Mercy wishes herself away to a Kingdom in the Underground where a King who could be the devil himself rules. The land is dying and she is the key to saving it. Mercy wonders what price she will have to pay to help the King who will stop at nothing to save his poisoned land. Based on Alice Cooper's music and stage shows, influenced by Labyrinth.
Disclaimer: I don't own obviously Alice Cooper or his music or Labyrinth. I thank Jim Henson forever for that film.
Songs used (in order of appearance):
"Only Women Bleed" written by Alice Cooper and Dick Wagner
"Only My Heart Talkin'" written by Alice Cooper, Bruce Roberts, and Andy Goldmark
"Poison" written by Alice Cooper, Desmond Child, and John McCurry
"Might As Well Be On Mars" written by Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner, and Desmond Child
"Be With You A While" written by Alice Cooper and Eric Dover
"You're My Temptation" written by Alice Cooper, Jack Blades, and Tommy Shaw
"This Maniac's In Love With You" written by Alice Cooper, Desmond Child, Bob Held, and Tom Teeley
POISONED (2004-2013)
By: Genni Stanfer
Chapter 1
Somewhere in a land further away than any human can understand and yet close enough reach out and touch, a king ruled. His name was Vincent. He sat on his throne in his castle. A boa constrictor slithered around him, its tongue flicking in and out, testing the air. Vincent looked human, but possessed magic abilities. He had dark hair almost black that was untamed and fell just past his shoulders. He wore black leather pants which came up high on his waist and were done up with a suede lace. He also wore a black shirt that hung loose and open at the front, black calf boots, and black leather gloves. Two large belts circled his waist. One with a skull at the front and centre, the other was covered with metal studs. In one hand he held a riding crop.
The throne room was made out of black stone. There were mirrors on the walls, but none of them rectangular or round in shape, instead the sides were unmatched and uneven at different lengths. The frames were black depicting serpents. In the center of the room was a pit alive with the slithering of snakes and the floor was covered with dried leaves which had blown in from outside the castle.
Vincent had seemed deep in thought when Alice, the constrictor, had slithered across his chest and around his shoulders. Though most would think of the name Alice as belonging to a female, the snake was in fact male. No one really knows or remembers why the snake was given such a name, but all had become so used to it, they never thought twice about it anymore.
Suddenly a guard came rushing into the throne room yelling, "There's a girl on the steps to the castle!"
"What?", Vincent asked in a quiet yet menacing tone. He stared at the guard as if he were mad. Alice slithered to the ground.
"A girl, your majesty", he replied with a trembling voice.
Vincent got up and walked out to the balcony with Alice trailing behind him. Vincent looked over the rail as Alice slithered up his leg, then around his waist to finally rest upon his shoulders. They were both shocked to find that a girl was in fact lying below on the steps. "How could a human come into our world? I closed the gate years ago," Vincent wondered aloud.
"You know the only way for a human to enter our world is if they wish for it with all their being, whether they know another world outside theirs exists or not," Alice replied, not out loud with words, but in Vincent's mind. "Also . . ."
"What?" Vincent snapped.
"She could be the one in the prophecy."
"I doubt it, but we'll see. Send someone to bring her up."
Alice slithered back to the ground again and left the balcony. Vincent stared at the girl for a little while longer then went back to his throne.
Shortly thereafter four pythons which had transformed to human form from the waist up, brought forth the girl, each carrying a limb. Vincent left his throne to inspect her.
She lay unconscious. She was very thin. Her clothes were stained with dirt and soaked through. Vincent sneered with disgust when he saw bruises on her arms. He could sense, even smell the man who had done it to her. Vincent may be cruel and even have no use for women, but he still would never stoop to such a level as to hit one. Humans sickened him. He took his riding crop and pushed her hair back from her face and saw the deep gash on her forehead. He also noticed the dark circles under her eyes. Vincent's own eyes narrowed and grew dark. "Take her to one of the unoccupied rooms. I'll be there to question her in a minute."
They nodded and left. Vincent glared at Alice to stop him from saying what he knew was on both their minds. Could she save their Kingdom? Then he headed for the room where he sensed they had taken her.
~*~*~*~*
He stood for a moment, staring at her lying on the bed. What was he going to do? Should he listen to Alice that this girl may be the one? His land was dying. There was no hope left. He had done all that he could, but evil had seeped into their world long ago. It had found a home in his kingdom and continued to grow, increasing power everyday. Soon there would be nothing left. Even the creatures who lived here had begun to grow hostile.
The prophecies spoke of a human girl of the light and from a distant world, who has the power to heal. He sighed. He had to do something or there would be no land left to save. The girl would have to stay here for now. He had better heal her or the hope Alice thought they had would be gone too.
He moved closer. She had come through the gate he had long since closed. She must have had a terrible need to escape her own world and cross the barrier. Her passage had not been easy. Besides the bruising, she had numerous cuts on her skin and her clothes were in shreds from the resistance she had been met with. He also could see through the slashes in her night gown that her left breast had purple smudges on it. His lips curled back. "Humans!" He sat on the bed and removed what remained of her night gown. He removed the glove from his right hand and reached out towards her heart. Just then she awoke.
Mercy gasped and shrank away when she saw him, grabbing a pillow to cover herself. She felt as if she were staring into the face of the devil himself. Had she entered Hell? His eyes, which were such a dark blue they were almost black, had dark circles around them with dark lines running down his face. There were also black lines running from the corners of his mouth to his chin, almost as if he had drunk the devil's blood and survived, and this was proof of the trials he had overcome. But underneath the stains she could see that he wasn't ugly and she had the feeling he was not as evil as he looked.
"Am I dead?" She found the courage to ask when he only stared.
"Are you in pain?" he asked mockingly.
"Yes," she replied hesitantly, wondering what he was getting at.
"I think when you're dead you don't feel anything." He paused then added, "Unless maybe if you're in hell, which isn't too far from the truth."
Mercy shivered, now taking notice of how her whole body ached on top of the pain from the bruises and cuts. When she tried to move further away a moan escaped before she could stop it.
"I can heal you, and if you want to live I'm going to have to since travelling through the closed gate almost killed you. And it would kill all but a select few. Actually you don't have a choice anyway."
"I don't understand. Who are you and where am I?"
"I'm Vincent." He hesitated, not wanting to give her any information knowing what she could do with it. But the fates had decided. She was not going to be leaving here. Anyone else who came here would never leave again. "I'm the King of this land. You're in my castle. Now tell me who you are and how you got here."
"My name's Mercy. How I got here, I don't know . . . I was running, I fell, and I woke up here."
His eyes darkened again. She wasn't telling him everything, but for her to cross the borders she had to of wanted to escape desperately. She struggled to sit up and winced at the pain shooting through her body. As he moved closer, she shrank away and he could tell it wasn't just because he was a stranger and his appearance startled her. It was something deeper. People in her world had not been kind to her. Some of the marks on her were old. She had been attacked before.
Her eyes darted towards the door, but if she ran where would she go in this strange world. There could be something far worse waiting out there and maybe Vincent knew how to get her back home. Besides she didn't think she had the strength to get out of the bed let alone run anyway. She turned her attention back to him. Her body shaking as he neared.
He needed to put energy into her whole system to stop her from dying, but he could tell from her fear that he would have to go slow and start with some superficial wounds.
Vincent reached out his hand again and she gasped when he touched her face. Holding her breath she let it out when she realized the pain from the gash on her forehead was gone. The wound had completely healed!
Both hands, now gloveless at his mere thought, rested on her shoulders. She flinched away from his touch, her body very aware of the man. His hands slid down her arms and rested over the finger marks there. As they lingered on that spot, his eyes grew darker still and she tried to swallow the fear in her throat. This man she didn't even know who looked like he had been to hell and back, held her in his hands and could attack her at any moment. Yet his hands continued on, all the way down to her fingertips and the pain was gone. He couldn't risk wasting any more time and energy now. He tried to pull away the pillow she was clutching to her chest.
"I can't," she whispered desperately.
"You'll die," he said simply. She looked into his eyes and knew that she had no choice. Reluctantly she let him pull the pillow away. She gasped and blushed when he put his hand over her heart. She felt her whole body grow cold and then warm. She felt as if every cell in her body was being energized. A bright light shone out from beneath his hand, as if coming from her heart and soul. He took his hand away and she blinked at him. She suddenly felt so alive, when a minute ago she felt, and a part of her believed, that her life was coming to an end.
"The burst of energy you feel now won't last long. I'll heal the rest of your injuries then you have to sleep." She could tell by his voice that healing her had drained much of his energy. He stared at the finger marks on her breast and she looked away in shame, but she turned back to him in surprise when he started to sing. His voice wasn't beautiful. It was rough and jagged, but the words made her cry with their truth.
"Man got his woman to take his seed
He got the power - oh, she got the need
She spends her life through pleasing up her man
She feeds him dinner or anything she can
She cries alone at night too often
He smokes and drinks and don't come home at all
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Man makes your hair gray, he's your life's mistake
All you're really lookin' for is an even break
He lies right at you, you know you hate this game
He slaps you once in a while and you live and love in pain
She cries alone at night too often
He smokes and drinks and don't come home at all
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Man got his woman to take his seed
He got the power - oh, she got the need
She spends her life through pleasing up her man
She feeds him dinner or anything she can
She cries alone at night too often
He smokes and drinks and don't come home at all
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Black eyes all of the time
Don't spend a dime
Clean up this grime
And you there down on your knees begging me please
Come watch me bleed
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Only women bleed
Only women bleed"
She flinched at how accurate his words were. How did he know so much about it? She knew he understood. He did not condone such treatment of women. His words gave her a small measure of trust. She looked into his eyes and nodded for him to continue healing her.
Her head had barely moved, but he saw her assent. His hand touched the mark on her breast and in that brief moment he relived what was done to her. His eyes flashed lightning and her breath left her, but he quickly continued on. There was a deep gash on her side and thigh. When he was done healing those he asked her, "Where else were injured?"
Mercy hesitated then reluctantly pointed to her back. She slowly turned so he could see. There were marks on her, old scars and he knew that more than one man had hurt her in her short life. He put his hand on her back to heal the raised red and purple vertical line bisecting her spine. A chill ran through her as he touched it.
"Go to sleep now," he said when he was finished. She ducked under the covers and despite the energy she felt before, she fell instantly asleep.
Vincent made his way to a chair in the corner. Physically drained, he too slept.
Mercy was jolted awake by a crash downstairs. It was him! How had he found her? Without stopping to change from her nightgown into some clothes, she ran into the hallway and hid in the closet. She tried to steady her breathing and quiet her pounding heart. She heard the floorboards creak as he passed, making his way down the hall to her bedroom. She swallowed then opened the door a crack just in time to see him disappear into her room. She quickly ran down the stairs, but it was too dark to see and she banged into a table.
He heard the noise and came tearing down the stairs before she could get to her car keys. He grabbed her roughly by the arms, bruising them. She struggled to break free but he shoved her back against the railing of the stairs. He held her there and grabbed her breast roughly. "I'll teach you for running away from me."
She did the only thing she could think of and brought her knee up. It connected with his groin. He immediately released her, cursing her as he doubled over in pain. She ran out of the house and into the field. She lived out in the country with no other houses in sight. There would be no one to hear her screams. She thought it would have been harder for him to find her out here, but she realized too late that if he did find her it would be all to easy for him to harm her and not much she could do about it. She sent out a silent prayer - a wish - that she could escape. Escape more that just the man following her, escape this world altogether. She kept running until her lungs burned and her legs turned into rubber. Her feet dragged more and more until she finally tripped. Her head connected with a rock and then everything went black . . .
Mercy awoke and it took her a moment to realize where she was. She looked at her surroundings and knew it hadn't been a dream. Her trip to this strange land had been real and someone had healed her . . .
She jumped in surprise when she saw him sitting in the corner watching her. Had he been there all night?
Vincent had watched her tossing and turning in her sleep. She even cried out a couple times. For some reason it made him feel . . . he settled on the word uncomfortable, though truthfully it felt more like concern. Having concern for a girl like her was an impossibility since that day . . .
"That was some dream you were having," he said in a mocking tone. He waited for her to give him the details of the dream, but she only shivered and said nothing.
Slightly irritated he said bluntly, "Now that you're feeling better we should get something straight. You coming to this land was a huge mistake on your part. Humans have been banished long ago. They destroyed this part of the Underground, which is our home. I closed the gates between our worlds, so I'm not sure how you got through, but now that you're here, you can't go back. You can't leave."
"What? You can't keep me here forever! I don't belong here!"
"Oh, and you did where you were before? Is your world worth going back to?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know how I got here. It was a mistake!"
"There's only one possible way to come here and that's to wish you were here."
"But I didn't mean it."
"Oh you didn't? You must have been in desperate need to cross through the gates after I closed them. You are the first person to do it."
"But why can't I go back?"
"Because that's how our land was destroyed!"
She wanted to protest and question him more, but his sudden anger frightened her into silence. After a minute he continued in a calmer tone. "For now you'll stay here, in the castle, until I decide what to do with you. You can go down to the kitchen and get something to eat. The bathroom is through there." He pointed to a door to her right. "If you want to bathe, I'll send someone up." He held out his hand and his gloves appeared in it. He pulled them on and left before she could say anything more.
After Vincent left, before Mercy could think on what he'd said, the door opened a crack and a bat flew in. Mercy screamed. The bat landed on her bed then transformed into a human woman, except for her wings which had grown to match the size of her new form.
"Hi, I'm here to help you get cleaned up." The bat/woman got up, stuck her head out the door, and called for water to be brought up.
"Who are you?" Mercy asked trying to keep her surprise in check.
"I'm Mary and I hear you're the one who made it through the gate. You sure must have been in dire straits to accomplish that."
There was a knock at the door and the water was brought in by more women similar to Mary. They filled up the tub and left. Mary took Mercy's hand and led her to the tub. "Are you really the one to save our world?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Where am I? What's this gate? Do you know how I can get back?"
"Our Kingdom is one of many in the Underground, a world that parallels yours. The two worlds rarely connect or cross, but there have been some exceptions. We cannot survive in any other Kingdom or in your world, Aboveground, though we can stay there for a short time. At one time the gate between your world and our Kingdom was always open. Humans who wished to escape their world could come through. That's how I came here. They could become a part of the Kingdom if they wanted to, with certain abilities. Once you came you didn't leave. Few ever wanted to or if they did, they would not have a way back. One day a disaster befell us that slowly began killing our world. It is dying even now, so the gates were closed for all time. You must have had great need and great power to make it through."
"I don't have any power. What happened that caused this world to start dying?"
"We don't speak of that day for fear of loosing our heads. If the King found out . . ." she whispered glancing nervously to a mirror on the wall. "The prophecies suggest you can save our world."
"Me? How can I save it?"
"No one knows for certain."
"I think there's been a mistake."
"Oh, I've probably said too much already. Come on. Let's get you dressed and something to eat. You must be starving."
On cue Mercy's stomach growled it's agreement as she got out of the tub.
Vincent stood outside the castle speaking with Alice. "Have you found anything out about our situation? You know we have maybe a month left."
"I know," Alice sighed in his head. "You know about the rumours that the Labyrinth was having an unpleasant time, but somehow there was a wondrous turnabout even involving a human girl?"
"Yes, I had heard something about that. Send a messenger to the Labyrinth to try and find out all they can about this. It could help us."
"I'll send someone right away, but what about the girl?"
"We'll have to be careful with the evil tainting the land and everyone in it."
"Yes, I've noticed some of our python guards getting restless and even violent. She may be attacked."
A kind of ice fire leapt in Vincent's eyes for a moment. He knew all too well what could happen and he was sure Mercy, from past experiences with men, knew it too. Vincent wordlessly headed back into the castle.
Alice watched him go, shaking his head. What would he do when the messenger brought back word? He hadn't wanted to tell Vincent about the Labyrinth, but he had to give him something. Alice knew the rest of the prophecy. He had damaged the book himself to prevent Vincent from seeing it.
'The one who holds the power to heal, is one of light from a distant world, but only by a love that's real, can it be done by King and girl.'
Vincent would never get close to a woman again. They had so little time. Alice hoped nature would take its course. If Vincent knew about the prophecy he might try to create something that wasn't there just to save the kingdom and its people. Alice knew that it wouldn't work that way.
After being shown the kitchens where she was given some food by the cook, Mercy stepped into the empty dinning hall. It was massive. It had high ceilings and large glass windows with heavy red drapes. In the centre of the room was a huge table that seemed to stretch on forever. She walked over to one of the windows to the left of the table and peered out. The sky was dark and cloudy. She could see the front steps where she had first landed when she had entered this world. Beyond that was a forest of leafless trees. It appeared to be nearing Winter here though the temperature was warm.
"Enjoying the view?"
Mercy jumped out of her skin. She didn't hear Vincent approaching. Trying to cover up her surprise she asked, "How big is your kingdom? What's beyond that forest? Are there towns and villages?"
"The Kingdom is vast. The land's mostly forest, but there's a village to the west, a short distance from the castle. Once the evil set in, it not only destroyed the land, but also affected all the creatures in it. The people here used to have homes throughout the forest as well, but now most roam wildly about. The small number who have not been affected yet moved into the castle for protection. Time is running out for our Kingdom. I think we have only a month left, but I don't want to cause mass hysteria. The people here don't know the end's so near, but the food is nearly all gone and it's been Fall ever since . . ." he trailed off. "There's no sunlight anymore . . ." he said distractedly. Then coming back to himself, he continued. "The neighbouring Kingdoms have tried to help us, but there's not much they can do. We can visit their land but can't stay there long. We can only survive in our own."
"Mary said I may be able to help, but I don't see how."
"Really?" Vincent raised an irritated eyebrow. It seemed the woman had a loose tongue.
"Please don't be angry with her."
Vincent regarded Mercy with surprise that she was concerned for someone she just met, especially a creature like Mary. Finally he sighed. Again, what could she do with this information with the gate now closed?
"Yes, we don't know how yet, but the prophecy foretells that someone of light from a distant world will have the power to heal this land. Also one of our neighbouring kingdoms, the Labyrinth, was in a similar situation. They were not as far gone as we are, but a human girl supposedly saved their land somehow. I sent a messenger to try and find out all he can about how they were able to save it."
"What if I do help to save it, then can I leave?"
"No, anyone who comes through can't go back."
"Why?"
"Don't ask that."
"But will I die if I stay in your world?"
"I doubt it because you were able to make it though in the first place and survive. You must have a bit of the power. So I'd say you can survive in the Underground. Actually it's Aboveground where you don't belong. Eventually it would have killed you, or at the very least you would have gone insane."
Mercy would have laughed at his prediction if the words hadn't sent a chill down her spine and if it weren't for the fact that his eyes said he spoke the truth. She wondered what had happened so long ago to send his world into darkness.
"You can come to the kitchens anytime for food. If you want to go into town, I'll take you, but never leave the castle alone and don't go wandering around the castle either." With that he left.