Greetings everyone and welcome to the Darkness! Whether you were dissatisfied with the ending or with how the exact storyline went (It was good, but nonetheless left several things to be desired), or you are merely curious, then this should be exactly for you. And even if it might not be as good as the original thing, I hope that you will enjoy nonetheless.
For those who are new to this kind of thing, let´s just say that this is my take on the game Darkness 2, so some of the things here might be difficult to grasp if you are not familiar with it, but let´s hope that it will not be such a great problem.
A little warning first: While I will stick with the main points of the game plot, a few things will be different and some stuff will be added, since the storyline in the game felt too short; the ending will be somewhat new as well, since the original one just wasn´t enough for me.
With that done, let´s follow the bloody trail of Jackie Estacado and see how deep this one can go…
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Right around the time, he died, my father said to me: ´Jackie, you can´t outrun your fate, but you sure as hell gotta try.´
I didn´t really know what he meant back then. See there was something inside me, something terrible, waiting to get out. And when it did...it made me watch the only thing I ever cared about get her brains blown right in front of me. Then it gave me the power to make things right, the kind of stuff you only see in your worst nightmares. The killing only made it stronger, harder to control. Eventually...I found a way to bury it. But ever since, it´s been trying to get back out. It calls itself...The Darkness.
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Pocketing the golden pendant with a picture of Jenny inside of it, Jackie Estacado tried not to think about the events a few years ago, but just like every other time, he found that he could not bring himself to forget about the past. For the several past years, almost every day passed like a meaningless page in a book that was his life, empty and without any real importance, or at least that was how he felt about it. He tried to get over it, but just like with other things, it did not go as well as he wanted. And most of all, he could not forget her…..and how it was only for him that she died. The one person he cared about the most got a bullet in the head because of him, and only because of him.
She was all that mattered and she was the only one in his life that was always there for him, ever since they were young. And now she was gone. But no matter what he did, Jackie Estacado still couldn´t let go.
The sound of the car door snapped him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the real world. Stepping out of his car, he was greeted by the sight of his favorite restaurant, its doors silently welcoming him as always. You can say what you want, but the food there was delicious. Of course, given his status as the head of the most notorious crime family in the city, the place was reserved solely for the rich and influential people and the members of his family, so he didn´t have to worry about anyone disrupting his meal.
Noticing Dolfo (whom the others liked to call Adolf behind his back) and a few others standing by the door, he idly wondered if it was that time again. So it was their turn to play the guard huh? He really did not care how the others managed to divide the guarding shifts without conflict, but as long as it worked out, he was fine with it.
Stepping forward, the door opened, courtesy of Vinnie, his right hand in the family and generally one of the few guys alive who had his trust. It was ironic really, his second in command was a catholic by faith, but then again, it probably felt nice to have something to believe in. If only he could have something to believe in.
"Jackie! Good to see you. Come on in."
"Hey Vinnie, how´s the family", asked the raven haired man.
"Which one?"
This got even Jackie to chuckle slightly. It was true; Vin was his second in command (not an easy feat to achieve) and somehow still managed to have a loving family at the same time. From what Jackie knew, Vinnie was a good father, so he could not help but feel a little amazed how the man managed to blend two different roles (a father and a mobster) together so smoothly. Vinnie, seemingly oblivious to his thoughts, pointed to something on the wall opposite the entrance.
"Hey Jackie, check this out, they put out a picture of your dad. He was a good man, your father. Good man."
Jackie himself was not so sure of that, but he kept those thoughts to himself. His father died when he was young (resulting in his status as an orphan) and even if the few memories of him showed him as a caring man, he did not forget that Carlos Estacado was the previous host of the darkness and even tried to kill him once in his sleep. If it was out of mercy or out of some selfish desire, he didn´t know, nor did he particularly wanted to know either. Still, he appreciated the gesture, even if it seemed a bit morbid.
"Well look, this ain´t no time to be depressed. Come on boss, they´ve got your table ready" , continued Vin, apparently noticing the look Jackie shot towards the picture of his late father.
Passing Frank and Eddie, he was not surprised when they singled out a rack on the brunette receptionist and still somehow messed up the sides of left and right. Still, they had a point, the woman was quite the treat for the eyes, he just wasn´t in the mood right now.
Plus if he had to guess, Vinnie already set him up with a girl or two to lighten his mood ever so slightly. Not that he didn´t like the whole set up, but it would certainly feel better if he wasn´t focusing most of his mind on holding back that…thing that was hidden deep in the layers of his mind. It really killed any real happiness he might have got out of the whole affair. And as if to confirm his fear, Vinnie just had to speak, albeit in a hushed voice.
"The twins are waiting for you."
"Terrific."
Passing several tables on their way, Jackie silently watched as Vin greeted almost everyone present by their names as they passed them and even exchanged a few favors on the way. To any normal person, it would be fairy amazing, to Estacado, not so much. He could do this as well, but he let this sort of thing to others, since he preferred to deal with problems straight away, and he´d be damned if he wasn´t the best there was at this kind of thing. That was how he got to be the head of the family after all.
After finally passing a rather fat (he didn´t like to use the word, but in this case there was no escaping it) woman complaining about the ravioli being not too spicy or something like that and a rather nervous guy in a suit called Swifty who was just leaving, they finally reached the table at the end of the restaurant, the one that was always reserved solely for him (and for whatever company he might be having along). Thankfully, it was a bit away from the others, so nothing could interrupt his evening.
As promised, the blonde twins were already there, giggling over something. Sighing slightly, he sat down, trying to smile at least a little. While he was far from being happy at the moment, there was no need to spoil the evening for others. The one that sat directly in front of the window gave him seductive smile while practically undressing him with her eyes. He was well aware of the effect that he had on the fairer sex, his slightly tanned skin, luxurious black hair and deep brown eyes gave him quite and exotic appearance. Noticing that Vinnie finally left, one of the blondes asked him with a coy smile.
"Hi there Jackie. Remember us from the Candy club?"
"Sure he does" , replied the second blonde in response.
The truth was, he didn´t. He had been down this alley quite a few times before and it would not take a genius to figure that this would probably end up in a one night´s stand. Not that it was such a bad thing, but after so long lacking anything solid, he just found it hard to care about all this. Nonetheless, let it not be said that Jackie Estacado wasn´t a gentleman.
"Believe me ladies, I wish I did."
Their conversation was sadly brought to a rather abrupt end, as several things happened simultaneously: A loud gunshot was heard, the head of the blonde in green now spotted a nice hole going directly through her skull, and the sound of an engine coming to life. Reaching for his guns, Jackie´s mind was now going at a rapid pace. What the hell just happened? Unfortunately, he didn´t have much time to wonder, as a white van was approaching the window at an alarming speed, faster than he could react. He barely heard Vinnie´s shout to watch out when the vehicle rammed into the restaurant, crushing the other blonde rather viciously and slammed directly into Jackie, sending him flying backwards with a heavily mauled leg.
Biting his lip not to scream, the young Estacado spared a glance at his left leg and only his intense mental fortitude prevented him from going unconscious. From his knee down, all that remained was a bone like stamp with a few bits of burned flesh. That was when he noticed that the restaurant was turning into a shooting gallery, with those goons in orange jumpsuits assaulting his men. Luckily for him, Vinnie arrived to his side rather quickly, apparently shaken by the sudden ambush as well, but obviously faring much better than him, at least in terms of physical condition.
"Jackie? Oh shit, look at his leg."
Tell me something I don´t know already Vin, thought Jackie, trying to ignore that fact that his leg looked like it had been through a grinder several times over.
"All right Jackie, listen to me. We need to pull you out back but you gotta take this. Keep those guys off our ass" , said Vin as he shoved a pistol in his hands, dragging him backwards like a sack of meat.
If it were anyone else, then shooting and much less aiming would be out of question, given how his body was messed up, but Jackie Estacado was no ordinary man. So as he was dragged backwards (with his men were trying to cover for them), leaving a bloody trail behind him, he kept on shooting those damned pricks, furiously seething that someone dared to attack him here, in the center of his city. Oh there would be time to pay for that later, but right now he needed to get the hell out of the place, which wasn´t exactly easy when one leg was out of commission and those fools that were trying their best to shoot his brains out were not helping either (Even if their aim was terrible, who taught them to shoot anyway?).
As ironic as it was, the fat lady in that ridiculous dress from before came in handy after all. Stumbling between them and the attacking goons, she probably put the whole ´human shield´ to a whole new level, effectively catching a whole lot of bullets that were meant for either him or Vinnie, even if that probably wasn´t her intention in the slightest. After a rather unpleasant set of stairs, they finally reached the kitchen, with the doors bolting shut behind them. Immediately, a rain of bullets followed, giving the doors an appearance that could make any cheese grater pale with envy. But the thick wood withstood their laughable attempts at shooting. However, both men trapped in the kitchen realized something that didn´t bode well for them. Vinnie was the first to voice his thoughts.
"Oh crap, I smell gas!"
How very eloquent, maybe you would like to say that once again? I think some people across the district didn´t hear you, contemplated Jackie, barely able to stay awake. Vinnie was a smart guy, but that didn´t mean that he was perfect. At least he had enough sense to try to barge the emergency exit open, but the steel door refused to budge an inch.
"Hurry up Vinnie" , coughed Jackie, fighting against the urge to fall asleep instilled in him by the blood loss. If he´d ever get alive from this one, someone will be in for a world of suffering. But it seemed that things will not go as planned, if the voices behind the door were any indication.
"The´re in here! Estacado is in here!"
"Quick, give me your lighter…..burn in hell Estacado!"
Watching the small fire flying inside through the glass, Jackie could only helplessly watch as the explosion engulfed him, with fire being the only thing he could see. Several seconds later, his eyes fluttered open, even if that slightest movement caused him untold pain. His whole body was burned severely, to a degree that any other human would be probably long dead by now. The only thing that kept him alive was his iron will and the thing that he so desperately tried to contain. Fire was everywhere, except for the path straight ahead, where the explosion blown up a part of the wall. Trying to strain his eyes, Jackie saw two men, one in those stupid jumpsuits and a second one who looked like something that crawled out of a sewer, limping on one leg and carrying a long cane to lean on.
"Hm, stronger than his father. Keep pushing him" , ordered the limping figure and walked off, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Probably someone who´s got his fingers in all this, thought Jackie. The other guy, holding a gun in his hand like it was a toy crouched down to look the maimed Estacado in his eyes and mockingly beckoned him to come closer.
"Come here Jackie, I´ve got something for ya" , said the ruffian, motioning with his gun, looking amused at his helplessness.
Not wanting to stay and get consumed by the flames, Jackie crawled forward, his silent fury and rage giving him the strength to move forward, even if it was at a sickeningly slow pace and his body was sending waves of pain with every small movement. When he was almost out of the burning restaurant and the orange wearing prick decided to finally put a bullet in his head, he heard the voice in his head again, the one that he so wanted to forget for the last two years.
"JacKiE. CoMe To tHe dArKneSs…"
"Never. Never again you son of a bitch" , rasped Jackie. But he realized that he wasn´t in a position to make good on such a promise.
"EmBraCe My pOwEr, oR dIe" , whispered the voice in a strange mix of hissing and growling, the tone changing with almost every passing word, almost like it were several beings talking at once.
Not able to crawl forward anymore, Jackie slumped to the ground. He was at his end and he knew it. He could feel the end, creeping on his person, like a sweet, cold embrace of the one lover that was shared by everyone, death. The only way to live and take vengeance was to release his inner demons, literally, something he hoped would never come. But it wasn´t like he had a choice here, did he?
It took him two years to bar the vile presence from his mind, but it took the Darkness only a split second to come back, once its host gave in and allowed for it to come back. With a triumphant roar, the demon that was denied for so long emerged again.
"At lAsT, I fEeD!"
In a burst of flesh, the two feelers, as Jackie called them, erupted from his shoulders, the two dragon-like heads hissing viciously. Without a moment´s hesitation, they tore right through the thug that was still paralyzed by fear and shock, devouring a mouthful of his heart then ripped the body apart like a doll.
"Oh god, what is that?"
Apparently, there were several more of them nearby, but that didn´t matter in any way. In a manner of seconds, the two demonic appendages either threw them into the wall or simply hacked them to pieces without any apparent difficulty. When everyone nearby was dead, Jackie felt his control over the body returning. And just in time too, right in the moment when the Darkness started to heal his leg. But despite the rather excruciating pain, he could literally see his leg regenerating by a rather rapid pace. In several seconds, it was as good as new, only the torn cloth and the missing shoe hinting that it was not always as such.
Not fully used to having his limbs back in one piece, Jackie fell rather unceremoniously to the ground, breathing heavily. He felt relieved that his body healed up, but at the same time dread filled him, knowing what he had done. He released the Darkness back into the world, something that he hoped would never happen again. How he hated it, this curse of his. Everything bad in his life could be traced back to it, even before he was born. One would think that having supernatural powers was an awesome thing, especially for someone in his profession, but nothing could be so far from how he felt about it. He never asked for this, but free will was not something that he was used to in his life.
Slowly standing up, he looked around to see where the blast threw him. Apparently he was in the backyard of the restaurant, so he would need to circle around the building to follow that limping guy (and slaughter him). Not so far from where he landed, he found Vinnie, surprisingly in a better condition than he was prior to healing himself. If he had to guess, the man managed to bolt the emergency exit open and thus got only hit by a fraction of the passing shockwave. He was unconscious, but clearly alive, which was a relief.
Since Vin´s life didn´t seem to be in immediate danger, he left him there and went forward, towards the streets. By the sounds of gunshots, the fight was still going on. Carving his way through the few thugs that tried to come after him in the alley, he stayed in the shadows, observing the situation. On one end of the streets, a few of his boys were taking cover behind the cars, and on the other (the one that was just a few meters from him) was the rest of those clowns in orange jumpsuits. That was just fine with him. They were apparently not aware of him surviving, so the element of surprise was on his side.
Sneaking on them, he made sure to remain clear of any direct light. Using one of his feelers, he stole a pistol from one of the fools while ripping a second apart with the second one. The third one turned around and the last thing he ever saw was a barrel of Jackie´s gun as he got a single shot directly through his forehead. The last one managed to face him in time, but all the good it did him was the sight of the two tentacle like appendages descending upon him, with one going straight through his throat, suspending him in the air and the second one rushed forward, clawing through his chest. Throwing the bloodied corpse aside, Jackie felt a rush of power surge through him, as the Darkness was more and more awake within him.
It felt incredible, incomparable to anything similar, but also quite dangerous as well. He knew well that the more he allowed this presence to grow within his mind, the more he risked that he would get addicted to the feeling. In other words, darkness brought forward only more darkness. Picking the pockets of the four cadavers, he took a second pistol (given the fact that he was ambidextrous, he had no problems with double wielding) and the few extra clips that they had, since his own guns were probably somewhere in the burning restaurant and thus hardly available.
The enforcers of his family noticed that the situation has changed, so Jackie approached them without worrying about getting shot. Not that it could kill him, as the demon inside wouldn´t let him die, but it still hurt nonetheless. Making sure to be under the street lights this time (as he did not want to reveal the fact that his powers were back) before getting close, he looked around to see any trace of the limping weirdo. But it seemed as if that man just vanished.
"Jackie! Thank Christ that you are alive, we were pretty sure that you were done for."
"I….I handed things, like I always do. Listen, Vinnie is back there and needs help, so send someone to check on him. But before that, anyone saw a guy with a limp, heading out of this area? He was probably the one behind all this."
"Sure, there was this strange fuck that looked like he was in a hurry. He was heading towards the train station; a few of these guys were with him too. We tried to go after him but those four kept us pinned."
"Don´t worry about it, I´m going after them. Go look after Vinnie and get everyone out of here before the cops arrive."
"You got it boss, good luck."
Without a further word, Jackie went off, trying to catch upon his target. He would get some answers, one way or the other….
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As he pressed on, Jackie could not help but think back at how the man mentioned his father briefly. How did he know him? The people that were personally in contact with his late father and were still alive were only a handful and he was pretty sure that he never saw anyone even close in appearance to that hideous…..thing.
And more importantly, what did they want from him? There was something about all this that made him wary. That Nosferatu (although Count Orlok himself would probably feel offended at being compared to that guy) looking guy knew about the Darkness and apparently knew him personally as well, which did not sit well with the young Estacado. He was used to being in control, aware of everything there was, yet suddenly this weirdo shows up, throws his world into chaos and forces him to bring back the Darkness, the one thing that he so hated and yet craved so much at the same time.
For that alone, he would tear him apart with his bare hands, but not before getting he´d get some answers first. He sensed the Darkness moving in the back of his mind, obviously pleased at his murderous thoughts. It was not as if had ever done worse before. When he finally reached the station, his sense went off in alarm. It was completely empty, almost barren of life, aside from the occasional cockroach. Not to mention that the ceiling lights were turned off, which definitively wasn´t a coincidence.
Using his rather good eyesight to navigate through the shadowy corridor, he felt the two feelers sprouting from his back (this time without any pain, as he did not deny them), sniffing the air almost hungrily. After two years of being locked away, they tasted the blood of a still beating, human heart, and craved for more, something that he was willing to provide, as long as he´d get what he wanted in the end.
Finally reaching the main hall, he slowed down, looking around for any sign of the five men he had been pursuing. The two feelers started to writhe around wildly, as if trying to tell him something. Unfortunately, they were only mindless extensions of the true darkness, so he could only wonder what they sensed. So it was with great surprise when the ceiling lights went on all at once, blinding him and practically rendering him helpless. Screaming in agony (as the lights hurt him on an almost physical level, given his status), Jackie fell to the floor unceremoniously, dropping his guns in favor of shielding his burning eyes.
His vision was blurred, showing his surroundings only in shades of white and black. He could clearly feel all strength leaving his body. He really hated this, the feeling of unbearable pain when he was suddenly exposed to any bright light. Normally, he could adapt quickly and get used to it, but with his body weakened from holding back the Darkness and then suddenly forced to get used to it, it took its toll, making him much more sensible than he normally would be. While he was clutching his eyes in pain, he heard someone approaching.
"Still alive I see? What´s the matter? All the lights are a bit too much? How disappointing. But what can you expect from a usurper after all?"
That voice! It was the same as the one that belonged to the limping guy! Realizing this, Jackie desperately tried to look around him, no matter how agonizing even a slight peek was. Vaguely, he recognized the limping freak speaking, with four of the orange clad goons behind him. Seemingly getting bored, the figure turned away from him and walked off, taking a leisure stroll and leaving a simple command behind him.
"Kill him and deliver me his body, I have other matters to attend to."
Desperately trying to overcome his temporal weakness, Jackie reached out to grab one of his guns, only to get a savage kick to the face which sent him sprawling across the floor of the station.
"Not so tough now are you Estacado?"
Their desire to mock him and play around a bit before delivering the final blow was probably what saved his life, or at least spared him the forced waiting while the demon inside would spend healing him (just because the Darkness made him almost immortal didn´t mean that the regeneration didn´t hurt as hell). Just as they were about to carry out their orders, the lights suddenly went off again, drowning the hall with shadows and darkness. As quickly as they left, Jackie´s powers returned to him, so did the control over his body. Wasting no time, he took advantage of the situation, ripping two of the four apart with the feelers and shooting the third right through his eye socket.
The fourth, obviously more than a little afraid at his sudden transformation, attempted to run, only to have something landing on his neck, tearing his throat open in a bloody fashion. When his body fell to the cold and unforgiving floor, Jackie could clearly see what exactly he owed his gratitude.
While of relatively small size (a trait further evidenced by the fact that it was hunched forward), the creature with obsidian black skin and slightly glowing eyes was anything but harmless, evidenced by the miniature but sharp claws and a mouth full of fangs. Even if the dirty shirt with the flag of England on it looked ridiculous and a dead cat of all things decorating its head, there was no mistaking it. It was a darkling, one of the few creatures that the Darkness and its hosts could summon and while being technically the second weakest of the summons, it was not to be underestimated. There were several of those that he once knew how to call, but this one in particular was probably the closest to him, which was probably the reason why it appeared as the first.
Skipping close to him in an almost child-like manner, the darkling gave off a hideous parody of a grin. Shakily getting up, Jackie spoke up.
"What took you so long?"
"Hello monkey, it´s been too long. Give us a hug!"
"I´ll pass, but thanks for the help."
Looking around, Jackie noticed that the man he was looking for gone without a trace, almost as if he vanished entirely. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he decided to return home to rethink what happened. In his killing spree, he unfortunately slaughtered every one of those who stood in his way, leaving no one to interrogate for information. That only meant that he would have to turn to his informants, but for now, he was incredibly tired and in need of a rest. But he would have his answers sooner or later….and when he did, there would be hell to pay.
"Let´s go."
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And thus we´re done for the day, the first chapter is over. As always, tell me what you think, don´t flame and most importantly, have fun in whatever you do. Until next time…..