Drummer Boy: Bat Out of Hell II: Back to Hell
Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the antepenultimate chapter of the Back to Hell!
I was just going to use the word 'pen-penultimate' up there, but 1) research is fun, and I like the word 'antepenultimate', and 2) 'pen-pen'-ultimate might confuse those
Evangelion
fans who read this and expect a hot spring penguin to show up at some point. There's enough going on in this chapter without my having to resort to penguins.
As a result, no penguins were harmed in the production of this work of fiction. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
* * * * *
"Man, she got you good," Leanne said.
"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly what you'd call a hard target," Jason said. "Still, it all seemed so real. How'd Electra know so much stuff about me?"
"Pfft," Leanne said. "She didn't. Just bein' around her makes you fall in love with her. And whatever your mind needs to do to make that happen, you better believe it will."
"So all that stuff I saw, all that stuff I felt, that came from me?" Jason said.
"That's the Presence for ya," Leanne said. "It's kinda her thing. A first-timer like you, you handled it about as well as you could."
"To tell the truth," Jason said, "I'm not very proud of how I ... handled things."
-
Electra laughed, a deep, rich laugh that echoed throughout the chamber. Jason was immediately put at ease by it, but he felt Granny tense up beside him.
"My hair?" Electra said. "Do you like it?"
"Like it?" Jason said. "I love it, Ellie. The purple goes great with your..." he waved his hands before him "...all that."
"Jason!" Granny blurted in a reprimanding hiss. "Watch your tone!"
Granny then addressed Electra. "Please forgive my imbecile, Great Electra. She has never before been in the Presence."
Electra held up a comforting hand. Then she glanced significantly downward at the ambling Maidens, and a dozen or so of them took to the air. They surrounded her, and began to beat their wings. The remaining droplets of the black liquid began to disappear, evaporating like sweat drying in a breeze. The fanning caused her hair to fluff up and whirl around her head, so Electra's face was partially hidden in her lavender curls when she spoke again.
"Word has come upon the fluttering of swift wings," Electra said, "of a Grand Wing Mother, traveling with her imbecile."
"Aye, My Regent," Granny said. "We be the very same."
"A strange pairing, I thought," Electra said, "yet now I see. No imbecile at all, but a human. And further, an Earthborn!"
"Great Electra, pray forgive this deception," Granny said. "Expediency demanded some small subterfuge."
"Subterfuge, aye," Electra said, "but not so small. Yours is an effort beyond many of our kind. The disguise is flawless. I must commend your prowess."
Granny bowed her head. "Your words bathe me in honor, my Lady," she said.
"You have earned them," Electra said.
The fanning demons finished their duties and flew away as one. Electra then sank to her knees and bent down, to examine Jason and Granny. Her face loomed before them, huge and crimson and lovely, and she smiled. To Jason it was Ellie's face, the face he had loved for so many years, and his heart swelled.
Electra brought one hand forward, and extended a finger almost as long as Jason was tall. Her eyes began to glow, warm sparks dancing lazily around the edges. With the tip of her finger she touched his forehead, then gently drew a line down along his body.
Withdrawing the fingertip, Electra then pursed her lips as if for a kiss, and then blew on him. Her breath, spicy and sweet, sighed past him. He closed his eyes as his body rippled with pleasure.
When he opened them again, he felt his body changing. His skin faded from brick red to its normal hue. His wings simply disappeared, and his big breasts melted back into mere pectorals. In fact, he shrank all over, his womanly curves flattening, until he had resumed his familiar human shape. His vest and his backpack hung on, but his leather skirt, no longer supported by feminine hips, dropped to the floor. Jason's persistently erect penis bobbed lazily into full view.
"Better?" Electra said.
"You know it! Thanks, babe, you're the best," Jason said. "No offense to you ladies, but I'd rather appreciate the feminine body than have one."
"Mmm," Electra said.
Electra stood up again. As she did, another group of Maidens flew up to the top of the amphitheater. One by one, they lifted the banners from the studs that held them, and, carrying them from the top, approached Electra.
"You come seeking aid," Electra said.
"Aye," Granny said.
Jason watched the Maidens dart around Electra with the banners. At first it seemed like they were going to wrap her up like a mummy, but it quickly became obvious that they were, after a fashion, dressing her.
"Speak plainly, then," Electra said, lifting her arms above her head, so the Maidens could work. "I would hear what brings one of my beautiful daughters on so arduous a journey."
The Maidens traversed Electra's body, criss-crossing under her arms, over and between her breasts, and around her neck and back. Making use of silver rings at the ends of each banner, they secured the straps, pulling on them to fix them in place. In no time, they had fashioned a leather halter. The symbols he had seen on them before faced outward, and now emitted a soft, white glow. Only one banner remained unjoined, hanging from her halter down toward her abdomen.
"My Lady," Granny began, "I am certain that you are aware of the one who is called the Golden Warrior?"
"Mmmm, yes," Electra said. She held up a hand, and the Maidens still holding banners paused, then backed away. "One of our own, with the audacity to adopt the mien of the Bright Lady. A delightful mystery, even to me."
"Allow me to put that mystery to rest," Granny said. "Her name is Purleen, and she is a magister from my Aerie."
"Ah," Electra said.
Still only clad from the waist up, Electra now sat down on the mound of diaboli. Just settled her bottom right down, gave a little wiggle to get comfy, and then crossed her legs in front of her. Meanwhile, several of the ambling Maidens scurried to gather up the coins that had been displaced.
"It was my assumption that you were to bring her before me," Electra said. "Imagine my surprise upon discovering your companion to be this charming Earthborn."
"She means me," Jason informed Granny helpfully. "Me and Ellie go
way
back." Jason bounced his eyebrows. "If you know what I mean."
Granny frowned at him with disappointment, saying, "Oh, Jason," before returning her attention to Electra.