Author's Note: This is basically the adjusted version of the first chapter of the chapter 'Bale', enjoy J

Oh, and by the way, due to my poor method of picking which of my stories to update, I have set up a poll for you guys to vote J

The story with the most votes will be updated next after this, then it will be reset once I have updated with that story.

Please vote :3

Enjoy!

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
J. Robert Oppenheimer

An uncontrollable laugh flew from his abnormal throat, only to be seized by a wall of sharp teeth, grinding together into a maddening smile; his red, ruby-shaped eyes narrowed in excitement as he gave a joyful shiver, a gnarl echoed in alter of his laugh.

"The voices..." He spoke, his slim, black tongue dancing from his inhuman mouth, echoes around him whispered, everything closed around him as looked to the black eternity beneath him, he gave another shiver has he chuckled to himself, impatiently hissing as familiar voices beamed from his steel memories.

"...what is your name..."

He gave a snort at the words.

"H-Heloise." Said frightened, young female voice; echoing within his past.

"The voices..." Sharp, claw-like fingers raised and tensed in different directions independently, his mandibles closed around his mouth, a hiss echoed from his mouth, towering over the whispers around him. His eyes widened, and then narrowed again in a pleased realisation.

"It is time..."

Late midnight; or so Lucius had last checked. Such a time was a disgraceful hour for a Heinous to leave work at, but it made no difference. The Tyrant of Miseryville had a busy day, working on his papers in his desk, writing with a grumble with his feather-ink pen scratching away on the relentless amounts of files. The night had already sowed around him, blackening his huge office into silent shadows.

At most times the dictator could leave work at whatever he would wish, but there was always the rare occasion where Lucius could not avoid work, this was no alternative.

The devil had finally finished with the paperwork, neatly placing them by the side of his desk. It had taken him all evening to work on, but that hard stress was over, at least for perhaps another few years, or less.

The factory was dead silent; usually Misery Inc. would have its ocean employees working twenty-four- seven to keep the factory producing more misery in relentless effort, but the noisy machines, the banging, the explosions, even the miserable groaning were simply too distracting for Lucius to keep focused on his paperwork, forcing them all to have the whole evening off until the next morning. Lucius regretted such a decision; it would simply show too much of his soft side, but he forced himself into calm, relaxing at thought of simply forcing them into even harder labour tomorrow, this, for the moment, made the Heinous give himself a satisfied grin.

Samy Garvin would be waiting for Lucius outside his office; the private limo had been prepared for him outside the factory. This was perhaps the first time in a long decade or two since Lucius himself had actually been the last living creature to leave the factory at the day's end. Lucius gave a hopeless sigh at the thought; leaping off his seat, he smoothly walked to his coat-rack beside his desk, pulling a small grey jacket from the rack and slipping himself into it, then adjusting his direction to the wide-open office door with a depressed stroll, with no practical work in the factory, the electricity would not work; Lucius would be forced to walk through the corridors in the dark. A good night's sleep and a late morning would at least relieve all this stress and exhaustion and he could start all over again tomorrow.

A violent slam invaded his ears, Lucius responded with a startled halt as his heart's paste sped; his head span around different directions, but he could not see a thing, everything around him shrouded and darkened further; the doors had slammed themselves shut, sealing away any visible light for Lucius to see.

Breathing heavily, Lucius quickly calmed himself down. Samy; that lazy runt; he must have had clumsily closed the door by accident. With that, Lucius tensed his teeth together, his temper was fragile, and the thought of strangling that so-called 'assistant' just drove his temptation to go for it even further without remorse.

It was from that, did the tyrant notice that the temperature had dropped rapidly. Even with his thick, leather jacket on, he began to shiver, he could feel the cold touch his red skin, his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and he noticed a shrouded figure leaning on the wall by the corner.

"S-Samy?" Lucius questioned.

The figure reacted as it pushed itself from the side wall, slowly walking towards Lucius, both arms wrapped behind it in a secrecy pose.

The figure halted, perhaps now just two metres from Lucius's calculations, its right arm slowly rose at the Heinous; the thick blade of a knife raising from the hand, pointing at the tyrant in a threatening pose. Lucius backed away in shock, his eyes quickly concentrated on the figure, something triggered, and he recognised the character immediately.

"H-H-Heloise?" Lucius's trembling lips questioned to the top inventor, she stood there; head hanging loosely, inhumanely, the knife pointing at her boss, and loose, messy hair dangling down her face all over, a uncomfortable smile lit from her face, clearly visible through the dark.

"Little Lucius..." Heloise said. Her head tilted towards her master, there was no recognition of that girl Lucius knew; her eyes, narrow and thin, Lucius saw nothing of his inventor, but a face of complete madness, added with a horrific grin stretching to the end of her cheeks.

"H-Heloise, what are you doing! What is the meaning of this?"

Heloise made a small chuckle. "Six years I have remained patient for my turn Lucius. Six years I have been your puppet, and now I shall take you place in this underused throne!"

Lucius hesitated. The voice, something echoed behind the girl's voice. It was a deeper, much more 'male' tone that mirrored Heloise's words.

The tyrant suddenly halted. The fear and confusion shut off from him completely, clenching his fists as his look began to tense at the girl.

"Bale..."

The name itself changed the rhythm of the dark atmosphere from his lips, and it was from that name, did Heloise's smile drop down immediately into an unsatisfied look.

"You're a joy-killer, Lucius." Heloise snorted inhumanly. Then her lips curled back into a smile.

"...but, those emotions you let out, definitely worth the satisfaction for me, Lucius..."

Lucius responded with a twitch by his eyes. "How dare you morph into one of my workers! Turn to your original form at once, daemon!"

Heloise's look darkened, lowering her head in a disgusted manor, her skin, no, her entire body suddenly darkened, eventually taking into a complete blackened colour that shrank the dark itself; Heloise eventually looked exactly like a shadow, then, her entire body began to evaporate away into mist, her whitened eyes finally fading away, the shadow retook its form, growing into a more taller creature.

Before Lucius, before the Heinous, was stood a slim form of a shadow of a eight, perhaps ten-foot-tall figure, the body was inhumanly slim, the creature's head was triangular; slim, thorn-covered antennae danced above it, and from the shadowy body, came deformed, disfigured arms, at the end of each one, sharpened claw-like hands opened wide from its palm; two massive leathery-shaped wings spread out behind it's back, its bottom-half of the body faded away into smoke, and then, from its head, two massive burning red ruby-shaped eyes opened out, staring sharply to Lucius. The creature looked down to the tyrant, staring at him like a hungry vulture as its head lowered down to the Heinous, insect-like mandibles soon became visible to Lucius's eyes on the creatures supposed-mouth, with inhuman jaws almost directly in front of his face now, the creature gave a disturbed hiss, its mouth slowly barred open, pumps of fleshy black ichor vomited from out its disgusting lips, pouring onto the floor in front of the red devil, a slim, black tongue snaked out from its mouth, teasingly wriggling and twirling, to a mortal like Lucius, was practically like looking at a horrific form death itself, or worse. But through the many times Lucius had known Bale, his stubbornness bought him a rather fearless stance, the Heinous recovered himself at the creature, stamping his foot down to regain a dominative pose.

"What do you want? I'm about to leave, and I am really not in the mood for you, Bale!"

From the daemons body, a disgusting, flesh-tearing crack echoed from its body, the creatures hands reached to the ground as its body shrank, shrinking to twice the size of Lucius's own body; settled with the form, its burning left eye widened in a curious look.

"Do I not have the rights to visit you Lucius?" He spoke out in a sinister tone; the creature's voice was beyond inhuman, echoing out through a sharp, hissing tone, which seemed to give a shiver down Lucius's spine. The voice was beyond impaling.

Lucius snorted. "You just want to tease me once again! You don't think I don't know you? I know you like the back of my hand you soul-sucking pest!"

Bale's eyes quickly adjusted themselves into a sharpened look.

"You know little." The daemon hissed out, making a long, sharp chuckle as he did; no matter how short-lived laughter was, it brings a scent of cold madness with it.

The shadow quickly moved away with incredible paste, adjusting its position to Lucius's right, settling as its eyes remained stuck on the devil, emotions sealed out from its cold face.

"You will banish such thoughts Lucius. Such naivety will lead you to a poor fate."

Lucius stood still. He did not look at the daemon, but remained at his stance.

"What do you want?" Lucius demanded.

Bale tilted his head, the daemon didn't hesitate to make a teasing laughter, the sound was like a choking animal, coughing out its last breath.

"I'm hungry Lucius. The deal must continue." The creature whispered. "I'm doing my part in this bargain, so I have for the last three thousand years with your ancestors. You will give me my prey, or I will claim them myself."

Despite the stubborn form Lucius held, the tyrant knew the daemon was correct. But he stiffened up.

"I can't. Can you see a single life stirring in this factory right now? Or has your senses finally dulled you?" Lucius teased.

In response, Bale tilted his head towards the large office window that revealed the view towards the deserted man factory works.

"I am to be fed three souls a year to survive, Lucius. Only three. And yet my 'inaccurate' senses merely sense two." The creature hissed with a taunting laughter. "And I would theorize that neither your or your boot-licks souls are bargained, let alone taste-worthy."

Lucius made a grumble. "Tomorrow. I promise you that."

"You 'promise'?" The daemon replied, making a loud cackle at the red devil, the deathly laughter echoed all around the office room.

"Speak to me, Lucius." He calmed. "...what is 'promise' to you? A sign of honour?" His voice sparked in a sarcastic rhythm.

"You disgusting mortal." He spat out at the devil.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bale..." Lucius stiffened. "...and what do you know about 'honour'?"

Bale tilted his head again, he moved forward around Lucius, now passing behind him as he released another mad chuckle, written like whispers of the dying.

"Honour? Look at yourself Lucius." The daemon makes another sinister cackle. "A child who plays with his toys and you question a daemon like me about 'honour'? Perhaps that injustiful power you have has deluded and twisted your mind of your own philosophies."

Bale made a quick hesitation behind the Tyrants shoulder, he altered the subject. "Your voice is so balanced Lucius, so...'Heroic'." He said in a rather sweet tone. "Has that fear finally fled from you? Or has your mother finally told you there's no such thing as monsters?"

Lucius growled, almost looking offended. "Me? Afraid of you? Why should I be frightened of a mist like you, Bale? You have nothing to threaten me with! Everyone you had was cast from you long ago!"

In quick reply, Bale made another teasing laugh.

Lucius felt his throat suddenly clench up as something grabbed onto his chubby neck, he gave a loud gasp as his windpipe began to struggle for air, the pressure around his neck tightened, he was lifted from his feet, his hands clasping for air, grabbing the thing that clenched on him, feeling the rock-hard shell around it, his eyes caught Bale's shadow, the creature standing in front of the Heinous with its death-like eyes staring in satisfaction, its abnormal hand holding Lucius firmly, in an altered shape of something of a large crab claw. Bale made a small chuckle as Lucius struggled, holding him by the neck like a rag-doll, the daemon quickly made an appeased sound.

"There we are Lucius. There's the naive child I know." He teased.

Lucius felt like he was about to faint through the lack of air, Bale tilted his head, raising his other disfigured hand, he stroked the tyrant's cheek with his cold, shadow-like fingers.

"Can you feel that, Little Lucius?" He questioned. The tyrant could barely respond, he began to make choking sounds.

"A mist is of gas and shadow; my fingers would have flown right through you..."

The crab claw clicked open, Lucius's body dropped and fell to the ground, the tyrant took a gasp of air, and Bale backed away from the red devil, its deathly chuckle following.

"The moon Lucius. The moon and suns grow closer to one another. The eclipse is approaching. After three thousand years, child, after three thousand years have I been idle in this mechanical prison, no one of knowledge to break the curse, to overthrow the Heinous's, and now, finally in four days, this entire city will be shrouded in nightmares of MY cause, not yours."

Bale made a delightful laughter. "I couldn't possibly kill you now Lucius, with power like yours, brings me sport."

Lucius, rubbing his neck, raised his eyes to Bale.

"Y-you can't do this! What do you hope to achieve? Something that nature did not give you? Simply revenge?"

Lucius spat on the ground. "I-I've seen your kind before! Always seeing yourselves as gods, always demanding more and more power, greedy creature's that simply want to control entire worlds! What makes you any different, hmm?"

Bale looked down at Lucius, at first, the daemon made a small chuckle, but then, as if uncontrolled, the chuckle transcended into a climactic, shattering cackle.

"Speak for yourself, mortal!" Bale suddenly spat out. "My history, taunted and ravaged by those varieties of people, and you compare me to those that are mindless?"

Bale shifted himself around Lucius, this time to his right.

"Why should such myths about me fill your little childish mind with lies and..." Bale hesitated.

"...madness..." He spoke out more quietly; making a disturbed laughter as his did, quickly moving on.

"...the mortal mind is a fragile thing, Little Lucius. The right puppeteer can pull the strings of insanity to even the most strong willed..." Bale made a sinister look as his eye narrowed. "...such fun..."

Then, his head turned towards Lucius. "But what is better is that scream you mortals hold through your last breaths before collapsing on the ground, embraced by deaths cold hand. The screams sing to me, like... music..." He said in a more sweetened tone.

The daemon suddenly halted, lifting his head upwards, and then turning back to Lucius. "...but what could you possibly understand Lucius? A man without moral? A man, who is just a small child, and without your army, without your power, without your riches, you're merely a crying toyless boy. You disgusting worm. You compare me with things that you already are. And yet here you stand, armed with everything those miserable of life have wanted, but could never achieve. But in four days Lucius, when your city is buried in shadow..."

Lucius growled. "You in-"

"Four days, Lucius!" Bale interrupted with an insane laughter. "Four days! And I'll show you how to BLEED."

The daemons mandibles slowly opened as his tongue leaked out, dancing in the air. "The bargain has passed away now. It is just a dust of history."

Bale suddenly backed away from Lucius. "Until we...meet again." Bale said, chuckling himself away.

The daemon suddenly began to sink to the ground, the shadow he was made from, scattering itself across the floor around Lucius, the eyes vanished; eventually the shadow vanished, leaving Lucius alone in the dark.

"Four days Lucius. Four days, and I'll show you what I can do."

A far distance from the factory, far into the silent Miseryvillian night, a figure stood, a cigar dangling from his curled mouth, a sly chuckle to himself as he gave a blow of green smoke that swarmed out from his dry lips, triangular teeth barred out into a mad smile.

"Four days...and ya'll by al' mine..."

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