Chapter 8

  Arc 1 - Ch 8: Azazel

  Date: Friday, June 4, 2010.

  Location: Limbo

  Illyana and Tyson approached an imposing structure crafted from the raw, primordial stone of the hellish dimension. Demons of all shapes and sizes, horned, winged, and fanged, worked tirelessly upon what could only be described as a fortress. Their bulging muscles strained as they lifted massive boulders into pd chiseled away at the rock with cws or primitive tools.

  "I didn't expect them to be this anized," Illyana muttered.

  "Isn't this your domain? How these demons be here, building right under your hout your knowledge?" Tyson asked.

  Illyana scowled, grittieeth in frustration. "I don't know. For years I thought Limbo oed in my mind. It wasn't until ter that I realized this pce was real. I was certain no one could enter without my power." She decred in exasperation.

  As they he fortress, an uling realization dawned on them. None of the demons seemed ed by their presehe creatures simply tiheir tasks, ign the pair pletely.

  "The other demons I've entered were violent and hostile. Either these are of a different breed, or…"

  "Or we're expected," Illyana finished. Her frown deepened, but her fidence remained unshaken. "It doesn't matter. I'm still in trol here," she stated.

  Pushing open the massive stone doors, they entered a cavernous hall. At the far end, atop a throne carved from jagged rocks, sat a figure who could only be Azazel. His skin was deep crimson marbled with shades of burgundy. Chiseled features were set in a face that was simultaneously hauntingly beautiful and deeply terrifying. Fathomless bck eyes devoid of pupils gazed out, making it impossible to dis their focus, yet the weight of his stare felt like a physical touch. Lean, corded muscles rippled beh smooth skin. Talons tipped each long, dexterous finger. His tail, a thick, powerful appeh a spade-point at the end, thrashing with a mind of its own, added ara yer of meo his demonic presence.

  The devil's crimson face split into a sinister grin, baring sharp teeth. He was a mix of dark armor and cloth while a preheail nguidly swishing behind him. "Ah, the little queen of Limbo," he greeted, his gravelly voice dripping with pt. "And... a pymate. How delightful."

  As Illyana stepped forward, her mystical armor shimmered ience arouhe Soulsword maed in her grip, glowing with righteous fury. "You trespass in my domain, hellspawn. State your business before I cut you down."

  "Your domain? Foolish child, realms are meant to be seized and quered. I've found this oo be quite... aodating."

  Illyana bristled, icy eyes narrowing. "You think you just take over? I am Limbhtful queen. I won't let that happen."

  The demon leaned forward, coal-bck eyes b into Illyana's defiant stare. "You? A mere girl pying at ruler in a world you hardly prehend? You're not fit to trol this pce."

  Illyana's grip tightened on her sword, knuckles whitening. "You know nothing of what I've endured, what I do. Limbo is mine. You will not steal it from me."

  "Brave words. But we both know you ck the power to stop me."

  The tension in the rocky chamber alpable. Illyana knew she was walking a dangerous path. But she could not yield. Whatever the demon plotted, they had to put ao it.

  Azazel's depthless bck eyes shifted to Tyson, alight with i. "And you... who might you be? Do share your name."

  Tysohat chilling gaze unflingly. "Where I'm from, giving one's o a devil is sidered u grants them power over you."

  "Ah, a cautious one. I respect that." Azazel leaned back against his throne of jagged stohe tip of his tail curling and bobbing. "But name or no, you stand in my domain now, little man. And I have no iion of leaving."

  Illyana moved closer to Tyson, protectively. "We have no pns to leave either, hellspawn. Not until Limbo is free." She stood tall, lifted defiantly. No matter the demon's arrogahis realm remained hers to and. It resonated with her spirit, bending to her indomitable will.

  She would not yield it.

  Azazel vanished in a puff of crimson fme, leaving only the acrid st of sulfur lingering where he oood. He reappeared in the blink of a Illyana's side. He wielded a slender rapier, and with no previous warning, it now whistled as he thrust it toward her ribs.

  Illyana spun, but her Soulsword raised too slowly to parry the blow.

  Tyson shoved, pushing Illyana out of the way, and saving her life.

  She quickly regained her footing, going back at Azazel. The bdes rang out in a discordant g that echoed through Limbo's throne room, sending sparks skittering to the floor. Before Azazel could press his attack, Illyana blinked away in a burst of light, telep across the room.

  Tyson seized the opening, ung himself at Azazel with taloended. But the demon evaporated once more, brimstoench mog him. Tyson skidded to a halt, sing for any sign of movement. At his side, Illyana reappeared, standing poised and ready, Soulswlinting dangerously.

  What followed was a dance of bdes that pyed out across Limbo's newly structed fortress. Azazel would materialize in a bloom of fire, only for Illyana to meet him, their swords ringing out in fierce harmony. No sooner had their bdes locked than one or both would vanish, starting the deadly chraphy anew. Bursts of crimson and silvery light marked their jumps, the only warning before their swords cshed again amidst showers of sparks.

  Tyson sought any opening to intervehough untrained in swordpy, he knew Illyana was outmatched in pure swordsmanship. Only his hit-and-run strikes kept Azazel's skill from overwhelmiyson leaped and dodged around stone pilrs and jutting rocks, trying to predict the duelists' appearance. When the ce arose, he would ssh at Azazel with adamantium cws, disrupting the demon's rhythm before blinking away once more.

  Illyana's bdes cshed against Azazel's in a shower of sparks, the demon matg her speed and ferocity blow for blow. They broke apart, cirg each other warily.

  "You fight well," Azazel aowledged with a hint ing respe his mog tone. "But Limbo will be mine."

  "This is my world," she retorted through gritted teeth.

  Azazel's crimson gaze bored into hers with hypnotitensity. "Why fight me, child?" he purred, his voice dripping with false warmth. "Together, we could rule this realm. Imagihe power we'd wield as allies instead of enemies."

  Illyana faltered, her focus dimming as his honeyed words wove an insidious spell over her mind.

  Tyson watched in dismay as her vibrant eyes gzed over, her proud shoulders slumping uhe demon's influence. He couldn't imagihis fieran succumbing so easily. He approached cautiously, extending a hand. The barest brush of his skin activated his power, and he siphoned off a wisp of her life force.

  Illyana recoiled with a hiss, the pain shattering Azazel's hold on her. Eyes bzing, she turo Tyson, who withdrew his hand quickly.

  "Thanks," she muttered, "I owe you one."

  "A toug moment. But it won't save you." Azazel mocked.

  Tyson stepped forward, standing protectively beside Illyana. "Let's see about that," he responded.

  Azazel vaelep away in a fsh. Illyana tensed, reag out with her sehrough her e to Limbo. For a moment, his presence was gone, disappeared from her awareness.

  Then, with a silent reemergehe demonic mutant was behind Tyson, rapier already thrusting forward.

  Tyson had no time to react. The point pierced through his bad emerged from his chest in a ruthless executioner's strike. Dark blood immediately staihe shining bde. Illyana's usually stoic face torted in horror, blue eyes wide with disbelief. Her grip on the Soulsword faltered, its glow flickering uainly like a dle in the wind.

  Azazel withdrew the rapier from Tyson's body, letting more blood drip along its length. He colpsed to his knees with a choked gasp, hands clutg at the gaping wound in a futile attempt to stem the flow. Illyana could only stare, frozen in shock at the sight of her cssmate sustaining such a grievous injury right before her eyes.

  Azazel kicked Tyson's weakened form, sending the young man sprawling limply across the fortress floor. Casually flig the blood from his bde, the demonic mutant sloroached Illyana. His voice was sweet as poisoned wihere is no point iing, dear Illyana. Join me, and together we shall reign supreme over this dimension and all others."

  Though stunned, Illya an invisible pull from Azazel's words, a dark seductive allure that clouded her mind. She struggled against it, but his voice wove an intoxig, hypnotic spell that drowned out her resistance. He moved closer, yellow eyes log onto hers with serpeensity.

  "You and I. Imagihe worlds we could quer, the poould share."

  His words were liquid silk, beguiling, and ensnaring. Illyana's fiery will wavered, her mind losing itself in the web he wove. The Soulswrew dim in response, mirr her faltering inner light. She stood paralyzed, teetering on the precipice of plete surrender.

  Unbeknownst to Azazel, just a few feet away, the grievous wound on Tyson's chest began to seal itself, flesh rapidly knitting back together in a remarkable dispy of healing ability. As his body meyson's mind remained focused and alert. Through the brief tact with Illyana, he could feel the imprint of her power within him. The ability to teleport, and the e to Limbo. Azazel was so i on weaving his web of charm around Illyana that he would never see Tyson ing if he attacked now. However, the demon had already proven he could easily overpower them both in bat. With only a minute or so of borrowed power remaining, the odds of succeeding were slim. Yet Tyson knew he had to try, both to save Illyana and to recim this dimension from the devil's influence.

  Fueled by determination, Tyson unched his surprise attack.

  He blinked ience directly behind Azazel. Without hesitation, his hand snaked around the demon's throat, fingers digging in, attempting to choke the life from his enemy.

  The instant Tyson's skin made tact with Azazel, it was as if a tsunami of memories, emotions, and raw psychiergy crashed into him. He was momentarily disoriented, struggling to dis his thoughts and feelings from the flood that threateo engulf his mind.

  He was one of the Neyaphem, an a race of demonic-looking mutants. He and others like him were bao the Brimstone Dimension by the Cheyarafim, a group of angel-like mutants. Uhe others, he could breach the dimensional void aurn to Earth for brief periods, but eventually, the banishment took hold again. Regardless, over time, he would and a powerful following and develop a pn to return permaly. He was oh, with a lover, a blue-skinned beauty that could shift her appearance. She was not the only one. He experienced betrayal a. Over the millennia he honed his swordsmanship to a master level. He had a mastery of teleportation that was unmatched plemented by knowledge of the are arts. He could feel the pull and push of the dimensional portals and khe precision and trol required. He was defined by ambition and ing. His charm was an i power that he used to manipute, trol, and influence. Underpinning it all was his overwhelming desire for power.

  Azazel was no novice when it came to bat. The very moment Tyson's grip tightehe air around them shimmered with crimson light. In a burst of smoke, both Tyson and Azazel disappeared, only to reappear several feet away in the blink of an eye.

  One…

  Again and again, they teleported, vanishing and reappearing across the area as they grappled. Each was trying to gain an advantage over the other.

  Two…

  The memories and experiences of Illyana Rasputin flowed through Tyson's mind from his brief life-draining touch. He felt the e to the dark dimension of Limbo, ailized this link to match Azazel's teleportation skills. Tyson struggled to adapt to the influx of knowledge and power surging into him from both Illyana and now Azazel. He focused, w to blend their abilities into his own. Tyson began anticipating Azazel's tactics before the devil even employed them, tering his every move. His uanding of his foe deepened as Azazel's soul interwove with the others inside him, shifting the battle further in Tyson's favor. His healing factor, amplified from Sabertooth, mended any wounds Azazel inflicted instantly. He outmaneuvered the devil, predig each move and termove.

  Three…

  Azazel, unaced to being so soundly outmatched, growled in frustration. "How are you doing this?!" he hissed.

  Four…

  Azazel's life force tireaming into Tyson. The devil's eyes widened in fear. "Who are you? Mephisto? Lucifer?"

  Five…

  "Release me!" Azazel spat, his voice crag in desperation. His energy was depleting rapidly. He desperately tried telep again; a burst of crimson smoke engulfed the two, but when it cleared, Tyson's iron grip remained unbroken. Azazel attempted it once more with the same result, again failing to free himself. This time they reappeared near Illyana, who was just starting to shake off the remnants of his charm.

  Six…

  Panic flooded Azazel's eyes as he realized the extent of his defeat. The cwed fingers of his free hand danced in a pattern that Tyson immediately reized as are spellcasting. An abyssal word of power squeaked past Tyson's crushing hold on his throat.

  Seven…

  Time seemed to slow down for Tyson. With his heightened sehe mome stretched and elongated. In the space of a single moment, Tyshe distinct sensation of gathering energy around them. Azazel's uanding of magiformed him that this wasn't a spontaneously cast spell, its effects were maing too quickly. His mind sifted through the demon's memories with blistering speed.

  Azazel had prepared tingencies.

  The spell took effect, extinguishing flickering dles lining the far wall that had gone unnoticed earlier. The pulsating energy of the spell signified a barrier solidifying around them.

  Eight…

  Frantically parsing Azazel's recolles, Tyson grasped the scope of the trap. Private Sanctum disabled all teleportation, including Illyana's and even Azazel's. Could he break it?

  No. ter it?

  Also impossible.

  They were trapped, isoted in this space... a, so too was Azazel, now at their mercy. Why would the demon use a spell that hindered himself while already weakened?

  Then Azazel's rapier fshed with vicious speed, its tip thrust unerringly at Illyana's heart with lethal precision.

  Nine…

  A horrible realization crashed down on Tyson. This was the trap, and he saw it too te.

  Maintaining his hold on Azazel meant Illyana's certaih.

  But if he released the demon, they lost their advantage.

  Tyson had no choice. He let go, defleg the rapier's trajectory with a desperate swipe. The bde missed Illyana by mere inches, sailing past harmlessly.

  Freed from her trance, Illyana watched in dismay as Tyson sacrificed his advao save her life. She was regaining herself as Tyson deflected the bde wide of its mark.

  He saved her again.

  Tyson sshed at Azazel with his cws as he saw Illyana raised her bzing Soulsword, ready to rejoin the fray. But with a mumbled word from the demon, he sehe Private Sanctum spell release.

  With teleportatioored, Azazel was gone in an instant. A crimson fsh of fire heralded his escape. Thick red smoke wafted around the space where the demon had stood moments before. It dissipated slowly to reveal nothing. He'd vanished pletely.

  Silengulfed the room as Tyson and Illyana stood alohey waited, muscles coiled tight as springs, anticipating an ambush that never came. A whole minute crawled by at a gcial pace before Illyana finally released the breath she'd been holding.

  "Do you think he's gone food?" she asked, l her fming Soulsword slightly but not fully dismissing it. The bde tio crackle with mystical energy, ready to tihe fight.

  "When I absorbed his life force, I felt his magic, his memories. He's powerful and ing, but taking that much out of him likely forced his retreat."

  Illyana regarded Tyson with a hint of gratitude in her heavy Russian at. "You saved my life back there. Thank you." Her eyes roamed over his transformed appearance. "I wonder," she mused, "was he more afraid to face the two of us or the devil you've bee?" She gestured at his reddened skin and the long, preheail swishing behind him.

  Lost itle's adrenaline rush, Tyson hadn't noticed the physical ges.

  Abs Azazel had altered his body.

  Perhaps Illyana was right, and his devilish appearance had helped deter the demon as much as the siphoning of his strength. Azazel had asked if he was Lucifer. Fighting two defiant teenagers was ohing; fag the devil must be another matter entirely.

  When their gazes met again, a primal urge overtook Tyson, drowning out the reason in his mind. A predatory spark ignited in his eyes and she couldn't look away, transfixed by his pierg gaze. Strange words tumbled unbidden from his lips in a low murmur, "She kissed a devil, and the hellfire no longer burned." His tone shifted, taking on a sly, inviting quality. "e closer a a better look. Tell me you like what you see. Desire me."

  Illyana's usual mischievous glimmer faded for a moment as she stared, her eyes taking on an almost entranced quality. Then the sharpness returo her icy blue irises and she prowled towards him. She circled him slowly, her gaze raking over every detail of his altered form. Her scrutiny had him shaking his head. He slowly reized his words had felt wrong, unwanted.

  "Hmm," she purred, her voice dripping with an unfamiliar sultrihat made Tyson swallow hard. "The color of your skin, that tail..."

  She stopped directly before him, her face just inches from his own. The fiery iy in her eyes softened, but the throaty allure remained in her voice as she whispered, "Just admiring the view. I like what I see."

  A chill crept into Tyson's bones, seeping through his chest before sinking like a stone i of his stomach. With dawning horror, he realized he had uionally tapped into Azazel's seductive charm and used it against her. She'd parrotted his own words ba at his behest. Now, her eyes were uain, refleg a mix of fusion and vulnerability that twisted his gut with shame.

  He wao reject the intoxig temptation of this power, to apologize for maniputing her. But then another voice whispered up from the shadowed depths of his mind, smooth and pelling, plug at his deepest desires.

  Use it, the voice seemed to purr. She's never been this vulnerable. Cim her as your queen.

  Tyson recoiled violently, shaking his head to dislodge the predatory thoughts invading his mind. Sabertooth's feral instincts howled within, goading him to seize the vulnerable girl before him. Azazel agreed, deeming her a worthy mate. She would be his, at his side for all his quests.

  Illyana gazed up at him, her fingers lightly brushing his shirt. Her blue eyes were clouded, and uai longing peeked through the haze. She leaned closer, standing ooes to whisper in his ear, her warm breath tig his neck.

  "Tyson..." she murmured, his entative caress on her lips. Before he could react, she pced a feather-light kiss on his cheek. The hesitant tact ignited something primal in him, stoking the embers of dangerous desire. Sabertooth shrilled by her vulnerability, urging him to take more. To domio cim. Azazel added, To quer.

  "Stop," he growled through gritted teeth, the single word both a demand and a desperate plea. She blihe fog in her eyes clearing for a moment as she peered up at him in fusion.

  "What did you do to me?" Illyana asked, her voice small but g accusation. Just uainty, and something deeper stirrih.

  Tyson's heart wrenched with shame. "It wasn't me, it was Azazel," he expined hurriedly. "I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry, his power, it... it's to."

  The insistent whispers in his mind grew louder, more tempting. The predatory instincts threateo overwhelm him. He had to get away before he did something unfivable.

  In a swirl of smoke, Tyson teleported across the chamber, putting distaween himself and the girl's intoxig vulnerability. He held up a hand, forestalling her approach.

  "Azazel, he’s like you, he teleport across dimensions. He stumbled upon Limbo by act a about quering it," Tyson called out, expining Azazel's history, all while wrestling for trol against the demon's influence.

  "Check the rest of this dimension for demons. I'll wait here until this damned power fades," he implored, not trusting himself near her right now. Not with these urges ing within.

  Illyana vanished in a burst of light.

  Alone now, Tyson focused on his breathing, mentally trag each slow exhation.

  After an interminable wait, Illyana's signature portal split the air, and she stepped through, disheveled and frowning.

  "There are hundreds of demons scattered throughout Limbo, untrolled," she reported gravely. "Too many for me to handle alone."

  Tyson looked down at his hands, now free of the red haze of Azazel's influence. "It's gone," he said with relief.

  Illyana's expression softehough wariness still lurked in her eyes. "I should bring you baow," she said. Tyson nodded, more than ready to leave Limbo.

  With a wave of her hand, Illyana opened a portal. They stepped through, together.

  Behind the Ses

  - In the ics, Besco rules Limbo and draws Illyana there. For this story, I used more of New Mutant’s in for Limbo and repced Besco with Azazel. He serves a simir archetype and is a familiar face for those who aren’t ic readers. Additionally, the events of First Css and Days of Future Past are difficult to fit nicely into the timeline. Azazel was my first choiove from those movies into this story due to his es to other X-Men characters.

  - The spell Azazel had prepared was Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum.

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