Ascent into madness
The party convenes at a bar on the outskirts of a small town named Kowary. There is a new member of the group sitting with Peggy and Sam. He was a short sinew of muscle, covered in dark hair all over his body and wearing thick muttonchops facial hair. Fury recognized the man, Gabriel Logan, or as he was known in the armed forces, "The Wolverine". He had fought alongside Captain America as a mercenary, but found himself a part of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. The stories of the wolverine's experiences ranged from incredible to impossible, some saying he has withstood a barrage of bullets, some saying he is a werewolf.
Peggy began to debrief the Midnight Sons:
"Szara Gòra (The Grey Mountain Concentration camp) is located within a cove deep within the Krkonoße mountains. At 5,259 feet, it is the tallest mountain in the region and sits directly on the border of Poland directly overlooking Czechoslovakia.
"The only access to the camp itself is via train through a tunnel that stretches nearly ½ a mile through solid rock. Attempting to reach the Grey Mountain Camp by any other means would be suicide. The rock cliffs are too sheer, and coming in by air would be met with heavy counter attack from the forces on the ground.
"Recent Intel, however, suggests that there has been a recent cave-in at the mouth of the tunnel. German forces have sent in work crews to clear the rubble. With this in mind, it is likely you could face enemy soldiers. But if you play it stealthily, you should be able to overcome the guards easily and prevent them from posing any threat once you are inside.
"We have procured detailed maps of both the tunnels and the camps. Study these, and we will arrange transport for you to the train station. The bad news after that however, is that you boys will have to take the rest of the journey on foot. Through the snow."
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Indiana Jones, The Rocketeer, a gravely injured Sgt. Fury, and the newly recruited Wolverine make it up the mountain with little trouble.
It is eerily quiet, climbing Szara Gòra. The snow is gently falling all around them, and the wailing wintry wind blows, but there is a deafening silence to this place. If there was indeed a cave-in and work-crews had been dispatched, they not only are nowhere to be seen, but there are no sounds coming from the tunnel.
They find themselves in the cave. About 200 meters in, they come to the rear of a train. On either side, several meters ahead, they discover that the train is flanked by a landslide that completely seals in the train on all sides - even seeping underneath. The back door to the caboose lies open, as does the door to the next car. The next door seems to be sealed shut from the other side.
After using his remarkable strength and claws to pry open the door to the next car, Wolverine learns that the door had been barred and welded shut. The body of the SS officer who had done the deed lies next to the door, welding torch in hand, and his chest cavity wide open and hollowed out.
As they continue to pass through the passenger cars, the walls are crumbling from the weight of the rocks bearing down on the metal of the train. Occasionally the rocks shift slightly causing an eery creaking and grinding sound. Amidst these occasional creaks and metal moans, Wolverine eventually picks up on a scuttling sound in the pockets of free space outside the train.
Moments later, The Midnight Sons stumble upon a car that has been transformed into a true horror show. The walls are caked in a moist dark ribbed organic structure. Within the walls are housed members of the SS and the Polish work crew sent in to assist with clearing out the tunnel.
Inspecting the bodies, The Rocketeer finds one that is still alive. Upon closer inspection, a Chestburster Xenomorph explodes from the body of it's victim and 8 Face-hugger Xenomorphs scuttled in from broken windows to besiege the heroes.
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After defeating the Chest-burster and Face-hugger, the Midnight Sons find their way out of the cars and into the camp side of the train tunnel. There they discover a side chamber filled with a small number of alien Xenomorphs drones.
After taking out the drones, Wolverine hears a clicking sound ahead in the tunnels. Suddenly, a pot shot is taken at the heroes and they are beset upon by a Predator.
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Upon exiting the cave, the heroes again enter upon yet another horrifying scene: the Concentration camp has been overrun by Xenomorphs. The screams of the aliens are are matched horrifically with pained human screams, including women and children. The Xenomorphs are being drawn towards the screams, which are coming from a kiln on the outside edge of the camp. The Xenomorphs are in a frenzy, and honing in on their poor Jewish victims inside the kiln, mostly ignoring the heroes.
Making their way closer, they are able to see in one of the viewing ports of the chamber and see a mass of Xenomorphs swarming stop a metal dome shaped barrier weakly protecting nearly 40 prisoners of war. At the center of this protective barrier is a white-haired boy of about 13 years of age, holding his hands above him in an effort to strengthen the shield that hovers above he and his friends.
As the heroes do their best to hold some of the Xenomorphs at Bay, just like it seems like they will be overwhelmed, the white-haired boy emits a primal scream, expels his arms outwards and obliterates the Xenomorphs in an explosive green mist of acid and shrapnel.
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The Young White-haired boy was Max Eisenhardt, born in Germany during the late 1920s to a middle-class Jewish family. His father Jakob Eisenhardt, was a first world war veteran and a proud German. The family struggled against descrimination and hardship during the Nazi's rise to power, the Nuremberg Law's, and Kirstallnacht. In the early 1930s they fled to Poland, where they were captured during the Nazi invasion and sent to the Warsaw ghetto. They managed to escape the ghetto, but were captured again. Max's mother, father, and sister were executed, but Max survived.
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Max is able and willing to assist with information about the camp, but is reluctant to aid in any kind of battle, as his mutant powers of magnetism have only just manifested and he has no hold over them. He also feels he needs to assist the surviving prisoners in their descent down the mountain.
Fury being in serious need of first aid, Max tells them of an infirmary where he has seen an injured Baron Zemo and other ranking members of the SS officers retire to and come out completely rejuvenated after only a few short minutes in the facility. The infirmary in question, although in a current state of disarray due to the Xenomorphs infestation, houses a tank mechanism filled with a viscous green liquid. It is a "rehabilitation tank" built by Arnim Zola and will mend broken bones and seal torn flesh in a matter of minutes. Also within the Infirmary, the heroes find a sealed room housing what appears to be the Queen Xenomorphs suspended from the ceiling by meat hooks and and being kept alive by tubes running chemicals into her body. She is weak and unable to defend herself. It appears Zola and Zemo we're running series' of experiments on her and something went horribly awry.
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When asked about Zemo and Lemarchand's box, Max Eisenhardt is ale to divulge a small amount of privileged info: "Baron Heinrich Zemo and his wife, Hilda, live in a very lavish two story home in the center of the camp. The stones were brought in brick by brick specifically from their hometown of Zeulniz, Germany.
"Zemo has been mad hungry for power and to prove himself to Hitler that he is the superior officer over The Red Skull and Baron Strucker. He is a pathetic little man, who has been given a great amount of power, and yet it is still not enough to satiate him.
"Zemo's wife is truly the force to be reckoned with. She is the one, rumor has it, that brought Zemo's attention to the Lament Box in the first place. She is a truly wicked woman, and I have seen her watching my brothers and sisters burned alive in the kilns. If you go to their homes, you will find lamps and chairs with the skins of the prisoners she has salvaged after they had been gassed to death. I believe Zemo himself is afraid of her.
"The trinket they covet so much has been transported back and forth between 3 locations -- the Zemo home in the center of camp, a laboratory on the East side, and the chapel near the front."
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Investigating the Zemo home confirms that everything young Max Eisenhardt said was true. Lamps and chairs have been fashioned from the flesh of dead prisoners; special bowls have been made out of the skulls of the dead; other trinkets, hair, fingernails, and bones have been made into abstract paintings or sculptures and presented proudly throughout the house. All of this is juxtaposed against the finest Asian silks and carpets, beautiful hardwood floors, and expensive antiques from around the globe. It is horrifically beautiful to behold.
Investigating the laboratory bears little fruit in the way of locating the Lament Box, but they discover information that aids them in the next leg of their trip. In one of the rooms there are several loose pages that appear to have been made of human flesh and written in blood. There are photos of a finely dressed Asian man toting what appears to be a magical tome. The photos are marked on the back: "Madripoor - Princess Bar". The photo also appears to have been taken around a ritzy nightclub.
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When the Midnight Sons make their to the chapel they are alerted to creaking sounds and shafts of blue light seeping through the shutters and siding of the small church. A strange fog is also seeping from the structure.
When Indiana Jones swings open the door, they are met with a vision of Hilda Zemo, fully nude and covered in blood, suspended from the ceiling with hooks and chains piercing her flesh at odd angles. Behind her are four figures in silhouette emerging from an unnatural fissure in the wall, with a bright blue light at their backs. She looks Indiana Jones in the eye as she speaks: "Sie sind hier. Sie sind gekommen, um uns alle zu retten!" With this she is shredded limb from limb in an explosion of blood and gore.
Lemarchand's box lays at their feet.
Three horrendous humanoid creatures come into view. They walk so softly they almost seem to float into the room. They are all clad in heavy black leather like attire, and the flesh that is visible is a pale grayish-blue, like that of a cadaver.
The lead creature wears a long floor-length cloak with small windows cut into the chest area revealing bits of flesh peeled back. His face and head are adorned with nails and deep cuts connect each spike with absolute symmetrical precision.
To his right is a female creature. Her costume reveals the fleshy curves of her sides and hips. She is bald and the bridge of her nose is pierced with a single spike that runs clear through. The most distinguishing feature, however, is a curved wire that runs through both cheeks and around to the center of her throat. The wire is peeling back her flesh, revealing her throat in a raw gash of meat and blood, giving the illusion of a flowering womb.
To the lead's left is a shorter obese butterball of a thing whose stomach is laid bare, split down the middle like a gutted turkey. It's eyes are covered by dark round spectacles.
And finally, bringing up the rear, they hear a sickening chattering of teeth from an eyeless demon whose lips have been peeled back to display his teeth and gums in a gruesome grin.
There is a coldness in the air that accompanies them and their stench of death is overpowering.
The Rocketeer is the first to make a move towards the box, only for chains to whip towards him with the intent of tearing his hand away from the artifact. The leader addresses the midnight Sons.
"Who or what the hell are you four?" Fury asked.
"We are explorers in the further regions of experience. Demons to some. Angels to others." Pinhead answered.
"Who summoned you here?" Indiana queried.
"It is not hands that summon us, but desire. Complete the pattern, solve the puzzle, turn the key." Pinhead replied.
"Why are you here?" Fury asked.
"Our presence here is one borne of greed. We have no quarrel with you, but our job is not yet finished. There is much suffering yet to be wrought! You will do well go stand out of our path. There is a stench of death to each of you. Should you stand in our way, we will gladly introduce you to the glories of suffering that oh so many have experienced, you will have all of eternity to drench yourself in the blood of those you have killed in service of your country." Pinhead explicated menacingly.
"I'm not burning in hell any time soon, partner." Wolverine exclaimed.
"Burn?! Oh, such a limited imagination! Your suffering will be legendary, even in hell. We'll tear your soul apart. Down the dark decades of your pain, this will seem like a memory of heaven." Pinhead scoffed.
"We need the puzzle box."
"The witch that summoned us is but one cog in the wheel. We seek to punish the husband and to take the child born of their lust-filled union." Pinhead explained.
"You mean Baron Zemo?" Fury asked.
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Eventually, The Midnight Sons and the Cenobites strike a deal to exchange the souls of Zemo and his son for the box.
As before Sam relieved the party of the artifact and placed it into a lock box.