Beauty in Justice: Chapter 4 – Mercy in Justice

Chapter 4 – Mercy in Justice

Jane and Jareth are woken up by Mors’ sudden turning.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Jane asks.

“The orphanage is under attack by the people you spared,” Mors says.

“What?! We have to hurry there!”

“We’re on our way there now.”

Jane anxiously looks forward while Jareth hopes that everything is okay. Things don’t appear to be okay as they see smoke in the distance they are heading. It gets even worse when they arrive at the orphanage to see that it’s on fire with the officers from before burning it to the ground. The windows and exits are blocked by barricades and screaming can be heard from inside. As soon as Mors lands, an ambush of officers, soldiers, and people come out with weapons to attack them. Not wanting to waste any time, Jane uses her insects to swarm those who get in her way as she charges to the orphanage.

“You guys handle the people outside! I have to go in to save everyone!” Jane says as she removes the barrier to the front door.

“Jane, wait!” Jareth says before being blocked off by a soldier.

Jareth, Mors, and Mr. Spider fight off the small force while Jane heads into the orphanage. Inside, Jane can hardly see anything with intense flames all around her. She calls her insects to aid her as they cover her with themselves to act as pseudo armor to protect her. The fire prevents her from going into certain places of the orphanage and forces her to go up the stairs. While in the building, she covers her nose to keep out the smoke and horrible burning smell that she doesn’t want it’s from. The screams continue to echo, and Jane follows them until she reaches the top floor. There she finds an orphan on the other side of a wall of flames. Jane struggles to get around the flames and her insects aren’t immune to the fire.

“Hey! Get out of here!” Jane screams to the orphan.

“Jane! Can you save me?!” the orphan responds.

“I can’t find my way around!”

“Then I’m going to die…”

“Don’t say that! There has to be another way!”

“There isn’t. I prayed to God. He didn’t listen. I prayed that you would come to rescue me. And you can’t. I give up.”

“No, don’t!”

The orphan walks into the fire as the floor beneath Jane breaks and she falls through the floors of the orphanage until she reaches the bottom where Jareth finds her and saves her from the orphanage by breaking through the walls. He runs with her in his arms as the orphanage behind them collapses in on itself. Jareth then lays her on the ground while holding her up. Mors and Mr. Spider gather around her.

“Jane! Are you okay?” Jareth asks.

Jane looks at Jareth and cries in his arms.

“It’s all my fault, Jareth! If I didn’t hold back, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Don’t say that. This was their evil choice that they made.”

Jane then wipes away her tears and leaps up to her feet.

“We shouldn’t waste any more time. Their time is up. Mors, bring us to the cities.”

“Yes, Jane.”

Jareth puts his hand on her shoulder.

“Jane, don’t hate them.”

“As ridiculous as it may seem, I don’t. It wouldn’t do me any good and it won’t change anything.”

Jane and Jareth get on Mors as he carries Mr. Spider with them to the same spot that overlooks both cities.

Mors looks up to Jane and says, “Jane, you may begin their sentence. Sing the song to bring justice to the wicked.”

“Yes, Mors.”

Jane holds out her hand as she begins to sing. The sky opens up and an angel descends from it. This angel doesn’t have a body, but it does have four large wings with many eyes on them with four insect-like legs connected to where its body would be. It has five mouths in the center of it that spews a continuous army of insects that invades the cities to destroy whatever and whoever is left. Every obstinate sinner who lays their eyes upon the angel is blinded as insects grow inside their eyes and eat their way out. Meanwhile, Jareth watches in amazement at what he is watching and at Jane as she sings.

 

“This is the final call

You decide

Whether you live or die

Heaven and Hell are in sight

 

Is there anyone good left?

Are they all extinct?

Anyone just?

I'm afraid to know the answer

 

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance”

 

The angel’s insects not only destroy the cities below, but they destroy everything around them and quickly spread to the rest of the nearby cities, settlements, and other places where obstinate sinners are.

 

“It all ends now

Are you satisfied with your filth?

Pray to your gods if you think they can save you

Heaven or Hell

It's time to decide

 

Am I one of the few who isn't blind?

Is there anyone else like me?

Will I fall like you?

I'm afraid to know the answer

 

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance

 

Heaven or Hell

Servitude or slavery

It's time to decide

 

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance”

 

Once it is finished, the angel disappears in the blink of an eye and Jane sits down to rest. The devastation done to the land looks as if the state were hit by a meteor storm that contained a plague of insects in it.

“Are you okay, Jane?” Jareth asks.

“Yes, I am,” Jane responds with a sigh.

“You did amazing. I’m not sure if I would be able to sing like you did while also calling for those sinners to repent, especially after what they did to you.”

“It was the right thing to do, but at least it’s all over.”

“Not exactly,” Mors says.

“What do you mean?” Jane asks.

“There are many more obstinate sinners that need to be brought to justice.”

“If that’s the case, then we should get to work. What do you say, Jareth?”

“As long as I’m with you, I’m ready for anything.”

Jareth moves to kiss Jane but puts her finger on his lips.

“Are you sure that you want to kiss this face?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s just…not exactly the face of a princess.”

“And my face isn’t exactly the face of a prince. It’s just like the justice you just dealt. It may not be pretty, but it’s good and right. There is mercy and beauty in justice in that we stopped those people from damning their souls further and harming anyone else.”

“You’re right.”

“So, does that mean I can finally kiss you?”

Isn’t of letting Jareth kiss her first, she kisses him.

“Are you done yet, you two? You can have all of the romantic moments you want after marriage,” Mors points out.

Mr. Spider looks up to Mors and shakes his head.

“What? Okay, fine. They can have their romantic moments here and there.”

Jane and Jareth laugh before they head off to the next location that requires the judgment of God. After a couple days, a duchess walks the halls of her castle at night with a torch in her hand.

“Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet?” she wonders, “No. I have to stop worrying so much. It’s not good for my health. Ever since those insects came to the state, business hasn’t been the same. My associates have either switched sides to the Church or gone missing. Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet? No. I have to stop worrying so much and stop talking to myself.”

The duchess enters her throne room to find Jane sitting on it.

“Ah! Who are you?” the duchess asks.

“Come closer and I’ll tell you,” Jane answers.

The duchess slowly walks up to Jane and jumps back in fear when the fire illuminates Jane’s face.

“What are you?!”

“A simple servant of God.”

“What are you doing here? I’m not going to submit to your God. I have my own.”

“That’s why I’m here. Justice requires it.”

“I’ll let you know that I have many servants who will hunt you down!”

“Oh, I know,” Jane says while pointing up.

The duchess looks up to see her servants hanging on the ceiling with Mr. Spider who has hung them up. She watches in horror as dozens of spiders dig their way into the cocoon to eat their prey. This sight makes her fall down and drop her torch. Jareth then busts through the wall with four servants in tow.

“You took your time,” Jane says.

“I’m sorry. They were afraid of me for some reason and ran.”

“I don’t see why they would be afraid of that handsome face.”

“Ple-please, spare me! Your God is the God of mercy, isn’t he?” the duchess says.

“He is, but your sins require that you die now so you don’t harm yourself or others now. This is His last act of mercy in making you fear your death and reap the rewards of your evil actions. I hope you can make a perfect confession before you take your last breath.”

Mors comes out of the darkness from behind the duchess and says, “I sense the fear of death in her rather than the fear of God. What a pity.”

He then kills the duchess with a single strike from his stinger.

“Are you ready to move to the next target, princess?” Mors asks.

“I’m ready to serve,” Jane answers with a smile.

 

The End