ain't... I'm lucky I even got it so they won't hound the hell out of me anymore..."
He mumbled a few more curses under her breath as they passed through a doorway not
attached to a wall. "Why is Sakura here?"
Marx peered at Abby over his shoulder. "Like I said earlier, both of you have
lingering doubts. So you have to face those problems in order for her to be released."
Abby was about to ask him what he meant by released when a screeching voice erupted
throughout the hall. "Why is there a woman with you?!"
Marx put a hand on Abby's back to hurry her along as he picked up his pace. "And this
is why I hate this place."
"You broke your promise to me!" Abby cringed at the sorrow in the voice... there
wasn't any anger, just sadness.
She turned to look at where the voice was coming from, but Marx pushed the back of
her head forward. "Don't pay her any mind. If you look at her, you'll regret it."
He bit his lip uncomfortably as the woman trailed behind them, sobbing. "Why won't
you even pay attention to me...?! Don't you love me?"
Abby looked over at Marx, but he was staring straight ahead, as though the thing
behind them wasn't shouting. "How could you do this to me?! Marx!"
"Are we just going to keep walking?" she asked him and he nodded curtly.
"Yeah, don't worry about her. She's not your concern."
Abby knew he was telling her all those things - not to look, not to worry... but...
Against her better judgment and everything he had told her, Abby turned around. The woman
behind them was probably very beautiful, but she didn't exactly focus on her best features.
The angel behind them was leaning against a pillar, blood staining the front of her
dress and dripping horrifically down her naked legs. Abby caught her pale blue eyes and
froze. She couldn't help breaking away from Marx, even as he called out to her.
Maybe it was idiocy, but the blonde knew it was mostly sympathy that made her run at
the woman. "Are you alright?"
The angel seemed shocked that Abby was paying attention to her and didn't hesitate to
grasp her in a hug. It was then that the blonde realized why Marx kept warning her... she
felt a sudden darkness permeate her insides and she started to become dizzy.
"Diana!" It was Marx's voice that brought her back to reality as he yanked her away
from the dead woman's grasp. The angel tried to grab Abby again, but Marx quickly stepped
in front of her. "Stop it right now."
His voice was stern and the bloody woman just stared at him, sobbing again. "You
never come visit me, Marx... don't you love me...?"
"You can't attack a living person like that," he said, trying to avoid her questions.
"But she's so full of life... I should be in her place, standing beside you," Diana
countered, her blood pooling at her feet. "It's not fair...!"
Marx let out a long sigh. "Diana... she's not... she's not in a relationship with me.
Please... just calm down. I know me being here agitates you and that's why I never visit."
She wiped at her tears again, whispering. "Is our daughter okay...? Tell me... how is
she doing?"
Marx gave her a sad smile. "I know she's alive... but I don't keep tabs on her. You
know your brother won't let me near her."
"That's good enough," Diana choked out, wrapping her arms around herself.
"You should rest," Marx said calmly. Abby watched it all from over his shoulder and
Diana gave her an apologetic smile as she started to disappear into the shadows.
"And you," Marx started, whirling around. "The next time I say something, listen!
Diana almost sapped you of your life!"
"She was bleeding!" Abby said. "And you were ignoring her!"
The man adjusted his hat with a frown. "You may not believe me, but Diana is actually
resting peacefully. It's just whenever I come here, my regret manifests and calls out the
worse in her." He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground. "I ignore her because I can't
give her what she wants. No matter what I do, I can't bring myself to completely love
her..."
Abby looked down at herself, surprised that none of Diana's blood got on her. "...how
did she die?"
"Childbirth," Marx said, swallowing uncomfortably. "If she lived... if she had lived,
I would probably still be with her, raising our daughter. But she died. No angel dies from
childbirth unless it's a halfling and our daughter was no halfling. Our daughter... she was
a once in a century birth and the child always kills the mother once it's born."
Abby stared at him as he started walking down the path. "Your daughter killed your
wife...?"
"Not exactly. The birth requires all of the mother's life force so Diana died soon
after seeing the face of our newborn daughter," Marx said, trying to stay calm. "Her
brother... her brother was so pissed that he chased me away, thinking I had done something
to his sister to kill her."
The fallen angel could feel her curious stare on the back of his head. "I was having
an affair and almost everyone knew it... but couldn't prove it. Diana loved me so much that
all she wanted... Her brother thought that I poisoned her or my infidelity broke her heart
or... or... he just thought I did it."
"That's horrible," Abby said, not holding back. "How could you cheat on your wife?"
"Angels don't get divorced. We have sort of arranged marriages... I mean, it's more
like families introduce us to one another and then we court a girl we like and marry. I
just happened to meet someone else that I fell in love with," Marx murmured, looking
around. "I'm a bastard, Abby, in case you haven't noticed. I know Diana's death was out of
my hands, but... if I had at least loved her, she would have died peacefully."
Abby tensed up as she heard another set of footsteps coming towards them and another
woman materialized out of the shadows. "Speak of the devil," Marx muttered as he turned to
face what was coming.
The woman this time wasn't an angel - instead, she appeared to be a normal woman with
long black hair and intricate, earthy eyes. "Marx..." she whispered, looking at him. Unlike
Diana, she wasn't bleeding nor crying... she actually seemed happy.
"Iria," he said, with a bit of a sigh. "Hello."
She frowned a bit. "Why don't you visit more often?"
His lips twitched in amusement. "Because I might be tempted to join you."
"That must be why you stand so far away from me," Iria stated before looking at Abby.
"Who is she? Did you forget your promise?"
"She's not my girlfriend," Marx said confidently. "And I haven't forgotten my promise
to never again be in a relationship..."
Abby just stared at him. "You... you never plan on being with someone again?"
"Yep, considering my horrific track records. Iria died giving birth to my other
daughter on the same day Diana died giving birth. Two in one night..." He played with the
rim of his hat. "I figured that I should work for Purgatory to pay off my debt and to try
and achieve forgiveness like Sakura."
There was a bit of awkward silence before Iria asked, "Where is my daughter...? I've
always wanted to meet her..."
Marx looked sheepish for a moment. "I'm sorry... I still haven't been able to find
her soul. I think it might be trapped somewhere thanks to the Shadow Organization."
Iria gave him a sorrowful look. "I see... I was hoping you could find her because I
get so lonely..." She gave him a pleading look, but Marx averted his gaze.
"Iria... you should leave here as well. This place will only make you regret death
even more."
The woman nodded and suddenly faded away, much like Diana had.
"God, I hate this place!" Marx suddenly shouted before letting out a breath. "That
feels better..."
"This is why you dislike it, isn't it?" Abby affirmed as they continued walking.
"Yep because Diana and Iria are at peace, but since my grief and despair is
multiplied in here, it draws them out and they feed on it..." Marx paused. "Sakura has
already dealt with her phantom's - angels she knew... and Tycara's father."
Abby swallowed uncomfortably. "Then why... then why is she still in here?"
Marx just looked over at her. "It took me a while to deal with Iria and Diana... now,
I know how to tell them to go away and calm them down... Sakura can do the same thing, but
don't you remember what I told you?"
They stopped walking and Abby looked over at the room they were in. It was a dark
circular space and suspended from the ceiling was a dark clothed mass wrapped in chains. It
didn't take the blonde long to figure out exactly what was up there. "Sakura!"
She ran out to the middle, looking up, before looking at Marx. "How do we get her
down?"
Marx shifted uncomfortably. "Do you remember what I said before about doubt in your
relationship? Now's the time to address it."
"...doubt...?" Abby had nearly forgotten about Marx saying that earlier.
"Yep, doubt," came a different voice from the shadows. Abby could hear the click of
dress shoes against the mysterious floor as a well dressed figure appeared. He was wearing
a dress shirt and tie along with his pristine slacks.
As the man swept some of his black hair away from his blue eyes, Abby's heart skipped
a beat. She should have known that this would happen...
"Terry..." she whispered and the young man nodded sheepishly.
"It's been a long time," he said with a smile.
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