Don't forget to listen to the songs!
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Chapter 26: Nightmare (satanwave)
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Kid waited outside the main hall with trepidation. His Soul Perception picked up Giriko and Mosquito heading towards the entrance, while mother, Aunt Medusa and that disgusting Clown remained stationary.
Kid's face shifted to a slight frown. What on Earth was mother doing meeting with these people? Was she planning an alliance with the Kishin's Clowns to retaliate against what was left of the Academy? If so, why was Aunt Medusa here as well?
Before Kid could ponder the reason behind Arachnophobia's 'guests', the massive vaulted doors creaked open. Candlelight spilled in the hallway behind Kid -had he walked all this way while bathed in darkness?- as he stood at the precipice between rooms.
Kid squinted and when his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw mother stare down at him from her throne with a neutral expression. Though Kid could sense Aunt Medusa's and the Clown's soul, they were further back hidden away from view. A strange sarcophagus-like contraption stood in the middle of the hall. An even stranger thing about the room though were Mosquito and Giriko. Mosquito's hat lay at his lap, while Giriko's back was hunched, the faint rumblings of his engine coming from his form. Mosquito's gaze was fixed on Kid while Giriko was looking away, lips curled. Were they preparing for a fight?
Kid's first instinct was to run but he stood still, hoping he wasn't acting like a deer in headlights. He never thought this was gonna be easy, but if Kid was already suspected of being a Grim Reaper then it would only make matters worse of him.
"Yes?" came mother's voice after a period of silence. It was as cold as her expression and shiver went up Kid's spine.
"I…" Kid began, keeping his hands firmly at his sides and trying to make himself as non-threatening as possible, "I need to tell you something." He glanced at Mosquito and Giriko to gauge their reactions, but Mosquito's gaze remained firm while Giriko shifted, as if trying to prevent his tense muscles from cramping.
Great, this was going from bad to worse.
"What is it?" Mother asked. Her tone was glacial and Kid held back a flinch.
"I need to tell you in private," Kid let out after a few seconds. Even if mother didn't try to kill him, he couldn't say the same about Aunt Medusa or that disgusting red soul. Mosquito and Giriko may also attack him if they saw Kid as a threat, which was a sure-fire way for everything to go to hell in a handbasket.
"Why?" came mother's voice, just as cold as before.
Kid grit his teeth but still didn't dare look up, instead glancing at Mosquito and Giriko, who had both taken a step towards him. Dammit, this was like pulling teeth.
"It's…" Kid hesitated. "It's about what happened while we were captured by the Academy," he eventually said, hoping it wouldn't make him any more suspicious than he already was, or that it would somehow relieve the suffocated atmosphere of the main hall.
No such luck. If anything, the lack of response and ensuing silence only made Kid feel like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
With a gulp, Kid looked up. "Mother?"
Mother's-Arachne's face was scrunched up in disgust.
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Arachne thought herself a cold-hearted woman. Oh, she could be kind, gentle, maternal, and of a general caring disposition if she wished, but doing so required effort on her part. Arachne was aware of her callous nature, or how she would perform feats or dictate orders that would have other squirming in their seats while battling with their conscience and morality. Arachne did have a conscience per se, as well as a set of morals, but the former had been withered away by her lived experiences, while the latter were a series of guidelines that should ideally follow.
Point being, Arachne had plenty of experience being subjected to cruelty and being cruel herself. The Old Witch had beheld horrifying designs and her first reaction had been to wonder about how she would make them more efficient, instead of sending her down a spiral of doubting vague notions of humanity. She had watched and performed acts of torture without batting an eye, as well as had similar procedure performed on her on the few occasions she had found herself in true peril. The Mother of Demons had performed ritualistic sacrifice that involved those of her own kin, she meddled with souls despite their heart-stopping cries, she stared down Death without flinching. Throughout all this, she had come out stronger, convinced that the list of things that could truly horrify her was becoming smaller with each traumatic event that didn't break her.
This however… Watching the cold-blooded murder of her child was one thing, one more scar to add to her sickening collection. Having one of her most feared and despised archenemies take up the body of her diseased child and pretend to be him however, even going as far as to call her 'mother' with that same voice, that same tone…
Arachne was stricken with grief, but she only allowed it to physically manifest as a scowl of such fury that would have grown adults cower like children. Her initial plan of pretending to be unaware of Death's disgusting ploy until he eventually grew bored or too suspicious and made the first move was over. She no longer had to pretend to be unaware of his shtick even if it sent waves of revulsion across her soul. There were no more appearances to keep. Time to make her move.
"Mother what's-"
"Who are you?" Arachne let out, barely restraining herself from growling the question. Even if this was over, she wanted Death to admit to this repulsive trick, to give up the ghost and face her like the goddamn eldritch being that he was, not as her son-
Ki-Death took a step back, their expression a perfect imitation of confusion and dread. "I-I'm Kid-"
"No, you're not," Arachne cut him off, her hands balling into fists when Death dared refer to himself by that name. "Don't mock me like that."
Arachne was stuck between delight and horror when Ki-Death's stolen face fell, his hesitant smile replaced by an expression of abject terror. Though it was her enemy was making such an expression, the face belonged to her son and it reminded her the last time she had seen such a look on him, just before he had been...
The doors behind the main hall closed as Giriko and Mosquito slowly approached Death. However, her enemy's attention was solely focused on her, as if no one else in the room existed. "Wait-"
"I don't care what reasons you had to do something this underhanded, or why you still insist on keeping up that guise," Arachne continued, biting down her tongue to stop tears of indignation that threatened to spill out. "Your machinations end now, Death."
K-Death's face momentarily froze before going through a myriad of expressions. Ah there it was, that spark of recognition, of familiarity at Death's name, something Kid would never have.
"No," Death choked, "I'm not-"
"The more you keep impersonating my child, the deeper the grave you're digging, so how about you discard this disguise, stop being a coward and face me-!"
"It's me, mom!" the yell reverberated across the room and Arachne froze. This was… this was Kid's voice, the tone, the intonation, the way he said mom like he had last time when Arachne had accidentally strung him up-
It was fortunate Arachne was sitting down, for her knees went weak, her breath hitched. This couldn't be… Could an imitation be this perfect?
Arachne couldn't do this, not anymore. She wanted a break, she wanted to lay down, to let herself curl up into a ball-
"Lady Arachne," came the Clown's voice, causing her to jolt. "I believe it is obvious now. Your orders?"
Death -Kid?- craned his neck to see who was hiding in the shadows, giving Arachne a brief view of his collar and the scar that lay underneath.
The scar. The scar that used to be torn, bleeding flesh, a wound no living being could recover from…
"Get him," Arachne snapped, not wanting to hear any more of that voice. Even if she was aware that something else was pulling the strings it did so with such craft that she may even delude herself into thinking it was real.
Her eyes locked with Dea- Ki- Death's and Arachne hated every moment of it.
"I want Death out of my sight."
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Oh no
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