Fates Entwined
Ties That Bind
12 Years Ago…
After much self-doubt, Daria finally worked up the courage to walk up to Butt-head in the playground.
She paused, seeing the two of them in the sandbox with a magnifying glass.
"Hey Beavis, did you know you can start a fire with one of these things?" asked the young Butt-head.
"Whoa, really, that's cool!" Beavis smiled.
"Yeah, all you have to do is hold it over something and you'll burn it!" Butt-head explained.
"So you're saying we can burn anything we want?"
"Pretty much Beavis!"
"I know!" Beavis took something out of his backpack. "How about our math book?"
"Uh, good idea, Beavis! Huh huh huh!"
"Heh heh heh heh heh!" Beavis laughed like a hyena while putting the book on the ground.
"Hold still Beavis, math is about to go up in flames!"
The two of them pointed the magnifying glass at the book, waiting for the book to go up in smoke.
"Hey guys," Daria finally introduced herself to them.
Beavis and Butt-head looked up at her.
"Should you be doing that?" Daria asked, taken aback by the duo's anti-social tendencies.
"Uh, who are you again?" Butt-head asked, frowning.
"I'm from your same class," Daria told them.
"Who are you?" asked Beavis, not recalling her too well.
"My name is Daria," she said to them. "And I don't think it's a good idea to burn your math book…"
"Uh, why do you care?" demanded Butt-head. "School sucks! Huh huh huh!"
"But… don't you want a good education?" Daria was taken aback by Butt-head's attitude. "You can learn a lot and go to college to get a good job!"
"No way!" Butt-head chuckled. "Work sucks! Huh huh huh!"
"Wait, you can't say that!" Daria protested.
"What did you say your name was?" asked Butt-head, having clearly paid little attention to what Daria was saying to him.
"I think her name was Diarrhea!" Beavis nudged his friend.
"Uh, oh yeah!" Butt-head smiled as Daria looked aghast. "What a funny name!"
"Diarrhea… Diarrhea!" Beavis chanted like a hyena.
"Diarrhea… chachacha!" Butt-head added. "Diarrhea… chachacha!"
Before long, the two of them were chanting the phrase like a pair of duet singers, much to Daria's dismay.
A look of sadness crossed Daria's young face. Butt-head was not the cool, classy boy she had thought he was and the fact that they were now mocking her like this came as a crude culture shock to her.
Slowly, Daria began to wonder if men were like this in general.
oooo
Hiding behind a bush, Daria glanced at the Chinese restaurant where her parents and sister were being held. With her were Cassandra and Jane.
Previously, Quinn had texted her, revealing the location of herself and the family. And from the looks of it, her family was in quite a precarious hostage situation.
"Do we have a plan?" asked Jane.
"I'm thinking," Daria peeked through a couple of leaves. "I see my parents at a table over there. And they're surrounded."
"They look armed," Cassandra pointed out.
"Just our luck," Daria frowned. "And I'll be bringing a crossbow to a gunfight."
"Is there any way we can get close to your parents?" asked Cassandra.
"I do have an idea, but it's risky," Daria pointed out. "Jane, as far as the whole town is concerned, do they see your family as being loyal followers of Angra Mainyu?"
"My mom, yeah," Jane admitted. "Though I haven't seen Trent for a while…"
"My idea is that you, Jane, enter the building and inform all those men that you caught me and have me tied up somewhere," Daria suggested. "After you lure them out, I'll go in there and save my family."
"I think I can pull it off," Jane agreed. "As far as anybody in there knows, I'm just as brainwashed as the rest of the town."
"I'll try to sneak in from the back of the restaurant," Daria told Jane. "Good luck."
"Want me to come with you?" asked Cassandra.
"No, I need for you to stay here and be on the lookout," Daria replied. "Can you do that for me?"
"Alright, I'll do that," Cassandra promised.
oooo
"So, you guys say you have experience with cooking?" asked Upchuck.
"Yeah, we used to work for Burger World," Butt-head replied.
"Interesting," Upchuck noted. "I don't think there's one of those burger joints in this part of the United States. Must be a regional thing."
As the three boys reached the back, they saw the Chinese restaurant owner, a middle-aged Chinese man, exit through the back in a hurry.
"Excuse me sir, is something the matter?" asked Upchuck.
"The, uh, restaurant is closed for today," the owner told them nervously.
"Really?" Upchuck was surprised. "But you normally don't close around this hour."
"Special occasion," the restaurant owner told the trio. "Anyways, you want to make something for yourselves? Go ahead."
With that, the owner handed Upchuck the keys to the restaurant and ran off to his car.
"That was… unexpected," Upchuck scratched his head. "But not unwelcome. Come, my friends, we have a whole restaurant to ourselves!"
"This is cool, heh heh heh!" Beavis smiled.
"Yeah, free food, huh huh huh!"
As the three opened the door and headed inside, Daria went around the corner and saw them heading in just in time.
"What the hell are those three doing here?" Daria was left gaping.
oooo
As Jake wiggled and squirmed, Helen looked around nervously. Quinn also sat quietly, as if she was hoping for something to happen.
"Great, now I need to go take a leak," Jake grumbled.
"Don't even think about it," one of the Death Apostles warned.
"You sound familiar," Helen turned around.
"I should," the man took off his hood. "Good to see you again, Helen."
"Eric?!" Helen's eyes widened.
"Yes, it's me," Eric Schrecter, Helen Morgendorffer's boss at her law firm, confessed. "I'm glad to see you again, Helen!"
"I, uh, wish I could say the same," Helen frowned. "But these aren't the best of circumstances."
"Oh, I promise you, things can get better!" Eric Schrecter told her. "Helen, I've held back on my feelings all these years… but I can't hold them back any longer! I love you!"
"What?!" Jake and Quinn gasped.
"Eric, what is the meaning of this?" Helen demanded.
"Helen, I love you!" Schrecter told her. "I can promise you your safety if you leave this idiot Jake and marry me! I'm one of Angra Mainyu's followers and I can guarantee a good life if you say yes! I can even take in Quinn… I'm not so sure about your other daughter though…"
At that moment, Jane walked into the restaurant.
"Uh, did I come in at a bad time?" Jane walked inside, just overhearing Eric Schrecter's love confession.
"Who are you, young lady?" asked Mr. Ruttheimer, who fortunately didn't know about Daria and Jane's friendship.
"I'm with the Lane family," Jane told them. "And I believe I know where Daria is hiding."
"Hmm, that is good news," Mr. Ruttheimer smiled. "However, we were ordered by Angra Mainyu to stay here and watch the Morgendorffer family."
"Oh, so you guys don't want to smoke Daria out of her hole?" asked Jane.
"We do," Ruttheimer replied, to Jane's disappointment. "But we obey Angra Mainyu's word and he did not yet order us to go out hunting for Daria."
"I see," Jane scratched her head. "Well, in that case… I guess I'll wait here with you guys. Can't disobey the master's word and all."
She glanced at Daria's parents with a knowing wink. However, she was not sure if they understood her or not. Jane had never been particularly close to Daria's family.
"Anyways, Helen," Schrecter continued. "What do you say you run off with me?"
"My answer… is no, Eric!" Helen glared at him.
"I see," Schrecter sighed. "In that case, you leave me with no choice but to give you no choice in the matter!"
Immediately he took out a handgun much to the Morgendorffers' and Jane's surprise. Helen's boss took aim at Jake's head.
"I'll just take what I want!" Schrecter smiled. "After this, you'll have to be with me, Helen!"
oooo
Inside the back of the Chinese restaurant, the three boys noticed that the lights were on and the stoves and cooking surfaces were all working. Near the door that led to the inside of the restaurant itself was a grocery cart that still had some food in it.
"So, what's going to be on the menu?" asked Upchuck.
"Uh… I just realized something," Butt-head said.
"Oh, what is that?" Upchuck was curious.
"Beavis and I don't know how to make anything other than burgers! Huh huh huh huh huh!"
"Well, there's got to be some cooking instructions lying around here somewhere, right?" Upchuck looked up and down. "Um, what are you doing, Beavis?"
Beavis was on the other side of the kitchen where there was a large coffee machine, with various sugar cubes scattered around.
"I'm, like, gonna drink some coffee, heh heh heh!"
Suddenly, Daria marched into the door with an expression of anger.
"Just what are you guys doing in here?" demanded Daria, grabbing Upchuck by the arm and pulling him aside.
"W-We were just grabbing a bite to eat!" Upchuck stammered nervously.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of a hostage crisis involving my family and I can't have you three dicking around!" Daria whispered to him sternly.
"Huh huh huh, dicking around…"
Daria looked up to see Butt-head with one foot on top of the grocery cart, playing around on it. She did not, however, notice Beavis pouring warm coffee and sugar cubes down his throat on the other side of the room.
"Butt-head, what are you doing?" Daria demanded. "Get a hold of yourself and get off of that grocery cart!"
"Huh huh huh, you said get off," Butt-head chuckled.
As Daria walked over to Butt-head to try to get him to stop horsing around, she failed to notice Beavis, after having drank enough coffee and eaten enough sugar cubes, putting his shirt over his head and coming in behind Butt-head.
"Seriously Butt-head," Daria told him. "Quit messing around during a time like—"
At once Beavis came in from behind Butt-head just as Daria was standing to his side. Without warning, he began shouting at the top of his lungs.
"I AM CORNHOLIO! LORD OF THE BUNGHOLES!" Beavis shouted. "I REQUIRE TP FOR MY BUNGHOLE!"
With that, he kicked Butt-head in the rear, causing him to lean forward and push the grocery cart right out the door into the main restaurant.
"Beavis!" shouted Daria.
oooo
"I'll just take what I want!" Schrecter smiled. "After this, you'll have to be with me, Helen!"
Eric Schrecter began to pull down on the trigger but as he did, the kitchen door was flung open as a grocery cart, with Butt-head on it, came crashing through.
"Uhhhhh!" Butt-head screamed, holding on for control.
"What the hell?!" Schrecter turned around.
To his misfortune, the grocery cart with Butt-head on it crashed into him, smashing him into one of the windows, cracking it. Soon, both Schrecter and Butt-head were on the floor.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Mr. Ruttheimer demanded.
"You were that hooligan Daria introduced at the church gathering," Ruttheimer realized as he had his remaining men take out guns and train them on the fallen Butt-head.
"Uh, I'm, like, here to get free food, huh huh huh!" Butt-head laughed, getting up.
Three arrows sailed through the air, killing all three Death Apostles before they could use their guns. Ruttheimer turned around, seeing Daria with her crossbow and his own son. He grimaced, realizing that Daria was indeed a good shot with her weapon.
"You!" Upchuck shouted.
"The prodigal son returns," Mr. Ruttheimer frowned. "I hope you're not expecting a warm welcome and a fatted calf."
"Daria!" Jake shouted.
"Daria, are you okay?" asked Helen.
"I'm fine, how about you guys?" asked Daria, stepping over the fallen Eric Schrecter.
"Oh you know… hanging in there," Quinn smiled sheepishly.
As Daria began to untie her family, Eric Schrecter came to his senses and got up, running to the back of the kitchen door.
"That's it, I'm out of here," Schrecter said to himself.
"Let's get you guys out of here," Daria told her family, starting first with Quinn. "Jane, could you give me a hand?"
"Sure thing," Jane went up to Helen and began untying her.
Meanwhile, Upchuck was still in confrontation with his father.
"Why did you do it?" Upchuck demanded, tears dripping down his face. "Why did you kill mom?"
"Life is about sacrifices, boy!" Mr. Ruttheimer told him with no remorse. "In order to survive I had to sacrifice your mother to make it this far!"
"You bastard!" Upchuck lunged at his dad.
Charles Ruttheimer II was momentarily forced back by the ferocity of his son's tackle but soon, kicked his progeny off of him.
"Such a shame I have to do this," Mr. Ruttheimer took out a handgun and pointed it at his own offspring. "But with the promises Angra Mainyu made me, I can easily have more children whenever I want!"
Upchuck raised his hands to ineffectively shield himself but before Mr. Ruttheimer could pull down on the trigger, Daria took notice of what was going on and fired an arrow from her crossbow that struck Mr. Ruttheimer in the heart and knocked him to the floor, causing him to misfire into the air.
The younger Ruttheimer got up and went over to examine his fallen father.
"He… he's dead," Upchuck stated neutrally.
"I'm sorry Charles," Daria told him softly, deciding to call him by his actual name out of respect. "He was going to shoot you and I had to do it."
"No, I understand," Upchuck replied with a sigh. "He didn't leave you with any other choice. I just hope my mother can rest in peace now…"
Jane and the rest of Daria's family went over to Upchuck to help him up as Daria took Butt-head by the shoulder and got him on both feet again.
"Oh yeah, there's just one more thing," Daria realized, looking at the door that led to the kitchen.
oooo
Eric Schrecter went into the kitchen in a huff, looking around just in case there was anybody else in there who could potentially assault him. So far, the coast was clear.
However, the knowledge that he was now unarmed after having dropped his gun after being hit with that grocery cart made him feel naked. Looking around, he saw a cutting knife on one of the tables.
"Well, can't hurt to be prepared for anything else coming my way," Schrecter went over to pick up the knife.
As soon as he picked it up, he thought he heard a noise.
"What was that?" the lawyer looked around, swinging his knife towards the direction where he thought he heard a noise.
There was nothing.
"Whew," Schrecter wiped away from sweat from his head. "Now to get out of—"
Without warning, a crazed figure with a maniacal grin and a shirt over his head, stepped out of the storage fridge, screaming and ranting like a psychopathic drug fiend.
"I AM CORNHOLIO, LORD OF ALL BUNGHOLES!" Beavis screamed. "YOU WILL SERVE THE ALMIGHTY BUNGHOLE OR PERISH!"
"Aaaaaahhhh!" Eric screamed, dropping his knife and backing away in fright.
As he backed away, he accidentally dipped his left hand into some of the boiling hot cooking oil that was still on to make fried foods with.
"Raaaahhh! Son of a bitch!" Eric screamed, lifting his hand out of the boiling oil but falling and tripping again.
"DO NOT DISRESPECT MY BUNGHOLE!" Beavis advanced upon him menacingly. "FOR NO ONE SHALL CROSS THE GREAT CORNHOLIO AND LIVE!"
Getting up, Eric ran towards the exit as fast as he could but on his way out, he accidentally stepped on a push broom on the ground, causing the wooden part of the broom to swing up and painfully strike Schrecter in the face, knocking him out cold on the floor.
"Ugh…" Schrecter moaned.
"Will there be teepee for my bunghole?" Cornholio asked, smiling.
At once Butt-head, Upchuck, and Daria entered into the kitchen. They looked down, viewing Cornholio's handiwork when it came to Eric Schrecter.
"I see you got everything handled," Daria smiled.
"I am Cornholio!" Beavis raised both hands again. "Will you bring agua for my bunghole?"
"Maybe another time, Great Cornholio," Daria told him.
"I am Cornholio… and I need teepee for my bunghole!" Beavis smiled again.
"Uh, who is this guy?" Butt-head asked, nudging the unconscious Schrecter with his foot.
"He's my mom's boss," Daria replied. "And just for the record, I'm really starting to hate the name Eric…"
oooo
"Daria, you're back!" Tom waved as Daria, her family, Jane, the dynamic duo, Upchuck, and Cassandra returned.
Tom and some of the resistance from both Highland and Lawndale stood in the wooded land that belonged to the Sloane family.
"Good to see you saved your family," Tom told her.
"I didn't do it alone," Daria admitted. "I had help from everyone here. Yes, that includes Beavis and Butt-head."
"Wow, uh, nice job you two," Tom scratched the back of his head.
"So are there any plans for where we can stay for the night?" asked Daria.
"Well, I was thinking of my family's mansion," Tom admitted. "But… knowing my family and how fanatically devoted they are, we're likely to get thrown to the lions."
"What about camping out here?" asked Daria. "Your family's got land that's big enough to cover for us."
"Well, I suppose as long as we don't make any campfires to alert my family that we're on this property, we could pull it off," Tom responded after giving it some thought.
"Sounds like a plan," Daria agreed.
As everybody went off to set up for the night, Daria approached both Beavis and Butt-head.
"Hey guys," she told them.
"What's up, Daria?" asked Butt-head.
Daria leaned over and hugged both boys, causing both their cheeks to turn red.
"Whoa!" Butt-head's eyes widened.
"Did we… did we just get hugged?" Beavis was shocked that a girl was making physical contact with them for the first time without being violent.
"I just want to thank you for helping to save my family," Daria told them.
"Uh… you're welcome?" Butt-head was also too heated to speak properly.
"Wait, we did?" asked Beavis, not recalling the incident.
"Well, technically, the Great Cornholio did," Daria remembered. "But who says you can't be a vessel to a higher power?"
oooo
Before nightfall could arrive, Tom looked around for Beavis and Butt-head, entering into their tent.
"Hey, how's it going?" Beavis asked, looking up.
"You guys got a moment?" asked Tom.
"Uh, did you bring us nudie pics?" Butt-head raised his eyes suggestively.
"No, but I do want to express my gratitude," replied Tom.
"Uh… okay," Butt-head nodded dumbly.
"You know, when I first met the two of you, I didn't think much of you," admitted Tom. "You guys seemed boorish and crude. But you two managed to help save my ex-girlfriend's family and for that, you have my respect."
"Well, any friend of Daria's is a friend of ours, I guess," Butt-head replied as Beavis nodded.
"Maybe when this is all over," Tom suggested, "the three of us can get to know—"
At that moment, a different figure stepped inside the tent.
"I thought you'd be hiding out here somewhere," Elsie Sloane crossed her arms, staring down at her brother and the duo.
"Elsie!" Tom was taken aback. "How did you find us?"
"You're forgetting how our parents have state-of-the-art surveillance technology all over these lands," Elsie reminded her brother. "It didn't take long before I found out you were on the property again."
"What do you want?" Tom asked tersely.
"Personally, I'd like nothing more than for our parents to give me the entire inheritance instead of splitting it with you," Elsie looked down at her nails. "But I'm willing to compromise if you are."
"And what exactly is this compromise?" demanded Tom.
Elsie looked at Beavis and Butt-head.
"You've been harboring fugitives on our land," Elsie reminded him. "Surrender them and come back to our family. Become a disciple of Angra Mainyu."
"You know I can't do that," Tom glared at his sister.
"Then as far as I'm concerned, you're no longer part of this family," Elsie pointed a finger at him. "I only came here as a formality to offer you this one chance to redeem yourself. But you've chosen to side with these heretics!"
"Hey Butt-head, what's a hera-tick?" asked Beavis.
"Uh… I think it's somebody who never scored before, kinda like you, Beavis!" Butt-head laughed. "Huh huh huh!"
"Really? because you've never scored either, Butt-head!"
"Shut up, Beavis!"
"Quiet!" Elsie ordered.
"Elsie, I'm not going to stand for this," Tom warned her.
"Or you'll what?" Elsie crossed her arms. "I've already alerted Angra Mainyu of your presence here."
"You did what?!" Tom looked shocked.
"That's right," Elsie told him. "And just for good measure…"
Elsie opened up Tom's tent to reveal her family's security guards rounding up everybody in Daria's camp with machine guns in their hands.
"Elsie, how could you?!" demanded Tom.
"No Tom," his younger sister glared at him. "How could you turn your back on this family and all we've built?"
oooo
Pacing around tensely, Angier Sloane glared at some of his assembled prisoners the main entrance of his mansion.
"I gotta say," Angier told them. "I'm disappointed in all of you, especially my own son of all people!"
Daria, her parents, Quinn, Tom, Buzzcut, Van Driessen, Cassandra, Stewart, Upchuck, DeMartino, Beavis, and Butt-head were among those assembled before the Sloane family. To the far end of the prisoner line, Butt-head looked up towards Tom's sister who stood nearby.
"Uh, hey baby," Butt-head suggested. "Wanna, like, tie me up in your bed chambers?"
Soon, Butt-head received his answer in the form of a slap from Elsie.
"Creep," Elsie walked away from him.
"Ow, huh huh huh!"
"And you," Angier pointed at Daria. "I always knew you were a bad influence on my son!"
"Funny," Daria replied in her usual monotone. "Tom said you always thought well of me."
"That was the past," Angier pointed a finger at her. "For you to oppose our god is the greatest blasphemy!"
"Well Mr. Sloane, when your savior wipes out almost ninety-nine percent of the known world," pointed out Daria, "Some of us prefer not to take a big leap of faith."
"And how could you not?" asked Elsie, standing before Daria. "This town was on the brink of ruin when the day of the apocalypse happened! Then our savior came in and rescued all of us from destruction!"
Before Daria could respond, Tom replied to his sister.
"Because this creature is no savior," Tom told his family. "He's demonic monster who's not interested in your welfare! The only thing he's after is your soul!"
"And what's wrong with Angra Mainyu laying claim to our souls?" asked Angier. "It's a small price to pay for us having our lives back, right?"
"Dad, don't you see?" Tom urged. "Angra Mainyu is only using you!"
"I don't know, Tom," Elsie observed. "Maybe it's you who's not thinking clearly."
"What do you mean by that?" Angier looked at his daughter curiously.
"Well it seems rather obvious," Elsie noted. "Even after they broke up, Tom keeps going out of his way to help Daria. It's clear he's still under her spell and hasn't fallen out of love with her."
Angier glared at Daria.
"Well, that would make sense," Mr. Sloane rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Elsie, this is ridiculous," Tom said to her. "The fate of humanity is at stake and you want to speculate on my love life?"
"Am I wrong?" Elsie grinned.
Tom said nothing. In his silence, he realized that he couldn't even fully deny his sister's accusations.
"Well there you have it," Elsie crossed her arms. "Tom has betrayed this family."
"I'm trying to save this family, Elsie," Tom finally responded. "Why can't you see that?"
"Because I have already saved them," a dark voice responded.
"Oh no," Daria realized.
Angra Mainyu opened up the front door, stepping inside. He was adorned as usual in the white robes he had worn at the church and his face looked pleasant but still masked a certain malevolence behind Ted's pleasant smile.
"Well, we're done for," Upchuck looked at everybody around him.
"At long last, you and your companions kneel before me," Angra Mainyu cupped Daria's face as the young lady tried to turn away.
"You may have Ted's body, but you don't have anything resembling his heart," Daria grimaced.
"Let her go!" Tom growled.
"How pitiful," Angra Mainyu shook his head. "Just look at you, Thomas Sloane. Even long after Daria has moved on, you still have not. Face it, you were nothing more than a high school puppy love boyfriend, destined to be forgotten by the time Daria continued into adulthood!"
"I'm not just doing this because of lingering feelings," Tom told the demon god. "I see that Daria was right. This involves all of us. If we don't stop you, humanity will sink to the darkest depths the world has ever seen."
"You know, maybe there is more to you than just some rich kid who's going to inherit some Fortune 500 company," Angra Mainyu admitted with a frown. "After all, you did kill my servant Fulad-zereh…"
Tom said nothing. He didn't like where this was going, judging from Angra Mainyu's tone.
"Perhaps it's time I took someone like you seriously," Angra Mainyu raised a hand.
"Eh, what're you doing to do, great one?" Angier Sloane asked.
"You'll see," Angra Mainyu replied.
At once, Tom felt something cold and crawling across his skin. Looking down, he saw several worms emerging from the ground and crawling towards his mouth and eyelids as he was being held down by some invisible force.
"You wanted to join Daria and play the hero?" Angra Mainyu crossed both arms as more worms emerged from out of nowhere. "Then know that even the bodies of heroes will be consumed by worms in the end..."
"Stop!" Daria protested. "Don't do this to him!"
Kay Sloane nudged Angier Sloane in shock.
"Eh, wait a minute!" Angier protested. "You're not really going to torture my son like this, are you?"
"That decision is up to him," Angra Mainyu replied simply.
Angier and Kay looked at their son pleadingly.
Tom, on the other hand, would not budge. The young man coughed and spat uncontrollably as more demonic worms forced their way down his throat and eyelids.
"Tom, please, just accept Angra Mainyu's offer!" Kay told her son.
"Yeah, we can be a family again!" Angier added in a worried tone. "Don't do this to yourself!"
Daria struggled furiously to try to free herself but could not.
"What will it be, Tom?" asked Angra Mainyu.
"I'm fine with whatever choice you make, brother," Elsie crossed her arms with a smug grin.
"N-Never!" Tom managed to spit out, despite having been overwhelmed by the demonic worms of the demon god.
"Such a shame," Angra Mainyu lifted Tom up into the air telekinetically, preparing to finish him off.
Suddenly, a figure leaped down from the skylight in the mansion and drove his staff into the floor, causing a burst of light to erupt and knock Angra Mainyu and the armed guards back.
"Agh!" Angra Mainyu was knocked on his back.
"Zarathustra!" Daria cried out.
"Yes, both you and I have unfinished business," the old Persian seer told the demonic god.
Tom got up. He realized the burst of light from the Persian seer's staff had eradicated the demonic worms from his body completely.
"Thanks," Tom said gratefully to the older Persian man.
"Hold back on the gratitude, young man," Zarathustra warned. "This is not over yet."
"Right," Tom nodded. "Daria, are you okay?"
"I am now," Daria stated, realizing the light from Zarathustra's staff had freed her and the other prisoners of their shackles.
"You should have stayed away from this, Zarathustra," Angra Mainyu growled.
"I cannot do otherwise," the old Persian man replied. "Not when the Saoshyant's life and the world's fate is at stake."
Zarathustra gripped his staff, preparing to do battle with the demonic god.
"Why?"Angier rushed towards Tom, grabbing him by the collar. "Why did you do it?! This family could have been together! You could have been the light of this family with your acceptance of Angra Mainyu's mercy!"
"Dad, I'm sorry," Tom said as his own father shook him aggressively.
"What?!" Angier briefly stopped what he was doing.
"For this," Tom sighed.
He clenched his fist and punched his father, knocking Angier off of him.
"Didn't want it to come down to this, dad," Tom told his shocked father. "But there are things in life more important than status and making nice with the right people!"
