Corridors of Darkness were a bit odd, shadow considered.
Some were massive and reinforced. Massive tunnels that pulsed with activity... A bit too crowded for this particular pair. Still, they seemed to be popular transit options for the vast majority.
Others were more like cracks or fractures or
Lanes Between worlds, tiny traces that would naturally form due to the stress and movement of some unknown rule or condition. The few creatures and entities traveling through those paths seemed to be a bit squished and cramped, which was slightly amusing.
Surprisingly, none of those odd travelers seemed interested in these even smaller pathways over here.
Which was fine. The shadow carefully hugged the warm crystal as it examined the current pathway. One that was a bit too… Well, too fragile for others to utilize, apparently.
Not sure why. Most of the pathway in this Corridor existed for entire fractions of seconds at a time, and the relaxing journey was very pretty with all the conceptual fractures and space loops and whatnot. Much more relaxing atmosphere, if nothing else.
Oh well, more room for the traveling duo!
The shadow would like to believe that the gem was glowing with agreement.
Suddenly, something… Over there?
It smelled G̹̺͙̺o̞͎͉̞̝o͎̜͕d̗͎̥̝̟̘̳!
But… The shadow didn't have a mouth.
Not that it ever needed one before.
And the strange gem didn't seem to be too hungry either.
Still… It did smell pretty tempting.
Maybe just a peek?
Maybe a tiny nibble?
The shadow had nothing but Darkness within, so there was plenty enough space to squish the pink gem inside to free up its limbs. Though it felt a bit odd to hold the glowing crystal within the depths of Darkness without chewing, it did feel good to H͚͇̟͔u̜̙̺̬͕̘̟g̪̲̪̝̫ it like this too!
With both hands free and a new set of glowing pink eyes, the shadow was off to find something that smelled A̻̤̗̮̟͉m̪̝̳̪͔͖͖a̫̤̺̫̝̹̝z̠͕̥̟i̠̥̰̫͙̮n͎̬̩̰g̹!
It felt a bit FAR from here, and the shadow had to consume a little inwards...
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
{{[[
Aw... What did they do, Jackie? What did they do to Jenny?]]}}
The shifting shadows chuckled evilly.
Jackie Estacado pushed back the cursed voice, again. {{Nothing, you bitch! And they will DO nothing! You hear me!?}}
Jenny Romano would be fine, because that was a fact of life.
Jackie would fuck up, and Jenny would be fine.
That was the rule. Those were the RULES.
Even back at St. Mary's Orphanage, reality had to follow the rules. Jackie could have anger issues, be hurt, be lost, be damaged, but Jenny… Would. Be. Fine.
While he soaked in evil and crime and the sludge of a cruel life, Jenny would be kept clean.
She may not appreciate him doing what needs to be done, may not tolerate his Darker tendencies, but that was fine. Because she was fine.
He'd use to tell her, '
My whole life I've been kicked around, you know? I don't know how to do anything but kick back.' And she'd give him that look. Half understanding, half frustration.
She would call him 'Ratface', scream at his failures to be as good as she claimed he could be, so many small signs of worry and affection. It all was done from a place of concern and care and goodness and light and love and SHE. WOULD. BE. F̶̵̟͖̺̩̤̭̱̪̖̠̜̩Í͔͙͕͖̤͉̲͎͟͢N̢̦̰̻͔͍̱̰̭̤̺̤̤̬̰̪̥̹͎͟E̶͍̺̭̠̬̩̺͎̩̯͓̳̜̬͍̺̻͢.
Like always, the voice whispered.
{{[[
You know better than this, Jackie. You know Paulie. What did he do, Jackie?]]}}
Uncle Paulie Franchetti had done NOTHING, and would do NOTHING, or… Or…
{{[[
Feed us, Jackie.]]}}
The hallucinations came back, like always when he wasn't surrounded by bright lights or lost focus.
A pair of twisted snake-like tentacles of Darkness,, one over each shoulder, hissing at each other and the world around Jackie, tasting his emotions as he fiercely clamped down on his rage.
Each warped mass of shadow possessed haunting yellow eyes with an eel like jaw that snapped at the world. Bright white fangs, glinting and visible only to Jackie's eyes, were sharpened and ready to consume anything at the slightest sign of 'food'.
And unlike normal, unlike usual, Jackie was finding it harder to say no this time. {{If… If they hurt Jenny…}}
If Jenny was, in the end, NOT fine…
{{[[
Feed us.]]}}
Perhaps he would.
Somehow, someway, he knew. Deep inside, Jackie knew… The act of consuming the hearts of the evil people he worked with was only part of why the Darkness grew more powerful and deadly over time.
Only a portion of why the Darkness kept pushing for Jackie to act.
The true reason why his sanity was endlessly gnawed on… The core aspect to all this…
Was making Jackie Estacado bend. Bow. Break.
Making him compromise. Again. A little more.
Give in to the Darkness.
By himself, in this world? After the life he led, the things he had seen, the deals done and the crimes callously caused? It was a simple concept.
Just give in for power.
Be consumed by the Darkness, be a true Host to it, and use this power to dominate.
Invisible tentacles that could climb walls and defy logic to destroy targets far away, massive arms of darkness that smashed any defense into scrap or easily stabbed a target and ripped the Heart still beating from the chest cavity…
The power to summon minions, these so-called 'Darklings' that followed his will and acted by his commands!
He only had to give in.
Only had to give up, and let Jenny be wrong about him.
But.
But then.
Then Jenny wouldn't be fine.
And that broke the rule.
Jackie actively fought the Darkness for years, even before it actually whispered in his ears and began causing hallucinations, pulling trauma and memories to the forefront to wear him down, attacking at all times.
Because Jenny had to be fine.
It was hard.
So hard, not to slightly relax.
Fight for so long against such weak forces, when a simple flex of desire could sunder crowds of screaming attackers in twain
Struggle and have other mafia members get hurt and die, all to restrain himself.
Even with his iron will, occasions cropped up. Accidents.
Minute errors in keeping his struggle internal.
Jackie thought he had been doing good enough. That he had gone mostly unnoticed.
But someone must have seen how he was living a bit too easily.
Surviving things he shouldn't have with fewer injuries than expected.
Succeeding at too many tasks.
Uncle Paulie Franchetti began to doubt Jackie, to fear he would become the Don. That he would steal his rusty empire and fragile crown from the sewers of this city and warp it to his will.
Which was silly. Pointless. Ridiculous, honestly.
Jackie would never do such a thing.
Not unless Jenny wished him to do so.
But now… Police Captain Eddie Shrote, Uncle Paulie's man, had 'detained' Jenny.
Taken her somewhere off the books. Somewhere not official.
They had set a trap, and Jackie was sprinting towards that trap without care about health or safety, fully aware of the spikes that were likely aimed at his chest with every inch gained.
Why fear danger, why fear harm? Even Death wasn't an escape from the Darkness, after all… But the potential of being too late?
{{[[
You were too late before the message even arrived, Jackie.]]}}
No.
Jackie ran faster.
As obstacles cropt up, as men and women with guns and defensive positions tried to slow him down, Jackie began to care less and less about his own safety, his Soul, and his restraints.
Because Jenny had limited time if she was in Uncle Paulie's hands.
Snap shots with twin pistols began shifting as Jackie began to relax tight emotional bindings. Allowing his coiled tight emotions to bleed. Bleed hard.
Unheard hisses and snaps from the two eels of Darkness rattled into a strange otherworldly roar as they began following his blood filled journey.
A single shot twisting a man to one side, the dim hallway allowing the tentacle to pierce his cavity and viscera to spray on the walls even as the Heart was consumed.
A woman torn in half, still frantically screaming but unfortunately IN THE W̬̲̖͍̠̝̱A̜͖̰͇̬͓̣̬̱͕͎̩͕̥̬͍̱͍͕Y̯͎̤̰̮̺̮̭!̞̹̱̝
The whimpers and gasping of the unfortunate survivors left behind…
It should tear at Jackie, or at least feel heavy on his mountain of sins crawling up his back.
But right now, every step was a bit rougher.
Every movement aimed at full lethality.
Each shift attempting to edge ever closer to her. To HER.
Jenny was alright.
Jenny was fine.
Mad cackles in his mind began eagerly pulling up soft memories of her stitching up his wounds, laughing with her terrible snort and giggles, those dry looks when she knew he made a pun on purpose, even those bone weary curses and frustrated rants about how he could be better.
How he could be more.
Right now… Right now he needs to be more.
{{[[
FEED. US.]]}}
His clothing was only clean because the thin wisps of Darkness were too hungry to allow such a snack to survive impacting his body.
The shadows were not blocking the damage, they reveled in Jackie's pain and frantic suffering… But as bullets blast holes in his flesh and chipped his bones, the consumed foes that fell at his feet were consumed and harvested for his recovery.
{{[[
Yes… More!]]}}
Every inch damned his Soul further, no doubt. Not from the murder or the mutilations, his red ledger was filled with sins far worst from long ago, but from his lack of concern about restraint.
From feeding the Darkness for every mote of speed attainable.
{{[[
M̯͚̝̖̘̰̪O̲͚̝͇̘͚͉̺̭̦̜̱̹R̦̤̝̺͍̺̟̦͚͍͙̞͖̘̰̤͙̦E̗̼̙͙͙̣̫̺̠̲̠̼̯̹̦͎̥̻͉!̳͙̩͖̯̯̲̜̹̙̮̫]]}}
.
The hallways blurred together. Red flashes of blood soaked passages, any and every light source shot with beyond superhuman efficiency as an automatic reflex, his body becoming damaged beyond any previous record.
Did he have joints? Or had he snapped his own limbs for fractionally faster movement?
Was he even sprinting any more? Or dragging his mutilated form via shadow limbs to reach further?
None of that mattered.
Because Jenny. Would. Be. Fine.
Something beyond his senses shifted for a moment, unexpectedly, but he was far too focused to notice as he smashed through doors and a few walls that were in the way.
Get to Jenny.
He could destroy the building to escape, if it was coming down.
He could explain his monstrous form, when she was safe.
He would accept her punishments, even banishments, and watch from the Darkness alone if needed.
As long as she was fine.
His limits buckled further as he threw out what few bindings remained.
If he lost that fragile love, that light in the dark, that was fine.
If he lost his only family, left alone with the torment and the Darkness, that was fine.
If he became hated and a nightmare to her, to his world, that was fine.
As long as she was fine.
It grew into a mantra that chorused through his skull, even as damage tore into flesh and fully exploded eyes and meat and skin and muscle.
As long as she was fine.
{{[[
But she is…]]}}
Something without emotion latched onto the voice and began binding it. Something without mercy, something normally hidden deep within Jackie, something callus and twisted and hardened… And even the Darkness pulled back ever so slightly.
It still felt eager, anticipating, and far too joyful about the tragedy it was cheerfully predicting like a carnival fortune teller. Glutinous and smug, secure in its own immortality and lack of care.
None of that mattered.
As long as she was fine.
Seeing the locked door with a window, and more importantly, a LIVING Jenny within… A miracle.
{{[[
This will be a night to remember.]]}}
It felt inevitable that his powerful movements would suddenly lock up, his easy destruction of the world around him cease, and his still recovering form suddenly being tied down by the same black eel monsters of darkness that had so eagerly feasted on the path to this one location.
{{[[
Too late, Jackie. Love dies.]]}}
After all, a horrified corner of his mind accepted…
Jackie would fuck up, and Jenny would be fine.
{{[[
Now… Watch this…]]}}
This… This was one massive fuckup. "JENNY!"
As the Darkness cackles, it fully ignores his frantic struggles.
The eel tentacles refused to peel back the closed door.
No invisible limb sneaking in to C̺̘o͍n̖͓͖̘̳͈̺s̪̺͓u̻̖m̱̩̫e̜̰͕̥̫͔ the Hearts of these future corpses! WHY!?
{{[[
Be still… And watch.]]}}
They whipped Jenny with a pistol.
She was on the floor.
Bleeding?
They… They weren't going to shoot her.
Jenny would be fine.
{{[[
Your flesh is mine. Your will is mine.]]}}
The gun was aimed at her head.
They were saying something, probably threats or taunting or something unimportant, because there was a gun aimed at Jenny's head.
{{[[
She's mine.]]}}
As Jenny was pulled, dragged by her throat towards the door, so close and so far, gun still aimed, the world was broken.
The rule was broken.
Jenny MUST be fine!
His will cracked. {{SAVE HER! Take me, take anything, but SAVE HER!}}
The rule was broken.
It can't break.
That would be against the rule.
{{[[
I already own your everything.]]}}
There had to be something Jackie could do.
{{[[
She is a burden. This will be freedom.]]}}
Unacceptable.
If Jenny dies, if she isn't fine, then the rule would be broken.
The world was built on rules.
Rules were the foundation.
And deep in the core, the backbone of that foundation…
Jackie would fuck up, and Jenny would be fine.
Without that rule, without that law…
If Jenny dies, everything dies.
{{[[
We can taste her terror… How delicious!]]}}
The world was a field of shadows as Darkness loomed over Jackie's shoulders as a burden, a barrier, and restraints.
'Uncle' Paulie Franchetti seemed to be ranting about something.
Making some sort of point, some threat, some declaration about how all this wasn't his fault, how it was Jackie's fault, how this was deserved, punishment, needed, the natural order of things.
Holding that weapon to her soft hair.
Pointing that gun towards that wonderful smile.
There was no hope. No chance.
Jackie struggled on regardless.
The Darkness cackled! {{[[
So pointless, so futile… So… So… Wait.]]}}
Had… Had something shifted!?
An unworldly scream! {{[[
Impossible!]]}}
Jackie felt something snap, some tiny thread come loose or… It didn't matter if this was a deeper trap, or a fake opportunity to grind his Soul down further, something was possible.
Jackie Estacado could summon a single
Darkling. Not much, not enough…
At this moment in time, anything was better than this!
With frantic effort, Jackie reached for the twisted invisible portal inside that room, inside that so close and so far room of destined tragedy, and C̱̖̜a͓͔̝͙̣͈l͇ͅl̩̜̲e͍̲d̮͖ out!
Everyone!
{{[[
What is this feeling?]]}}
Anyone!
{{
We don't understand… What is…]]}}
HELP HER!
{{[[
No no, none of that.]]}}
Darkness tentacles wrapped itself around him tighter as the portal visibly began to fracture.
Jackie couldn't even feel loss right now… It had been an impossible hope anyway.
The tiny imp like demons, the Darklings, were slaves to the Darkness. They would have likely stood by to laugh at this horror, or just idled about confused. They were tied to the Darkness, and followed its whims.
Just… When hope was this thin, even the worst of things were desperately sought after.
The fat bastard was still talking. "...Someone ALWAYS pays, and THIS time the one being taken from is YOU!"
Jenny was trying to hold still, gun to her head and blood on her skin as the hand on her throat held oh so tightly. "This is not your fault! Ja…"
Reality s̴͏҉͏͙̯̙͇̟̻̙͔̣͇̦h̥̯͖̮̳̙̖̞̰͙͍͙̜̼͘͝Ị̧̡̼̥͔̯̱͉̳̝̼͙͔̱̹̥͜F̡͏̴͎͓̹͙̹̘̥̰͖̣̫̱ͅT̛̺̼̠̟̩̜̦̯̜̮͝ę̟̘͍̤̼̪͍̗͉̤͙̻̲̲̪͜͜d̨̀͟͝҉̣̜̝͚͉͎.
.
Jenny was gone.
Not dead, but fully vanished!
Jackie's heart stopped. NO! {{NO!}}
His emotions stayed frozen, for the rules can not be broken!
{{[[
WHAT!? WHAT IS…]]}}
[[Ę̷̶̷͠ ̧̡v̴́a̶̸̛͞m̡͘͟͠͏d̴̨̢͝͞ ̡̀͡͏ỳ̨͜ ̴̴̡͝v̴̨͟͜͜i̛͏h͞͠a̴͟͝n̛͢͠҉y̶̶͞͝͠m̶̢,̴̧̛́͢ ̸̧͘e̸̸h̷̡͟͡ ҉̸͘҉s̕͡o͠͞ ̵͝͝ṕ̶̡̛n̡͞y̕͜͝͝e҉̶͏h̡̢̕.̷̵́]]
What?
{{[[
NO! STOP! STOP! St… s…]]}}
[[A̶̴͜n̨͢d͟͡ ͠I̴̧, ̡͘a͢n͜d̢͏ ̀͡͞S̡í̛l̛ȩ̕n͟c̵̨̡e҉̧͞,҉̛ ̸͡s̸͠҉o̡̡͞me̛͜ ̷s̵͞t̷̸r̨͘͝a̢̕̕n͏g͘è͡ ̷R͘à̸̵c͜e̕͢,͠ ́ẃ͏͜r̸̕é̵̶c͡k̕͜e͝d̸͘,͡ s̴͜ol̀͘it̀͜a͞r̡̕͠y̵͟,͜ ҉͟h̨e͝r̡͟e̛͘҉..̶̀͟.̢͢͟]]
An angel sang a song of joy. "What… Jackie? How did I…"
Jackie didn't move, but tentacles of Darkness shifted at his will, and both he and her were wrapped close in bonds of shadow. "I fucked up, I fucked up, I fucked up, I…"
Warm arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him close, ignoring her own blood from her own head wound. "Shh, it's alright baby. I'm here, shh…"
Jackie ignored the strange pink eyed fang eels curiously poking things around them both, he ignored the frantic screams and background havoc, he ignored how he could somehow see further into the surrounding shadows and warp a black hole into the unknown at a whim.
Jackie didn't care that he felt all six thousand six hundred and sixty six shadow limbs, half pulled into reality, even as many of them cradled the couple in their dark embrace. Carefully touched her wound as it sizzled away, healed by being consumed by the Darkness. Cautiously confirmed she was alive, was here, was following the rule.
Because she was in his arms, and she was fine.
That was the rule.
Jackie would fuck up, and Jenny would be fine.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
{{[[
Why… How…]]}}
The shadow blinked it's pink eyes as it slowly forced the odd substance into its torso.
Eating things was hard without a mouth.
And it kept wiggling, but every time the shadow tried to complain with hand gestures and movements this stupid snack would try to escape.
Bad snack.
{{[[
I… Am… Eternal…]]}}
It was annoying, that's what it was.
With frustration, the shadow wrapped the surface of the goo candy with extra bands of material so progress wouldn't be lost, and curiously looked around.
This was a castle, of some sort. Not in normal reality, either. More like a Soul realm if anything, it didn't feel as physical as other places the shadow had walked.
The gem inside shadow pulsed, and it agreed: It felt a bit tacky here. Strange decorative choices.
Old too.
This place, unlike the previous place, only had one sibling.
A single being of shadow's nature. One that had consumed all other forms and all other identities, had united all Darkness into a single concept. Forced all fragments of the Darkness to combine and empower a single identity.
Sounded exhausting. And lonely.
Unfortunately, the Darkness had done so very… Very long ago. So long ago, it was hard to measure.
And had gone a bit mad.
For a few moments, the shadow was elsewhere. Seeing a reality of endless war with captured souls suffering without end nor need.
It returned to the castle.
Fair enough: Perhaps it went VERY mad.
Unhinged.
Though now that the 'mind' behind all this mess was very much busy resisting snackatude, something felt different here, in this place between living and the afterlife.
Because the living world was… That way.
And the other way had several options, one that felt very hot and one that felt calm and soothing… Maybe a few others? Not as powerful, at least.
In this place, in this space, carved and consumed and forced into stability by the Darkness… Rules were a bit off.
For one thing, it was anchored.
{{[[
You… Dare…]]}}
Fragments of memory, of endless Hosts… Of humans, used to guide and direct the Darkness. Ones offered near endless power, and the twisted use they applied such ability… How this endless cycle had warped the Darkness into this monster that tasted so divine.
The cycle had gathered the Darkness into greater heights of power, had enslaved these semi-brethren, these Darklings, into service… Had twisted the raw power and future of this location into the desires and wishes of the Darkness itself even as it descended into madness.
{{[[
Our… VENGEANCE!]]}}
Shh.
The shadow pushed the malevolent entity further into the core of Darkness.
Thankfully, the madness had coagulated over time, into a mountain sized delicious packet of wrath and undirected rage. Though consuming it was hard, again, when one didn't have a mouth. Slow too.
Made this whole process a bit frustrating, to be honest.
At least it had stopped making speeches and rants and screams and all that. '
How did you enter my Domain', '
Why can I not control you', '
Stop doing that', blah blah blah.
Of course shadow came here, this was a kingdom of Darkness and shadow was the Darkness. Where else would shadow go? To the living world?
For one thing, the gem felt less solid over there.
At first, the shadow was going to go through that lovely portal that had opened up, but had felt the crystal do this sort of wiggle thing that… Well, none of that then.
So instead, it had chosen one of the many slithering tentacles of Darkness and started absorbing it backwards to its home, to this screaming snack that wouldn't shut up.
{{[[
This… Can… Not…]]}}
Even now, while the core of this personality struggled, the shadow was enjoying how this kingdom was restructuring itself.
Looks like the new owner of this place would be that young man over that way, that Jackie guy. Or at least, all the rules and restrictions of this location were being rewritten by his existence as time passed and this snack was slowly devoured.
Though… It was a bit odd that a Host of the Darkness would be that intimate with a woman who potentially hosted the force
Angelus…
Wait, the who now?
The shadow blinked.
Oh.
Apparently consuming this snack was granting the shadow memories and context.
It poked the wriggling thing fighting to survive. Be eaten faster, snack!
{{[[
We… We…]]}}
Anyway, without the Darkness here being an asshole all the time, Jackie should be fine. Maybe a bit overpowered for a gangster in New York, and a tiny bit immortal, and maybe growing in ability over time, but other than that? Fine.
Plus, shadow gets a snack, and more information to better protect the crystal!
Everybody wins! Woo!
{{[[
We…]]}}
Well, almost everybody.
Something shifting near the castle gates had shadow watching a Soul sneaking in to look around for some reason.
Maybe because the screams stopped? Or perhaps to see why this entire structure of Darkness, this Otherworld, had stopped shaking and twisting and crying black tears?
Who knew, Soul's here were weird. Like a big mess of Heart and Body And Soul all smushed together, but with less Body and more Heart. Felt really off.
Something inside the snack C͉͇̝͎̩r͕̦u͎̙̫̺n̜͕̪̱͔̠c͈͔͈h͈̼̜̼e͎̜s͖̻͕̘̜͓ͅ… Ah.
This was apparently
Anthony Estacado.
One of the prior hosts, since a lot of those people ended up trapped here. Oh, Jackie was related to the guy! Neat!
Apparently this guy became the Darkness host back in May 28, 1918, in Cantigny, France. During World War 1, no less… Huh, that was a lot of memories.
How old WAS this thing? Had forever ALWAYS been that long?
Like a really hard jawbreaker, the flavor kept going as the shadow gnawed on the complaining candy.
Oh, Anthony was here. Staring at the tiny foot high creature with glowing pink eyes and a struggling monstrosity being squished into its torso.
The shadow gave him a wave!
Anthony seemed a bit lost. "What… What the fuck?"
{{[[
SLAVE! FREE US! THIS MONSTER DOOMS US ALL!]]}}
Hush you. The shadow pushed the stupid morsal harder, managing to get a bit more of a grip into the gristly bits. Mmm.
The soldier was indeed lost. "Are you… Are you eating the Darkness?"
Uh.
Sort of?
No mouth, so more like shoving it into the same spot until it could get properly absorbed.
So the shadow shrugged.
{{[[
SLAVE!]]}}
Anthony lowered his stick thing… Oh! Gun. It was a gun! These new memories were very useful. Though there was a lot of screaming and tormenting and stuff, which got old fast. And endless time spent alone and going insane, but the shadow felt like it had gone insane before and that experience had been pretty boring too, so none of that.
Anyway, the Soul seemed less aggressive. "How… How did you manage to fight this thing? To get it to this state?"
Uh.
Dunno.
The shadow tried to do gestures and describe the tale of finding a noodle of delicioustude and nomming its way all the way back to this flying spaghetti monster of Darkness eels and succulent seasoning, followed by a few embarrassing moments where the shadow realized how handy mouths were for eating and how lacking of mouths it had happened to be and…
Anthony held up his hands. "Sorry, little guy, I don't have any idea what you are trying to say with all the dancing."
The shadow slumped, absently catching a spiked limb before it could impale a suddenly shocked Anthony and forcing the escaping treat fragment back into the shadow's torso.
It turns out that communication was ALSO hard without a mouth.
Oh! Another handy dandy portal! Nowhere close to here, but over there!
Ignoring the shocked Soul of a man that had just fallen over inside the restructuring castle, the shadow was elsewhere looking at the swirling hole as a confused (And slightly modified) Darkling was entering it.
Now to study this thing and learn how to enter a living world without losing the pink crystal!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Anthony cursed a storm as the WHATEVER THE FUCK IT WAS vanished like a dream, the fading screams of the supposedly 'All Powerful' and 'Immortal' Darkness echoing into nothingness.
What. The. Fuck!?
He had known shit had been going down when the endless conflict and torturous battle had shifted into strange earthquakes and (not the usual) screaming. The sudden drop in raw anger and aggression that seemed to permeate the air was another warning sign, but it was the core castle, this secured facility that the Darkness ruled over, that had been the final nail in this coffin.
After all, when a massive stone castle suddenly starts showing thin pink cracks through impossibly sturdy stonework, that was unusual. To say the least.
As one of the more sane spirits trapped in this mad place, Anthony had of course ended up being the one dumb enough to actually investigate the situation…
And every step had felt worse than the last.
No defenses.
No foes.
Just… Distant screams and odd quakes and…
If it had been the end, that would have been fine. Many former hosts of the Darkness had prayed in vain for such a chance to pass on. Every new bloodline that was cursed by the Darkness struggled to stay sane hoping their children and progeny would be the one to end the suffering.
But this… This was unfathomable.
Honestly, Anthony wasn't sure WHAT he had expected.
The newest host, being tormented.
A fresh beast, mutated from fragments of the dead and raw power.
A trap.
The potential was infinite, the unknown formidable, and forcing himself to actually enter that castle through the unguarded halls and gates had been the toughest experience of his life.
But around that final turn…
Had been a tiny black blob.
With bright happy pink eyes, two adorable little feet, three itty-bitty claws on each hand, and antenne.
It was apparently trying to stuff the entirety of the Darkness into its belly.
And succeeding.
He stared at the now innocently empty room. "The Fuck."
That flash of movement back then, as a thin spike of Darkness tried to… What, escape? Attack? Punish him for not saving his worst tormentor? Whatever, it had been inevitable. He had felt the end.
For a moment, Anthony Estacado had experienced death, yet again.
And then, nope!
Just… That tiny little adorable thing just caught the instant kill spiked limb and squashed it right back into its itty bitty chest.
His attention refocused as something shifted, and the pink cracks covering the walls moved.
Right, the pink glowing stuff issue.
Even from here, inside the castle, Anthony could see how the strange glowing fractures in the wall were starting to shift and slide material around. Slowly replacing the mortar holding this place together from crumbling stonework into that glowing pink candy floss crap.
What. The. Fuck.
Having tossed out his self preservation instinct years and years ago when he single handedly fought back nazi armies, he carefully stood up and moved closer to the wall.
Nearing the closest pink vein, he cautiously poked it with one of his trench knives.
…Did it fucking GIGGLE at him!?
Nope.
With a twist he turned to the door and began the long cautious trek back out to the endless war that seemed to have undergone a confused and undirected cease fire.
Infinite suffering and death at least made SENSE, damn it!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Jenny Romano was very confused right now.
Ecstatic, somehow alive, and trying to comfort her boyfriend? Yes.
But confused.
Also, her little ratface now had a sea of black limbs and hands that were carefully moving them somewhere even as he wrapped her tightly in a protective hug and refused to ever let go. "Shh, I'm here."
Being captured, 'interrogated' even though they didn't really want to know anything and were clearly using it as an excuse to justify her eventual murder, all that had ran her emotions ragged, her mind on edge…
But being saved hadn't exactly made anything make sense. "Jackie, what…" No, priorities. "We need to go somewhere safe."
Get safe first, make sure this blood she was feeling on his clothing wasn't as bad as she feared it was, find out how she was saved and what the FUCK was going on later.
His eyes, pitch black and cracked with pink fractures, focused into her own. "Ì̵ ͘h̷a̷̴͠v̀e̵ ͘ş̧a͟f̧͡è ̶̛͝h̛͞ó̶u̢͡s̴̶e̴͟s̕͜, ͟e͜m̕͏e͝r̡̢gę͞n͠c̷̷̶y̴͟͢ ̀͜c͝a̶ć̀h̛es̢̕..͠͠.̴̡"
One hand at the edge of her vision, solid black with bright white nails, suddenly shifted into a fanged eel head with glowing pink eyes as it SMASHED through… Oh. A wall.
Her body untensed slightly as the scary fanged monster-like limb shifted back into a solid back hand.
Now they were outside, and staying calm was not as easy as it had been. "Jackie?"
He kissed her forehead. "I'̴ll ̛te̕lļ you͠ ̨e̕v͟e̶r͠yt͢hing̵, ̛ a͏ny͜th̴i͏n͟g̡,͞ ͏ bu͠t͟ ̶ĺet̵ ͝m̡e͡ g̷et̕ ҉y͞o͡u ͝s͟afe ͘f́ir͟s͢t.͏ I̷ ͝fuc̶ked ͜up, b̕u̕t ͡you w̢il̡l be͜ f̧i͘ne."
She tried not to roll her eyes. "I heard 'Uncle' Paulie rant a LONG time before I got moved to St. Mary's Orphanage for that showdown." Sounded mentally disturbed to a shocking degree. "It wasn't your fault."
Black eyes shifted to her, the pink glow oddly warming despite the demonic look. "I̡ ̷f̛a͝il͢e̴d̀ t̵o ̴hi̧d̶e̕ ͠th̛e̢ ́Dark̵n͝esş.̷ ͏He͝ ҉f̶oùnd ̡out a͝b́out ̛m͟y ́se҉c̷r̴et...͞͞ Àb͘ouţ h͢ow̕ po̴werfu̧l͡I͝ ̧co̶u͏ld ̧bè.͝ He̕ f͟eare͝d me̸."
Yeah. About that. "The Darkness?"
Jackie grunted. "M͘a͢n̴if̸es̡ts ̡in͢ ḿy b̡l̵oo͞dli̶ne͠, ap͠p̶ar҉en̵t͏lỳ. W͞heņ ҉t͡he ̵m҉al̸e͡ c̢hild ̶r̕eac̨h̵es͢ ̛21 ̀ye͟a̷r͝s͟, i̛t͟ ̶aw̨a҉ke̴ns ̛w͘i̷th́in our̛ b̶odi͝e̸s ̡ and̶ ̵sl͝o͟wl̨y̛ atte̵m̵p͠tş ̢t̀o co͠rrup̨t ͢ųs̶ ͜and͏ u͠s̨e͞ ̵ us as̨ i͞t͝s ͏Ho҉st͞."
Strange black limbs stretched impossible lengths as the couple were gently shifted through the air, following a path through the night. Jackie's voice was nearly too soft. "I҉ fai͏ĺȩd͠ ̷t͏o hi̸d̀e ͞it̢, an̸d ̷som̢èo̕ne must ̡hąve̛ t͢old U͘ņcl͞e̢ ͞Pa̸úl̢i҉e̶.͜"
She held back a sigh.
That… That hadn't explained anything.
A cool hand, one of the strange other ones, carefully moved hair to the side. Surprisingly gentle, for being so strange. "I onl͜ý kn̨o͢w̕ ̸w͞h́a̶t ̧t͘he ͜D̕a̴r̀k̀n̸e̸s̴s ́w͟as ͏w̶i̡l͜l̢i̧ng͢ ͝t̴o͞ t͞a͡un̴t me ͝w͞ith, ͘w͝ha͜t̨ ́ s҉torie͠s it tor̵tu͏re҉d.͢..̶ Wha̕t͞ ͡tales i̢t̛ t͘ol̷d ̕me.̛"
Were his teeth sharper now? "I̕ al̶ways t̵h͟o͜uǵh҉ţ ̕of i̡t̷ ̀aş a͢ ͞cu̕r͏se҉.͏ I d҉o͟n'̧t ͠k̕n͝ǫw͏ m҉u̴c̸h͠ m͠o̢re͟ ̨t̀ha҉n ͝t̵hi͞s.͏"
Stay calm, Jenny. "How far are we from shelter?"
His eyes shifted elsewhere, and something began creeping off in the distance. "I͢'m e̢nci̢r̨c͏li҉ńg҉ ͝ i̸t̢ş loća͠t̸i͢o̧n ͏n̸o̷w,̨ ̡s̛e͟n͝din̵g D̵a͜rkli̵n͠g͏s͟ to͢ ̢k҉eep͟ ͞wat͜ch.̷ They ̴wi͠ļl b̨e ̵my̷ e̵ye̢s̶ an͜ḑ ͝e̛ar̴s̡, ͟an̡d͏ ͘y͞ou̸ w͟ill ͝be̸ f̞͉̦̩͖̦͙i͍̯͎n̠e̹̬͚͜.́"
Her mind wandered slightly. "This safe house have coffee? The good shit, not the stuff you keep drinking."
The pink cracks in his eyes glowed a bit more. "I̧'ll̸ ̡ ens̸uŕe̴ i̷t."
A shower, maybe a bandage for her scraps and stuff, some sleep, and a pot of DAMN strong coffee…
She could do this. "I want TWO pots of the good stuff when we wake up, you got me ratface? TWO!"
His chuckle echoed like a prayer in an abandoned church. "Ì'v͠è ͞go͠t yo͟u, lo͢ve̢.̴ Ąlways."
At least all these arms made for awesome hugs.
