New Mutants #71

Issue Details

Synopsis

The New Mutants fought the demons in Limbo, and Darkchilde was unable to open a stepping disc back to Earth.  Trapped in Limbo, while they battled demons they thought about Destiny's prediction that Magik should leave Earth(see New Mutants #65) and wondered why it hadn't helped.  Sym taunted Darkchilde remining her that Limbo is a reflection of her own soul.  She tried to cut him in half, but with his metamorphic abilities thanks to Magus' transmode virus (see New Mutants #47 & #50) Sym was able to avoid her attack.  His return attack forced Darkchilde into the floor and he finally stole the Soulsword from her.  Sym revelled in it's tainted power; whenever it touched something it would create more demons.  He tried to behead Darkshilde with her own Soulsword, but the Eldritch Armour developed a collar of spikes to protect her.  Although unable to find a stepping disc to Earth, Darkchilde could still use other discs and teleported the New Mutants elsewhere within Limbo.  N'astirh then appeared to chastise Sym, and the two demons accused each other of trying to usurp the Darkchilde.The New Mutants arrived in Belasco's abandoned throne room.  There, Darkchilde seated herself on the throne while she recounted her abduction when she was only six years old.  Wolfsbane accidentally stepped on the old dried remains of a demonic Nightcrawler, who had died when Cat (a demonic version of Shadowcat) phased his foot into the floor (see the Illyana & Storm: Magik limited series).  Darkchylde recalled how she had been forced to kill the X-Men in the past, including her best friend Cat.  Wolfsbane accidentally kicked Cat's skull and Darkchilde leapt to cradle her friend's remains.  As she thought about how her soul had become corrupted she smashed the skull on the floor as she sobbed for her lost childhood.  The others thought she had gone crazy.  They knew that the X-Men had died in Dallas (see Uncanny X-Men #226 & #227) and couldn't understand how...