The Eyes Of Crows [Skullgirls/Bloodborne]

[CounterGuardian]

Yo. This idea was to good to pass up, so here I am writing it. I'm also going to warn you up top: The Great Ones are not as Infinite in scope and distance as their canon brethren are. This was done to give a little balance to what would have otherwise been a complete smackdown from our dear Good Hunter's perspective. You have been warned.

The Eyes Of Crows
~Prologue~​

The Great Ones are sympathetic in spirit, and will readilly offer help when called upon. All one must do is ask.

A long time ago, before there were many around to even keep track of such things, a girl cried out for a miracle. She instead recieved a blessing, and through her own actions eventually became something monsterous. She lost her sight, her mind, and after much sacrifice from those who wished to see another dawn, her life. The sun rose on the waking world. Life went on.

Years passed, and a girl cried out for a miracle- and so the cycle continued.

After all, the Skull Heart is nothing if not persistent and is truly sympathetic in nature.

---

The Moon was discontent. He rarely, if ever, felt the emotion and it's source was causing the Great One to indulge in that human habit called pacing again. It was infalliable, really- spend enough time around humans and you'll end up aquiring quirks like that. Though, to be fair, the mortals tended to get the short end of the stick when it came to extended stays amongst the presence of his kind, so perhaps their tendency to imprint their habits onto Eldritch Gods can be forgiven for the time being.

There was a sensation that slid across the Moon's unfathomable mind- it was like the image of string being cut, only given texture and taste. He growled, long tendrills twitching in agitation and barely suppressed rage. He just lost another one.

Someone was destroying his Dreams.

It was a sobering thought, and the Moon did indeed rise to his full height and begin to pace. There were very few Great Ones who would be so brazen as to openly attack another's Dream- even those who were held antithesis to each other wouldn't dare sink so low as to destroy a world that was so lovingly created.

It was unheard of.
It was barbaric.
It was pissing him off.

The sensation was back. His mind grabbed it, and didn't let it go- it was an unpleasant sensation, much like attempting to grab a fistfull of broken glass. His thoughts raced down the line and arrived on the other side torn and ragged but that didn't matter.

He found them.


Or, at least, the Waking World on which they resided. Getting an exact pinpoint location would be difficult considering the condition of the 'line' that had been used- having your thoughts gouged and ripped apart was not something to approach lightly, Great One or not. And besides, this is why he had them. Or, more specifically, Him. The Moon, had he been capable of it, would have smiled.

It had been a while since the last Hunt, after all.

---

The Good Hunter awoke beneath a ceiling that he didn't recognize and surround by the smell of blood and anisthetic. His vision swam for a moment- as did his thoughts- the world becoming a swirling mass of colors and general confusion for a few long seconds. At first he thought he had somehow ended up back at Ieosefka's clinic- the smell was similar enough and gave rise to a few unpleasant thoughts. As his vision came back into focus he realized quite quickly that this was not the place where his journey began in those ages passed.

It was, admitedlly, still a clinic. It just wasn't her clinic.

His eyes diallated slightly as the smell of smoke invaded his senses. Fire, and all it's trappings, had become an experience that was nearly euphoric for The Good Hunter during his time on the Hunt. The sight of it was rapturous, as it was one of the few things that he could truly call pure when stuck in Yharnam.

He cocked his head to the side- towards the source of the sooty aroma.

A cigar hung from the mouth of a young girl with strange arms and E̶̡̛̗͚̠͙̩͖̯̅̀̑͋̍̕ý̸̨̛͈̬̹̤͙͇̗͔̣̯͔̩̭͐̆̈́͗̂̊͌̐ẽ̸͓̭͔̲͚̪͎̼̱͕̱̟͖̼̐̽́̀͒̉̓̓͌ş̸̡̰̦̝̦̖̈́͌͗͆̿̃̎̿̈́̎ ̷̦̙̹̗̝͓̯̟͂̉̾̆̎́͋̆͐͗ǫ̶͈̥̻͔̜͖̰̙͚͇̾̀̒̉̏͑͜͜͠n̶̢͉͎͕͇̔̈́̂̎̐̀͒̅̃̈́͠ ̷̦̣̼̼͈͙͌͋̽̽t̴̨̢͚̳͔̞̥̭̐͗̓̏̽́̋͘͜h̸̛̛̩͎͍͊͗̍͂̃̿͊̊̎̿è̶̡̟͕͖̜͍̖̳͉̩͓͊̈́͌͋̐͗͘ͅ ̵̨̰͙̰͇͛͒́̾͊͝ͅĨ̷̳̝̫͚̞̙̣̣̦͐͛̓̔̌̒͐̈́̓̃̍͘̕͜͝n̵̨̢̨̧̬͈͔͚̖̰̭͔̐̽͝s̴̨̧̤̖̘̰̼̜͈̘͑̂̈́͋̊̽͌̓̂̐͜͠ỉ̶͇͊̅͒̒͐̈́̂͠d̴̨̬̥͉͈̮̯̰̺̲̲̣̲͎̍̆̀͂͂̌̓̄̆͘͠é̷͕͓͛. Well that was surprising. It was a miracle her psyche hadn't broken under the pressure of obtaining Insight- even if it was a small amount- at so young an age.

The child's eyes narrowed. "The hell are you looking at, ya bozo?"

The Good Hunter looked at her.

"Eh? You were...admiring my cigar?" She arched an eyebrow, still puffing on the roll of tabaco. She exhaled, sending a large cloud of smoke billowing around the room and grinned a Cheshire grin. "You have good taste."

---

Somewhere, far away from the machinations of the Moon, a certain nun felt a chill roll down her spine while a young girl in maid's garb sneezed cutely.

 

[CounterGuardian]

The Eyes Of Crows
~First Sight~
​

Peacock was having a weird day... So, really, all things considered, it was just another tuesday. It wasn't the first time someone had managed to break into the Labs, and it almost certainly wouldn't be the last- though the guy eyeing her cigar like a cat might eye a particularly fat mouse might win the trophy for weirdest method of entry. No, that wasn't quite right- strangest way to be caught maybe? She was out with the 'One Man Band' at the time- well, less 'out with' and more 'pestering' but the point still stands- but apparently Leduc and Hive came back from a Patrol and found him sleeping on the floor of the Rec Room. They hadn't been sure what to do with him so they moved the weirdo over to the Clinic where they could keep a better eye on him.

That had been two days ago. Guy must've been pretty damn sleepy.

She puffed on her cigar, sending smoke swirling up towards the ceiling as she took a moment to consider his attire. There was a lot of black, and plenty more feathers. There had been a mask, but that had been removed and sat on an end table next to his bed. It was remarkably beak shaped. Peacock was internally debating whether she should feel flattered or annoyed that someone was stealing her image.

Lab Eight's most mentally unstable weapon pulled her cigar away from her mouth and placed a hand on her hip. She grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp, metallic teeth. "So what's your story birdy- you didn't pick the most inconspicuous place to take a nap you know."

He gave her another one of those looks- the kind spoke without speaking.

"You were told to come here?" Her face contorted into an expression of mild confusion before shifting into a look of sudden understanding. "Oh. Oh. You must've transfered here from another lab, amirite? Whaddam'ah saying, of course I'm right." Peacock, in a sudden rush of movement, crossed the room and was now in the process of hauling the 'birdy' out of the bed.

He certainly wasn't expecting it, if his shocked expression was anything to go by, but he managed to stumble out of the bed rather than plumet face-first towards the ground. Peacock had her arm around his back- the best she could manage since she couldn't reach his shoulder- and was leading him out of the room with the same zany energy she was known for.

"Come on, lemme show you around the place- ya' gonna love it." She was smiling and more or less dragging him down the halls.​

---

The Good Hunter was many things. At the moment he was a mixture of confused and curious. The 'tour', as the child had called it, didn't take long. She had dragged him to several different rooms in rapid succesion without much in the way of explanation before stopping at what she called 'The Best Room In The House'. There were several comfortable looking pieces of furniture- long and wide things that were upholstered in leather- as well as a large pane of black glass mounted on a pedestal. A box with black wires sat at it's base.

What really caught his attention though, were the room's current occupant. A young man with a body more mechanical than flesh and E̗͙͕̠͡y̨̬͉̥̟͈̰è͓̽́s̐ͯ̈́̔̊̋ ̤͚͑ͨ̓͂̈́ͧO̳͖̫̺͔̤͑́͝n̟ͣ̈́ͯ̿̊ ̰̩̠̗́ͧ̽̊͒̎T̘̼̫͖̩͜h̳͕̩̺̪͐͗̇̈́͋ē̗̦̼̔͂̊̊ͬ͑ ̲̣̳͚̻͕ͩ̒͂̆̽Iṉ̳͓̘̳ͮ̍s͚̯̪̅̋͊͒͟i̧̪̙̯ͤ̌̑̓̈̋ḓ͉́ẹ̱ͤ͐̊͝ sat in a chair with a book in his hands, though his attenion had been diverted from whatever scene his mind had been replaying to him when they barged in.

Leduc was, admitedly, panicking. Just a bit. "Peacock, what are you doing?! We weren't supposed to let him out until Dr. Avian got back!"

Peacock arched an eyebrow. "Who, birdo? Nah, he's harmless." She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "He got transfered from another Lab, so the Doc probably already knows he's here anyway."

Leduc nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly- Peacock's logic wasn't always totally sound after all.

There was a beat of silence.

Leduc placed his book down entirely, accepting the fact that he wouldn't be able to get anymore reading done for the forseable future. Rubbing his now free hand against the back of his neck- a nervous tick that refused to die- he gave the newcomer a friendly smile. "So, you have a name?"

The Good Hunter nodded, and made a short, simple gesture.

"What, like the bird?"

Crowe nodded. It had been a while since he had interacted with anyone who he could consider even remotely human- it was a novel experience, and an enjoyable one at that. He could feel the Moon tugging at his mind though, urging him to move on and start his Hunt. It was a sobering feeling, a constant reminder that he didn't truly belong in the Waking World. And yet...

"Hey, birdo, wanna hear a joke?"

Well, maybe if he stayed for just a little longer...​

---

Elsewhere


The sound of bones clicking against each other flooded the catacombs beneath New Meridian's only church. A horde of undead monsters ambled about aimlessly, searching for... well, Marie wasn't really sure what it was she was supposed to be looking for, so she supposed that they wouldn't know either. The young Skullgirl sighed, a frown forming on her face as she looked on over the swarm of skeletal minions. That blasted nun- this was all her fault, of course. She could have killed the Medicis five times over by now.

Stupid unreasonable nun.
Stupid hard-to-find runes.

She probably wouldn't mind it as much if Double actually told her what she needed them for. When she asked all she got back was 'To make a beautiful dream'. She could be annoyingly vauge at times- which was, admitedly, most of the time.

Marie shook her head, there wasn't any point in getting hung up on it at this point. All she could do now was rest and get her strength back. Cutting those runes free from whatever tied them down was draining.​

 

[Cmmdfugal]

Hmmm so far characters are good and i love that crowe is silent in voice only amd can still communicate effectively.

This has raised my curiosity amd so i look forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[CounterGuardian]

I am so sorry that this came out so late. Life was crazy for a while, and then I just kinda- er- 'forgot' about this project in the face of so many sudden changes. But hey, I'm back, so let's not waste any more time.

~The Eyes of Crows~
~Second Sight~
​

Venus Lovelace was frustrated- it was a relatively new sensation, and she didn't much care for it. The source of her irritation wasn't something she could just out-right destroy either, even if she wanted to- the rune was much to valuable for that. Still, the way the symbol made the Space around it twist and churn in impossible ways made her want nothing more than to throw the blasted thing out of a window. It was a classic case of 'stuck between a rock and a hard place'- not even her Parasite, Abaddon, was able to do anything to pierce through to it...which was quite a worrying thought. Abaddon was the personification of Space itself- if his powers were not enough to be able to even touch the rune, then actually using it was going to be...challenging. To say the least.

But such is the nature of these things- nothing worth doing is ever easy, after all.

---

Crowe wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting to find upon leaving the compound known as 'Lab 8'- a dreary world drowning in nightmares was, as far as he was concerned, a given. But whatever it was he had been expecting to find, a 'lively city' was not it. The sun was out. People were walking down the street, embroiled in their own lives and the sun was out. How long had it been since he'd last felt the sun's warm rays splash against his skin? It must have been centuries, surely.

"Hey, uh, you know you probably shouldn't stare at the sun like that- you'll end up with eyes like mine, ya know?" Peacock pointed to her blaringly empty eye-sockets for emphasis as she spoke.

Crowe shook himself free of the trance that he had fallen into, and glanced down at the child that had dragged him outside in the first place.

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" Peacock sounded honestly confused by his responce.

Crowe just shrugged noncommitally in return. He couldn't blame her for her reaction- "I haven't seen the sun for a while." -wasn't exactly the most normal thing to say, even if it was true.

Peacock frowned, bringing up an expression that was equal parts concerned and...angry? Crowe was fairly certain he hadn't said anything to offend her, but at the same time this wasn't his waking world. The customs could be quite different- the architechture certainly was. He was so used to massive, sprawling spires, and muted grays that it wasn't even funny. New Merridian in comparison was a city of straight edges and bright colors. It was a pleasant change.

Oh dear, she's looking at him expectantly- he got so caught up in his own tangential thoughts that he hadn't even noticed her say anything. Crowe offered the girl a small apologetic frown and a short look.

Peacock gave him a blank look- one that was amplified immensly by the lack of eyes to look at him with. "What's the matter Birdo, did the sun kill your ears instead of your eyes?"

Crowe frowned- oh dear, he really had offended her this time. Falling back on the short amount of time he had spent in the service of Queen Annalise, The Good Hunter bowed in a most reverent fashion. A few seconds later he felt Peacock smack him on the shoulder.

"Alright, alright, stop that," She sounded somewhat embarresed, and once Crowe was back to being upright again he could see that she was back to smiling- so she was amused, if nothing else.

Crowe gave her a short look, weaving out of the way of an absentminded pedestrian as he did so.

"I asked what Lab you came from."

Oh dear. Crowe breifly wondered what sparked her to ask such a question- a question to which he could give no honest answer. The Good Hunter detested liars out of principal- and the ordeal with Patches only served to cement that concept into his mind- but this was something he felt was not of his own making. More a series of misunderstandings and accpetances than outright lies.

Still, that didn't change the fact that he was decieving her- that she was, in the end, a distraction. An obstacle. He was here to Hunt- to save as many lives as possible by cutting down those who were beyond help. This was a waste of time.

The Moon Pushed against his mind, and Crowe reached out for a weapon that wasn't- w̴̛͜͠a̵̛̕͢͡s̷̷̶̸̢ ̛̀͢a̷͘͞ļ̢w͏̡͜͟ą̷̶͞y̡̧̢͠s̡͟- there. His gloved hand wrapped around a well-worn hilt-

The small part of The Good Hunter that still belonged to Crowe pushed back- Not her, not a beast, find another.

The weapon that was never there continued to not exist, and Crowe's grip slackened. An immense sense of relief poured through him as he felt the Moon's influence return to a manageable level- he had enough of being forced to slay friends to last multiple lifetimes, thank you very much. Speaking of which...

Crowe turned to Peacock and shurgged, a small smile on his face.

"...Huh?"

---

Something grand was going to happen soon- Eliza could feel it in the air. There was a sense of tension- like seeing dark clouds in the distance and knowing there will come a storm. Her blood sang to her, and Sekhmet was giddy with anticipation.

She licked her lips, pupils dialated, unaware of the small symbol that had engraved itself into her mind. It was an old symbol, one whose meaning would be lost on her even if she was aware of it- a mark of Corruption. The Vileblood Queen would have been proud indeed, to have found such a worthy addition...