Silence is like children's laughter,
Hate is like the purest love,
Death is like the joy of birth,
And the devil, well, we call him God.
-RW (necromancer philosophy)
His face was a mess of dripping flesh. It fell like sheets across rotting bones and worm infested eye sockets. His mouth was twisted with death's eternal grin etched upon his bloody face. He walked like a puppet, a simple marionette attached to strings the puppeteer not far behind him yanked and controlled. The dead man's shirt was torn, revealing a contractors seal and his fatal wound. This man was dead. Surely, undoubtedly dead. Gil, Oz, Alice, all of them had seen his body. Leo had even seen him die. Yet here he stood before them. Elliot Nightray had risen from the dead, and the Necromancer's laugh resonated throughout the city because of it.
"Gil! Gil snap out of it!" Oz yelled to his dazed friend. He slapped Gil across the face and though his eyes remained unfocused, he managed to stammer out a single word.
"E-E-Elliot…?" Gil said softly, before sinking to his knees. The illegal contractor they had been fighting laughed a few yards ahead of them, but what Oz was most concerned about was the pale, rotting corpse advancing on his shocked companion.
"Ah, long time no see eh? Surprised to see a friend who's been dead so long, Oz Vessalius? Or what about you, Mr. Nightray?" spoke the contractor is a hysterical tone of voice. Gil had begun to shake in anger.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ELLIOT?" Gil shouted at the man as he stood up. The man laughed again in reply.
"Why, nothing. Elliot Nightray is dead; therefore I can not harm him. Borrow his body on the other hand…..well…that's fair game. Didn't that annoyance of a Rainsworth servant tell you what you'd be dealing with?" He asked with full amusement as the other 12 bodies he had summoned using his chain swung at Alice. She easily swiped them away, but that's the problem with the undead: they can't die. Soon after cutting one in half it would reassemble and continue it's fight.
"Let him go!" Gil yelled as he drew his gun. "Elliot deserved to rest in peace." Firing a few shots, he hit every undead body except for Elliot's. He wouldn't dare mutilate the body of his step-brother. He died a hero, and to have him as some sick, twisted, evil puppet was enough to make Gil furious.
"What's wrong Raven? ~" The Necromancer practically sang. "Afraid to kill a dead man?"
"Oz I can't hold them off forever!" Alice yelled as she kicked another one through a nearby brick wall. She had begun to pant from this impossible fight. Oz was about to reply when a familiar voice reached his ears through the sounds of crashing and Gil's yelling.
"Well you three managed to get yourselves into trouble rather fast now didn't you?" Said the man as he emerged and crinkled his nose at the crumbled wall. Out of the corner of his eye, Oz caught a glimpse of Eques's shadow. "I may not be able to see it, but I'm sure Pandora won't enjoy THAT too much."
"Break!" yelled Oz as he dodged a swing from Elliot. It seemed that even he couldn't get up the will to fight his old friend.
"Ah Xerxes Break I presume? ~" sang the contractor with a mischievous smile. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Yes, and you must be the contractor we all call the Necromancer. I assume you formed the contract because living people didn't like you? Or do you just have a 'thing' for dead people? Anyway, you seem to recognize me. Have we met? I hope not," said Break, obviously pleased with the contractor's furious blush at what Break had implied. The man calmed down after a few seconds and his smile returned to normal.
"No, I haven't met you. I've simply talked with a certain uh, mutual friend. Surely you know the Will of Abyss?" Alice's eyes grew visibly wider at this, but Break seemed unfazed.
"You…talked with her…?" Break said before bursting out with laughter.
"Wha….? Stop that!" Said the necromancer. His army of the dead seemed to stop as they all peered at Break, who was crumpled on the ground in a laughing heap.
"WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" The Necromancer said, as his face darkened and he began to shake.
"So what you know my name? Ah ha ha you TALKED with that psychopath? That was funny. Good joke. Of all the ridiculous things I've ever heard…."
"She told me your real name was Kevin Regnard," at this Break suddenly stopped laughing. His blind eyes lost their warm look and were replaced with blankness. All the skeletons remained still as well as Alice, Gil, and Oz. Everyone was simply focused on them.
"How did you know…?" Break began.
"I told you. I met the Will of Abyss, but unlike you I escaped without injury. I had a chain before this one as well. That's how I ended up in the middle of her twisted tea party. She was angry. Angry at you for not fulfilling her wish, and angry at Alice," Break listened without interruption.
"Here I am, fighting Oz Vessalius and trying to kill B-rabbit, when the second person I wanted to meet comes walking in. Who would have thought," The man laughed again.
Break cleared his throat and rolled his eye. "As fantastic as this all is, I'm going to have to decline the whole 'killing' thing. I have plans with Miss Sharon later and…"
Break was once again interrupted as the Necromancer raised his head with an…unusual look sparkling in his eyes. A look that made everyone nearby's stomach churn.
"How long do you have, Mr. Break, until your body will join my ranks?"