Lost In Limbo

[Brenthon]

How long I have been in Limbo, I do not know. It matters little now. Here I have lived many lives. Jumped through countless stepping discs on my journey to be free of this hell dimension. But this is what my people, the Roma, are used to. We never had a home. A nation. Anything that was truly ours. I am used to being given scraps. So I have done, in Limbo, what I have always done - I have survived. But there was a time when I wanted to die.

For many moons, I believed that my beloved Darkchilde would find me, just as she had done so long ago in Hungary, when I was an exiled novice who had murdered or lost everything I had ever loved because of the darkness within me. I was her Evil Incarnate. Her most loyal. Her Rook. I had gone into our last battle by her side, surely she would find her way back to me. As I navigated the barren planes and purple skies of The Valley of Limbo, I soon realized that my Darkchilde was dead, as was all hope.

Eventually, I stopped walking. I stopped wanting to live. If I had to die, I was happy to do so in her realm. To be asborbed into the tapestry of her legacy. And then, The White Witch came into my life - a woman that would become both teacher and adversary to me. For now, she was my savior.

Ororo: "My dear young traveler, how did you end up here?"

"By the grace of The Darkchilde, choviar...I beg of you, end my suffering..."

Ororo: "There is no end to suffering in Limbo, my child. And with a soul as dark as yours, no death. You will become one of the countless horde of demons who wander here, waiting for a master to serve."

"It is a fitting ending...for her most devoted follower. She will reclaim me."

Ororo: "She will not, for there is no Darkchilde here, boy. Wherever you came from, you will not likely every return. Especially not lying on the desert floor begging for death. It is clear there is much about Limbo that you do not know. Let me help you."

"I am to weak to say no, sorceress. But know this...I know who you are, I know....how you've failed before. There is no bright white light inside of me. No beacon....I am darkness..."

Ororo: "And I can see through the dark....Brenthon."

With great shame, I gave into a creature of light, collapsing in her arms. Several days later, my senses were assaulted by the beauty of a lush and tropical oasis, beaming with the power of The White Witch as I awoke in some lush green covered sanctuary room. Darkchilde had told me stories of the woman who had tried to save her and failed. Of how she tried to help her find a light within in her that no longer existed. The parable of the witch and the acorn. Darkchilde had told him that Ororo never truly understood Limbo, that her fight against it's very nature was a matter of pride that kept her trapped here forever, playing Goddess and savior. Darkchilde did not speak of Ororo with a bitter tongue, more over, it felt painful for her. Ororo was a living ghost of everything Darkchilde had ripped from her without her consent holding vigil in Limbo as if she were some kind of beacon of hope that she could somehow still be saved. Like she needed to be saved. While I was begrudgingly grateful to be restored, I could not trust her, or I would never get out.

[young girl's voice] "Are you dead?"

It was a young blonde girl who couldn't have been more than seven years old staring at me from the doorway. Her face. Even her eyes. She seemed painfully familiar, like she was a part of me. I leaned up from the bed, rubbing my eyes, trying to gain my senses.

My third eye meanwhile, burst open with such an inner force, it was all I could do to not scream out in pain.

A demon mage desperate for power. Belasco. A golden amulet with a pentagram inside, with bright red bloodstones on two of it's points. The young girl in front of me holding my hand as we ran. A vast wasteland of a valley, with jagged rocks and hissing demons at our heels, against a chaotic purple, lightning filled sky. Ororo against me. Belasco beckoning me towards him. Both our souls at stake. Darkness.

My third eye closed as beads of sweat barrelled down my forehead. I swallowed hard and caught my breath as I took a closer look at the girl in front of me. Her very energy told me I knew her, and my knowledge of Limbo told me who she should have been. But she wasn't Illyana. or Darkchilde. She was somebody else entirely.

Ororo: "I thought I told you not to disturb our guest, Morgan?"

The White Witch appeared in the doorway draped in white silken robes like the goddess she was playing at being.

"Morgan. Her name is Morgan..."

Morgan: "But 'Roro, there's never anybody else to TALK to here."

Ororo: "Bored of my stories already, are we?"

Morgan: "I didn't..I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude! I'm just excited!"

I had not been around a child for as long as I could remember, and I was never much one myself. I never had the chance to be. At first, being around Morgan was uncomfortable, but I did my best to muster up whatever humanity I still maintained.

"And with good reason, tickna. I am a very exciting man."

She laughed loudly, and it made me feel even more uncomfortable.

Ororo: "Morgan, why don't you go pick some fruit for our guest for breakfast? I'm sure he's quite famished. We'll meet you in the grotto in a little bit."

Morgan: "Oh come on! I want to talk! I want to play!"

Ororo: "Hush, child. Do what I say. There will be plenty of time for play later."

Morgan exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes before scampering off to parts unknown like some kind of manic pup. Ororo gestured to the wash room across from my bed.

Ororo: "Good Morning, Brenthon. We have much to discuss. Enjoy a warm bath and a change of clothes and come to the grotto when you are able..."

I was hesitant of Ororo's motives, but despite how much of my humanity had been burned away by The Masters of Evil, it had been so long since I had been offered the creature comforts of both a bed and a bath. So I acquiesed. And it felt good to do so. I bathed myself in the silkiest waters I have ever known, washed away the ash and debris of the storms of Limbo, feeling like an entirely new person as I put on silken robes and comfortable shoes, before meeting Ororo in the grotto, where she had prepared a feast of fresh fruit and juices.

Ororo: "Welcome. Please, have a seat."

I watched as I could see Morgan in the distance, playing in the garden with such fervent imagination and purity. I had forgotten was that kind of joy was like.

"She looks so much like Illyana..."

Ororo: "And with good reason, Brenthon. She is a crosstime alternate of Magik. Just as powerful. Just as dangerous."

"So Belasco has found a new soul to claim."

Ororo: "He always does, Brenthon. That is why I remain here."

"And what of her? The girl. Surely you have the power to send her back from where she came?"

Ororo: "If only. I have been here far longer than you..."

I listened in between ravenous bites of food.

Ororo: "To do so would be to destroy myself, and to that end, give Belasco a way out."

It was an odd experience, speaking to Ororo with such familiarity. But his time in Limbo had made him realize, that all the times he had met her, all the instances where they had found each other in Limbo existed as once. And their magicks gave them the ability to fill in the blanks.

"And who are you with out a righteous cause to serve, Ororo? What is your plan here? Teach the girl your white magick and hope she's strong enough to resist the taint of this place? We both know that is a fool's errand. He will claim her and consume her. It's not the light that has ever given her the edge, but the darkness. Either way, she will be corrupted...just as you were. Just as I have been. Just as Illyana was. She will only survive if she embraces The Darkchilde."

Ororo looked at me with disdain as she took a sip of hemlock, placing the glass down on the table. She was much older looking than he remembered, and her power was waning. She was being honest with him, but this felt like a desperate plea to destroy a man who had bested her several times. Still, her resolve was that of steel.

Ororo: "I reclaimed my autonomy from Belasco through sheer will, Brenthon. My existence here is because I was able to take all I had learned from him and warp it, to remove the darkness, to become a power of pure LIGHT in such a vast WASTELAND. My garden is a testament to the power of the Bright Lady. Morgan has time on her side. I can teach her how to destroy Belasco without losing her soul in the process."

[gritting his teeth in anger]

"She's not YOU, Ororo. She doesn't have your resolve! She has never lived your life. She's a normal girl who think she's in a dream. She hasn't experienced anything like you or I have. She doesn't have the strength. And if this place calls to her like it did with Illyana, then you've already LOST."

Ororo made me enraged. I knew Darkchilde better than most, and though she was resolved to rule Limbo, to be the demon she truly felt that she was, it had not been her choice. She was a chess piece, moved by both Belasco and Ororo, in some kind of endless grudge match where she was never the winner. Despite her power, I know that had she had the choice, she would have left Limbo. She would have gone back to her brother. She would have never chosen all of this. And to know that both Belasco and Ororo were about to do this all over again with another girl, well...it made me pretend I wasn't responsible for my following actions.

Ororo: "Guest in my domain or not, Brenthon, I will NOT have you speak to me as if you have all the answers! I was able to rescue Morgan BEFORE he harvested part of her soul for his hellish amulet. For the first time. Her soul isn't corrupted. If I can just show her how to harness all that I've learned...she has a CHANCE, she can defeat him once and for all..."

"She's not a weapon, Ororo. This isn't her battle. It's YOURS. And I won't let you claim the soul of another little girl in the name of it."

My words surprised me. While I didn't care for children, something made me want to protect Morgan. None of this had been Darkchilde's choice, and he knew, that if she were here right now, she would try and save Morgan from the same fate. He felt compelled. He wasn't sure of what to do next, but he knew his best chance to get out of here with the girl in tact was to head to the castle and pierce the veil, the place where the veil between Limbo and the mortal world was at it's lightest. This was the most stable version of Limbo he had found himself in, if there was any timeline he might finally get out of here, it was this one. And if he saved a girl from the same fate as his Darkchilde, that was an added benefit.

"I'm sorry."

Flexing out with my power I knocked her head against the table, knocking her out cold before telekinetically hurling her into the healing pools in front of us as I heard Morgan scream out with fear. Instantly I dissappeared into the shadows reappearing before her, allowing her to scream and cry and run from me with little to no reaction.

Morgan: "What did you to do 'Roro!?! Get AWAY from me!"

"Get a hold of yourself little girl!"

I held her in place with my power as her haunting violet eyes viewed me in fear.

"This isn't a dream. This is very real. And if you don't stop acting like a child, Belasco will KILL you. Ororo cannot save you. I don't even know if I can save you, but what I DO know...is that you're better off with me."

I flooded her mind with knowledge, of who I was, and who Darkchilde was to me. She wouldn't be able to understand this immediately, but with the way that time worked in Limbo, eventually she would get it. Still, she resisted.

Morgan: "I'm not that other GIRL! I'm ME! I'm not a DEMON! I'm not like the bad man!"

"Yes you are, Morgan. And none of the magick Ororo has taught you is going to make a difference if the bad man really wants you. LET me help you! Let me get you out of here....and back to your family. PLEASE."

It was surreal, to plead with a child, but I had no other choice. I could have manipulated every step of the way, but Morgan would always be a temptation for Belasco, especially if she really got away. Despite her age and her pure soul, coming here had effectively ended her childhood. The taint of Limbo was immediate. The power of light wasn't going to help her. Only in darkness would she find her way. And Brenthon was a good shepard for navigating the dark.

Morgan: "Family? I...I miss my MOM! I want to go home! I want to wake up!"

"You are awake, Morgan. I promise. But just like the bad man? This is another prison. You'll be here so long you forget who you are. I didn't want to hurt Ororo, but she wouldn't listen. I need you to listen to me, Morgan. I can get you out of here. I can get you home. To your mother. You just have to follow me. I promise."

I was lying. I didn't know if I could help Morgan any more than Ororo could. But what I did know, is that I had never read or heard any story about Illyana, Magik, or Darkchilde, where I was a contributing factor. And maybe that would make all the difference. And I had nothing better left to do with my time. If I was going to die in Limbo, perhaps I could attempt to make some kind of penance with regards to my past. I used my power to temper her emotions as she wiped the tears from her cherubic like face.

Morgan: "I want to go home, Brenthon....Please....just help me go home."

Her emotion hit me like a ton of brick. It had been so long since I had felt human. In fact, I had often reveled in removing the humanity from others. I had taken great pleasure in doing so with Persephone, despite my punishment. But I couldn't help it, something deeper was calling to me. It was purpose. Something I hadn't had in a long time. I was going to help this girl even if it meant the death of me, and I was going to succeed. I let go of my hold as she ran into my arms, so easily hugging me with her tiny body that felt so warm against the cold temperature of Limbo. I sat there for a few moment, pondering my next move. I couldn't teleport through shadow long distance like I could in my own realm. This would be a journey, and a long one. She would age. She would mature. I would not. But for the first time since getting lost in Limbo, I felt like I was on the right path.

"Then let's go home, my child."