Season 3, Episode 9 “Hellfire”
Written by Greg D’angelo & Robert Rand
Idea by Greg D’Angelo & partially based on one of the back 6
Edited by Greg D’Angelo

Scene 1: Stone is riding a bus in his hometown of New York. He makes polite conversation with the old woman next to him, saying that he recognizes the driver, who has been on this same route for 20 years or more. “That would have made you pretty young back then.” “I suppose.” The old woman looks out the window then, “oh look at all the leaves, aren’t they just beautiful, the way the lay on the ground, all over the park.” “Yes, yes they are” replies Zeke.

White Flash

Stone gets to Central Park. As he’s crossing the street, he sees a car swerving, & hit a man. The driver then speeds off. Stone runs over to check if he is okay, but the man has no pulse. Zeke looks around, there is a phone booth nearby. Stone goes to call 911, but as he dials, he looks back and sees the man getting up and walking away. Stone realizes it is an escaped soul.

Intro/Opening Credits

Scene 2: Stone runs after the man. “Hey, are you okay?” he asks. “Fine,” the man replies, turning around. As soon as he does, Stone draws his gun and shoots him in the eyes. The ground starts to shake, and a vortex opens underneath him, and he is sucked down to Hell. Stone waits for a tattoo to burn itself off of his arm. He waits for a minute or two and nothing happens. He hears a voice, “Alas, poor Horatio, I knew him well.” Stone turns to see the Devil, holding a skull. “Hey, the line is; Alas poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio. Don’t you have any books down in Hell.” “Actually, no. Hence I get to spend all day amusing my guests.” “What’s with the skull? Why didn’t the tattoo disappear?” he asks. “So many questions, so typical of you. The skull is your future my boy. And as I’ve told you, the tattoos are the name of the fugitives.” “You mean that wasn’t one?” “No, Mr. Stone, it wasn’t. Some detective you are.” “So what was it?” “Your shenanigans have gone too far this time. Horatio was a renegade angel.” “What was he doing on earth?” “The usual, sex, drugs, rock and roll. Nothing he deserved to go to Hell for.” The Devil grins, pausing to think. “So now you’ll have to fix this, Ezekiel.” “How is this my job? I work with damned souls.” “You made it your business when you butted your nose in.” The Devil points a finger, and a vortex appears underneath Stone. He tries to run, but it is too late. Stone finds himself falling, & being sucked back to Hell.

Scene 3: Stone hits the ground, he looks around, and with blurry vision sees he truly is back in hell. He sees people fighting and others chained to walls. A statue catches his eye, it turns into a beast. All of a sudden he is knocked back down, he looks and sees Horatio. With sharp reflexes, he begins delivering a flurry of kicks to Zeke. Zeke tries, in vain, to block, but it doesn’t slow the assault down. All of a sudden Horatio is grabbed by a gargoyle, and is held back from his attack on Ezekiel. “No fighting, back to your hole you lowly dawgs.” Horatio puts his attention on the gargoyle, who continues trying to berate him, not noticing that Zeke has slipped away. “I do not recognize you,” states the gargoyle, “what part of Hell are you from?” “I am not from here, you imbecile, I demand you return me to Earth at once!” The gargoyle merely laughs, & replies, “Yeah, you’re not from around here,” in a sarcastic voice.

*White Flash*

Stone goes around a corner into the next room and finds himself at a hotel check-in desk. Behind the desk is the Devil. “Ahh, Mr. Stone, it’s so lovely to have you back,” he greets him. He opens the book in front of him. “I see you have a reservation. How long will you be staying with us this time?” “Har, Har,” Ezekiel replies. “What is all of this? What am I doing back here?” “It’s quite simple,” replies the Devil with a yawn “You screwed up. Fix it. It’s God’s law.” “So what do I have to do?” The Devil glowers at him, “Get that angelic bastard the Hell out of here. I don’t care if you have to hog-tie him and drag him.” “Okay, where do I find him?” “That’s for you to figure out.” He examines his book. “I see your old room is still available. I kept it open, knowing you’d be back, and here you are.” “But not for long” says the ever strong & defiant Stone, & The Devil replies “or so you’d like to think.”

Scene 4: Zeke walks around Hell, seeming aimlessly, but looking for someone. He come upon a pit, as he looks down into it he sees a boy getting pushed around by three big burly men. The kind hearted Ezekiel, is about To make his way down, but he notices something. A hooded figure runs up behind them, knocking the 1st down. The 2nd swings, but gets blocked, & then kicked in the stomach. The 3rd grabs him from behind, but is somehow picked up, & dropped. The other 2 have risen, & grab the hooded figure, Zeke sees trouble brewing from this person, & jumps down to help. He pulls one of the men off, & knees him in the groin. And the hooded figure, elbows the other one, followed by a headlock, & a punch. As the 3rd one, gets up the stir up yet more trouble, he is stopped by Zeke’s bullet, in the eye, follow by another bullet in the other eye. Zeke watches in amazement as the man disappears. The other two cowards scramble away, with the odds more then evened out. “Hello Zeke,” the hooded figure says. He removes the cowl, revealing himself as Martin Benedict. “It’s good to see you again, I’m sorry you ended up here.” “Not for long,” Zeke says. They look around; the boy is gone. “Come on,” Zeke says, “I’ll tell you on the way.”

*White Flash*

The angel, Horatio, is talking to someone with their back turned. “Yeah, that’s the deal,” he says, “you help me deal with this fool, Ezekiel, & I will get you out of here.”

*White Flash*

“So how are you supposed to get this angel out of here?” Martin wonders after hearing Zeke’s story. “I don’t know,” Zeke replies. “He’s stronger than I am. We might need some more help.” “I don’t know anyone else who can help,” Martin says. “I do,” Zeke says, remembering another damned soul he met in a different hot place; Phoenix, Arizona. “A guy named Kenny.”

*White Flash*

Scene 5: Martin and Zeke walk along a corridor, searching for Kenny. “Hey, how come that guy disappeared when I shot him in the eyes?” Stone asks. “We’re already in Hell.” Martin stops & pauses for a minute “Have you ever heard of an old game called Monopoly?” Martin asks. "Monopoly? Yeah, I've played it," replies Zeke, "but how did you know about it?." “We liberated a few sets during the war. What you did when you shot his eyes, was like a card called ‘Advance to Go’. Everyone in Hell starts there. He’s still in Hell, just back at the starting point.” “Okay,” Zeke says, “I guess that makes sense. And this place we’re going now, you think we can find Kenny there?” “This guy knows everything,” Martin tells him, “He can answer our questions.”

*White Flash*

Horatio is walking, calmly, but stops suddenly. A half smile comes to his face, “So, my friend Zeke is Searching, is he? But for what I wonder?”

*White Flash*

“It’s this way,” says Martin, “we’re almost there.” “Good, cause, I have bad feeling that trouble is coming.” Martin leads him up to a man with purple skin, sitting alone on a rock. The man looks like a mild mannered clerk, small and unimportant. “Hey, Beelzebuth,” says Martin. “Hello, Martin Benedict,” Beelzebuth replies, “and greeting to you, Ezekiel Stone.” “How did you know my name?” Stone wonders. “I told you, he knows everything,” Martin says. “Can you tell me where to find Kenny?” Stone asks. “Okay, you go down this hall until you reach the river Styx. Charon, the ferryman, has the day off today, so you’ll have to cross on your own. Go straight on for about five miles. If you get to Sisyphus, you’ve gone too far. Take a left on Lucifer Lane; Kenny is in the third room on the right.” “Wow, that’s amazing,” Stone says. “So, who killed Kennedy?” “Let’s not get distracted,” Martin says. “Can you tell us where to find the rogue angel Horatio?” “And how do I get him back to earth?” Stone asks. “Sorry, I can’t tell you,” replies Beelzebuth. “You mean you don’t know?” Martin gasps. “No, I said I CAN’T tell you. Dad threatened to cut out my tongue and shove it up my...“ “The Devil is your father?” Stone interrupts. “Yes, I’m afraid so. How else would I know so much about Hell?” “Excuse me,” a new man says. “Can you tell me how to get to 666 Hades Way?” Ezekiel and Martin leave as Beelzebuth begins giving the other man directions.

Scene 6: They reach the river Styx, & walk into the water. Both are silent for a while, having nothing to say, until Zeke stops and cries out, “ughhhh!” Martin looks & Zeke shoots the water, & a big snake pops out & flies away in terror. “It latched onto my foot.” “Wretched thing,” responds Benedict, “tried to make a meal of us did he.” Zeke laughs at Martin’s stoic humor, & they continue on their way. The picture fades from one shot of them walking to another, & so on, showing the different terrain, & the passing of time. They travel onward. Finally they make it to Lucifer Lane and approach the 3rd room on the right. They pause for a moment, & Zeke says, “oh gripe, this isn’t hard,” & he knocks. “Go away,” booms a strong but somewhat warm voice. “Relax, we are friends. Remember me, Zeke?” “Could it truly be you, come in.” Benedict opens the door & follows Zeke inside.

*White Flash*

A man digs in the trenches of hell, it’s his day to slave, a seemingly endless dig. A hand grasps his shoulder from behind, he turns to look with a hand raised. It is Horatio, but he holds up his flat hand. “I am an ally” he says to Kevin (from Returning The Favor), “are you not the one who killed Ezekiel Stone?” “Yeah,” replies a bitter Kevin. “Gooooood” replies the angel, “it’s time to do it again.” This time Kevin’s only reply is a wicked smile.

*White Flash*

“So where do you think Horatio might be?” Kenny asks. The three men are returning to the place that the angel was last seen. “I don’t know,” replies Zeke. “He seems to be really ticked off at me. Maybe he’ll find me.” “Be careful if he does,” Kenny says. “If Martin or I have our eyes destroyed, we’ll still be in Hell. From what you told me, it sounds like you would fail your mission if the windows to your soul were shattered.” “Great,” Zeke says. “Don’t worry,” Martin says, “we outnumber him three to one now.” “Any thoughts on how to get him back to Earth?” “Nope,” Kenny says cheerfully.“Great,” says a melancholy yet stoic Zeke. “Don’t worry,” says Benedict, “We’ll find a way.” Kenny says, “That’s right, when I tracked the scum of Earth, the most important thing was finding them.” With a glimmer of hope Zeke manages a smile, and they set off. Time passes, & the picture fades into another. The group is backtracking through the river Styx, when Martin stops. “What’s wrong” asks Kenny. “Trouble… it’s here,” replies Zeke. And right after Zeke finishes speaking, Horatio swoops down & grabs him, taking him for a ride in the air before slamming him into a wall. “Nooo,” shouts Martin, as he & Kenny run to help Zeke. But their effort is stopped by 2 others. Kevin & Gilbert Jax tackle them from behind. Kevin begins what would be a lethal assault on Martin, if they were living. While Jax foolishly laughs his evil ass off, which gives Kenny time to turn his hands into claws. He twists his body & slices out Gilbert’s right eye. Gilbert screams, & gets thrown away. Benedict has managed to turn around & enter a wrestling match with Kevin, an even struggle, but Kenny runs over & grabs Kevin from behind. Martin gets up by himself and punches Kevin who falls, & rolls away. “I can handle these swine,” says Kenny. “Go help Zeke!” Martin runs over to aid Zeke, who is unable to attack because he is too busy dodging electric blasts that stem from the palms of Horatio. The two lowly fiends face off with Kenny, Kevin is more eager to fight then Gilbert. He lunges forward to punch, only to see his hand lopped off. But to Kenny’s dismay, it grows back. Benedict runs over & grabs Horatio, “Now Zeke, we have him!” Zeke begins to close in on the angel, but they do not in fact ‘have him.’ Horatio’s body flashes, & Martin gets a shock through his body. And while Kenny is holding his own using defensive moves, he cannot hold out against TWO opponents indefinitely. Horatio turn back to Zeke, & and grabs him by the throat. Stone punches, but the angel barely feels an affect. He reaches for Zeke’s eyes. Zeke blocks as much as he can, but Horatio pins his left arm. Just then Horatio is grabbed from behind. The hands claw at his eyes & he screams in agony. The camera pans, & we see Brian Reed (from Faces) holding him.

Scene 7: Martin welcomes the help of a third person as they try to subdue Horatio. The trio hears a scream from their fourth comrade, Kenny. Zeke looks to see Gilbert Jax pinning Kenny’s arms behind him. Kevin makes a ‘V’ with his fingers and jabs them into Kenny’s eyes. In a burst of hellfire, Kenny disappears, his soul traveling sideways instead down into the earth. “Oh my God, they killed Kenny!” Zeke says. “You bastards,” Martin yells, charging Kevin and Gilbert. Gilbert is laughing, and Martin launches a drop kick that sends him to the ground. Kevin attacks Martin again, but Martin remembers Kevin’s moves, and counters them. When Kevin’s eyes are exposed, he gouges them out quickly with his thumbs. Jax gets up and runs at Martin, but suddenly two shots ring out. Stone has fired his gun twice, and destroyed the eyes. Jax also disappears. Horatio takes advantage of Stone’s distraction and tosses Brian across the river. Horatio runs away, not liking the odds, and Martin and Stone run after him. The angel runs faster than they do, and it looks like he will escape. Stone stops in his tracks, aiming his gun carefully while Martin continues to pursue. Stone fires all of his remaining bullets at Horatio, aiming not for the eyes, but for his legs. The bullets do not harm him, but the force of the impact is enough to knock him off balance. Horatio trips and falls, rolling into a pit. Martin leaps after him, trailing blue fire as he soars through the air. Brian catches up with Stone, and they run up to where Martin is struggling with Horatio. The trio jumps onto Horatio, and they quickly subdue him. Martin produces a length of rope, and they hog-tie Horatio. “Thanks, guys,” Stone says.

*White Flash*

Kenny arrives at a hotel check in, “Welcome” says a voice, as he gets his bearings. “Gripe” he mumbles to himself, trying not to be heard by The Devil, who we see is sitting comfortably behind his desk, laughing. “Yes, welcome back. It is so good to see you, we are most pleased you have decided to stay.” “But of course” says Kenny “The weather is great, & I have so many friends to party with.” “Back to your cell,” booms Satan, not amused by Kenny’s humor. A hole appears below Kenny & he falls back to his room/cell. We focus again on The Devil. “Damn that Stone. I gotta get him out of here before he infects the whole place with his stoic attitude.”

Scene 8: Stone, Benedict, and Reed are dragging Horatio back to the oracle, Bob. “I told you,” Stone tells Horatio, “I’m trying to get you out of Hell. No one wants you here. As soon as you get back to earth, I can get back to my mission.” Horatio stops fighting. “Okay,” he agrees sullenly, “but I would have kicked your ass if it wasn’t for that punk kid.” Martin restrains Brian, who is getting ready to kick the angel. “I’ll show him a punk!” Brian says. “It’s not worth it,” Martin counsels him. “Haven’t you learned anything from your time here? Violence is wrong, except in self defense.” “Yeah, okay,” Brian admits. “You need to develop a stoic attitude, like Ezekiel,” Martin tells him. “Stoic?” asks Brian, not learned in philosophy. “The Stoics” says Zeke. “ Yes, a philosophy” explains Martin. “And a rather simple one too. Its basic principle is if you desire what you can’t have, you will suffer, not because you do not have but because of your desire.” “That’s true, I suppose” replies Brian. Stone grins. “Never thought I’d be a role model.”

*White Flash*

The trio makes there way through the river Styx, & back to Beelzeboth. “Wow, I’m amazed, you actually pulled it off.” “Nah duh” says Brian. Martin giggles at the kids remark, but doesn’t comment. “We need to find The Devil, I need to get him out of here.” “L, look, I’ve helped you more then I usually do, or should have. I don’t want any trouble.” “That’s enough” says The Devil. They all look. “Ah the gangs all here, minus Kenny of course. And look my old friend Horatio.” “Hello Lucifer,” replies a disgusted Horatio. “Where is Kenny?” demands Zeke. “Oh relax, relax my servant. He is back in his cell. Stone looks mad at the ‘servant’ insult but keeps calm. “I want to see him.” The Devil laughs, “this is Hell, not a resort, you can’t come down here & make demands. Zeke frowns, he knows her will not convince The Devil other wise. “Unless of course” Satan continues “and just this once I will grant your desire. If you’d like to stay here, you can see your dear friend Kenny, hell, you can even share a room with him.” The Devil laughs, but Zeke is silent. “No Zeke, you can’t stay here” says Benedict. “Oh silence” says The Devil. The ground opens up below Martin & Brian, and they fall down. Beelzeboth laughs, & The Devil gives him a dirty look, which quiets him. The ground opens below Beelzeboth, & he falls down too. “So Zeke my boy, will you be staying too, or returning later?” “To stay, or not to stay,... that is the question.” Replies Zeke, pausing as if he is thinking. Then he continues, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I have a job to do. And I will do it!” “Ah, a man of integrity, seems we have another Hamlet.” Zeke has no time to counter.

*White Flash*

Zeke looks around & sees he’s back on Earth. “Horatio!” exclaims Zeke. “Yes?” says Horatio, dragging the word out. Zeke turns around and sees Horatio floating above him. He raises his hand and it charges with energy. “Stay your hand,” says The Devil’s voice. They look but instead of Satan, there stands the Angel (from It’s a Helluva Life), who looks like The Devil. “Horatio, return with me, and we will overlook your mistakes.” Horatio pouts, but replies; “Very well.” “Well - hello,” says Zeke. “Zeke, my friend, it’s good to see you.” “Thanks, good to see you too. But I’m confused about something – I thought you said all angels look alike to mortals.” “I guess I did. I meant, similar angels.” “Similar?” asks Zeke. “Yes, Lucifer and I are Archangels, and Horatio is a Guardian angel.” The Angel smiles at Zeke. “Ezekiel, I am very proud of you today.” “You are?” “You brought a little peace of mind to some of Hell’s residents. That is something no one, not even an angel, has ever done.” “Thanks, but I’m not sure how much impact I made,” replies Zeke, turning & lowering his head. “No one can ever know, the point is that you have given the others inspiration. Now it falls to them, to use it, and climb out of Hell.” “I highly doubt they’ll be any more breakouts from Hell.” “And why not?” “The Devil is prepared now.” “Oh, Ezekiel, if you haven’t learned from your mission that anything is possible,” he stops & pauses to think a brief moment, then continues. “Then at least learn from Horatio here.” “Me?” Horatio asks, quite shocked, “but I left heaven.” “Yes, that is my point. If he can get out of a place like heaven, then one can surely leave any place.” Zeke smiles and looks back, but the angels are gone. He nods his head as the picture fades.

-The End-

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