The wacky world of my absolutely chaotic imagination Presents: The Somnium Saga
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The wacky world of my absolutely chaotic imagination Presents: The Somnium Saga
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Posted 2023-04-22 20:02:57 (edited)
So, a year or so ago I was struck with the flu and began having really weird dreams. I actually remembered some of them as it turns out and started to share them with a friend on Discord. I attempted to make a story out of them, not for profit or fame or anything like that, but because I simply wanted to share them. Now obviously this writing is not of stellar quality or anything, but I just think it's neat, despite how nonsensical it may be. The first story of the Somnium Saga almost played out like some absurd fan fiction or AU of a game I was interested in, however do not be fooled, it is not full of shipping or any other cringe like that, it's just kinda a fever dream if I'm gonna be honest.Please do not reply on this topic, as it is specifically meant to share my crazy, fever-fueled story. Thank you. |
 [FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-22 20:22:36 (edited)
Trigger Warnings: The following story contains cannibalism, criminal activity, corporate greed, dirty jokes, implied and explicit instances of abuse and cruelty, arranged marriages, murder, violence, trauma, body horror, religious imagery, sexism, racism, mental illness, terminal illness, cannibalism, cursing, and suicidal behavior
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[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 05:41:10
The Somnium Saga: City of Broken DreamsPrologueMany years had passed since I had left Somnium's world. I had been working a lot, pushing myself to the point of exhaustion just to get these sheets for a "project" my boss had only recently made me aware of… only a few weeks before the deadline. My boss had a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to tell the other employees and I about things, regardless of their importance. I couldn't help but notice that my boss was laying off employees seemingly weekly, which was obviously concerning. The boss said that he had "everything under control" and that the company "was not struggling." To be in the animation and design industry in a society dominated by technology that could replace the need for animators and artists and would cost less was a painful reality of my world. I had forgotten all about my misadventures in Uncanny Valley just because the world around me was my main concern. I was finishing up the last few frames of animation when the secretary walked by my desk to inform me that my boss wished to see me and that it was of upmost importance that I head to his office immediately. He hadn't fired anybody in a while, and I had actually requested a raise. Funny how much renting out a dump of an apartment in the city costs… might as well have had a mortgage. With a sense of dread, I approached my boss' office. "You asked to see me, sir?" I asked. My boss shot me a grin that looked like the grin of a cliche crooked used car salesman. "Ah, Sol. You've been one of my best employees for the longest time…come here, I have something I want to show you." He said, smiling as he gestured towards a door to a side room that went off of his office. Reluctantly, I approached him. "What is it that you want to show me, sir?" I asked. He opened the door to a room that was pitch black. "As you should know, I recently came to an agreement with a tech company. They have given me one of their assets in return for a small payment." He explained. He reached towards a nearby light switch, and the fluorescent lights slowly turned on and began to buzz. In the center of the room was a massive… something. It looked to be a machine of sorts and it closely resembled a combination between a supercomputer and an old teleplayer machine. "Sir… what the hell is that thing?" I asked, taken aback this strange machine. "Ain't she a beaut? I call her "Big Bertha" and she's such an amazing machine… the machine of my dreams!" my boss said enthusiastically. I looked at "Big Bertha" in confusion. What on earth was this machine, and why was my boss so awestruck by it? "So… um… what does Big Bertha do exactly. What sort of machine is she?" I asked. My boss gave me a grin as he approached the machine. I saw as he poured in some ink and typed in a prompt of some sort. A screen lit up on the machine and I watched as it created an animation just from the prompt. It was generating frames more rapidly than any human animator ever could. "Well, Big Bertha does everything that you do… but much faster and for much cheaper as well! She's a straight up dream machine!" My boss exclaimed. I gave him a distraught look. "But… sir, whatever happened to your idea of quality being more important than quantity?" I asked. "Quality takes far too much time… it's costly as well. Now, quantity allows for more things to be released at a time, which means that I make more money. Besides, nobody gives a damn about the quality of a product nowadays. All they care is that there's a lot of it, that way they don't have to interact with their kids too much and can get more important things done instead." My boss explained rather coldly. He then handed me the dreaded pink slip. "Goodbye, Sol… it was pleasant doing business with you but, I will no longer be needing your services." He said, as he gestured for me to leave. So that was it; it was over. I shuffled down the stairs dazed in a half sleepwalk. Out amongst the churches and wharves, television shows, within a city which reeked of drugs and alcohol. With a box full of my things, I hadn't just been fired from my job… I felt as if I had been fired from my life. Nothing left to lose… nothing left to gain. "Dream too big and you will fail" I remembered someone telling me when I was much younger. It seems that was what happened. In the age of machines, what was the use of someone with my skill set? The machine was quicker and more precise than I could ever be, limited by the fact that I was only human. A perfectly imperfect form… capable of many things, but not a lot. I headed into the complex in which my shitty apartment was. I could hear my landlord playing painfully loud music pretty much instantly. The man always played loud music and threw outrageous parties, which were some of the most expensive things around town. You'd think that he'd be more responsible and use that rent money us tenants have supplied him with to renovate and improve the property, but he was just focused on partying for some reason. "Ah, Sol! Where's that rent money you promised me?" My landlord asked after greeting me. "Hello, Mr. Volkovitch…" I responded. Mr. Volkovitch was a rather interesting guy, he was of Ukrainian descent and was even rumored to have ties to a supposed Ukrainian Mafia family. You wouldn't have thought of him as being tied to the Mafia upon meeting him, but the suspicious packages as well as absurd amounts of money that he managed to obtain through anonymous, clearly non-rent money sources, might've made such a theory seem so probable. "Your rent, Sol?" Mr Volkovitch requested. "Oh…it should be in my apartment somewhere!" I responded. I took the elevator up to the floor which my apartment was located on to grab my rent money. When I entered and turned on the lights, I saw a large rat scurry across the floor, coming from the direction in which my rent was laid out. Much to my dismay, the oversized rodent had chewed on the check as well as my checkbook, making it impossible to use. I let out a disgruntled sigh and walked over to my bed and collapsed, staring up at the ceiling and screaming internally. I hated this place. It felt as if my world was falling apart more everyday, like some crumbling edifice ruined by age. I glanced over at the dream catcher I had on my wall. "If dreams come true… then nightmares probably come true as well. That's what life has become, an actual nightmare. I just wish I could leave it all behind, honestly." I muttered to myself. I suddenly felt a searing pain in one of my arms, my hand shaking violently as a familiar glowing symbol appeared on it. The sigil of Somnium. "Oh shit… here we go again." I said, watching as the world around me faded into blackness as I was thrown back into Somnium's world. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 05:44:51 (edited)
Chapter 1: A Dismal ReunionThe darkness swirled around me and slowly began to warp and transform. I found myself in what looked like Somnium's world. Not Uncanny Valley but the darkness which came before it. It appeared that Somnium had done some "redecorating" as I was in something resembling a living room or study made out of shadows outlined in golden light. I saw Somnium sitting in an armchair by a fire, reading a book and listening to something resembling a gramophone. "…smite the wicked and cast them into a fiery pit… what a load of rubbish. The wickedness of this world has increased a bit since we last spoke, Sol." Somnium said to me as he put the book he was reading onto a side table. He stood up out of his chair and looked down at me. "What do you mean by that?" I asked. The godlike creature sighed. "I followed your advice and decided to stop interfering with that world, just as the higher ups had once instructed me to. Unfortunately it appears they don't want to have anything to do with this world which they instructed me to oversee. They've long since abandoned it… much like they had at one point abandoned me." Somnium lamented. "Higher ups? But aren't you an immensely powerful god?" I pondered. Somnium folded his wings and closed his eyes. "I am… but a lesser deity. However that's not of importance right now. What is important is what has happened to my assigned world since you left… a new dictator has risen to power. One worse than Winslow ever was. Your friends still live… but I fear their lives are on the line. While Dusty and his family has since moved back to their native country… before the dictator took power over Uncanny Valley… the others have no place to go beyond that accursed port city as it's all they have ever known." The deity explained, once again projecting images of events past on a wall of dark smoke. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it…I couldn't stop anything in my own realm, in my own life, so what makes you think that I can do anything about what's happening in Uncanny Valley?" I questioned, growing increasingly frustrated with the being who stood before me. "You have broken the cycle once before… and I firmly believe that you are capable of doing it again. The demon walks among the wicked once more…" Somnium cryptically explained, as he and his world began to fade away as I was transported yet again. I found myself in the subway station and decided to exit. The city had definitely been through some major changes. If you combined New York City, Las Vegas, and a very gothic rendition of Paris into one location, it would be Uncanny Valley. Abandoned vehicles were parked on the sides of the street, looking to have been partially stripped down to the sum of their parts. It was nighttime there, and the repetitive shape of the city skyline was practically impossible to ignore. It was like a pattern almost when it came to the shapes of the buildings. It reminded me so much of my home world that I shuddered involuntarily. Rats scurried to and from the multitude of storm drains and alleys, their shrill screech-like squeaking chilling me to the bone. Hesitantly, I moved further into the city. I heard the sound of someone using a can of spray paint to spray graffiti onto wall. *Despair all ye who enter* was intricately sprayed onto a nearby building. Obviously that wasn't a good sign. I was suddenly jumped by what looked to be a shadowstalker in shoddily crafted clothing. "Oi! Gimme yer wallet or I'll shank ya!" He hollered as he whipped out a shank and menacingly waved it around. Another shadowstalker ambushed the mugger. "Hey man! This one's mine! I saw her first." The other one said. The two took on a sort of combative stance while glaring at each other. "Are yous tryna pick a fight with me, mate?" The British sounding one said. "Well maybe I am!" Said the other. The two seemed preoccupied with one another and circled around each other like two dogs preparing to fight. Both of them had their shanks ready to go. I took this as an opportunity to push forward, albeit incredibly cautiously as this definitely wasn't a very friendly place. A scantily clad woman came out of an alley. "Hey, baby… you looking for a good time?" She said seductively. Boy was this awkward. "Uh… no thanks." I said, cringing. "You must prefer men…that's alright, my brother is pretty close by… if you're interested in having some fun. Gotta support the "family business" after all." She pitched once again. I was straight up disgusted by this encounter. "Sorry ma'am… but I'm not really into *that*…" I said whilst trying not to puke. "You're missing out, darling~" she said once again. I didn't even bother responding this time, I just took off in a full on sprint. Not caring where I was going, only caring about getting away from where I'd been. I was forced to a grinding halt after I slipped in a puddle of some sort. I looked down and saw a dead body that looked as if it had been mauled by a pack of dogs. More concerning was the fact that this appeared to be a very recent death. I saw several pairs of eyes looking towards me from the dark of an alleyway and heard sounds of dogs barking, growling, and howling. A bunch of scary looking dogs with glowing eyes emerged from the darkness. If I didn't know any better I'd say they were hellhounds, because they sure looked hellish. I then heard a noise which sounded like a lion's roaring followed by the sound of something massive galloping towards me. A crossbow bolt whizzed past me as the galloping grew louder. A familiar sight ran past me. It was Mylor… and someone was on his back. I thought it was Dawn at first, until I saw a familiar scar along the rider's face. It was Artemis! I then noticed that she wasn't alone. Maurice was with her, looking incredibly worried. They plowed through the horde of monstrous mutts with ease, and then Artemis leaped from Mylor's back and landed gracefully. "I don't think she was here…thank god." Artemis said to Maurice looking grateful but still concerned. "Owlet! Where are you!? Please come back!" I saw Maurice yelling off into the distance. "Who is Owlet?" I thought to myself or so I thought that I had only thought it. As it turns out I had apparently said it out loud. As now both Maurice and Artemis were staring at me as if shocked by my presence. "Rookie? Is that you?" Maurice asked. I just stood there awkwardly. "Where the hell have you been this whole time!? It's been so many years!" Artemis shouted, almost as if she were mad at me. "I… Uh… I went home." I stated awkwardly. "Well… that explanation works for now as we have much more important things to do. We have to find Owlet!" Maurice bellowed. "Who exactly is "Owlet"?" I asked. "Her actual name is Alice… and she's our daughter. We're worried sick about her!" Artemis said, briefly looking towards Maurice, before returning her gaze to me. "Wait… you two are a thing?" I asked. "Been happily married for five years…" Maurice responded, as he held Artemis, his wife's hands and gave her a loving glance. I suddenly saw a large black and white dog with a sleeping child on its back walking alongside a black and white cat. The two animals approached Artemis and Maurice then proceeded to transform. It was Felicity and Fido, manifesting an ability I didn't think they would have. "I believe this is yours." Fido said, now cradling the child in his arms. I couldn't help but notice that there was something different about one of his arms. It looked as if it had been replaced with a prosthetic one. "Thank you Fido… where did you find her this time?" Maurice asked, reaching to grab his daughter from Fido. "In the same alleyway I usually find her at. Apparently she's made a "little friend" there, and she was bringing him food or something." Fido said. "The kitty goat is always hungry… I can't just let him go without food!" Alice said, seemingly awake now. Maurice and Artemis looked at each other in confusion. "What's this "kitty goat" you speak of, my dear Owlet?" Artemis said in a very motherly voice. "Oh! I drew a picture of him while we were playing together… let me show it to you!" The child exclaimed. She shuffled around in the pockets of the dress she was wearing and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper that was definitely once a wanted poster of some sort. She uncrumpled it and revealed her drawing. It was messy but it kinda looked like how Zevril looked in the cartoons. Her parents immediately looked worried. "Maybe you could introduce one of us to your "friend"?" Maurice said, looking concerned. "Oh…I don't think he'd like that too well…" Alice then looked at me, "however, he does want to talk to your friend!" She said enthusiastically. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 05:50:36
Chapter 2: Blood and Ink"So… I guess I'm going to meet this friend of yours by myself?" I asked the child. She simply smiled and giggled. "Well of course, silly! Besides, I'm sleepy and I don't wanna fall asleep in an alleyway in this part of town! Daddy says that it's too dangerous for children to be out at night… and that something scary happens at night…" Alice said, her once bright and cheerful expression seeming to be more fearful now. I shuddered at the thought of what horrors might be lurking around in this city, especially considering the stuff I had already experienced upon my arrival. "So… I'm supposed to fend for myself in this crazy world? I already got jumped by some muggers and met with a rather *interesting* shadowstalker woman who was offering her *special services*…" I explained, not wanting to use any words that might be inappropriate to say while in the presence of an impressionable child. Maurice snorted. "You're not a rookie anymore, Sol. I've seen you push through things far more severe than a couple of shadowstalker lowlifes… I know you got what it takes to survive, soldier. But… I still wouldn't go around facing your problems head on, as that'd just be foolish. You gotta be stealthy nowadays… especially when Ozzy's got bounty hunters on the prowl." Maurice warned me, as he picked up the poster that was found by Alice. *Wanted: Dead or Alive* was printed onto it along with a picture of Maurice and Artemis. There was a bounty on my friends, it seemed and there was a high dollar reward listed on it. I finally realized why they had told me to find Alice's "friend" without them. Their lives were on the line, and they needed to make sure to keep their daughter safe while not being caught by one of the bounty hunters. However, something puzzled me, who was this "Ozzy" guy and what did he have against my friends; what gave him the power to do so in the first place? "Who's Ozzy?" I asked. Fido seemed furious at the mention of Ozzy's name. "A worthless piece of sh—" he was on the verge of cursing but was shushed by Felicity, who was trying to explain to him that he probably shouldn't be using such language in front of a child like Alice. "Ozzy is the new "overlord" of this place…We try not to think about him too often… as he is a sickening human being… if you could even call such a monster human." Felicity explained to me. "Well, we best be returning to our headquarters before someone decides to snitch on us or a bounty hunter seeks us out." Maurice explained, gesturing at me to get moving already. It felt as if I had been sent on some sort of quest that I couldn't bring myself to get out of. So, onward I went, but not before arming myself with a crowbar that was just conveniently laying on the ground before me for reasons unknown. There's nothing quite like a nighttime stroll through a city built on broken dreams. It was uncannily similar to the city I lived in back home… yet even with the criminals running about, Uncanny Valley was still somehow more peaceful than that hellish city I lived in. I made my way through all the winos and boozehounds who were passed out on the sidewalk, their drinks still in their hands despite being unconscious. A sound of something rustling through a nearby trash can suddenly caught my attention. I firmly grasped my crowbar in case whatever was rooting through the garbage was aggressive. I approached the source of the sound with caution. Much to my surprise, a small catlike creature with horns and a spade-tipped tail crawled out of the trash can. It wore what looked like a hospital gown which was stained with ink along the upper back. It was trembling and clearly afraid. "Zevril?" I said softly. The traumatized looking toon looked at me with terror in its eyes and scampered away. "Wait! It's okay! I'm not gonna hurt you!" I hollered. Unfortunately raising my voice only seemed to make Zevril even more terrified. Zevril had backed himself into a corner, as he struggled to find any way to escape. He was clawing at a fence and attempting to climb it, but his claws were not sharp by any means. I felt bad for the little guy, alone and scared in a crime ridden city, clearly in the process of trying to recover from some sort of traumatic injury. I watched as he curled up into a ball, much like a cat would, while breathing heavily, his terrified eyes seemingly welling up with inky tears. It was truly an upsetting sight to behold. I tried to approach the tiny toon in a way that wouldn't scare him any further, however I comically slipped on a banana peel and fell down. This seemed to amuse Zevril as he was no longer crying, he was now smiling and appeared to laugh silently. "Ouch…" I mumbled softly as I slowly began to upright myself. Well, at least he no longer seemed to fear me. I crouched down rather than completely standing up, so I could be eye height with the rather petite toon, who was probably just a little smaller than the average kindergarten student. "So… you must be the friend Alice told me about. Perhaps I should introduce myself." I said softly as I held out one of my hands. Zevril was hesitant at first but eventually he put his hand in mine. Rather than your classic Rubberhose gloves, he appeared to have ink-stained bandages wrapped around his hands. I very carefully shook his hand and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Sol… and you must be Zevril?" I greeted. Zevril nodded his head as if he were confirming that he was indeed who I thought he was. "So… uh… can you speak?" I asked. The toon paused for a bit, tapping one of his feet as he was deeply in thought. Finally he shrugged. "I'm guessing that's a no… but that's alright. After all, if a hyperactive kid like Alice doesn't mind, then I probably won't either." I explained cheerily. I saw Zevril's smile suddenly turn into a look of discomfort as he placed a hand on his stomach. His expression and body language seemed to indicate that he was in pain, possibly from hunger. "Are you hungry?" I asked in concern. Zevril nodded while still looking a bit uncomfortable. "Alright… I don't exactly know the layout of this city… but I'm sure we can find something that has food." I explained. Thus began the search for food. I couldn't help but notice the strange graffiti on the buildings as we continued our search for sustenance… *Do not feed it!* and *Normal food will never be enough!* were frantically spray-painted onto a wall. "Well… that's weird." I thought to myself, only for my thinking to suddenly be interrupted as I saw Zevril take off in a full on sprint, still looking immensely hungry. I ran after him and after a lot of running, I found him standing in front of an open door. The smell of meat, cheese, and other things permeated the air as I got closer. It seemed as if Zevril had found a butcher shop or deli of some sort. "I don't think that's the entrance…" I stated, looking around warily. Unfortunately this didn't stop Zevril from darting into the building. I had no choice but to run after him. I found myself in a cold, dark place and nearly screamed when I found myself face to face with a freshly butchered hog, which still had its head intact for some ungodly reason. Pig blood was smeared on my face as a result of this head-on collision. I pushed my way through the hanging carcasses of butchered meat and eventually came across Zevril again. He was next to something resembling an embalming table and I was immediately concerned. Upon closer inspection, there looked to be a human corpse, butchered like a pig, on the table! The chest cavity was open and I noticed that Zevril was in the process of eating something that appeared to have come from the corpse. It was a human heart, still covered in the blood that it had once circulated! I was on the verge of vomiting at the sight of it. So, I smacked the heart out of Zevril's hands. I didn't realize that I had slapped Zevril himself in the process of trying to get the bloody heart out of his clutches. He looked at me with teary, terrified eyes and frowned while trembling. His fear suddenly seemed to turn into anger as he darted away from me like a child might run away from a parent while throwing a tantrum. "Wait! Come back! I'm sorry I hurt you!" I pleaded while trying to run the same direction that he had gone. I suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching. Footsteps which definitely didn't sound like Zevril's. I heard heavy breathing, so I ducked into a dark corner. A heavyset man in a butcher's apron and bloodstained clothes walked down the hallway and into the kitchen area. A very nervous looking employee followed after him. "Who the hell's been messin' with my products?" I heard the man yell. "Ah geez… I dunno Mr. Glutz, uh… I mean boss!" I heard a higher pitched, very anxious sounding voice respond. "Have you ever experienced someone… stealing your lunch? Only to find it laying on the floor with a bite taken out of it!?" Glutz yelled. I peaked around the corner to see what was going on and saw the heavyset man grabbing the employee by the shirt collar and yelling at him while pointing at the partially eaten heart that I had slapped out of Zevril's hands. "But… uh boss… isn't that a h-human heart!? S-surely you don't eat human flesh!? R-right?" The employee said, looking both disgusted and horrified. I heard Glutz laughing. "Didn't you ever wonder 'bout what happened to them employees I fired?" Glutz said with a sinister grin. The employee looked horrified. "Dear God! You're a… a… a cannibal! That's horrible! You're horrible! You're no human… y-you're a monster! An irredeemable monster!" The mortified employee shrieked. Glutz laughed villainously with a slight wheeze. "What took you so long? IDIOT!" The monster of a man shouted as he reached towards two butcher knives. Glutz seemed to use the knives to sharpen each other, clinking them together while menacingly approaching the poor, terrified employee. "Easy there, boy… Don't you go soiling yourself… that'll just ruin the flavor! I ain't gonna be needin' your services 'round here anymore." Glutz said menacingly, still clinking the butcher knives together. He launched himself at the employee, at a speed much faster than I'd expected a person like him to move. It was almost inhuman. I heard the employee cry out as the cannibalistic brute lopped off one of his arms. The sight was so horribly grotesque that I could no longer hold in my screams of terror. The bloodthirsty butcher turned around, fresh blood on his face as he took a bite out of the severed arm of the unfortunate employee. "I don't much care for folks who have the audacity to interrupt me while I'm eating…" he said as he ripped another chunk of flesh from the arm he had looped off. He was staring in the direction where I was hiding. "Come on out of your hidey hole… I might just let you join me for dinner… ehehehe." Glutz said softly. "Oh hell no!" I responded. The monster of a man only laughed at my remarks. He crept closer, tearing another chunk of flesh off of the severed arm and eating it in the same way someone might eat a turkey leg at a renaissance festival. I began to run off as fast as I could possibly run. I could hear Glutz laughing in the distance. "Well ain't that a real treat! I love myself a good chase… makes the following feast all the more satisfying!" He exclaimed. I ran into a meat locker and knocked down several of the hanging carcasses in a panic. The carcass of a large, butchered cow caught my eye as it was a disgusting but also very convenient thing that I could use as a hiding spot. "I'm not going to enjoy hiding in this… but I don't want to be cannibalized either." I whispered to myself as I begrudgingly crawled into the carcass. The light of the meat locker was dim, but I could make out a few shapes on the walls that looked to be posters of some sort. I figured that they were just posters that labeled parts of cows and pigs or perhaps signs with butchering rules and guidelines on them, but something on the wall did not match what I was expecting to see, so I went out of hiding to take a closer look. I saw what appeared to be a thing that looked like a propaganda poster, so I decided to take closer look. A sketch of a man standing on top of what looked to be the Wicker Demon's body was on it, with the caption "All hail Ozzy Valefar, the hero who slew the demonic tyrant" on it. There were some more propaganda posters of this Ozzy Valefar guy. Posters that said things such as "Trust in Ozzy" and "Ozzy knows best" were scattered among butcher charts. "This piece of shit has taken credit for what I did all those years ago!" I yelled angrily as I tore a poster labeling Ozzy as the one who slew the Wicker Demon from the wall and crumpled it up. I threw the crumpled poster… only to hear the sound of it hitting something… or someone. Glutz was standing right in the door way, brandishing his duo knives and grinning in a most sadistic way. "Found you…" he said as he stood in a stance indicating that he was about to attack. I tore a leg off of a nearby cow carcass with my crowbar, attempting to arm my self further. Glutz simply began to laugh at me. "A cow's leg!? You must be joking!" He sneered as he ran towards me. I had dropped my crowbar in a panic and was left with the leg as my one way of defending myself as I couldn't very well get to the crowbar before Glutz got to me. I attempted to use the leg as a mace of some sort, but got an utterly disgusting surprise when it collided with Glutz. The meat was rotten and a bunch of dead and some live maggots fell out of it like some sort of cursed shower. I screamed in horror and disgust at the horde of maggots. I might've even thrown up in my mouth a little. Of course Glutz seemed to not give a damn about the maggots and simply stepped on the squishy larvae that wriggled around, seemingly enjoying doing so. "Well, at least it was only for the customers rather than me." He chuffed. This guy was a psychopath. Not only did he practice cannibalism but he also knowingly sold rotten meat at full price to his customers. He was truly nefarious, a human without humanity. "Now… which cut of you am I hungry for right now." He muttered as he held a knife to my throat. He gazed over me as if sizing me up. "Ah! I know! How about an arm and a leg?" He said in the creepiest way imaginable. Right as he was about to butcher me… the lights went out. "What the…" Glutz said, sounding confused. He then yelled angrily. "How the hell am I supposed to prepare my meal when I can't see an inch in front of my nose because of this damn power outage?!" He screamed with rage. While he was distracted I immediately went to hide. Something in my gut told me that this was no ordinary power outage and that something was amiss. I heard the sound of hooves against the floor along with claws followed by a bone chilling growl that almost sounded like it was trying to say something. "Hrrr…hrng-hungry…" it growled. An overwhelming sense of dread overcame me and I crawled further into the darkness of the meat locker, in the opposite direction of where the sound had come from. "*Nope… just nope.*" I thought to myself as I crept further into the darkness. "What the hell are you!?" I heard Glutz scream, sounding annoyed rather than afraid. The growling started up again. "Hrr…hrngry…HUNGRY!" The creature vocalized. "Wait wait wait! What are you doing!? Hey! Let go of me you filthy animal!" Glutz hollered. I closed my eyes and covered my ears as I huddled down, trying to make myself look too small for the creature to see. My heart was pounding and I was hyperventilating, feeling more afraid than I ever was before. "*It can't be… it's impossible… the Wicker Demon is gone… I saw it first hand. How could it just reappear like this!? Oh god what if it tries to attack Zevril!? The little guy is defenseless… he must be somewhere terrified!*" I anxiously thought to myself. Suddenly, the heaviness of the environment seemed to dissipate, and I managed to muster the courage to open my eyes and uncover my ears. The power was on once more so I finally decided to stand up again and survey my surroundings. There was no sign of what seemed to be the Wicker Demon and there wasn't a sign of Glutz anywhere either. That was until I looked down at the place where Glutz once was. All that remained of the monstrous man was a blood soaked apron, scraps of clothing, broken knives, and scattered bits of gore lying in a pool of fresh blood. All of the carnage indicated that the Wicker Demon had indeed returned, and was hungrier than ever before. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 05:56:26
Chapter 3: Flora's SecretOn shaky legs I made my way out of the butcher shop. Every little sound startled me, from the sound of those fluorescent lights to the creaking of wooden floorboards. I was concerned about Zevril, as a defenseless, clearly injured creature like him was an easy target for a massive predator like the Wicker Demon. I could only hope that its most recent meal had satiated its monstrous appetite before it could get to Zevril. I continued making my way through the building to find a possible exit. I had made it to the shop part and saw that it had been torn all to hell and back, and several products were missing. I saw that the display window had been shattered into pieces and parts of the floor looked a bit singed. As much as this abomination known as the Wicker Demon seems to eat, you wouldn't expect it to look as emaciated as it did. I exited the building and it was now sunset; I had gone to that place midday and the sun was now setting. I had apparently been trapped in that god forsaken butcher shop for hours. I heard a noise that I believed to be Zevril digging in the trash again as it sounded too small to come from something like the Wicker Demon. I approached the direction that the sound seemed to be coming from, expecting to find Zevril, only to scream as I saw a vaguely canine shape moving around in the darkness after it had knocked over a trash can. I had apparently startled this *thing* as it suddenly stopped what it was doing and turned to look at me. The creature resembled a white borzoi dog, but something was VERY off about it. Four pitch black eyes stared back at me, rather than two. It had six legs rather than four. A row of spikes jutted out of its back and two long fangs poked out of its mouth, like the fangs of a sabertooth cat. "Oh, hi there!" the creature said without warning. Freaked out by this, I took off in a sprint. It didn't look like a toon by any means so why the hell did it have the ability to speak? "Wait! Why are you running!? Should I be running as well!?" The creature called out. I responded by continuing to scream in fear. "I'll take that scream as a yes!" It responded as it began to run directly towards me. I was in a state of panic. It's movement was so awkward that I was shocked that it hadn't ended up falling on its face. I suddenly heard another voice ring out; this time it belonged to a woman. "Kurjak, what exactly are you doing?" She asked. The creature slid to a grinding halt and stopped in front of the woman. "Well, Flora, I saw her screaming and running so I figured that I should start running as well!" Kurjak responded. Flora facepalmed and sighed. "Kurjak, she was probably running from you… and the fact that you spoke to her probably shocked her, as dogs generally don't talk nor do they have the extra features that you do." Flora tried to explain to Kurjak gently. "Ooh, that makes sense… I think." Kurjak replied. Flora then turned to look at me. "Sorry about that… Kurjak is a bit of special case. He can be a bit overwhelming with his friendliness and greetings. He doesn't quite understand that some people might find him a bit… unsettling to look at." Flora replied, briefly glancing back at Kurjak who was sitting on the ground, panting with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. He suddenly began to scratch himself with one of his many legs. Despite his peculiarities, Kurjak kind of acted like a normal dog apparently. "You seem worried, and I know that this worry isn't caused by Kurjak. I hope you don't mind me asking this, but what's wrong?" Flora asked me, the sunset colored spirit flower vines which were wrapped around her body glowing warmly. While it was obvious that she was a shadowstalker of some sort, she seemed to still have some humanity to her, and she seemed familiar for whatever reason, even though I had only just met her. "You look rough…is that your own blood that is all over your rather ragged looking clothes or is it someone else's?" Flora asked, giving me a good once over while looking immensely concerned. I saw my reflection on a nearby abandoned car and was unnerved by it. Apparently the Wicker Demon was an immensely messy eater as there was a good deal of fresh blood splattered onto me, even though I lacked any visible injuries. There was also some ick from the rotting carcass I had attempted to use as a hiding spot all over me. "The blood definitely isn't mine… and neither is this gross goop that I have all over me." I said as I flicked a fat, writhing maggot off of my shoulder in disgust. Kurjak walked over and began to sniff me, like a normal dog typically would. "Why do you smell like rotting beef?" The curious canine questioned. I was hesitant to speak for a moment. "I may or may not have hid in a rotting cow carcass while being chased by a cannibalistic butcher in the backrooms of a butcher shop." I explained while sweating nervously. Flora seemed concerned. "He didn't follow you, did he?" She asked, the glow from her eyes and flowers dimming slightly as if she were going into stealth mode. I had a flashback to the Wicker Demon's attack. "I hope not… not that he actually could do anything after being consumed…" I said apprehensively. Flora looked me in the eyes. "What do you mean by "consumed"!?" She replied concernedly. "Well… I mean he was quite literally consumed. The Wicker Demon ripped him to shreds and devoured his corpse. I'm just glad that it wasn't hungry for dessert… or maybe it just didn't want to make any effort to find me." I explained to Flora. Flora appeared to be greatly unnerved by my explanation. "You are a special case… most people don't survive those attacks, believe me I know from experience… anyway, you can't very well go anywhere looking like that." Flora said to me, making sure to point out how tattered my clothes were. "Oh, don't worry about it, I know of a nearby galleria mall…it's of course defunct, but it still has an abundance of clothes there, it's also near a really nice restaurant… although I might be a bit biased when it comes to the restaurant." Flora assured me. It was nighttime now, meaning the city was at its most dangerous. "Are you sure we should be outside at this hour?" I asked Flora as we walked along. Glowing eyes in the darkness of alleyways seemed to carefully watch our every move. "Trust me, as horrible as you smell, I don't think anyone in their sense of smell intact would want to approach!" Kurjak chimed in as if he were trying to reassure me in his own special way. It seemed that he was correct about that, as the owners of the glowing eyes didn't seem to be interested in anything other than just watching us as we continued to walk. Finally, we came to a stop and found ourselves outside the defunct mall, which looked like something that would have been around in the 1970s. "Weird… it looks as if the padlock has already been removed and the chain looks as if it's been broken with great force. Not a typical thing for Shadowstalkers to do as we generally pick locks, and even with our enhanced strength we still can't break a chain of this density. We should tread carefully." Flora explained as she cautiously opened the door and entered. The place was dim, and there were partially dismembered mannequins covered in cobwebs and dust scattered around the lobby. There was also evidence of rodent activity and even birds which I could see the silhouettes of as they flew by. An old fountain lie dormant, it's basin still filled with water. Oddly enough, a rubber duck was floating in the fountain, as if it had only recently been left there. "I found some clothing that you could try on." Flora called out to me. "Well, shouldn't I at least freshen up a bit first?" I called out as a response. "Probably… but just wash yourself with your clothes on, kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Just use the fountain to clean up." Flora responded, as the fountain suddenly started to flow again. It was creepy, but convenient. I begrudgingly stepped into the fountain, the cold water chilling me to the bone. I tried to fully submerge myself to make sure that every last ounce of filth was gone from my attire and body. I emerged from the fountain, cold and sopping wet but clean. Of course my clothes were ruined now, obviously, so I actually needed some new clothes. I walked to where Flora was waiting, holding a black dress which was somehow my exact size. "How'd you know?" I asked. Flora simply smiled and said "I didn't actually, this just happened to be the only thing that was in pristine condition along with the very few other articles of clothing which I found." This was probably just a strange coincidence, or at least I hope it was. Flora showed me all of her findings, all of which were the perfect fit for me, although some were a bit loose or baggy. "I'd advise wearing this dress as that restaurant I told you about earlier might have a bit of a dress code." Flora explained. So, I headed to a changing room and put on the dress. It was a bit long, but it still fit. I usually didn't like to wear dresses, but I was fine with this one for some reason. When I exited the changing room, I noticed that Kurjak was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly I saw the terrified canid come running towards Flora while carrying on. "There's something in the toy store!" Kurjak screamed. I suddenly saw Flora pull out a familiar looking dagger from a tactical looking garter which she had on one of her thighs. It had the initials of Mike Law and Dusk Light carved into its handle. I had a flashback to the first time I found myself in Uncanny Valley. I remembered that Dusk had used that exact knife to cut open the belly of the Wicker Demon to temporarily distract it from the other survivors and I. I remembered how she had lost her life as a result. Her sacrifice is what allowed us to break the cycle and defeat the demon. It allowed us to dethrone Winslow as well. It was then that I realized the truth. Flora was merely a pseudonym for her, as she was actually Dusk… alive once more! "I recognize that knife…I know who you really are!" I exclaimed with excitement. Dusk… well Flora, looked at me and sighed. "It seems you've discovered my secret. However, the Dusk you knew is dead. She died sacrificing herself for her friends and family. I'm merely what remains of her. It's a confusing existence… to have died only to return as some half-human freak. Just another ink monster doomed to roam the tattered remnants of the world it once thrived in." Dusk lamented as she continued to move toward the direction of the toy store, brandishing her dagger. "But what about Dawn? She would probably be overjoyed with your return, Dusk!" I tried to explain. However, Dusk didn't seem to be in the mood to listen. "My name is no longer Dusk… to go by that name after what I have become would be a disgrace to her memory. I am Flora… and that's all I'll ever be from here on." Flora replied. I was taken aback by this response. I also couldn't help but wonder where Dawn was… or where Damien was. Come to think of it, none of my old friends seemed to talk about them. I would've asked Flora about them, but she was obviously preoccupied. We had managed to reach the old mall's toy store at this point and warily headed inside. Though old and worn out, I couldn't help but feel a bit of nostalgia coming on when I saw one of the toys in this desolate store. It was a clearly handmade wooden model of a 1920s Rolls-Royce car. I picked up the toy car and remembered something. Something from my past that I had once forgotten about. Memories of my childhood… a childhood that ended too soon. I remembered a man, presumably my father, doing woodcarving in an old shed that he had converted into a sort of workshop in the backyard of a house that looked to be in the middle of nowhere. A woman was in the garden, she must've been my mother. In a garage was an old, worn out looking Rolls-Royce with dull, chipped yellow paint. It was on cinder blocks and various tools were scattered around it. This place was much different than the city I once worked in, it looked to be in a rather rural area. I saw my father smiling at me as I played in the yard. The vision faded into another, where my father gave me a little wooden car which he had carved himself. The antique Rolls-Royce which had once lie dormant in the old garage looked to have been refurbished now. In these visions of the past, my father wore a mechanic's jumpsuit. So, I figured he must have been a mechanic who did art in his spare time. Memories flashed through my mind like a silent film. However… not all of them were happy. In one of these memories I saw my father kiss my mother and hug me as he exited the house and got into his restored Rolls-Royce to drive to his job. Only this time… I never saw him again. I remembered there being missing person signs with his face and name on them. His name was Jack Henry. I remembered a stormy night where cops showed up on my doorstep and told my mother that they had found his car in a ditch, but not him. "They never found his body…it's like he simply vanished off the face of the Earth." I said to myself as a lone tear dripped down my cheek as I set down the toy car. Flora looked at me in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked. "My father…he just disappeared one day and they never found his body." I explained, more tears flowing from my eyes. Flora looked at me, not out of annoyance but out of worry. She reminded me of a worried mother. "I'm sorry for your loss…" she said softly. "Oh… it's fine… it happened when I was just 7 years old… which was around 15 years ago. It's in the past… I have just accepted that I'll never see my father again. As for my mother, she died when I was 17 years old… it was cancer that took her from me… and I was left orphaned; none of my still living relatives wanted me." I explained. "Why didn't they want you?" Flora asked, her knife lowered now. "They were… very religious. I was conceived of before my parents ever said their vows, which made me illegitimate in their eyes. Truthfully, my parents were the only people who loved me… the only ones who showed me genuine kindness back home." I responded. Suddenly, we heard some commotion and watched as a shelf covered in plush toys suddenly fell down in the store. The three of us, Flora, Kurjak, and I, immediately stood to attention, ready to either flee or fight. Flora once again brandished her dagger as she slowly crept towards the fallen shelf. Something crawled out from beneath the shelf, and Flora rushed to attack it. A small figure was scrambling, trying to get away from her. It ducked and dived wherever it could, panicking and knocking several bits of merchandise all over the floor as it attempted to clamber up the few still standing shelves. It dashed towards me and I suddenly felt something wrapping its limbs around one of my legs like a terrified child. I saw a familiar set of terrified eyes staring up at me. It was Zevril… but he looked a little more roughed up now than he previously was when I first encountered him. "Sol… it's on your leg… what the hell is that thing!?" Flora questioned as if she was immensely concerned. I sighed as I bent down to pick Zevril up, the little guy probably only weighed just as much as a typical cat might. "This is Zevril… really living up to that whole "cowardly gargoyle" title, it seems." I explained to Flora. Flora stared at the tiny toon and I in silence for a while, looking extremely confused. "You sure that's Zevril? Where are his iconic feathered-scaly combo wings?" Flora questioned as if she were performing some sort of interrogation. It was then that I noticed that Zevril's wings were indeed missing… in fact they were missing when I first met him, but I had apparently not noticed that. Instead of small wings there were stubs, on Zevril's back. I touched them and Zevril winced and flinched as if in pain. I thought for a bit and then came to a realization, those stubs were wings at one point, but it looked as if they'd been partially amputated and the old incisions had been crudely stitched shut, leaving some rather rough looking scarring after it had finally healed. Flora had apparently noticed this as she seemed to stop showing aggression towards Zevril. "We need to get him out of here… before the next patrol comes through. Luckily, I know a place we can take him." Flora explained. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 06:00:26 (edited)
Chapter 4: Fall of a Brazen Angel Upon exiting the mall, I saw an object that definitely wasn't there when we first entered. A creepy looking bronze statue of what looked to be an angel with its head bowed and hands held in prayer. I was about to approach it to get a closer look when Flora suddenly grabbed my shoulder firmly. I looked over my shoulder at her in confusion. "Don't get near that thing…" she warned me. I looked back at the statue and saw that its position had changed slightly. I audibly gasped. "What is that thing!?" I squealed in terror. "That's one of Ozzy's murderous mechanical monsters… he calls them "Bronze Angels" but I call them man made horrors. These abominations are sent out on patrols whenever there are reports of suspicious activity." Flora explained. Our conversation was interrupted by a mechanical whirring sound followed by heavy footsteps. The bronze angel was now fully activated and menacingly approaching us. Its wings had blades rather than feathers and its hands had a claw at the end of each finger, rather than normal finger nails. It's once neutral, peaceful looking expression was now aggressive and a fiery glow came from its eyes. I noticed that it's face wasn't one piece, but was instead made up of multiple supposedly movable plates. It also had a terrifying smile. The angel was mostly clockwork and apparently steam powered judging by the visible gears and valves which emitted excess steam, but even then there was something about it that wasn't quite right. It's movement didn't seem as robotic as it should be. It's movement almost had a slight limp to it. "SURRENDER NOW… RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!" It screeched in a robotic manner. The halo on its head burned as brightly as its eyes. Flora and I began throwing things at this being but nothing seemed to stop it. We could only run, as while unstoppable, the bronze angel wasn't very swift on foot. Unfortunately… we hadn't taken into account that those bladed wings might not only be for show. The angel took flight, propelled by an assortment of steam-powered jets which were part of the bladed wings themselves. Although, the flight did seem more like a glide, and it appeared that the bronze angel was gradually losing altitude it strategically dive bombed at us like a bird of prey. One of its claws sliced the back of my dress, barely missing the back of my neck. I could already feel the blood flowing from this scratch as the angel continued its onslaught. It seemed to gradually slow down as with every swipe it's accuracy became more depleted. Out of nowhere, I seemingly tripped over my own feet. Flora was about to help me up, when we suddenly heard a horn as a van came speeding toward us. The Bronze Angel froze up like a deer in headlights, allowing Flora to pull me to safety. We watched as the van, which had been modified fury road style plowed into the bronze angel and sent it flying as a result of the impact. The van came to a halt soon after. Bits of brazen metal debris littered the road, now some distance from the mangled wreckage of the bronze angel which they had came from. It lie broken in the middle of the road, occasionally twitching but never moving, it could not upright itself or anything. Obviously, I wanted to take a closer look at the remains as this mechanical being was most fascinating to me. As I got closer, I noticed a substance pooling underneath the bronze angel's body… and it wasn't oil nor was it water. It was blood! I moved even closer to it, just to make sure that what I was seeing was real. I was mortified when I saw what lie beneath that bronze shell of this fallen angel. A sickly old man, with an exposed brain which had small metal rods which resembled the antenna of an RC toy driven into it. His eyes were sightless, and assorted surgical scars covered most of his almost corpse-like face. "Please… kill me…" he said weakly. Blood continued flowing from the poor soul's body. He had clearly been made into a sort of steampunk cyborg against his will. "Please… let me die." He said, sputtering blood. I was in shock, unable to do anything as I stared down at the man. I heard the door of the van open, followed by the sound of work-boot-clad footsteps. They came to a stop and someone now stood behind me. "Step aside, kiddo, you are in no condition to put this poor fellow out of his misery. Much too psychologically taxing for someone who clearly hasn't witnessed the fall of a brazen angel before." I heard a man say in a gentle, fatherly voice. I was shocked when I turned to look at the man behind me. I had to rub my eyes just to make sure I wasn't going insane when I saw his face. He was wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit with a nameplate on it: Jack Henry. There was no way this could have been a coincidence… the man who stood before me was none other than my beloved father, who had gone missing all those years ago. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 06:05:03 (edited)
Chapter 5: Two Worlds, One Family I watched as my father removed the halo and nodules from the brain of the fallen Bronze Angel, with its dying breath I heard it say "Thank…you…" to the man who had just ended its miserable existence. It was a grim sight, but the soul who had been trapped in a twisted metal shell seemed to finally be at peace in the end. I watched as the corpse suddenly seemed to liquify and turn into an ink-like substance which flowed down into a nearby storm drain, leaving nothing but an empty robotic shell behind in the streets. I then returned my eyes to my father, only to suddenly wince in pain as I once again remembered that I had deep cuts on my back from being struck by the angel's metal talons. "He got you good with those claws didn't he… say, something seems familiar about you, but I can't quite put a finger on it." I heard my father say. My heart sank, it had been many years since we had last seen each other, of course he wouldn't have recognized me… why would he? He had already been through the cycle god knows how many times, and the fight for survival can lead to many things being overshadowed. Not to mention the fact that I had dyed my hair black, meaning it was much different from the hair color I had growing up. "Well, I think I might know a place with some stuff to patch up those gauges on your back… or at least decrease the chances of your wounds getting infected. Say, you are at least 21 years old, right?" He rambled on. Judging by the fact that he asked me if I was at least 21 years of age, he planned to carry Flora and I to a bar. "Well, yes." I replied. He opened the door of his post apocalyptic looking van and we went inside. He had saved our lives after all. I noticed he had locket wrapped around one of his hands. I remembered this locket as it was the locket my mom had given him as a gift at one point, a locket which I remembered contained a small family photo within it. "So, do you have a family or anything?" I asked, hoping I could reawaken some sort of memory within my father's mind. He sighed, and seemed a bit melancholy. "I did at one point… but, that's in the past." He replied. I pondered this response for an absurdly long time. "What happened to your family; why aren't you with them?" I asked again. At this point we had come to a stop in a parking lot outside of a large, intricately designed building overlooking what looked to be a bay. The sun was slowly rising, lighting up the world. "How about I tell you my story once we're inside of the place? That way we can talk over a nice meal." My father requested. I saw Zevril's eyes light up at the mention of a nice meal. "Sheesh, is food all you think about nowadays?" I teased Zevril in a friendly manner. I am not sure if he understood that I was only joking at first, as he looked a little upset for a bit, but then made a quick recovery. Kurjak pawed at me obviously wanting to ask me something. "What is it?" I responded. "Well… umm… this place looks fancy, like, it looks REALLY fancy. Are you sure they'll let me in? I mean, I am technically a dog, and restaurants might not approve of my presence." The confused looking canid explained. I heard Flora chuckling at this explanation. "Of course they won't kick you out… as you are obviously not a normal dog. They might think that your a deformed toon or something considering you have four eyes, six legs, and the ability to speak perfectly!" Flora responded. I watched Kurjak do the canine equivalent of a facepalm. "I don't know how I keep forgetting that…wait, what do you mean "deformed"!?" he replied as he exited the vehicle. I noticed Zevril was a bit hesitant about exiting the van. "Come on, little guy, you can't just hide in there forever, besides, I know that you're probably hungry judging by that look you're giving me." I told the tiny gargoyle. He seemed to sigh silently before finally making his way out of the van. We entered the building, only receiving a few weird looks from the high class, fancy-looking customers who were dining. We were suddenly stopped by a waiter who had the same stuck up look that most of the clients had. "Pardon me, sir, but do you have a reservation for Gardens of Heaven?" He asked my father in a voice that sounded like he was trying his damnedest to sound like a cliché fancy waiter, with a very obviously fake French accent. My father laughed. "We're not here for fancy overpriced and undersized portions, we're here for the playground." My father replied with a grin and a wink. The waiter's demeanor changed, along with the clearly forced accent he put on. "Ayy, a man of culture I see, right this way, pal." the waiter responded as he led us to a bookshelf. He pulled out a book and opened it, however rather than words there was a number pad. He pinned a code in and the bookshelf opened into a rather dingy looking stair case with brash red carpeting on every step. Flora and I exchanged glances before going inside. My father very calmly walked down the stairs before we did. The bookcase slammed shut behind us, and startled both Zevril and Kurjak immensely. Kurjak seemed to recover from the scare a little more quickly than Zevril, who had leaped into my arms in fright. "You really live up to your cartoon's name…" I said softly. Kurjak almost looked jealous. "Hey, how come you never let me leap into your arms when I get scared anymore, Flora?" Kurjak asked. Flora simply facepalmed. "Because you're, like, 88 pounds now and I'm obviously not a bodybuilder. Long story short, you're not the size of a young puppy anymore." Flora replied. We continued our way down the staircase, and the sound of jazz music and drunken revelry gradually began to fill the air. Upon entering the place, a mural with the words "The Devil's Playground" on it came into view. I realized that this was a speakeasy of some sort. My father was perched on a stool at the end of the bar, he hadn't ordered anything yet by the looks of it and he gestured for me to come over. As I moved forward, I heard a familiar voice and saw another familiar face. It was Burlesque showing off his ability to precariously balance platters of drinks on his horns and tail while a bunch of drunken customers applauded. "Drinks are on me, fellas… literally!" He said with a devilish grin. He was still as cartoony as ever, no visible signs of that more horrifyingly demonic alter ego of his were there at the time. Everyone was laughing, music was blaring… and then I came into view. Everyone went silent and Burlesque's jaw dropped, causing him to lose balance. The platters and drinking glasses fell to the floor with a clatter followed by the sound of glass shattering. "Well butter my backside and call me a biscuit! Looks like someone finally decided to come back… after abandoning all of her friends just to go back to that hellhole of a world she came from!" Burlesque said, his form shifting into his more demonic alter ego as he began to stomp towards me. I was terrified as he seemed really mad. I was trembling, either due to blood loss or the fact that I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about leaving my friends behind. I watched as Burlesque looked as if he were about to rip me to shreds. I closed my eyes, bracing for impact… but an impact never came. Instead, I felt myself get lifted up in a bear hug by the very thing I thought was going to kill me. "We're so glad you're back!" Burlesque joyfully said. He then set me down, although I was still in a state of panic and confusion. My father gave Burlesque and I a strange look then just shrugged. "So, what brings you to this bar? I didn't think that you were much of a drinker, Sol." Burlesque asked, seeming to revert back to his toon form with his own willpower. "Well, he brought me here." I replied whilst pointing towards my father. Burlesque looked at my father and then back at me. "Is that your dad? Because you guys practically have the same eyes!" The imp exclaimed. I suddenly saw a look of sudden realization come across my father's face. "Solstice? Is that you?" He asked. An old memory resurfaced in my mind, the memory of my old name. Before I changed it to Sol, after I had lost my family, I was Solstice. "Yes, father, it's me! I am Solstice… although I go by another name now… I call myself Sol." I replied as I rushed towards my father. He smiled warmly. "My little girl… all grown up… tell me, how is your mother?" He asked, a hopeful look in his eyes. I looked down sorrowfully. "She died… never remarried, she always hoped that you would return one day… even as the disease slowly consumed her. Have you been here this whole time?" I responded, an anger slowly taking hold of my mind. I was mad at him, mad that he had never returned to his family. Mad that I watched as my mother withered away, so stuck on him that she forgot about herself. "Why didn't you return to us!?" I suddenly cried out at him. He looked at me in shock. "I never returned because I didn't know how to… I don't even know how I got here to begin with… however I do remember something. The night I left, an accident occurred. I saw a burning light and heard an explosion. There was a truck… for some place called Dreamcorp, and it had wrecked after being swiped by something. There was a crater, like one from a meteorite crashing into the earth, and the driver had been flung into that crater during the wreck. I only wanted to help. Then I saw it… a strange, unearthly object." My father began explaining. "I've seen meteors in museums, and in the news. But this was unlike anything I had ever seen. It wasn't rugged looking at all, it looked shiny and polished almost, and there was a symbol on it, resembling a dream catcher or something. I looked at it, and suddenly a black substance started to ooze from it. The substance almost looked alive… it suddenly took the form of a massive clawed hand and latched onto me. Then everything went black, then I suddenly found myself at the outskirts of a small city… much smaller than the city we're in the outskirts of right now." My father told me. What I visualized in my head looked like something out of a science fiction or horror movie… or maybe a mixture of both. "I think I actually have a Polaroid photo of this object somewhere…" my father said as he shuffled around in one of his pockets before pulling out a small photo. He showed it to me, and the object reminded me of something. I remembered the machine… the one that took my job. It had been provided by Dreamcorp, and the emblem on it looked exactly like the object in the photo. The machine was not a simple computer nor was it a fotoplayer… it was a key between worlds. My thought process was interrupted by a bunch of screams and a familiar, horrifying roar. My father quickly grabbed my hand and said that we needed to run. Lights were flickering and a familiar shape loomed only a short distance away from us. Somehow, the Wicker Demon had gotten into the speakeasy, destroying everything and everyone in its path. I witnessed my friends, Flora, Kurjak, and even Burlesque take off running. Hiding from the Wicker Demon. But it didn't seem focused on them, it seemed focused on me. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 06:10:36
Chapter 6: The Runaway Bride I saw the demon skulking its way towards me, however, it moved very awkwardly. Every now and then it stumbled and occasionally fell down then struggled to get up. I couldn't help but think about the fact that this thing was a man-eating beast in a bar full of people at various levels of drunkenness. Judging by its freshly bloodstained jaws, it might have recently partook in a meal… consisting of those who were too drunk to save themselves from that monstrosity's insatiable appetite. I put two and two together and it suddenly made sense. The Wicker Demon was a bit on the inebriated side; it was drunk. Its altered state led it to be a bit clumsy and it was causing a lot of damage to the speakeasy as a result. Somehow it still managed to get pretty darn close to me. It was so close I that I probably could have touched it, not that I wanted to do that as chances are that I'd probably pull back a bloody stub where my hand would have been. I could hear a low rumbling sound coming from the demon's throat, which was definitely a growl. It was glaring at me as if it were sizing me up, it's hot breath feeling as if it were scorching my flesh. I watched in horror as it prepared to swipe me with its massive claws… but its accuracy was greatly reduced by the fact that it was not exactly sober. Just like that, it suddenly passed out. I barely managed to get out of its way as it fell like a tree that had been uprooted by a storm. As the Wicker Demon was right in front of me, I couldn't help but notice that it had lost its wings, much like Zevril. A familiar looking scarring pattern was visible on its body. As I ran my hand across the unconscious creature's scars, I had gotten startled when it appeared to twitch slightly. Quickly, I backed off, fearing that the thing was about to wake up and probably attack me. However, something else happened instead; it's form shifted and shrank to a much smaller size. To my horror, the figure which laid in place of the Wicker Demon was the very creature which I had once thought I needed to protect. It was Zevril. I clenched my fists in rage. I felt like I had been used. Zevril ran towards me, looking confused and afraid, but a part of me felt as if it was simply the Wicker Demon's way of tricking me. "You're nothing but a parasite… you used me! You played me like a damn fiddle… I won't take this deceit anymore!" I said to Zevril in anger. The toon backed up slightly, his cat-like ears drooping. He looked up at me with big sad eyes. "Don't even try to manipulate me anymore! I'm done… now get out of my sight, you foul demon!" I screamed with a fiery rage. Zevril looked down sadly as he began to slowly walk away. "Well that was a bit harsh… don't you think?" I heard Kurjak say to me in disbelief. I looked at him, my eyes still looking furious. "You have no clue what I've been through… when I first arrived here… a long time ago, that thing put me through hell… I saw what it was truly capable of… it tried to kill me more times than I care to discuss. It deceived me, lied to me, and it nearly got me killed upon my return!" I exclaimed, still enraged by the demon's deception. Kurjak whimpered and returned to Flora. My father stared at me in shock. "Solstice! What happened to you? You used to never be like this!" He exclaimed. I stared at him in disbelief. Had he even listened to my side of story? "What happened to me? Well… EVERYTHING!" I screamed as I started to run upstairs towards the exit of the speakeasy, still fuming. Once I got there, I angrily pushed in the PIN number into the coded locking mechanism beside the door. It was rather simple to put it in as there was a sticky note with the code written on it not too far away. I was so blinded by rage that I didn't notice the battered woman standing in the way of my path to the exit of Gardens of Heaven. We ended up colliding, and she fell. This suddenly made me come to my senses, which had clearly been eclipsed by the rage I felt inside. "Sol? Is that you?" the woman said as she slowly came to her feet. I recognized her once the clouds of rage had dissipated. "Dawn?" I replied, probably seeming a bit confused. I looked at one of Dawn's hands and saw what looked to be a rather fancy looking engagement ring. "So, did you and Damien get engaged?" I asked. Dawn sighed and a distraught look appeared on her face. "I wish that were the case… as at least Damien actually loved me. This ring is not a symbol of love… it is a symbol of enslavement, courtesy of Ozzy… and every time I attempt to remove it, it will cause injury to my finger and make it bleed." Dawn explained, while looking around the room as if looking for someone. "That's horrible! Why can't you escape from this situation?" I asked. Dawn looked at me and sighed. "I'm trying to… but I can't… Ozzy has eyes everywhere, he always manages to find me some how, no matter how many times I run away… he wishes to have me as his bride. However, it is not out of love… but out of lust and a hunger for power. He wants me to be the mother of his children, to be immortalized through a heir. Worse yet he is keeping my beloved Damien imprisoned in a hellish prison. If I dare to defy him… he threatens to kill Damien and force me to watch." Dawn explained, tears starting to well up in her eyes as her voice began to quake. Just then, a man in an almost pimp-like outfit appeared and Dawn suddenly went quiet and put on an obviously fake smile. "Ah, there you are…my dear Dawn. You weren't tryna be a runaway bride were you? You know that your man, me obviously, doesn't like that. Besides… I've already set up a date for our wedding, even got some catering for it…you ain't going nowhere, doll face. Gotta give the folks what they want after all… what is a king without a queen to produce his heir?" The oddly dressed man said sadistically with a sinister grin. "Of… of course not, Ozzy… w-why would I run away from someone as "wonderful" as you?" Dawn said, obviously panicking while attempting to hide away the fact that she was lying. Ozzy suddenly slapped Dawn across the face, looking furious. "Don't you dare call me Ozzy, woman! I expect to be respected. You best be calling me "sir" like the good little wifey you're supposed to be!" Ozzy raged. Dawn was on the verge of tears at this point. "Y-yes sir! I'm sorry sir! I-it won't happen again." Dawn stammered in terror. "That's more like it, woman. Always remember that you belong to me…I own you. You are not my equal, you are my wife." Ozzy said sinisterly as he grabbed Dawn's arm aggressively. I was about ready to tear this bastard a new one, but Dawn looked at me and whispered to me as that horrible man drug her away. "Don't try it… try it and you'll end up dead… or worse." She whispered to me. Luckily Ozzy didn't appear to hear her. "Alright, woman, you best not try sneaking away again…you will be mine, whether you like it or not. I expect you to keep your pretty little mouth shut about my experiments and future plans as well." I heard Ozzy say quietly to Dawn. I suddenly saw a piece of paper in my hand. It almost looked like an invitation of some sort. It must've been given to me by Dawn… as it had the date and location of the wedding on it. "Well… looks like we've got a wedding to crash. Provided that I am forgiven for that outburst of mine." I said to myself as I began to search for my allies and pray for their forgiveness. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-04-23 06:23:04
Chapter 7: Of Hellfire and Brimstone As I went back to the speakeasy, where I figured my friends and father would still be, I was unaware of a strange man who had just entered the building with a gun of some sort. I then heard a waiter start shouting. "Sir! You cannot bring firearms on the premises!" The waiter shrieked. I then heard a raspy laugh. "Don't worry about it, mate… Ozzy sent me." A raspy male voice said. I whipped around and caught a glance of Ozzy who was now outside the building. He was laughing and looking right at me as I saw him violently shove Dawn into his vehicle. Ozzy then had a more serious look on his face as he suddenly nodded to the gun wielding stranger who had just entered the establishment. The stranger nodded back. I felt the sudden urge to run as fast as I could. Suddenly, the stranger tore off the black cloak he was wearing, revealing a cliche gunslinger looking outfit and cowboy boots made out of what looked to be rattlesnake skin. In fact a rattlesnake motif seemed to be throughout this guy's entire get up. "Oh, I just love it when I have a moving target! Keep running and I just might deliberately miss a few shots… adds to the thrill of the hunt." He cackled as he aimed his weapon towards me. He was a man of his word, deliberately missing a few shots and terrifying those who were still dining at the time as he continued to cackle. As I was running I looked over my shoulder and screamed at my hunter. "Who are you!?" I screamed. The bounty hunter laughed again. "How rude of me to not introduce myself to the one I am about to kill… the name's Brimstone, and it'll be the last name you ever hear." Brimstone said with a sinister yet calm voice. He had me cornered at this point, but then I heard a familiar voice. "Stay away from her!" My father yelled as he tackled Brimstone. I don't know why he did that… it was brave yet incredibly stupid. Didn't he realize that this guy had a gun!? "The hell do you want old man? Can't you see I'm busy!?" Brimstone snarled. my dad was breathing heavily. "You don't have to do this…how much money was he offering you anyway?" My father said. Brimstone began to laugh and wheeze. "You got me all wrong, old man, it ain't about the money…" Brimstone replied with a sinister grin. I watched in horror as Brimstone threw my father off with a seemingly inhuman amount of strength and hissed like a serpent as his eyes seemed to glow and black veins appeared along his body. My father was confused as he sat on the floor, looking up at Brimstone. "What is it about then!?" My father yelled. Brimstone laughed maniacally once again. "It's about the joy I feel as I watch one's life wither away after a successful hunt!" Brimstone howled with glee. Before I could do anything, a dreadful sound emanated through the restaurant. The sound of a single gunshot. I watched in horror as my father slumped to the ground and began struggling to breathe as blood dripped out of a wound in his chest. "NO!" I shrieked. Anger beyond anything I had ever felt before boiled my blood and tears of anguish began to stream from my eyes. I saw Brimstone attempting to shoot my father again but nothing happened. "Goddamnit! Look what you've gone and done! You made me use up my last damn bullet!" Brimstone roared with anger. This anger then turned into a sinister calmness. "Heh… well at least we still killed something, ay Hellfire?" I heard Brimstone say while looking at the gun he had used to kill my father with a gleam of pride as he started to walk away while whistling a tune, leaving my dying father to succumb to his wounds. I rushed over to my father, going through all five stages of grief simultaneously. "Why did you do that!?" I questioned my father as I held him in my arms. He simply smiled at me. "Well… looks like I'll be seeing your mother again after all…" my father said weakly. "No… don't you dare say that… I am not letting you die. I am not losing you again!" I said, choking on my tears. I could feel my father growing weaker. "You gotta let me go Solstice, my little girl, all grown up…remember that I love you… but also remember that you gotta be strong. But you also gotta be careful… too much strength; too much power… can be dangerous. Remember my final words and remember them well… with great power comes great responsibility." My father said to me, quoting one of my favorite stories. He placed his hand on my face one last time, before it slipped away as he took his final breath and his eyes closed. I held him close and sobbed. We had only just been reunited… and yet I had already lost him again. I heard footsteps running towards me as I mourned the loss of my father. When I looked up I saw my friends looking shocked. "Sol! What happened!?" Flora cried out. I clenched my fists, trying to hold back. "He tried to save me… he even attempted to be reasonable and merciful… and it cost him his life. A cold blooded murderer roams free… he shot my father down right before my eyes… that MONSTER laughed at him as he lie there dying, Flora, he LAUGHED at him!" I replied with a passionate rage. Flora looked appalled at this point. "That's horrible!" She said. Burlesque suddenly appeared, looking irate as he observed the scene. "I don't much care for murderers… you want me to bring that sunovabitch to justice for ya?" He asked, clearly struggling to keep his demonic side at bay. I glared at him as I slowly came to my feet. "No, Burlesque… this isn't your battle to win… it is mine. Any mercy that I had left in my heart has since shattered. This time… it's personal… and I will not rest until that man is dead and he can never harm anybody again." I said. "We could at least help you with your revenge, y'know? I mean… are you seriously gonna kill that superhuman freak!?" I heard Kurjak blurt out. I saw the old locket not far from my father's body and decided to pick it up. "I don't want to drag you guys into this… this is my responsibility… my vengeance. If I don't return, don't bother trying to find me, I will kill that killer… even if it's the last thing I do." I explained as I headed towards the exit, my back turned on my friends as I walked out the door. No matter what happened… vengeance would be mine. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |