Escape the Night: Darkness Rises

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night! Yup, it's time for the next chapter and sorry for the delay between updates, but work has gotten busier at the movie theater, and I've been helping babysit my nephews. So, time to see what is going to happen to Joey and Dawn next. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen to create.

CHAPTER TWO: CODE RED! CODE RED!

In a hidden location, the woman was spying on Joey by way of her crystal ball, observing his day-to-day life, who he interacted with, and the growing Darkness within him. She'd been keeping tabs on the Darkness and it's progression of growth, which had been hampered by the presence of a force of purity and goodness – a certain Light.

She knew that the Light could only come from one source, and that was a Light-bearer, which meant that Joey was spending time with a Light-bearer. But which of the people he spent with was the Light-bearer? She'd never encountered a Light-bearer, but she knew of them, and if there was a Light-bearer anywhere near Joey and the Darkness, then that was both a good thing and a bad thing when it came to her plan.

'It doesn't matter whether he's friend with a Light-bearer or not,' she thought, watching the YouTuber in the crystal ball. 'Both he and the Light-bearer will be able to move my plan forward, and that's all that matters. And soon enough, that Darkness will be ripe for the taking, and I will have that Darkness for my own uses.'

It'd been five weeks since the memorial service and James was in the study of the safe house, making arrangements to have Joey and Dawn brought there to remove the Darkness from the YouTuber with her help, even though it meant that the brunette was going to be have to told the truth about the Light inside her, and her being the Light-bearer.

James hadn't been keen on this plan, but the Council of Elders had been insistent since it was clear that the Darkness inside Joey was growing, even with the time he'd been spending with the actress and the exposure to her Light, and recent reports have shown that the YouTuber himself was starting to become aware that there was something wrong with him.

'I would much rather have Dawn figure out how to summon the Light on her own,' he thought, going over the plan for bringing Joey and Dawn to the safe house, making sure that all the details were accurate, 'but it's clear that waiting isn't an option any longer, and this may be the only way to ensure that the Darkness doesn't overwhelm or kill Joey.'

Little did he know, but someone else was interested in the Darkness, and this person had a different plan for it.

'It's time,' the woman thought, once again watching him by way of the crystal ball, watching as Joey moved around his bedroom after doing something at his laptop, 'the Darkness is strong, and the time to bring it to me is now.'

"Come to me, Darkness," she commanded as she waved her hand, which was now glowing purple, over the crystal ball, and the purple magic was absorbed into the crystal. "Come to me, vessel that carries the Darkness. Come to me, Joey Graceffa." And she watched, pleased, as her magic made itself invisible as it flowed toward and into the young man without his knowledge, and the Darkness started reacting to the dark magic. "Yes, come to me. Come."

Meanwhile at the safe house, James suddenly stiffened, sensing that something was off somewhere, and he stood up when there was frantic knocking on the double doors. "Enter." And the doors burst open as a younger man rushed inside with a frantic expression on his face, clutching a piece of paper in one hand. "What happen? Is it the Darkness?" he asked, hoping that he was wrong, and that they weren't too late to help Joey.

"Sir, there has been a spike of Dark activity at the residence of Joey Graceffa and Daniel Preda," the younger man answered, proving his boss right. "It only lasted a few seconds, but our agents in the immediate area detected dark magic right before the spike occurred."

'This is bad,' James thought, wishing that he'd done something about the Darkness sooner, 'this is very bad.' "Did Joey contact anyone before the spike?"

The younger man checked the paper and nodded. "Yes, just as the buildup started, he called Dawn Hatcher," he responded, handing over the paper. "It's very likely that she will be heading there to check on Mr. Graceffa."

"Given their friendship and her strong empathy toward others, then she will definitely be wanting to make sure that Joey is ok," James agreed, coming a decision that he knew wouldn't make the brunette too happy with him, but with this current twist of fate, it was important that he see her, and this was the only way. "Alert our agents to be ready to enter Joey Graceffa's after Dawn Hatcher arrives and enters the place," he ordered. "And since it's likely that she will be in quite an emotional state, make sure that they have sedatives ready should she prove to be unwilling to go with them, and have her brought here as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

James sat back down at his desk while the younger man left the study, and he looked over the report on the paper, noting the time of when the Darkness spiked, and it'd been at the same time that he'd sensed that something was wrong. 'Dawn will be angry with me for having her sedated and for what is happening to Joey,' he thought, putting down the paper and picked up the nearby phone to alert the other leaders and send word to the Council of Elders about what was happening.

The woman was gleefully watching the scene in the crystal ball: she watched as Joey was nearly knocked over by the Darkness rising up inside him, making the desperate phone call to Dawn, trying to warn her, and then collapsing to the floor, unconscious as the Darkness overwhelmed him completely. "Yes," she whispered as her magic engulfed the young man, and he disappeared from the house. "Yes, come to me, Joey, come to me."

'The girl that he was trying to contact,' she thought, turning away from the crystal ball, and headed out of the room she was currently in, 'it is possible that she could be the one with the Light, and if so, then I am sure that I can get her identity from Joey once he arrives.' Yes, if that girl was the Light-bearer, then she would fit perfectly for her plan.

A/N: Uh oh! Joey's been taken! Someone help! I will see you all tomorrow to see what will happen next. Bye for now! R&R everyone!