Difficult Beginnings
After sending the nastier bits of his soul to hell (during Critical Mass),
John has become a less than interested bystander in life. Anxious to get his life back on track, John pays
a visit to Wong who, after hearing John's tale - consults the I Ching. The reading reveals that John must
travel to his place of earth (which he had already done when he met the shepherd), his place
of thunder (to learn what he tried to forget), his place of water (to learn what he once knew of evil) and to either the mountain (for balance) or to his place of
fire (for the 'darkening of the light').
Constantine gives himself up to the synchronicity highway and finds himself back at Ravenscar, his
place of thunder. After confronting Dalton Brewer, the memories of his torment in Ravenscar come flooding back to John.
Trevor Pritchard is an old man with a dark secret. When he was younger, he obstructed the investigation of a serial killer by sending a false tape to the man leading it,
D.C. Ferguson. Because Ferguson followed this 'lead' the police only managed to capture the real killer 24 hours after he claimed victim number eight. Ferguson, unable
to come to terms with following the false lead, later killed himself.
John confronts Trevor and gets him to confess. Unbeknownst to Trevor however, is the fact that Keith
Ferguson, the son of D.C. Ferguson and also a police officer has been hypnotised by Constantine and
is waiting in eatshot as he confesses. Before John leaves, he undoes his hypnotism, allowing Keith
to arrest the man responsible for his father's death. Constantine meanwhile, has regained his knowledge
of all things evil.
John's mountain turns out to be hell itself. Here he confronts the bits of himself that he sent to hell.
John tries and fails to convince his nastier bits to rejoin him and so he's forced to 'taint' himself by
making love to the demoness Ellie.
When she learns that John's used her, Ellie is justifiably angry but is unable to do anything about it
after Constantine reveals that the sigil which hides her from The First Of The Fallen
(still irked over her part in his death) relies
on Johns' good health to maintain it's functionality.
Having done the deed with Ellie, John's back to his normal nasty self.
Timeline
1995 : Constantine sends the nastier elements of his soul to hell in order to trick the demon Buer into releasing Syder and Astra's souls from hell.
1996 : John sets about getting reacquainted with his darker side.
Dates taken from Vertigo Secret Files : Hellblazer, written by Michael Bonner. Text by me.
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The Demon Constantine.
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John uses Ellie to get his edge back
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