Once Upon a Night - An X-Treme Story, part three
Author: Illmantrim
Title: Once Upon a Night - An X-Treme Story
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or any other of the copywrited characters mentioned here-in. I own only Lassa-They and Rhymer. I make no money on this project. Please don't sue.
Summary: On the horrible night when the soldiers attack the mansion, two stories begin, and several people come of age.
Written for: Troll Princess
Pairing/scenario requested: The kids who left with Colossus - Anything we missed between the attack on the school and their return after Stryker was defeated.
Warnings (if any): adult situations and character deaths
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Part Three - Magik Time!
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Part Three - Chapter 10 - The Running War
***
Illyana leaned back and breathed slowly. She was resting in the ruins of another Limbo border town, on the edge of the Unreality. She blew air out of her mouth and brushed her long blonde hair out of her eyes, watching the terrain around them as her friends did the same. they never truly rested anymore. the last few years had been one constant running war. Belasco wasn't happy about losing her or the amulet she bore. She had discovered mere hours after rejoining her friends that it had somehow come after her. It seemed to not be willing to be parted from her and truth to be told she didn't mind. She would rather have it with her than in Belasco's hands.
She looked down at the medallion laying on her chest. It glowed with a subdued green light, it's surface concealing the secrets inside it. Under the cover she knew lay a second surface where five holes rested. Now three red stones rested there and glowed with their own malign light. They were each pieces of her soul. pieces infused with the Elder Gods' might, and thus a part of Belasco's plan. She could only hope that she could keep from there ever being more stones created.
Since her escape from Belasco, she and her friends had fought an ongoing battle to keep themselves free. Along the way they had found a few friends, others who were not quite under Belasco's thumb and who gave them help from time to time. But those people and places were few and far between. And after two years, Illyana was tired. 24 months of running and fighting, of learning to use her spells and stepping disks as weapons, of sleeping on the ground for minutes at a time as Belasco sent wave after wave of demons against them, was enough to make the very bones tired.
Illyana raised her head and glanced around at her four friends. She had come to know them intimately in the last two years. The battles they had fought and the times they had shared had changed them.
Sam Guthrie was a tall, husky man now, his hair a dusty blonde and sporting a goatee-like beard, as he scanned the area around them with some goggles he had picked up a few towns back. He was still an optimist, but his blind following of Xavier's dream had given way to a belief in striking first and hard against those that threatened them. He smiled as his wife, Dani Sun-And-Moon-Born, came up to him, her eyes searching his face before going back to the area around them.
The girl who Illyana had known as Dani Moonstar at Xavier's had revealed herself to be a deeply spiritual woman, even in the hopelessness of Limbo. and her powers had grown here as they faced menace after menace. Illyana had been delighted to see the two of her closest friends had become lovers and more in the time since she had known them.
Roberto DaCosta waved from his perch on a small hill close at hand, his other hand resting on the flank of Rahne Sinclair. Roberto's regular ruddy good looks were obscured by the sunspot effect, his powers' effect, a shining black field around him. Rahne rolled slightly against him, her red fur running all different ways as she wiggled. Rahne was a wolfmorph, able to do through mutant abilities what were-wolves did through magic. Her wolf form was almost as big as Roberto and enabled her senses to be incredibly acute, thus allowing the rest of them a few moments of rest.
Illyana sighed. She had enjoyed seeing her fri4nds so happy but still felt somewhat amiss amongst them. She was the one left out and even though they were her friends, she was still somewhat a mystery to them and they to her. They had spent seven years fighting for their lives before she had joined them and they had heard many tales of the 'Darkchylde'. After more than two years at their side they trusted her but still held themselves somewhat apart. It hurt and Illyana knew she would have top accept it. Her power was vast and growing stronger. She wasn't sure when they would stop growing, and she wasn't sure if they weren't right to wonder about her. She could feel a darkness within her, a corruption caused by the dark magic she had practiced with Belasco.
There was a whistle from Dani and then they were all together staring into the distance. Illyana felt herself tense as they watched a darkness in the distance coming right for them.
"Belasco's dark riders! Damnation! "
"Okay, Y'all. Time to go!"
Sam's shout was almost overcome by the sound of his power igniting as he launched into the sky, the rocket field igniting around him. Dani was carried aloft by him and Illyana was grabbed and borne al;oft by Roberto as Rahne took off on foot below them, her stride eating the ground up. Illyana shook her head as she summoned her sword and watched the ground below for signs of pursuit. Another day and another battle begun.
***
Their battles were often chaotic things and yet, under Sam's control and direction, they all seemed to come together. Like against the green hordes of S'ym they were fighting now.
Illyana ducked as a group of the scaly threw their trademark swords at her. The swords spun-around and headed back at them an Illyana brought her sword up and around and sliced downward, shattering the weapons into shards.
Nearby Sam's rocket field hurled away a group of demons with a flash and absorbed several attacks as he brought around the war-hammer he had adapted from a dwarf they had known back awhile. He hurled the hammer and then followed it, flying low and fast into the group and increasing his impact at the last second.
One of the demons stumbled back against one of the group who was menacing Dani and distracted them enough for her illusions to take hold. a green dragon roared up out of the ground and the demons scattered as their own dark desires were thrown back on their dark hides. Dani followed this up with swipes of a spear, covered with feathers and scales.
Near them both Roberto was tossing Demons around with a savage glee. the young man had taken to war and battle with a passion that increased over time.
His hurled enemies narrowly missed Rahne who was dancing around in half-wolf form. She was covered in reddish fur and claws which exacted a huge toll on the demons around her. Her speed enabled her to dance around and help her teammates as she went.
Soon the battle was over and Illyana felt her blood still rolling high as Sam called out.
"Time to go again. Got to get out of this cul-de-sac before they regather and rush us again.."
With that he swooped down and grabbed up Dani and Roberto smiled as he lifted Illyana up into the sky. Rahne leaped, her muscles rippling as she grabbed a lip of stone and scattered, following them below.
Another day, another battle..
***
Mind-numbing tiredness filled Illyana's bones as she trailed along with the others from a recent battle with more lackeys of Lassa-They. The demon-witch had become a favorite of Belasco to lead and send out troops after Illyana and her friends. Illyana felt her breath shorten as they ran down a gully and out again into shadows. the odd lighting that changed in every section of Limbo made for odd tactics that needed to constantly change. Thankfully, Sam had developed a fine sharp mind for tactics.
Illyana wondered at times if it wouldn't be easier to just give up. She had taken more wounds both large and small than she could name. Only Dani's growing power and her own increasing familiarity with magic had kept her and her friends alive a few times. She was tired. She felt more tired than she ever had before. She was bone-weary and bone-tired and somedays she just didn't want to get up from their small rests.
"Illyana? Time for a halt, Illyana."
Dani's words penetrated the haze filling Illyana's mind. As she shuddered and settled down with the others, she felt herself sag further into the depression that was gripping her. She had managed to fight it most of the time she was here but it was getting worse. She felt her mind slipping away and darkness claimed her.
She found herself in a strange place, filled with peace. It was a quiet place, where all she could hear was the rushing of waves. She looked about her seeing a white room with a balcony just past a door. Her feet bore her there and she looked out upon a balcony across a great sea. The ocean was even quiet as she watched and it filled her with tears to see the ocean, which she had not in so long. She heard a quiet tread behind her and turned to behold an older woman, who looked like her and yet not.
"Welcome Illyana. Be welcome in my house."
"Who are you? Where am I?"
"You are dreaming but this is very real. I have brought your spirit to my House Between Realms. My name is Roma and you could consider me a cousin of sorts, a friend of the family. I have brought you here before but never been able to send you solace that you would remember. I am forbidden to interfere with mortal life. However, now Belasco has tipped the scale. He has increased time in Limbo and is tearing it apart by bringing the undead into it. If this conflict does not end soon, all will be lost."
This pronouncement caught Illyana off-guard. She stumbled back to the balcony's edge and looked at the other woman blankly.
"But, how are we to end it? He is too strong! And my friends and I are far too weak."
"You are stronger than you know. Far stronger. And there is a place, not far from where you are now in Limbo, where you can change things. It is called the Gate Room, and from there you can go home, and more, you can block Belasco from coming after you."
These words fell like a thunderclap and Illyana found herself on her feet and braced as she looked at the other woman. There was something in the air here or maybe it was just being offered a slim line of hope that did it. She felt something awaken in her, something she had thought lost and she looked at the other woman and spoke unhesitatingly.
"What do I have to do?"
***
Part Three - Chapter 11 - Final Battle
***
Colossus felt mind-numbing tiredness sweep over him. He led the group of kids and adults further into the trees, their stumbling gait behind him reminding him of snow from St. Petersburg. He remembered long ago how he had played their at the side of his big brother Mikhail. So long ago now it seemed. As they stumbled along, half-running, half-walking, the rag tag group of survivors from the latest assault wove around the trees of the park Colossus had led them too. He had hoped this place would give them some solace.
Everywhere they had turned they had been attacked. Ever since they had fled the attack at Cassidy's house, they had run into attack after attack. Whoever was running this was more powerful than most small nations. Colossus had lost track of how many people he had wounded. He was certain a few had been killed as well, but he had tried not to think about it.
He heard and felt Kitty ghost up along side him and flashed her a smile. As they had battled these long last few hours, he had wondered how she did it. She seemed always light on her feet, filled with enthusiasm when even he felt so tired. She gave endlessly to him and the others and he wasn't sure at what point tonight he had come to know he loved her, but he had. As they continued to move he shudder-stepped for a moment and swept her into his arms for a brief kiss which she returned with force, then let her back to her feet. She laughed lightly and there were a few tired whoops from behind them. Kitty merrily flashed whoever had whooped the finger which occasioned weak laughter from a group somewhere behind them. Then once more there was only silence as they charged on in the night.
As they went along, Colossus felt Kitty's gaze upon him and turned his head slightly to catch her eye. She smiled, a full bright smile, and he returned it. She was his strength this night. He thought of how he had once thought she might be too young for him, but, as this night had shown him, he was very wrong. She was more woman than most women twice her age and he had learned that the hard way through this night.
"Peter?"
"Yes, my Katya?"
"Where are we headed next? The park is only a few hundred feet longer."
"There is a area of forest past that and beyond that is Worthington Estates. If we can make it that far, we can contact Warren and hopefully get safe haven. Worthington's land is better protected than most army bases i have seen. "
"Good."
there was silence for a few moments as they moved towards the edge of the park and darkness.
"Peter? "
"Yes, my Katya?"
"I love you,."
"And I you."
They ran in silence as they approached the concrete wall that ended the park. The group slowed and huddled together for a moment and then Colossus organized them into groups top slowly go over the wall.
Once there, they looked out over a tight, heavy forest with some trepidation. Colossus raised his voice.
"It is just a little further, now! We just have to keep going!"
There was a ragged acknowledgement and then the group started moving. the forest undergrowth was very thick and Colossus found himself plowing the way for several others as he went. Kitty had it easier and spent some of her time taking those who were weaker through some of the thicker parts.
As Colossus saw a glimmer of light in the distance he started moving faster and heard Kitty behind him laugh. He didn't care. That light should be the end of the forest and safety. He burst through a light of brush and then stopped in shock as he saw what lay before him.
Two helicopters were grounded and military forces were drawn up into a defensive line before them. He had led the others into a slaughter. As the soldiers opened fire and he heard a scream, Colossus lost it. All the rage and anger fell into one small part of him and he launched himself forward.
***
Part Three - Chapter 12 - The Return
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~first, you must find the Gate Room, built in stone, revealed by moonlight alone~
Illyana and the others crept over the ground together. Illyana still was getting glances from her friends as they moved along but at least they had been wiling to go along with her when she had woken and revealed her dream. She didn't think they believed her, but after two years they had come to know nothing happened for a reason.
As they moved across the stone lands that surrounded them, they looked ahead to the stone pile that towered ahead. It was only the latest one they had investigated and looked like all the others, bare and barren of life and magic. Illyana waited as the others got into position and then slowly hummed before launching into the spell that called moonlight from the alien sky of limbo. A lance of pure silver shot down from the heavens and speared the rock formation ahead. and as they all watched, it began to shudder. As it moved as if made of some sort of shifting sand, Illyana hurried forward and was joined by the others. By the time they reached it, it stood revealed as a grand structure that fairly hummed with power. It glowed a with a silvery light and they quickly moved to the only entrance.
~there you shall encounter ghosts of places and times other than your own, you must go past and continue your quest~
As they entered the vast space, a mist rose, bringing walls that twisted and turned. Illyana quickly lost sight of the others,. Calling out there names seemed to be fruitless so she focused on continuing on, remembering Roma's words.
As she rounded one mist filled corridor's bend, she saw a large cave area off to the side where fire and lava bubbled up from pits and a small group of people were making their way through the mist and haze. One of them was gaudily clad in gold and white and another, a middle aged blonde woman, wore a simple skirt and blouse outfit. The others seemed in outfits equally gaudy and equally unsuited for the terrain. She glanced at them as a group of demons charged them and she started to move towards them before turning away. The gold and white one fired beams of light at their enemies and the others seemed to produce similar effects. the woman saw Illyana and cried out to her.
"Hello! Can you help us? We are looking for-"
But the rest of the sound was carried away by a roar of flame as a jet of fire rushed up from a nearby rock. the woman stumbled back and Illyana hurried on. She moved down the hallway, trying not to listen to the sound of combat behind her.
She shook her head. She had to keep moving.
~When you encounter the room's core, touch it with your heart. Only then can you finally reveal the way home~
She came out, after a long while, into a large room, and was startled to hear her name called out. the others were entering through similar entrances all along the wall. they rushed to each other and babbled for a moment in greeting until they saw a growing glow at the front of the space they were in. There sat a beating heart of gold and red. Illyana gulped and then approached, the others hanging back slightly and scanning the room for dangers.
As she approached the heart, it's beating seemed to accelerate and she recalled Roma's words: touch it with your heart. She reached out and touched the heart and nothing happened. She tried to think what exactly it meant.. and then it came to her. With a burst of will she called her soulsword to her hand. It glowed with the touch of her hand. She looked down at it and sighed. She had made it in anger and frustration and it had been the outer manifestation of her soul ever since. In one way it could be called her heart. She reached out with it to touch the heart and there was a flash of light.
They were all standing in another room suddenly. It was a large room field with machinery on the walls and an overhead observation area. In the front of the room stood a giant wheel-like object, which seemed to be made of stone or metal. Without even thinking she knew she was in the Gate Room.
There was a shout and she and the others turned to look at the door where several soldiers came bursting through with guns at the ready.
"Stop right there! Hands up!"
Sam and Roberto moved to handle the soldiers as Illyana turned back to the gate and began incanting the spell to awaken the gate. Behind her she heard the sounds of battle and gunfire, of shouting and crashing.
~open the gate with a spell of hope and enter as one to claim the Earth as sanctuary~
As the last of Roma's words flowed through her mind, the spell was finished. the gate before them exploded with a glowing wave of water-like substance that exploded out towards the room and then subsided into a pool of light that stood upright.
"Sam! Roberto! Dani! Rahne! Time is wasting!"
The others came running, disengaging from the soldiers they were fighting and as they came even with her, they were all caught up together in Sam's energy field, him straining to carry them all as they shot past the whining of bullets and into a shining sea of light.
As they passed through the gate she heard a shout.
"What the hell is going on in here, Colonel O'Neill?"
All sound faded and they spun through the shining sea and something like a tunnel of light and then... They found themselves spinning out into cold night air. Below them was a battle between soldiers clad in black and a group of kids that looked like... the children from the X-mansion!
***
Part Three - Chapter 13 - Hope Renewed
***
Colossus staggered as he fought. He wasn't sure how many of the others still stood, but he knew it was bad. Colossus and the few older kids had been fighting a desperate battle to protect the younger children. They had been losing. How the men in back had found them he didn't know, but if something didn't happen soon, they would lose. He roared his defiance even as he thought that at least his snowflake, Illyana, would not have to be here for this dark end.
They had fought through the enemy lines and now were up against a solid and tall stone wall of ancient design. There was a solid stone circle on the wall at one place. As the battle seemed to edge towards disaster, Colossus cast a glance back at Kitty who fought with Allison at one side of the group. he felt like his heart was being torn in two. He wished he could just somehow save her.
Suddenly, there was a scream of sound and then the darkness split assunder. With a thundering sound, the circle seemed to spin and shudder. With a roar, a spinning pillar of light shot out of the wheel shape and then it seemed to become a pool of liquid light. Out of the hole came five teen-agers, three women and two men. Behind them, the pool collapsed with a sucking sound. The five all wore shining clothes and armor of patchwork and odd design. One of them glanced around and then grimaced at the sight before them.
"Okay, guys! Break and attack! Let's take these assholes down!"
The teen who had stated that had blonde hair and was ringed by a glowing field of energy as he seemed to erupt up into the sky. He was flying and plowed into and through a group of soldiers without even stopping, pulling up into the sky and looping back around towards the battle.
The other young man glowed like a dark sun, giving off black energy in spots as he tore into the front of the soldiers with a curse in what sounded like Spanish. He picked up and tossed soldiers around like they were toys, but his face seemed grim and filled with a savage joy to Colossus's eyes.
One young woman wore what looked like a kind of Native American garb, but oddly warped. Her eyes blazed and she wielded a bow from which arrows of light shot at soldier after soldier. felling them. Her voice rose in a chant that sounded ancient.
Another girl almost immediately shifted and became something out of nightmares and legends, looking like a were-wolf. She tore into the soldiers, seeming at once savage and yet gentle with them. She fought at the Indian-looking warrior's side.
But it was the figure at the back that held his attention the most, for in the eyes of the blonde-haired woman who wore shining silver armor and wielded a sword brighter than the sun, he saw something familiar and suddenly found himself running right through the soldiers in his way as he recognized that something.
"Illyana! Snowflake!"
"Hello, Piotr! I'm back!"
The five tore into the soldiers and Colossus led his remaining friends into battle as well. With the new enemy and this resurgence of the targets they thought they had beaten, the soldiers seemed to lose heart. Within a few moments, they had beaten the group of soldiers, felling them all. Illyana and Colossus embraced tightly, and then Colossus held his sister back for a minute to look at her. She, all of the five, were teenagers! It seemed impossible and yet, when he looked into her eyes and knew it was her.
"Illyana, what happened?"
"Too much to talk about now, Piotr. I have missed you so much. All these years, I have been gone, I have kept you in my heart."
Colossus stepped back for a moment, mind reeling at what she said. He looked at her in confusion.
"All there years? Illyana what are you talking about? You have been gone for hours! Not years."
She looked back at him, shock on her face and as he glanced up, on the faces of all those around him. He easily identified the others as he looked from one to another. Dani turned to Sam who looked like he might cry and Roberto and Rahne hugged. Illyana shook for a moment and then nodded.
"We have to get you all to safety then. Before more attacks."
Sam shook out of his momentary shock as well and began to corral his friends and they moved out among those who were left from the mansion, helping people up and gathering them. Illyana lo0oked to Colossus and smiled.
"We will have plenty of time to talk later, big brother. For now, let's take these kids to safety."
he hugged her close, feeling her lean muscle and wondering again what had happened, hardly believing she was in his arms but so changed. Then he stepped back. He nodded.
"Let's get out of here."
***
Epilogue - The Birth of X-Force
***
Much later, as dawn was cracking over the sky in the main building of the Massachusetts Annex of Xavier's School for Gifted Children, nine figures rested, stood, or paced in a large and lushly outfitted room. A fireplace gave off a merry fire's warmth and in front of this, Rahne was curled up in wolf form, Roberto sitting next to her, gently rubbing her fur.
In chairs, arranged in a ring around the fire, sat Colossus, Kitty Pryde, Sam Guthrie and Dani Sun-And-Moon-Born. Illyana stood to one side, speaking as opposite of her stood Callisto Jonathan, Headmistress of the Annex. Crouched behind Callisto was a alabaster white-skinned mutant, whose glowing eyes followed everyone in the room. He hummed gently to himself as he listened.
"-and then the gate opened on Earth. And that's pretty much everything. We all have had an hour or so to shower and get dressed normally, and we all need about a year to do more of the same, but we are okay."
There was a silence as Illyana's friends nodded in agreement. they had chosen her to tell the tale since she knew more about why it had happened. And because none of the others wanted to. She grinned at Sam and got a flash of a smile back. Then she concentrated on Callisto who was speaking now.
"This is all-- very hard to believe. Dimensions and demons and sudden enchantments. But... I have seen the sword, and the clothes that don't look remotely earthmade... and before my mutation came on, I would never have believed any of that possible either... So, I am willing to believe you. As far as the other matter Piotr asked me about, I have brought someone who can help, I believe."
Callisto turned to the crouching man and waved him up. He rose with fluid grace and stared at her with a smile.
"This is Caliban. He can track and sense anyone or anything across vast distances. Charles was having me keep him here as a backup should the Cerebro fail. He just arrived about six months ago, but has shown vast ability. I believe he can help find your friends. If you have an object?"
She held out her hand and Colossus rose, fishing in his pocket. He had looked through the precious little he had carried away from the mansion and was only able to find one thing that belonged to any of their missing friends and teachers. A half-smoked cigar of Logan's. He had picked it up sometime during the night before all the madness and it had been in his pocket ever since. He handed it forward. Callisto took it and handed it to Caliban who rocked gently, closing his hands over the object and humming again, louder now. then the man seemed to snap up, his eyes bright and he spun to a globe on Callisto's desk. He pointed one claw to a space on the map there. then he wrote down some numbers. Finally he collapsed back into a crouch, the crushed cigar falling from his hands.
Callisto looked at where he had pointed. it appeared to be in the middle of nowhere in Canada. She plotted the numbers into her computer and it came up with a listing.
"An abandoned oil fueling base at Alkali Flats? I'll bet it isn't abandoned anymore. Thank you Callisto! Thank you Caliban."
Colossus had watched over her shoulder as she worked and now turned to the others.
"Seems like the X-men might need a rescue."
"Well then, we should send an X-Force to deal with it, wouldn't you say?"
Sam's wide grin as he said it was enough to rouse the others to agreement.
And in that moment a new team was born. Not quite the X-men, but an X-Force...Magik, Cannonball, Colossus, Shadowcat, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, and Psyche walked out of the room and into history.
***
Never the End...
***
Characters:
Colossus - Piotr Rasputin - 25 at the time of the story's start
Magik - Illyana Rasputin - Piotr's little sister and the apple of his eye. Last member of his family left alive. 7 at the time of the story's start. 16 at the story's end.
Shadowcat - Kitty Pryde - Colossus's love interest, good friend to Illyana, 16 at the time of the story's start
Cannonball - Samuel Guthrie - leader of the so-called New-mutants, friends of Illyana's whose mutant abilities started early. Age 9 at the beginning of the story. 18 at the story's end.
Sunspot - Roberto DaCosta - member of the new mutants. Age 8 at the beginning of the story. 17 at the story's end.
Psyche - Danielle "Moonstar" Sun-and-Moon-Born - member of the New Mutants. Age 9 at the beginning of the story. 18 at the story's end.
Wolfsbane - Rahne Sinclair - member of the New Mutants. Age 7 at the beginning of the story. 16 at the story's end.
Xian Coy Manh - member of the New Mutants. Age 7.
Douglas Ramsey - Computer geek and friend to Colossus and Kitty. age 17.
Allison Blaire - student at Xavier's. age 17 at the beginning of the story
James "Proudstar" Running-With-Bears - student at Xavier's. age 18 at the beginning of the story
Theresa Cassidy - student at Xavier's. age 16 at the beginning of the story
Leach - mute mutant age 8 at the beginning of the story
Artie Maddox - mute mutant age 9 at the beginning of the story
Amelia Voight - student at Xavier's. age 18 at the beginning of the story
Alison Crestmere -
Franklin Richards - student at Xavier's. age 8 at the beginning of the story
Eddie Jones - "Rhymer" - age 17 at the beginning of the story
Caliban - mutant student at the Massachusetts Annex
Faculty -
Professor Charles Xavier - Professor X - headmaster of Xavier's school
Scott Summers - Cyclops - teacher at the school, Field leader of the X-Men
Jean Grey - Marvel Woman - teacher at the school, school doctor, Scott's fiance, member of the X-Men
Professor Logan - Wolverine - teacher at the school, member, part-time, of the X-Men
Professor Sean Cassidy - part-time professor at Xavier's and former member of Interpol.
Callisto Jonathan - headmistress of The Massachusetts Annex of Xavier's school
Demons -
Belasco - demon lord of Limbo and servant of the Elder Gods
Lassa-They - daughter of S'ym, fellow student of Belasco
S'ym - head of Belasco's demon army