Maxwell is in the dark, covered with blood and with hooks in his legs. He feels along the walls and he can feel some bars. He uses the song of motion to poof on the other side. He stands up, brushes himself off, starts walking, and runs into a wall. He turns left, and runs into a wall. He turns around, and runs into a wall. He feels around, and puts his hand into something moist and wet, which gives off a squelch and a nasty smell. He feels around on the floor, and puts his hand into the decayin g body parts scattered around the cell. There’s a little bit of hay in the corner. Maxwell decides to wait, so he waits. And waits. And waits. And waits. And waits. When some time has passed he tries to poof back through the door. He poofs back in to the room with the hooks.

Maxwell goes back into the hallway. He walks along until he comes to the niche in the wall with the television flashing: . "… nothing is going on, please return to your homes. We give you the *crackle* THEY’RE BREAKING IN! THEY’RE BREAK- *crack le* from Corruption. Stay tuned for Vapula’s Funniest Experimental Mishaps IV…" Maxwell ignores what he heard on the TV and walks down the hallway.

The hall gets lit periodically by lights. Maxwell tries to pretend to be a shambling corpse to escape notice, and in fact, he doesn’t have much of a problem. There are doors, which shake as people throw themselves against them over and over, and over again. Maxwell looks through the window of a cell door and peers… it looks angelic, but he can’t be sure. There are periodic monitors set into the walls, blaring "… and for Corruption’s 5 year plan…" He hears incessant scratching at a door, and he peers in another one, but he can’t tell if it’s an angel or not.

He can hear "Guilty" down the hall, and a squelching noise. He walks down there, and there are angelic forms being killed by a Habbalah with an axe. He can’t fight him, so he sneaks around, escaping notice. He goes down a hallway where the re is a big room with bars, where people are filling out forms with pens filled with ichor. He rests, and moves on.

He comes to a wall of thick empty plexiglas. While he is standing there, a form, a Mercurian of the Sword, wacks her body against the glass. Maxwell starts back. He recognizes the form as a Mercurian of Sword, but not who. She’s pawing the glass an d mouthing, "Help me…." He moves on, he can’t do anything for her. He moves on, and comes across a foul river that breaks across the hallways. He tries to jump it, and fails. He pulls himself out of the river, and tries to clean himself off.

Dana and Dylan and crew are headed toward the Groves to find The Big Guy. The servitors of War are forming up into ranks, doing war stuff, chanting, painting themselves, talking to each other about the glory they will soon receive. Michael discusses with the Triad of Judgment about the plan being let out of the bag and moving now, so he goes off to rally his troops. Dana talks to Laurence, and Laurence looks more then eager to go to his Servitor’s aide, because hey, it will give him a shot to get at Dominic, but logic does prevail.

Dylan, Zachariah and Isaac can’t seem to resist the pull of creating Chaos. There are all these people, and they’re going down to Hell to blow stuff up, how can this not be cool? They meld in with the troops. Chaos? Madness? There can never be eno ugh.

"You’re not MY Superior. You’re just A Superior." - Dylan

"Dana is the left wing of the Archangel of Judgment." - Susan

So while the troops are moving out, Dana gets into her first Superior argument, this being with Laurence and about promoting good Christian values on the day after, when it’s time to rebuild.

Dylan descends with the rest of the angels. DC is one giant tether, and one can see Gehenna is right through it like a shimmering mirage, laid on top of the destroyed city. They descend with the Michaelites into Hell, and the Michaelites engage the b attle immediately. Dylan can see the wall that marks Gehenna far off in the distance, and regimented specks pouring through on the other side from a different part of Hell. In curiosity, Dylan flies above the huge crowd of combat and spots a very tiny s peck on the tallest spire of Dominic’s Cathedral. He easily makes himself unnoticed and flies his way up there, without any hassle. Up there is a blond man in tennis shoes and a black cloak drinking tea and writing in a notebook. Dylan has an interesti ng conversation, sort of sideways, not entirely sensible conversation, but he nixes the idea of more Habbalah and he says he doesn’t want to be the Demon Prince of Madness.

Dana is arguing with Laurence, but the convenience of having other members of her Triad is that they can separate Dana from good solid arguments about Liberty. They descend down through the DC tether to the battlefield. Down below, there are carnage and fighting and the like. The Baalites are coming in from the rear and the Michaelites are raiding from the front. When Dana asks what is going to happen, Regulus informs her that they are there to pass final judgement on Dominic. Dana thinks about go ing up to join Dylan, but Joel stops her.

Dylan sees the Triad arrive about the same time his companion leaves, and Dylan joins her down there. They talk about this and that.

Maxwell is wandering through the hallways, and he passes a chamber, which has what was left of a Malakite in a room. Maxwell checks out the doorway, and he finds a trap mechanism, so he moves onward. Maxwell comes to the conclusion that something is seriously wrong. He passes more conventional corruption. He comes to a steel door, and it’s open. Inside, there is Soulpiercer on a table, alone. It is so obviously a trap.

So he grabs Soulpiercer and at that time the door slams and the lights go out and Dominic says, "Summon him." Maxwell tries to bang his head against the wall to knock himself out. Dominic puts his cold hand on Maxwell’s neck to stop him fro m doing that. Dominic tries to convince Maxwell to summon Laurence, and Maxwell refuses, mostly by stabbing Dominic. Ichor flies everywhere, and Dominic tosses Maxwell across the room. Dominic sings Thunder, and pulls a force off of Maxwell. Maxwell re adies himself for the attack, and he can hear the explosions. The walls rattle.

The door flies open, and several surprised demons come in the room. Maxwell tries to coordinate the demons in keeping Dominic occupied and working toward stalemate. People splatter, bits and pieces of forces fly around.

Dana can see the Michaelites, and Michael, entering into the Citadel of Corruption. There are dead demons everywhere. They follow Michael and Baal into the heart of the Cathedral - the room Dylan original appeared into with the throne and the chantin g and the huge ceilings.

"Some guy, sittin’ there, strongly implying that he’s Lucifer, and I’m supposed to buy it?" - Steve

Dana can see Michael and Baal, and Michael is trying to get a demon to summon Dominic. For every one that refuses, he simply kills it and tries another.

Maxwell is fighting Dominic along with the Baalites. Some of the demons get splattered in the aftereffects of a few songs of Thunder and other sundry toys. Suddenly, Dominic snarls at them, the game no longer being fun, and is gone. Maxwell follows the Baalites out the door, and around the corner he can locate a room with his lifebands. He grabs some stuff that is also in the room, and follows the Baalites.

Dana and Judgment is there. Michael is there. Baal is there. And Dominic appears and settles on his throne.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure?" - Dominic

"Judgment, motherfucker." - Archangel Michael

Dominic looks at the Triad of Judgment and says, "Servitors." Regulus pronouces Judgment over Dominic - death. Dominic just grins. Then Michael gets out the axe.

"Boy, am I going to enjoy this." – Michael, being truthful.

Baal says, "This is the first of many executions under my reign." And Michael brings down the axe. Dominic’s forces start to leave his body and fly up in a funnel formation to the ceiling and into the Symphony. Baal sits down in the throne , and his demons yell, "All Hail Emperor Baal I! All Hail Emperor Baal I!"

Michael walks over to Dana, and says, "I think it’s time to go home."

Dana, Maxwell and Dylan go looking around for last prisoners, and the citadel is reforming around them into something hard, clean, and militaristic. They send people up to Heaven.

Maxwell ascends to his heart, and it’s the best place in the entire universe. When he feels better, he goes to talk to Star.

Dylan ascends to the Groves, and there is a huge party going on. The Windies are celebrating that the Armageddon machine has come to a halt.

Dana is standing in her blasted building foundations, and behind her is the patiently waiting Archangel of Creation. Dana talks to Eli about Daimonique, who has a purpose and a point and that Daimon cannot be interfered with, not while the Lilim is on Earth, not while the Lilim is fulfilling… destiny? It is something, Eli insists, that has to be done, something very important. Dana is just not happy with this, with Eli, with this entire setup.

Maxwell is summoned to report to Laurence. He gives Maxwell the Friend distinction and gives Max some advice in training the new Stonies.

Dana eventually makes her way to Janus’s big party, but she’s cheesed because she wasn’t invited. Janus tries to convince her to be just a little corrupt when his Windies get caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Heavenly Law? Just say, ‘I… forgot. I forgot that it was against decorum of Heaven to pants Laurence or to make Michael pinatas.’" Dana doesn’t buy it, but she does enjoy the party.

Flaming edge graphics from Our Domain Gallery of Graphics
The "In Nomine" and "flaming feather" graphics are
(C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated.
Used with fnord.