Never A Dull Moment.

So, as I'm certain most of you are well aware by now, David and I had a little bit of a playdate last evening. The effort truly is flattering, if nothing else... even if it was a touch painful. Honestly, I've never been able to fully appreciate tasers as a tool... in fact, I find them bloody irritating. Especially when used on ME. But I suppose it is still preferable compared to a blow to the skull. Less chance of brain damage (as I think I've suffered enough in that particular category), even if the odds of a heart attack do rise. Would be almost FUNNY to die that way after going through all the effort of coming BACK.

I must admit... it was good to see him again.

Even after waking into the ache that had settled into my muscles from the effects of the taser.

Even tied to a bloody uncomfortable wooden chair.

Even under that cutting stare.


It was good.


Good to know that he'd go so far to protect my name.

Good to know my death hadn't corrupted the changes HE had been making... as it wasn't that long ago that I would have woken tied onto a bed, not in a chair.

Good to know he was still the same bull-headed asshole he always was. A constant, if nothing else.


I suppose you could say that he took advantage of a chance situation. It was my own fault, really. I'd already been restless in mind, but when David made such a racket online... well, I decided I needed to clear my head a touch. To go for a little walk. Stupid, honestly. Considering how David had threatened to pop in. But I'd thought he'd approach me. I'd thought he would give me the benefit of the doubt. I'd thought we'd rebuilt enough bridges between us to warrant at least that...


I underestimated how little I sound like myself, these days.


Tiger accompanied me, as per Star's request/order. I teased my Dearest Shooter about being too paranoid and lightly threatened to fly the coop if he caged me in too tightly, good condition or no... but he was right in being cautious. Perhaps if I had taken the situation more seriously, then I wouldn't have wasted so much of everyone's time. I still have the burn mark on my back from where the taser hit. David having taken advantage of a brief second in which my protective company had been distracted... and I felt the current hit me. Pulse THROUGH me. Ripping across and over. I felt the ground hit my knees... and after that its only blurred movements in the black. Shadows of sounds. Echoes of textures and temperatures...

When I finally dragged my mind into counsciousness again... it was cold. And dark. And dank. The black surrounding me like a breathless void... while ropes cut into my wrists. Twisting in them only bringing warm drops down to rest in my palm.

In that dark, a shadow shifted.

I told him that, even if he WAS jealous that I was moving along with Shooter these days, kidnapping me was far from the answer.


That didn't necessarily go over that well. I got a cold sneer... and then a rant.


A rant about liars.

A rant about imposters.

A rant about stupidity and attention whores.

A rant about how grateful I should be that he's giving me the CHANCE to make things right.

To tell the truth.

To stop this little... game of mine...

Before he stopped it for me. Permanently.


I wish I could say that it didn't hurt to hear such an edge directed my way. I wish I could say that I let it roll right off my shoulders, that it didn't even faze me that he didn't recognize me still, even when I was sitting right in front of him. Attire and mask or no, I would have thought he should have been able to RECOGNIZE me. We'd been close before my death. Quite close. I thought if anyone could see through all my fumblings and ramblings... it would have been David. After all, he'd seen me shattered before... surely 'scattered' had to look similiar?

"...Have I truly changed that much, David?"

He didn't respond, though his shadow drew closer. Standing directly in front of me even as I worked at the ropes behind me. Attempting to be as subtle in my movements as possible as that blade - David's switchblade - came to press on the very edge of my jaw. Pressing up. Cutting in. Drawing blood.  Breathing only two words into the air between us: 

"Last Chance."

David was always... partial towards the Art of Flaying.

I've seen him at work.

Impressive.


Never thought I'd be on the receiving end, quite honestly.


It was in that moment that the ropes on my wrists finally gave. I rushed him. Snatching the wrist with the blade as I shot up. Pushing. Twisting... only to be pinned back down. Gripping my neck in one hand, snapping it back, as his other grabbed my hood and ripped it off...

In that instant... he shot backwards.

Eyes wide.

Jaw slack.

"...Hi, David."

The clang of David's knife hitting the floor seemed to echo for minutes on end as he stared at me. Frozen in place as reality as he knew it shifted right before his eyes. Slowly shaking his head from side to side. Not blinking. Seeming to have forgotten how to even breathe as ghosts of words formed on his lips. Barely loud enough to hear. Telling me... that it couldn't be. That /I/ couldn't be. That it was impossible. That I was dead. That he'd seen my body. That he'd BURNT my body. That I was DEAD...

"...You've gotten thinner, Sweetheart. I thought I told you to look after yourself?"

There was a moment of further silence.

Then... he rushed me.

And hugged me.

For what felt like minutes on end.

More than a little awkward. But in a good way, I suppose.

Least he'd stopped trying to cut my face off.

We spoke for a long while before we even left the cellar. Eventually moving upstairs into the rest of the house. The very house that David had "grown up" in. The house that had changed him in so many ways. Ways he was now fighting to change, in one form or another...

He figured it was the one place he could bring "an imposter" that would take a while for Morningstar to find.


There was only a scarce few seconds of warning before the door was kicked in. A shower of splintering wood as the door was nearly dislodged from its very hinges. Tiger rushing in as the lead of the group, the others quickly following suit. What had been a quiet, abandoned house out in the middle of nowhere spinning into a hive of yelling and threatening and waving guns and blades. The only real reason that David didn't earn himself a spray of bullets from the crew (or get broken in half by Tiger for dishonoring him) was by me using myself as a shield between the two sides. Giving my own orders to stand down. To lower their weapons...

Even as I was gripping hold of David's arm to keep his own firearm down.

Luckily, the whole thing ended with no one getting shot.


Though, if looks could kill, David would have been dead a thousands times over when Star walked in.

Then again, David was giving the exactly same look in return.

Could practically FEEL the air crackle.

I must admit, it was amusing watching their cat and dog antics again.

Who is which, I'll leave for you to decide.


And that's all there is, for now.


Remember, my Friends:

Keep Smiling!

He Nearly Tore My Throat Out.

Least, he was... giving his best effort to.

But that was... I'm getting ahead of myself. My apologies. As I've said repeatedly, keeping my mind sorted can be a bit of a chore. I sometimes take a... wrong turn in the maze in my head. Things can... come out in the wrong order...


Morningstar, Crouching Tiger, and I arrived in a small town that stood as a ghost town in a dense forest. It was difficult to believe that, not that long ago, the entire area had been rather... bustling. A hive of activity. A Nest Cult Town, busy keeping a predator's eye on their pet project - The Glutton. Studying him. Watching him. Keeping him under control... that is until The Glutton woke them to the realization of how easy they just... became Prey. With Redlight's encouragement, no doubt...

Everything was so... very still. Impossibly still.

That was until Morningstar suddenly perked and... took off running. Into the densest part of the forest, no less. Tiger and I went to follow, but I... something caught my eye. A movement. From the corner, but behind. I hesitated. For only a split second, but I hesitated... and then I was hit hard on the side. The jolt of the ground hit me next before everything was just a mess of... of movement and cloth and long nails that resembled more claws and... black teeth. An entire mouth of crooked, gnashing teeth. Jaw and neck straining down to reach my neck, saliva dripping, even as I fought to keep him away. To keep him... from doing remodeling work on my jugular and all I could THINK of was how much my arms were shaking and what would happen if... they gave out...


It was like trying to fight off a corpse.


I gritted my teeth... and raked the blades of my gauntlet up and across. Aiming to slash out his neck. To RIP it right off from his fucking SPINAL CORD.

I only sliced across his collar bone.


The result... was an explosion of talons and beaks and feathers clawing and ripping and swirling everything everywhere and I could still see those teeth straining for my neck and...



I vaguely remember yelling... and then he was suddenly off.

The mammoth that is Crouching Tiger was standing over me. Yanking me up even as that... thing scrambled back to its feet. The tattered remains of a straitjacket - messily painted red - hanging from its thin frame beneath a torn jacket.  Wild eyes whipping around, peering out from beneath its hood. Saliva dripping down its ash grey chin...

Then it took off.

We ran after. Following the mess of movement through the undergrowth... until a large building pulled out from it in front of us. The Glutton disappearing inside. The very same building that his fellow Nests used to observe him from. A building that stood as empty and broken as the rest of town...



We saw Morningstar off in the trees. Not too far off. Fighting a figure in... what I can only describe as Renaissance Fair style Merry Man type clothes. Cloth a deep purple that... stood out amongst all the shadows and green, but it wasn't the clothes that had my attention as Shooter and he exchanged blows back and forth and around and around...

The "man's" eyes... the Piper's Eyes... burned a bright blue... as did the light that came from deep inside his mouth as he seemed to try to... pin Star down.

But Tiger and I had our own work.


Inside the building, half of it was collapsed on itself. Everything thrown about in disarray - the last stilled image of chaos that had erupted in there not that long ago. Tiger and I slowly made our way through. The wreckage around us perfect camouflage as The Glutton stole the higher ground. Never stopping even once. Circling us. Stalking us. A shadow amongst shadows, that only ended in a SCREAM of talons and beaks and claws and gnashing teeth. It felt like it took hours. A deadly game of hide and seek and pounce. All involving an entire murder... a living cloud... of crows. A swarm that circled and dove and TORE from every direction. No matter what Tiger and I tried, we could never... get close enough. Could never get past those damn BIRDS...

Of course, sometimes he abandoned the high ground altogether. When it was more convenient for him to snap a boney hand around one's ankle from below. From beneath the boards as you passed by and drag your feet out from under you with strength that his bones and scarred skin shouldn't be able to produce. Clawing straight through the fabric of my pants and DRAGGING me into the dark hole he'd nested for himself even as I struggled to find something to grab hold of something to stop the SLIDE as I kicked and kicked and hit something that earned a shriek from beneath that rubble... followed by a swarm of birds. I slashed at the flock. Trying to protect my neck and stomach as more and more surrounded me and all I could do was roll. Roll and hope for distance hope for a chance of getting back to my feet...

Of course, that's where the STAIRS would be.

Or, rather, where the stairs were MEANT to be. Collapsed. Like so much else. I landed on my shoulder in their remains. Breathing hard and leaving a splatter of blood.

I saw movement again.

Finding my feet, I drew my Glock and fired. And fired. And fired. All into the blackness that surrounded me. Any noise. Any movement.

Until I heard my weapon answer with a TICK.

Tick.

End of the clip.

Exactly what the fucker had been waiting for to Start up again. Rushing in. Ducking beneath the swing of my gauntlet and slamming me back into the wall... and biting down hard on the side of my neck. A twist at the last moment saving my arteries, landing the bite closer to the back... but I still had to bite back the scream as I felt teeth sink in. Tear. RIP.  Blood soaking my neck and chest...

That would be when a beam - literally a wooden BEAM - collided into The Glutton with a force that made me very THANKFUL for Tiger's aim. Driving The Nest to the same collapsed stairs that were stained with my own blood. Adding to it, his own. A flurry of more feathers. More beaks. More talons. As that thing THRASHED like a wild animal to get out from under the beam that now pinned it. Its flock attacking. Swirling and tearing at us both until I heard a crack that was Tiger's foot breaking through the floorboards up above. Catching hold of him. And part of the murder that had been set on me... swept up and turned on him. I heard screaming.

Somehow, within the swarm of my own tormenters... I managed to get a new clip into the Glock. Hearing it snap in place, I ignored the blood and pain and aimed... at only the beam. There was movement in the darkness again...

and off.


far off.



i saw that son of bitch




a sillouette in the dark


the shadow OF a shadow, with but a sliver of light from the cracked floorboards above to bring him to life






I saw it.

And I Took The Shot.
 






Seconds later, the entire murder dissipated into nothing. Every single bloody crow drawn back from wince they came. I called up to Tiger, and he answered back. Badly hurt, but alive. Eventually, he joined me. Jumping down. Before we slowly made our way over to the remains of The Glutton.


A skeleton of a man.




With a hole blasted right between his wide, crazed eyes.




Morningstar regrouped with us later.  Gleeman handled injuries once we got back. I got a bit of a ribbing for needing saving. Twice. But the job is done, we have time to recoup. Which is exactly what we've all been doing the past couple of days.


One down.



Wasn't all that hard, hm?

Grotesquery Conceiled

"In the shadows of my gallow,
I'd rather absent the hallow."

(For) thy presence made pleasure of pain,
(and) thy madness turned sanity into vain.
Profoundly wicked owner of soul,
the mysteries of thy creation beheld by ghouls.

Diabolically disguised heavenly bodies,
(and it's) atrociously desired primordial elements,
plunging through the confused heart of sulfur.
In all this darkness, how can man see?

"Poor misguided fool...
It is not God you are talking to!
I am not impostrous, hiding behind pearly walls.
However, I am still yet to be found known,
I shall guide you on your midnight ride, as the sun fades black.
(And) beyond your grotesque imagination,
My name will be revealed...
The blood of Christ can't heal your wounds,
give Me all of yours, and I'll give you Mine..."

I am the hidden fantasy!
In the secret of my knowledge,
There is no God, but me!

In this shadowy world, all are nameless.
Outstanding, dressed in majestic splendor,
Touched by the flames of eternal fire.
How I long for your embrace, uttermost desire...

My God, I'm Out of Shape.

Out of practice. Out of... basically everything, really.

Including effort, least for tonight.

Like Morningstar explained in that LOVELY little re-introductory post he did for me, we are on our way to handle a Nest issue. Back in my prime, such an adventure would be nearly a common day occurrence but... I'm not in my prime. I'll get back to it, I'm sure, but for now I'm left sparring with Shooter and Crouching Tiger in attempt to get my act back together.

I have decided one thing, however.

I must be human.

If I weren't, I wouldn't be this damn sore.

But, of course, its not just a matter of retraining the body, is it? No, the mind is much part of it too. And it has been... so very slow. I remember it took me what felt like a couple of days to even find my way out of the sewer when I woke up. The hive in my mind only growing more maddening the longer I stayed put. Forcing my legs to function... at least after I remember that, yes, they did have a function. A rather useful one, or so a nagging thought kept insisting. Even when I got back to my feet, I had to use the walls to keep any manner of balance. Slowly taking it step by step as my thoughts... seemed to yank and pull against themselves. A tangled ball of yarn with multiple ends. All seeming to lead to something solid, but unattainable...

Every step was a reminder.

Every breath a sliver of memory. A sliver of knowledge. Of awareness. Of SOMETHING that helped me piece together where I was...


and... who I was...

not to mention where I've been


Even now, there's still much that I don't remember. Gaps. I'm confident that some of that is still waiting to sink back into place - like a puzzle piece not quite looked at from the correct angle yet - but there are other blanks while... are not gaps at all. But rather Walls. Bricks and mortar built up, layer by layer by layer. My mind a web of mazed halls. A nonsensical grid that leads everywhere and nowhere all at once. Lined by doors. Hundreds upon hundreds of doors. Each and every one storing a piece of me. My past. My memories. My... experiences. These Walls... seal many of those doors. Actually, they seal most of them. Keeping inside a nauseous BUZZ... that could only possibly be my own madness. My own insanity. My depression and agony and torment...

My Time With Redlight.

It makes my stomach twist just thinking what nightmares could be behind those walls.

It makes my stomach twist... just thinking of how MANY Walls had to be constructed in order to make me functional once again.


I will find my footing again.

I don't care what it takes.

I will come back from this.

Mark My Words.

Well now...

This is just hurtful. Truly.

Have we honestly drifted so far from each other that you wouldn't recognize your old friend / teacher / what-have-you when you see them, Shooter? Hear them? Has death really parted us that much so? Or have I simply changed that much...? I suppose we have both changed. Neither of us being "us" all that much anymore. It's a shame, really. You know how I always saw Humanity as a strength, not a weakness.

Though I'm not exactly sure.

I think I'm human.

But I know my body was burnt.

So...

....Aliens?

Heh. My apologies. Really, I suppose its unwise to mock the power of a Fear. Plague's Will over me is unquestionable. I... vaguely recall bits and pieces of my stay at the Castle. Pulling my own skin from my flesh in a rotted oozing mess of infections. Finding worms beneath. Thin, white worms. That only seemed to multiply the more I tried to dig them out. Thankfully, however, my return is Clean, pardoning the sewer factor. Clean of infections. Clean of wounds. Clean of even scars...

Pardoning the one that lays over my returned-to-beating heart.

His Mark.

A Black Rot(?).

Even now, it burns.

Almost as hot as my mind. An altered mind... flawlessly seamed to His Will.

For I have a purpose back here, you see. And its one that I will enjoy immensely.

Please.

Do take a guess.

A wild STAB in the dark, as it were.

See if you make something bleed.



And as for you, Shooter... please do come and find me. I look forward to seeing you again.

My Dearest Friends...

It feels SO good to be back!

I think we can all agree it has been far FAR too long.

But you're confused, right? I don't blame you. After all, the last you all heard from me, it was in a dribbly suicide note. Sad words from a sad mind. Convoluted and torn. But, I assure you, that's all behind me now. I'm doing better than I have in a very long time!

All by the Grace of The Plague Doctor.

Because sometimes... one has to die. Before they can live again.

After my death, He Held Me In His Castle. Rot and pus and  mucus. Hot with fever and soiled in infections. All amongst the rock. But Plague... must not have liked Redlight's Minions in His Castle. Cause not long after I was biting and clawing at that Black Woman who felt like a blur of RED... I woke up. In a sewer. Charming, right?

I'm back, my friends.

Now, isn't that a reason to smile?