Viewer Discretion Advised - Horror
Chapter 36 – The Hym
Weiss
The night sky…so beautiful, and thanks to the Dust Usage for power, the skies are absolutely stunning. Thousands of twinkling stars stretching out across the endless canvas of beauty. A few colourful auroras in the sky where stars are being born. Even though some of these stars are indeed starting to fade away due to the coming annihilation…it feels good to just look at them. The ones that are left in this beautiful night sky.
That is precisely what Weiss and Neptune are doing, laying down in the grass on a soft blanket together, eyes gazing up at the endless stars. Weiss is wearing a comfortable fluffy brown hoodie that her beloved boyfriend bought her one Valentines Day, something she still wears on occasion now. Neptune has one hand behind his blue hair as he looks at the stars with her, feeling so peaceful with her at his side.
Only the two of them, and the occasional sounds from crickets in the grass, but they do not disturb them. It reminds them in fact of how beautiful the world is, and she reaches down and holds her boyfriend's hand as she looks at them. When a Shooting Star darts across the sky, and she gasps with excitement, extending her hand and pointing at the sky where she saw the twinkling projectile. "Shooting star!" She calls out, and he nods his head with a smile.
"I saw it! Quick! Make a wish!" Neptune says to her with a smile on his face, and she snuggles up to him and closes her eyes as she makes her wish. However, she does not say a word, she just smiles as she nuzzles herself into him, her arms gently wrapped around him, feeling so at home with him as he gently puts his other arm around her and kisses the top of her white-haired head.
"Made it." She says, and he raises a brow as he looks down at her.
"Gonna say what it is, or you gonna just keep me guessing?" He asks her, and she smiles as she looks up at him.
"We'll see if it comes true, won't we?" She asks him with a smile, and he can't help but smile back at her beautiful grace. She holds onto him, never letting go as they continue to spend time together. The Undertaker stands alone in the distance, keeping his eyes on them as they have time together in the garden. It does not interfere, it does not even seem to move or look directly at them, it just stands with the beauty of nature. Easy to forget how perfect the world can be when you block out all the chaos and Human Intervention.
Ever since the Witches gave them that concoction they made together, the Afflicted have been out and about constantly, taking in the air. Even though Horridus Morbus is still in their bodies, but the spell cast with the potion is one hell of an impressive masterpiece. It might not cure them but gives the body the strength to fight it for longer, and the protective barrier prevents the plague molecules to spread further. It does not even get into their clothes, meaning they can still wear them – however there is still a downside to it. They can be touched but any kind of bodily fluid transfusion, be it kissing or even intercourse, it can still spread, because that is directly traded.
But in a strange way, Weiss and Neptune are safe in every way from that account – because they are both infected. So…it can't possibly get any worse. "It's crazy…" Neptune softly says as he lays there with Weiss, and she glances up at him.
"What is?" She asks.
"How far…we've come…you and me…" Neptune admits, and she turns to look at him completely, resting her head against her supported hand, her other hand gently laid upon his chest.
"What do you mean?" She asks him curiously, her long locks of white hair falling down the side of her head and onto his shoulder. He caresses her white hair gently with his hand, as he speaks.
"Well I doubt seventeen-year-old me would have expected us to have been together this long…I was an idiot back then." He admits with a heavy sigh, remembering how much he would flirt with the ladies but would never act on it. Or more importantly his fear of dancing and embarrassing himself.
"You were…but I liked that about you. And let's be honest, you're still an idiot." She assures, making Neptune chuckle.
"Was that a compliment or an insult?" He inquires.
"Eh, bit of both." Weiss answers with a shrug as she giggles. She then rests her head back down onto him as he holds her close, gently caressing her hair.
"I'm just…I'm proud…of you." He says to her, and she pauses and looks up at him with ardent curiosity, her blue eyes meeting his similar blue ones.
"Proud? Why?" She asks him, and he chuckles nervously.
"Do you really have to ask? You've faced your father more times than you can count, had enough of being his plaything and became your own person. A beautiful person…one I could never imagine my life without." He tells her with pure love in his voice as he caresses her cheek gently with his hand, his thumb rubbing his cheek ever so gently, feeling the smooth skin on her face.
"Nep…I…" She stammers, he has always been a wordsmith at making her blush, and she has always struggled at taking such kind words.
"I love you, Weiss." He tells her, and even though they have pledged their love for each other many times over, it never seems to stop surprising them. Her heart flutters with joy when hearing those words coming out of his mouth. "I just wanted to say that, we don't know how things are gonna turn out. But no matter what, I will be here. I'm never leaving your side." He promises, and his love brings a tear to her eye, and she gives in, leaning down to kiss him full heartedly on the lips, her hands gently around his neck.
Their kiss breaks and she presses her head to his with a smile, holding each other close. "I love you too, Neptune." She softly says with a shaky breath, before her eyes fall upon the medallion around his neck, the same one that they retrieved from the remnants of his home town at Mistral. That Watts destroyed in one of the first attempts to cripple the Kingdom, with a Great Flood. Poetic as it seemed, but the plan failed due to the uphill nature of the city, only the lower portions were affected and abandoned.
She gently touches it as it sits around his neck, caressing it as she holds his hand. "Feels like a lifetime ago…when we went to your home to find this." She says to him and he smiles, sitting up slowly and she does the same, gently sat on one of his legs as she holds it, before shuffling round to sit directly in front of him.
"I still can't believe it was Watts who caused it…" Neptune says, and Weiss nods her head.
"It's all connected, right?" She asks him with a playful smile, making him chuckle.
"I guess it was just wrong place wrong time, wasn't it?" Neptune sighs as he takes the Medallion off, holding it in his open palm as he looks down at it. Weiss lifts her eyes to the crown she has sat on her head, since she decided to do her hair up again. The motivation to…live again…that concoction did more than just get them on their feet, it helped them get back to being who they used to be.
And no longer have to sit around in the same hospital gown for weeks on end. Feels better to wear something comfortable, and Neptune looks at her with a soft smile. "I'm glad we went back for it though…have something to remember my parents by." Neptune gratefully says to her, and she smiles.
"Wish I could've met them." Weiss says, and he chuckles.
"Oh, they'd have loved you, my mom always liked a girl with bite." Neptune chuckles, and she giggles as well, blushing.
"I think my bite has mellowed in the years." She sighs as she softly taps her nail to her pearly white teeth.
"Oh, I doubt that…unless you wanna be an accountant or something…" He suggests, egging her on, and she just gives him a glare that he immediately backs off from. "There it is…"
"Am I really that scary?" She asks him.
"Oh yeah, not gonna lie I may have acted all cute a flirty towards you when we first met…but you scared the shit out of me." He admits, making her chuckle softly.
"Really? Did I have that effect on everyone?" She asks him.
"Sure did with Sage." He reveals.
"Sage was scared of me?" She questions, in total disbelief at the mere idea of that since he could have snapped her like a twig back then. The way that Neptune mentioned Sage there, also shows that he and Sun have both indeed moved on from his tragic death at the hands of Lionheart. They never forgot about what happened to them, and like Kassius they sometimes get the odd bad memory of seeing Scarlet get stabbed through the back by the Knight of Death…but they have accepted it and moved on. Cannot let the past control you, otherwise you're not really living.
"Oh yeah. Gotta remember, Weiss you were pretty mean back in the day." Neptune reminds, and she scoffs.
"I mean…I wasn't mean…I was…"
"Cold." Neptune answers and she pauses, and sighs.
"If you make an Ice Queen joke, I will choke you." She warns, and he slowly forms a grin and is about to say the words, until his girlfriend slaps his shoulder and he rolls onto his side with a laugh, making her laugh as well. It has been a while since they felt the urge to laugh, to smile and just have fun. And even though Horridus Morbus continues to plague their hearts, they still are fighting strong.
"Speaking of choking!" Neptune says, and Weiss raises a brow in confusion.
"Strange segway." Weiss comments at the odd choice of transition of topic as Neptune sits back up and looks at her.
"Thanks to this potion the witches gave us, we could start training again." He suggests and Weiss looks at him with curiosity, and then she realises how right he is.
"That's a good idea, actually." She agrees.
"I know right?" He asks her.
"Because we don't know if they are gonna need our help when we're cured. They have Raven, remember? She could teleport to us with the Aphax Violet and give it to the Witches. They could use our help." Weiss deduces as she nods her head, and Neptune smirks as he nods his head as well.
"My thoughts exactly, better be strong and ready to fight." Neptune says to her.
"You are a genius!" Weiss squeaks as she kisses him on the lips, and as she parts from him, he chuckles.
"Genius and an idiot? Man…I'm perfect." Neptune gleefully comments as he flicks his head back, his blue hair barely even moving. Weiss giggles as she flicks her tail and sits against his chest, leaning back and they both lie back down onto the blanket as they look up at the stars.
"Yeah…you are." She softly coos.
"It's nice." Starla's voice emerges from out of nowhere, and their eyes widen, and they spin round, grabbing their weapons immediately and aiming them at her. They movements are faster but still not fast enough to be able to stop her. However, Starla does not attack, and even though this is more expected from her than the other Knights of Grimm, it is still terrifying to hear her voice.
The Undertaker glares at Starla and draws the Shovel, and charges towards her with a roar, but Weiss looks at her face, and knows she is not here to hurt them. She holds out her hand, the other grasping Myrtenaster with a quiver. "Wait!" Weiss calls out, standing her ground beside her boyfriend. Weiss coughs, her breathing still hurting due to the infection. The potion may have stabilised them for the most part, but it is still killing them, just at a slower pace now and less painful all the time. But every now and then some pain comes along to remind them of their mortality.
The Undertaker stops but is simply awaiting Weiss' command, who keeps her sword pointed at Starla. "Why are you here? Do you mean to attack us?" Weiss questions and Starla slowly shakes her head as she looks at her long distant niece.
"I have not come here in seek of harm, in fact I have come here for a similar reason as your lover." Starla states as she holds her hands behind her back with professional etiquette. She glances at Neptune and then back at the Knight of Loss who stares at them both.
"What does that mean?" She questions.
"My curse does not forbid me from looking after you, only when Umbra commands me to kill you." Starla explains, as she walks around them.
"What do you mean? You lose control?" Neptune questions.
"Yes, quite precisely. Imagine remaining conscious but you cannot control your own body, watching it slaughter people, and you begging it to stop. That is my curse…I take life…but I never choose to do so." Starla explains, looking down at the floor with great sorrow. What shocked the two of them most is that they felt no sadness whatsoever, meaning that Starla must have hidden her ability to bring grief to those around her for a few moments to prevent ruining their happiness.
"Sounds horrible…" Neptune says, and Starla gently nods her head with a deeply saddened smile.
"Yes…but it is my punishment and I accept it. But all of you…you never asked for any of this. And Weiss…I may not deserve it for my crimes, but you are still my blood, my sister's grandchild yes…but still my blood." Starla explains as she draws one of her tonfas, matching the style of all Schnee weapons of old. Neptune keeps his rifle on her, but Weiss slowly lowers her sword as she listens to her ancestor. "Dear Neptune, is correct, training will help prepare you. And I have noticed in your style of fighting, that there is a lot more you have to learn." She says as she looks at her.
"You…wanna teach me?" Weiss questions.
"I do…call it…making up for lost time." Starla says.
"But, won't you get in trouble?" She asks.
"I will face the consequences for my actions with grace, my dear. And besides, it is as I said. Umbra never said anything about me being forbidden to help you. If he can pull that with wordplay, then so can I." She says with a smile, making Weiss softly chuckle.
Starla stands before her with her Tonfa at the ready. "So…do we have a deal?" She inquires, and Weiss looks at Neptune and he shrugs his shoulders.
"If she's being legit." Neptune says.
"Oh, worry not. I do not want any of you to die, if anything I want you to win. And besides…you all can improve." She says, even offering the training to Neptune as well as her Sister's Distant Granddaughter.
Weiss raises Myrtenaster and looks her Ancestor in the eyes.
"Deal."
Kassius
Not every memory fades away with time…
And pain is just the same, even when you think you have moved on, the power of a single memory can bring it all back. Kassius is sat down outside of the hotel with his metal and human hands held together as he stares out at the place. He glances and sees some people falling asleep at their tables, not the first people he has seen falling asleep so suddenly. Then again, these same people have been drinking a little bit much alcohol to be considered…conscious. Where Kassius sits is a small table with a metal chair supporting him off the ground and a book set upon the table, a book told by a man who tells tales of his many schemes to overcome the odds. A very impressive man as well, his methods were madly deceptive and worked every single time.
Not all of them worked in his favour though, as it always is with these tales. Like the one of the Grand Lord of Redcrossing.
Why, oh why must I bow down to you.
A group of measly peasants?
Spoke the Grand Lord of Redcrossing,
Demanding his people work harder and harder – for his own goal.
Gold, women, food, wine and power,
Tis all the reward he knows for his effortless acts.
Though judgement comes for all men,
No matter wealth, age or gender.
When he comes – one should allow him entry with kindness,
And think carefully on their wishes.
"Riches, food and power...this is what I demand"
Spoke the Grand Lord of Redcrossing.
But now the ashes lay on the once green fields,
With only one body residing.
Wishes be granted...
But not what he wanted.
And with all he asked...
He be left behind with not a soul to share with.
A tale remembered by those who read it, one that sends a very powerful message – to be grateful with what you have, and to be careful of what you wish for lest your wish be granted. The Grand Lord of Redcrossing failed on both accounts and thus was left behind with absolutely nothing, although there has always been the question if Redcrossing ever existed and who this Grand Lord was. The story had to have come from somewhere, the question is where did it all begin?
Kassius however is not asking such questions as he sits there, until he turns to another one of the tables nearby to see only one other person here. Mr Hyde himself, appearing inside of his head with his hands on the table, leaning back so then he can cross them. "It wasn't real…" Hyde assures as he looks at his host.
Something happened.
Between now and when Velvet witnessed what happened to Cardin, Kassius was on his own, and something happened. Coco and Emerald are elsewhere, probably getting some drinks and snacks for the two of them, unaware that he is currently knocked out with a Lesser Demon in his head. Kassius saw something, something that clearly has really messed with his head in a very bad way.
"I know…it felt real though." Kassius says as he closes his eyes with a heavy sigh.
"I know it did, I felt it too. But I can promise you that you did not really see what you thought you saw…there is something with this place…something very strange. You spoke with a few people and they gave us…vague…answers. It's like nobody cares about anything in this hotel." Hyde says as he looks at the many people who are just sitting around, most of them not even saying a word. Just staring down into their glasses of liquor endlessly. Kassius sighs heavily as he stares at the bottle of scotch on the table next to him, left behind.
Have a drink, take your mind off it.
Hyde stares at Kassius and raises his voice. "Can't say I blame them…" Kassius heavily sighs with sunken amber eyes, and Hyde raises a brow with confusion.
"Huh?" Hyde questions.
"After everything…it really is hard to see the point in all this." Kassius sighs as he sits there, and Hyde rises up slowly from where he is sat and approaches Kassius, leaning down and staring at him.
"Did you hit your head or something?" Hyde questions. "You know why we're doing this, to save you damn girlfriend from dying. So, then you can get back to her, so you can find answers about your dad, hell we're doing this to stop him." Hyde repeats, listing their objectives one by one, turning to stare at him. Kassius eyes the bottle, and Hyde catches onto his eyeline. "Do not drink that, it will not help. You do remember I can hear your thoughts, right?" Hyde asks him curiously.
"Just leave me alone for once." Kassius grunts as he gets up and reaches towards the bottle, when Hyde suddenly grabs onto Kassius' hand and holds him back. He is not actually holding him, but his soul is stopping him from grabbing and drinking that alcohol.
"Leave. The. Scotch. Alone." Hyde demands as he glares at him, acting like a metaphorical figure in his mind to keep him from making any stupid mistakes. Kassius keeps trying to reach it, but Hyde steps in front of him and pushes him back, but it is just Kassius staggering away from it to realise he should not be doing that. But Hyde still can be seen through Kassius' eyes as he staggers, and then sits back down at the table, looking away from the scotch.
Hyde sits down beside him, purposefully blocking the view he had of the scotch, so then all he can see is his face. "Listen to me…whatever is up with this hotel, it is messing with your head. And we need to leave." Hyde states as he stares at him.
"I can't…I saw her here…I need to…I need to tell her I found someone else. She always told me that if anything ever happened to her, I shouldn't get stuck in a hole because of it." Kassius stammers, and it is quickly made clear who he thought he saw. It was Vetra – the woman he once loved and was killed years ago.
"Vetra is dead. She's been dead for nearly seven years now. You need to let her go." Hyde tells him.
"I…I'm trying…"
Earlier,
Kassius was walking around the same library before he went out to that balcony outside of it. The Library – for a Hotel – is actually quite impressive. From successful published fictions across the world to inciteful encyclopaedias – and then there are the many diaries and biographies stored here to be remembered. One of which being the one that he uncovered.
A Collection of Inspiring Schemes That Saved the Day
Bartleby Brunswick
Kassius was reading through it after he pulled it from the shelf, learning of the many things he did. For example, the farms had a fishing issue where the fish were all getting poisoned by the farm. The food poisoning spread, and he determined what caused the poisonous fluid to enter the stream – it was a dead pig, and its bloated corpse had sent diseased bacteria and maggots into the water supply. So, he got his son and daughter to help him, the daughter would ask them all to pray and drink some holy water – that was spiked with a cure for their sickness. Whilst Bartleby and his Son went out and pulled the pig out and burned the body, using a purifying machine to fix the water supply.
Why did he have them pray to the gods?
To fix their faith, because that always kept their mood strong and the Grimm at bay. No god saved them, it was merely his genius scheme, and their faith was restored. Sometimes a good lie can help people, there are two kinds of lies at the end of the day. Selfish ones for personal reasons, and ones more serious, like to keep people calm in times of crisis.
As Kassius read his many genius ideas and schemes he used to keep his Farm going, he set himself down, and glanced across the table, seeing some people talking, looking exhausted in many ways. But as he stared, one of them stared back. Her long beautiful brown hair and brown eyes on her slightly darker skin to his. Kassius jolted, for he could remember her face anywhere, nearly falling from the chair after seeing her.
The people looked at him for a moment, but they quickly stopped taking interest in his concern, he stepped back and spun around, seeing her standing behind him. "Hey Kas…I've missed you." Vetra said to him, her gentle and alluring voice reaching his very core as she looked into his eyes. He stammered as he looked right at her, and it was so vivid as she walked towards him, so close that he could smell her perfume. Or at least what he remembered of her perfume, sunflowers and lavender.
It has been a very long time since these hallucinations have been this vivid…even when he has been with Yang, he has had Vetra on his mind. But it is not just the fact he once loved her, but most of all – that he failed her. That he was her leader, the leader of his entire team and he is the only one left alive out of every single one of them. And on top of all that baggage Yang has always been there, to help him calm down, to help the hallucinations fade away.
But without her here…and the fear that he will lose her too…it is all coming back again.
And he really believed earlier that it was all gone, that he was finally over her. But clearly, Kassius was wrong, and that shows how quickly it can change. How fast his mind can go from happily talking about his long-passed team, to dreading the idea of opening his eyes because he will see her. "I've missed you so much, Kassius…" Vetra softly says to him as she reaches her hand to his cheek, the untouched side, but he shakes his head, and tries to look away from her.
"You're not…you're not real…" Kassius stammers as he closes his eyes as he tries to look away from her, but his eyes open and she is still caressing his cheek.
"I can be…I still love you and I always will. Come back to me…my love…come find me." She whispers softly as she gazes lovingly into his eyes. He shakes his head and he grabs the book, storming away from where he saw her, only to see her sat on one of the tables, looking at him. "Still in denial? Still trying to believe that maybe you are free?" She asks him as he walks past her. "You will never be able to move on from me, my love. Even if you try to find someone else, I am your first love. The one you will always remember." She says to him.
This is what it is like, she acts like the Vetra he once loved but she is so antagonising, getting into his head constantly and trying to make him be alone. But it is all his brain, trying to make Kassius come home to her, longing for that connection with her specifically, even though he does not want to and all he wants is to move on with his life. And the fact that Hyde is not the one doing this as well is even more frightening, meaning this is not something one can convince to stop.
This takes years of grieving.
He has been through the many stages of grief, denial and acceptance are ones he has already gone through. The last one he needs though – is to find his closure. Burying their bodies helped him get over denial, falling in love with Yang helped him find acceptance…but letting it all go away and moving on?
That is much harder.
And she always returns when he is not expecting it, as soon as he feels he has forgotten her for long enough, with the snap of someone's non-existent fingers she is back. She reaches out to him as he walks past and finds that very same table he is at now.
Now that he is in the present, trying to forget what he saw, his eyes turn when Hyde looks in the same direction. "Are you ready to talk now?" She asks him curiously as she reaches her hand out to him. He looks at her hand, still wearing a ring he bought her once, not an engagement ring but something sweet he wanted to do on a Valentines Day. A beautiful golden ring with an Emerald inside of it. Yang is not one for Jewellery, never has been, but Vetra always has loved a bit of jewels in her life.
"Why? So, then you can drag me down again? Like you did on that night I had with Yang?" Kassius asks her, the night he is referring to was actually on his birthday, when she was getting a little cute with him. As they were getting ready to have a little private fun together in their room, she appeared again, in the bed where Yang was laying. Yang left just to get unclothed and into a dressing gown for theatrics. But as soon as he saw Vetra again…he froze…then got up and left the room.
He broke down, into tears – this was a year after they saved Ruby and destroyed the Volcanic Chain Isles. When Yang came in to undress in front of him…Kassius was gone, so she looked for him and found him crying in the living room. She immediately realised what was wrong and sat down on his lap. And instead of having a romantic night…she spent the night comfort him.
And yet that was one of the strongest nights of their relationship, because Yang never left his side, and looked after him. "I never wanted to ruin your night…I just wanted to see you again. I missed you." She says as she reaches out to him.
"And I miss you…I always will. You never deserved…you never deserved what happened to you." Kassius says as he clenches one hand into a fist as he stares out across the city.
"None of us really get what we deserve in our lives…" Vetra tells him as she slides her hand across her bare leg, rubbing the skin. "…but we can try…try to be together again." She whispers as she reaches out to him, but Kassius looks to Hyde, someone he never thought he would look to. In his life Kassius has always felt like he should be the one to help people – he helped and protected Cinder when they were young, he helped Vetra escape her family of abusers, and he helped Yang come to terms with her condition.
But…when he needs help…he never says a word.
Allowing himself to wallow in his own suffering.
In truth, he needs help more than any of them ever did. You never feel more alone than you do when you are hurting, and do not know who to turn to. Hyde looks at him and he just nods, and Kassius nods back. But before he can start going through his procedure to get this hallucination clear from his mind.
His scroll vibrates in his pocket, and the three of them look at his pocket. He reaches down and pulls the Scroll from his pocket, lifting it out and staring at it, rubbing his tired eyes. It is Velvet, calling him, so he answers it, holding the scroll to his ear. "Yeah?" He groans, not realising that this is the Group Call. Both Coco and Emerald can be heard answering the call as well, and they all hear Velvet panting in terror. Kassius narrows his eyes as he sits forward, starting to focus more. "Velvet, what's going on?" Kassius asks.
"Velv?" Coco calls.
"Something's wrong with Cardin! He's passed out, he's gone pale…he…I saw something…something was wrong with his face!" Velvet cries out and Kassius stands up from his chair and looks at Hyde, only to find he is gone, back inside of his head now. But Vetra is still there, looking at him. There is indeed another reason behind what could have triggered these Hallucinations…
Kassius has always said that Velvet reminds him of Vetra, her hair and her eyes and even her personality – hell even her name is not that far off. "We're on our way, Velvet. Just hang on." Kassius says to her, and he hangs up the scroll, shoving it back in his pocket. He goes to walk away but stops as Vetra reaches out to him.
"Kassius…come back to me…" She softly says, desperately wanting him, but Kassius closes his eyes with a sigh.
"I can't." Kassius tells her, walking away from the Hallucination as she fades away behind him. It will never be as simple as just walking away from her, he has done it many times before in the past, but she keeps on coming back. But as Kassius keeps walking through the Hotel he sees that more and more people are acting strange…and even stranger…the lights are faintly blinking at times, like the power is going haywire. There is most certainly something very concerning about this Hotel.
Is it Haunted?
Is it Umbra?
No time to figure it out, they simply must get up to their room as fast as they can. Kassius opens the elevator and he commands it to head up to their room. He paces back and forth inside of the Elevator, and Vetra forms yet again beside him, looking around with her arms crossed. "It was not your fault, what happened to me…or Draven or Rajah…it was always going to happen. You shouldn't blame yourself." Vetra says to him gently, and Kassius looks back at her.
"Who says I am?" Kassius questions.
"I do…because if you didn't…we wouldn't be having this conversation." She states, and even he cannot deny that, because he does still feel responsible. He will always feel like it should have been him, he was the leader – and he feels he should have died in their place. A Team Leader keeps their team alive, no matter the cost.
The elevator finally dings, and he runs out of the doors, seeing Coco and Emerald on the other side inside of another elevator, running towards the room where Velvet and Cardin are. They left them for a few seconds, and this has happened. Kassius opens the door and the three enter fast, and they turn the corner, seeing Velvet stammering and hyperventilating as she stares at Cardin's body on the bed. His skin really has gone pale, almost ice white and his skin around his eyes has bruised quite badly. "I…I don't…I…" She keeps breathing in but not out, unable to breathe properly, but luckily Coco is here and she approaches her, gently squeezing her shoulders to sit her down beside Cardin.
"Shh, Shh…it's alright…remember what you do when you breathe? In…" She says as she inhales, and Velvet copies her, then Coco gently exhales. "…and out."
She repeats it for her whilst Kassius and Emerald walk towards Cardin, seeing his body. Emerald presses the back of her hand against his head…and…he is scorching hot. But not like he is drunk, it is more like he is under some kind of fever but unlike anything they have ever seen before. Fevers take time to build, they do not happen inside of a second like this one did. "This…I've never seen anything like this."
"Velvet…I need you to focus, okay?" Kassius asks her, as she starts to breathe normally again. She looks at the man she has been crushing on for quite a while now with concern, but he does not even bring that up. It is not his place to do so, those are her feelings not his to worry about. He crouches down in front of her and listens to her every word. "What happened?"
"He…He told me everything…" She stammers.
"Everything? Whaddya mean everything?" Emerald questions.
"He told me about what happened at Vacuo…everything, uncoloured. His team tried to kill him all for a bounty." She tells them, and their eyes widen, and they all look at the man laying there. "He saved Vacuo from the Headmaster, he was going to kill them all."
"And they put a bounty on his head?" Coco questions.
"They branded him a traitor when he should've been a hero." Velvet stammers, her breathing returning to normal relatively fast all things considered.
"Poor bastard…" Emerald says as she looks down at him, rubbing her eyes again as she stands there.
"But at the end he yelled at me…saying that I don't know what it's like to be broken into a thousand pieces by everyone you cared about. But when he said it…his face…it wasn't his face…he changed for a second and passed out."
Kassius looks at her, and there is some kind of recognition in his mind – but not his recognition, and that much is made clear when Hyde suddenly takes control of Kassius right then and there, his eyes glowing orange. "I saw something that mirror too…looking down at him."
"What did it look like?" Hyde questions, and they all stare at Kassius, hearing Hyde's voice coming from and not their friend's. It still surprises them when they experience him doing that out of the blue like that. But Velvet stammers as she looks at Hyde controlling Kassius and her description is enough.
"It was…dark…it had curved horns and red eyes. Like it was made of smoke." She stammers, and Kassius nods his head.
"He's been possessed by a Lesser Demon." Hyde reveals.
"Whoa what?" Kassius questions inside of his own head to Hyde who is still in total control.
"A Lesser Demon?" Emerald questions.
"A Hym." He reveals.
"Whoa, hang on. How do you suddenly know this?" Coco questions, and Hyde answers.
"You know I've been getting these memories coming back lately?" Hyde asks them and the two women nod their heads to him, whilst Velvet is still too shaken to really respond to Hyde. She presses her hands to her head as Hyde speaks to them all. "Well I have also started to understand Demons and Grimm more, I am remembering things as every hour passes by actually."
"So…what is a Hym?" Emerald asks curiously.
"From what I remember – a Hym is a Lesser Demon that feeds off someone's guilt, those who have immense guilt over something are food sources. They possess them and force them to do dangerous things to themselves. Giving them nightmares, self-harm and even leading to suicide. They feed of suffering through loss." Hyde explains to them as he paces around the room in Kassius' body.
Coco looks at his sleeves and she ever so carefully slides one of them up and she closes her eyes with sadness for the man she was showing so much contempt for. There are scars on his wrists…and it hurts to see them. It means this Hym has really been causing harm to Cardin, putting these dark ideas into his mind.
Hyde approaches the unconscious body of Cardin and he just looks at him and is able to deduce what is happening to him. "The Hym is killing him, slowly – it is shutting down his organs one by one." Hyde tells them and their eyes widen with terror.
"Well…is there are a way we can save him?" Velvet asks with concern in her voice, the old Velvet never would have expected the day would come where she would be scared for Cardin Winchester's life.
"There…are two ways if my memory serves me correctly." Hyde tells them, and they all look at each other with a sigh.
"Alright…what are our options?" Coco inquires.
"First one is that we trick the Hym. We come up with an elaborate scheme to bring guilt upon someone else to attract the Hym to haunt them. But it is just a trick, and there is no guilt at all. Meaning it will starve the Hym out." Hyde suggests as he looks down at his dying body on the bed.
"That will take time, Cardin may not even have an hour." Coco says.
"What's the second method?" Emerald asks.
"Kassius connects his Aura to Cardin's and I go in and kill it myself." Hyde tells them and their eyes widen.
"You can do that?" Velvet questions.
"My memories tell me that a Higher Demon can kill a Lesser Demon, but it will put up a fight. I do not have the strength the Ebony Berserker had so it may be a hard fight." Hyde explains.
"Seems faster though." Coco assumes.
"Yes, but there is greater risk. You see if I fail and the Hym kills me, it will leave both Cardin and Kassius clinically braindead." He reveals and their eyes widen, and they realise they have a very tough choice to make.
"Shit…and if we mess up the trick, we will end up making someone else get oppressed by a damned Demon." Emerald sighs as she connects her fingers behind her head as she paces back and forth.
"Both have dangerous risk to them, but they are our only choices. So, which do we go for?" Hyde asks them as he stands before the three women, and they ponder as they look at each other.
"Can you do it? Can you kill the Hym?" Velvet inquires and he shrugs his shoulders.
"I don't know, I've never faced one. But I can give it my best shot." Hyde admits, and Coco sighs.
"I was kinda hoping for something a bit more reassuring than I hope so." Coco states as she plants her hand on her hip.
"It's better than nothing." Hyde states.
"If you kill it, will Cardin be okay? There will be no side effects?" Emerald inquires.
"Well there will certainly be parasites, that much is obvious." He states and they all look at him with annoyance at how he says that like it is common knowledge. "The side effects will simply be…well like you have pulled a part of yourself from your body. Hyms are basically parasites." Hyde explains, and Coco presses her back against the wall as she thinks on all of this. This is a very risky decision, but they have faith in Hyde.
They all nod to each other and then Coco looks at Hyde.
"Give it hell."
"Well, we cannot do it here." Hyde tells them.
"What? Why not?" Velvet asks.
"Because the process will affect the real world you see, the energy could cause malfunctions. We need to be in a room with as little electricity as we can. Somewhere dry and dark preferably." Hyde tells them.
"Where would that be then?" Coco asks.
"The Wine Cellars. Every place like this has one, there was one at Fallingwater Estate." Velvet remembers.
"Alright…let's head down there."
Velvet
Some time has passed, and they have managed to get Cardin down to the Wine Cellars, and the aroma of grape fermented alcohol fills the air of the room that they have found themselves inside of. They lay Cardin down on the ground and they all sigh as they stand there. "Gods…it feels like everything is trying to stop us from getting to Arkhonex." Kassius sighs as he presses his hand to his head.
"I know…first Salem and then the nightmares and now this. I'm so tired…" Coco groans as she leans against one of the kegs.
Emerald sits down on one of the barrels and she stares down at the floor. Kassius stands beside Cardin and he looks across the room, seeing the creepy image of Vetra watching them with a smile. He looks away and he sighs. "Come on, let's get this over with." Hyde says in Kassius' head, but as soon as Kassius goes to sit down, Velvet speaks up.
"Before we…do this…I need to ask you something." Velvet says and Kassius stops as he looks at her, and the others lethargically look at her as well.
"What's wrong?" Emerald asks her, and Velvet closes her eyes and she lets out a shaky breath.
"I couldn't stop thinking about how…easily I approached Umbra. It made me wonder…why are we even bothering with trying to stop him?" She questions, and Kassius sighs, looking down at the ground.
"I know what you mean…it all seems hopeless." Coco agrees.
But in the background of all of this, Hyde is observing everything from Kassius' head, and he cannot help but feel concern. Their motivation has been rapidly decreasing ever since they arrived at the Stanley Hotel. That is definitely suspicious, but Kassius lays down beside Cardin, their heads meeting perfectly and Kassius grabs into Cardin's arm. Emerald watches as she crosses her arms, looking around at the place. "Alright…wish Hyde luck guys." Kassius says as he lays down with a heavy sigh and they all get ready.
Kassius closes his eyes, and the feeling of binding his aura with Cardin's is quite disconcerting – note this is not like when someone binds their aura to someone they love. This is temporary, opening a bridge for Hyde to get into Cardin's head.
And then…the bridge opens.
And Hyde heads in.
Hyde
He emerges from the darkness that plagues his mind, looking around at the pain that torments this man every single day. He keeps his fists clenched as he looks around, walking in slowly as he hears the distant voices of his team members all crying out his name as he murdered them. They begged him for mercy when they never would have showed the same level of compassion for him when it came down to all that lien.
Hyde looks around more and more, knowing the entity to be in here somewhere…
Then…
Lo and Behold.
It forms, the black smoke rises from the invisible ground, forging into the dark demonic body that Velvet saw. Standing extremely tall with a pair of jagged curved horns and blood red horns. It roars viciously, flames igniting inside of its jagged smoky jaws. "There you are, you evil bastard. Wanna have Cardin have something to mourn? Guess losing you will have to do." Hyde snarls and the Hym roars as it charges towards him, jumping up in the air and slashing its razor-sharp claws down at him with great force. He rolls out of the way and swings round, forming the Crooked Man's Cane as he smashes the hook across the side of its face. The beast roars in pain and staggers back, growling as it stares at him.
It suddenly blasts towards him and stabs its claws into his shoulder, dragging him across the ground before through him across the endless domain of infected aura. Black smoke billowing up around him as he tumbles, but jumps and lands on his feet, sliding across the ground. The Hym roars at him with a devilish howl, a thousand tormented screams echoing at once inside of its lungs as it throws its arms back, eyes glowing with burning red hatred at him. Before it charges once again, running on all fours like some kind of humanoid beast. Hyde roars in return, swinging his Cane with both hands, smashing the creature down into the ground. Hyde jumps up and he punches it downwards in the face with great force, and it bellows with anger and pain from every single strike as the pure aggression of Hyde is unleashed upon his enemy. But when he goes to punch the Hym in the face, it vanishes into smoke, disappearing into the realm of smoke around him.
He backs up, keeping his Cane in his grasp as he backs up, waiting for the monster to emerge, and he keeps hearing the pained cries of those he lost around him. "Cardin please!" Russel shrieks until the sound of the mace colliding into his skull silenced him with a bloody squelch and crunch of bone collapsing.
"Kill him! The reward will be generous!" Sky's voice echoes in his mind, the very people he trained with, thought he could trust with his life. Hyde stands his ground, not being deterred by the voices of his regrets, remembering that there is indeed a hideous monster in here. Suddenly the Hyde erupts from behind him and slashes the claws straight at Hyde, but he blocks the attack with his cane, sparks bursting out from the impact. Hyde jolts back and he uses his cane like a sword, parrying every single strike from the beast as it slashes at him repeatedly, roaring and grunting with every attack.
He then deflects one of the attacks so hard that the Hym staggers back from its enemy, giving Hyde the chance to jump up in the air and swing the Cane downwards against the top of its head. The Hym growls and when Hyde goes to bash its head in with the Cane, it catches it and throws it away from his grasp. It then slashes Hyde up his chest, before grabbing onto his leg and smashing him down into the ground with great force. The Hym presses its body down against his, pinning his arms against the ground as it snaps its deadly jaws at his throat over and over again, the metallic bangs are deafening to even Hyde.
But the Higher Demon grabs the Hym by the throat and holds it back, delivering punch after punch after punch into its face. The Hym roars in pain and anger from every single painful strike delivered by Hyde, and he rises up with it in his grasp, before he punches it down into the ground. As soon as it hits the ground, however, it jumps back up and grabs Hyde, biting into his shoulder and dragging him across the ground, savagely shaking him around like a dog. It rips a chunk from him, and he roars in pain as it throws him, and it suddenly changes forms before him, its roar turning into something more human.
The voice of Russel emerges from its lungs as it stands before him and it laughs devilishly as he draws his weapons. "What a freak!" Russel's voice echoes in his mind, the memory of when he abused Velvet and his so-called friends were cheering him on for it. Calling her a freak because of her ears. The Hym blasts towards Hyde, spinning like a circular saw blade to cut straight through him, but Hyde swings his fist aside and punches the beast out of the air. It crashes down into the ground and glares at him.
"You would do well to remember, beast! I hone my skills from the genes of Vir Nominis Umbra!" Hyde threatens, since now he knows he is a monster created by their enemy, but that does not mean he cannot use it to strike fear into the hearts of his foes. The Hym gets back up and it charges towards him again and he raises his fists, and he backs up, dodging the many slashing strikes by the Hym disguising itself as Russel. The attacks are pinpoint accurate to how he fought in real life. However, that is not a good thing, because Russel was not a legendary warrior, meaning Hyde can indeed beat him in combat. He thrusts forward with one of his blades to stab Hyde, but he steps aside and grabs into Russel's forearm, and swings round to punch him in the face so hard that it knocks him off his feet. As he collapses to the ground, Hyde goes to crush the beast's skull with his boot.
But it jumps up in the air and slashes across his face, knocking him up in the air, and the Hym throws one of the daggers and it stabs into his shoulder, pinning him against the smoky dome wall. Hyde growls in anger as he grabs onto the blade that has him stuck against the wall, looking ahead to see it changing again, into the form of Dove and he jumps towards him with great speed, thrusting his sword forward to stab him. Hyde rips the blade from his arm and throws it into the chest of the Hym, knocking it out of the air. The Hym crashes down into the ground and pulls the knife from its body and it roars.
Hyde paces back and forth, he knows that Lesser Demons are like Grimm when it comes to beating them with force. Beat them until they fall, and if he keeps up his game, he can do it, he just cannot risk getting cocky and jeopardising the futures for both Kassius and Cardin.
The Hym snarls, still in the form of Dove but pacing back and forth on all fours like some kind of Beowulf, growling viciously and snarling at him. The only thing that shows that these are not really the members of Team C.R.D.L are the eyes. They are glowing red with fury. Hyde waits for the beast to make its next attack, and just as he expected it lunges forward with the sword, jumping and swinging through the air, firing the bullets through the blade just as Dove did. Hyde jumps back and flips through the air, landing on both feet as he ducks and avoids every single fast swing from the impersonating Hym as it makes its vicious attacks at him. It snarls constantly as it keeps attacking, and Hyde growls with his own vicious demonic nature.
As it swings the sword towards him, he bites down onto its arm, and shows another side of the Ebony Berserker he never knew he adopted. The Ebony Berserker was the most aggressive of the Higher Demons and would even devour its victims with its razor-sharp teeth and monstrous mouth. He bites down onto the arm and the Hym shrieks in agony as he rips the black smoke from its arm and steps back with a mad grin on his face. Easy to forget that yes Hyde has started to strive for Redemption, but his nature is simply savagery. The black smoke and blood pours from the arm of the Hym and it hisses as it stares at him.
"Time for you to leave his soul, Lesser Demon." Hyde snarls as he paces around the creature, and then it jumps towards him, returning back to its true Demonic Form, tackling him down against the ground. It presses its hand against Hyde's face as it tries to break his neck, but as it does that, Hyde snaps his own neck and his bones begin to break in horrific ways. His arms become crooked, and he rolls over the back of the Hym, snapping his arm around its throat and then lands behind it, throwing it over his back.
The Hym stares at him, seeing the Crooked Man rising back up and he smirks. "There was once a Crooked Man…and he hunted down the rest of his crooked family!" Mr Hyde laughs monstrously at the Hym as he stands before it, lunging towards the beast suddenly and punching it in the face repeatedly with broken nails, cutting deep into the shadowy flesh that makes up its body. The Hym cuts the claws deep into his body and the Crooked Man growls in anger as he bites down into the side of its neck, making it roar in agony. It pushes him away and he rises back up, showing off his deformed version of his body that Kassius mostly sees.
But as he stands before the Hym, his attention is caught by something odd…
…a scream…
…Velvet's scream, and this is not in Cardin's head. That is happening right now, outside, and both Cardin and Kassius' bodies are moving.
"What's happening?"
Velvet
The three Huntresses sit around the two unconscious Huntsmen as Hyde battles against the Hym that is affecting Cardin in this way. But as they sit there, Hyde's warning becomes a reality, for during their vicious battle it starts to affect the lights in the room. Velvet looks up at the blinking lights and she sighs, looking at them. "Guess Hyde wasn't kidding, huh?" Velvet asks and Coco nods her head slightly.
"Hopefully the power doesn't go out." Emerald says, and literally on cue, the lights switch off and the three of them sigh in annoyance.
"You had to say it didn't you?" Coco groans as she sits on the barrel with her back pressed against the support.
"Give me a second…I'm just gonna look for the switch." She says, wandering around, she saw the switch nearby anyway. She wanders around and reaches out her hand, feeling the air getting colder and a creepy breath behind her as she finds the switch. Her finger clicks it and the lights come back on.
A horrifying screaming roar erupts in Velvet's face as an absolutely horrifying Creature of Grimm reaches out to her. These monsters are humanoid in shape, somewhat similar to the Imps that ride the Nuckelavees, but very tall, with long arms that reach down as far as the ground and extremely long fingers. They have hideous faces, resembling skulls, with some even lacking nostrils, and low-hanging jaws. They shriek, and there are…so many of them, hidden behind the many massive kegs of Wine that this place is a maze filled of. It reaches towards Velvet and she screams louder than she has ever screamed in her entire life.
"AAAAHHHHH! HELP! HELP ME!" Velvet screams with absolute terror as she tries to flee from them, but the long-clawed fingers of the Creature of Grimm grapple onto her long brown hair and one of them actually stabs through her ear. "AHHH!" Velvet shrieks in agony as blood pours from her punctured bunny ear where the Creature yanks her towards the horde. Coco and Emerald snap out of their Apathetic States, and they turn their heads with widened eyes.
"VELVET?" Coco screams with terror, grabbing her bag and transforming it into Chaingun mode immediately and Emerald draws her Sickle, aiming the Revolver at the creature and firing it instantly. She nails the creature in the head and Velvet crawls away from it with widened eyes as it staggers back. Coco aims her Chaingun and unleashes a full storm of bullets towards the huge group of monsters that have been hidden down here all along. Some of them grab onto the kegs to pull their slow bodies around the corner, whispering groans surrounding them constantly.
The creatures get shredded until they all shriek at once, a shriek so loud that it brings the girls to their knees. "What…is this?" Emerald groans as she feels Silent Judgement suddenly become extremely heavy in her hands. And even Coco can barely lift the barrels of her Chaingun towards the horde of monsters headed towards them.
"We've got to…go…" Velvet groans, turning to their two unconscious friends. Coco turns to Cardin and she deactivates her Chaingun and attaches her bag to her belt since she got changed back into her normal outfit opposed to that dress, unfortunately Velvet never got the chance. Coco picks up Cardin with all her strength, straining as she does it, carrying Cardin on top of her back. Velvet and Emerald lift Kassius up onto both shoulders, carrying him as they follow Coco as they flee from the creatures that pursue them down here in these endless mazes of Wine Kegs.
They turn each corner, only to find more of them shambling round the other sides, reaching out with their creepy whispers. But the further they keep trying to run, the creatures shriek and they nearly collapse to the ground.
"Hyde! Hurry up! We need Kas and Cardin!" Velvet cries out.
Hyde
"Hyde! Hurry up! We need Kas and Cardin!" Her voice echoes inside of Cardin's head and he turns, staring at the Hym as it gets back up, snarling as it stares at him. Hyde glares his eyes at him and his body snaps and crunches back into the Crooked Man and he holds out his bent arm, challenging the beast.
"Come on then! I haven't got all day!" Hyde bellows, and the Hym roars in return, charging towards him and jumping towards him, only for Hyde to grab the monster by the throat and swing him downwards into the ground with all his force. The Hym roars in anger and rage as it slashes its claws at him, dragging them down his face at one point. Hyde wraps his arms around the neck of the creature, but it breaks his arms with a roar, but the action does not really have much of a painful effect on Hyde. He just cannot grab onto him any longer, he rises back up and snaps his arms back into position.
Hyde stares at the Hym as it backs up and snarls, transforming into Sky right in front of him, the Halberd in his grasp. He sprints towards him and swings the huge weapon at him, Hyde ducks down and dodges the powerful swing from the Lesser Demon. He punches it so hard that he actually blows a hole in its body. It recoils back and throws the Halberd straight at Hyde, but he jumps in the air and catches it in his hand and swings round, launching it right back and it stabs straight into its chest. The impact throws the beast back and he tumbles across the ground, slamming his curved claws down into the ground to slow itself down. It stares straight into Hyde's burning eyes and goes to lunge forward once more, only for Hyde to knock it out of the air.
It keeps making the same mistakes, just attacking and not thinking – but Lesser Demons are like animals and cannot make the same logical decisions as Higher Demons can. It crashes down into the ground and slides across the floor, and Hyde dashes towards it, grabbing it by the head and smashing it into the ground over and over again. It reaches up at him, but he snaps the arm with great force, ripping the hand from the wrist and listening to its roars of immense agony.
The Hym tries to flee, but he grabs it again, grasping it by the back of its neck. He drags it back and pushes his fingers into the jaws of the monster. He roars as he pulls its jaws open slowly, forcing them further and further apart. He roars with fury, and he rips the bottom jaw from its skull, making the creature shriek and howl in agony. Finally, Hyde grabs it by the throat, and he yells with anger.
"You time ends now, Lesser Demon! Begone from this one!" Hyde demands as he ignites the unstable form of the entity, and it roars in agony as it tries to writhe free from his painful imprisonment. The black smoke ignites and crumbles away, the beast's howls fade away as Hyde finishes it off, eviscerating its unstable aura.
And killing it.
Freeing Cardin from its cruel intentions.
And now, Kassius and Cardin can wake up.
Kassius
His eyes burst open and he gasps, feeling his soul returning to his body, and the same happens for Cardin, blood rushing back into his body and he coughs as his organs start back up again. But they do not have time to do anything, he looks around and he sees the Creatures of Grimm closing in on them, surrounding each and every single one of them. They shamble round the huge Kegs with disturbing whispery groans as they approach. They all stare at them, but the shrieks keep on bringing the fighting Huntresses to their knees every single time as they continue to circle them.
Kassius stumbles to his feet and he swings his fist towards one of the creatures, only for it to grab him by the throat and lift him off the floor with a snarl. Kassius' eyes widen as the creature changes before his very eyes, the skinny humanoid and deformed Grimm body changes into the beautiful body of Vetra. She yells with anguish at him, her words cutting deep into his heart, her voice amalgamated from the Grimm.
"Moment of truth, Kassius! Who am I? Am I your friend? Your lover? Your one shred: one light: one bright, shining star you clung to in this universe? Or am I your guilt? Crushing the life, because you can't get over the fact that I'm dead, that YOU feel responsible. Who...AM...I?! Why do you keep fighting me? Why can't you let go?" Vetra yells as she holds him off the ground, towering above Cardin as he tries and fails to get back up.
Kassius stares at her and he grits his teeth with anger. "I DID let you go! You're the one that can't let me go!" Kassius roars as he swings his cybernetic fist straight into the face of the Creature of Grimm and it releases him, breaking the connection it had with him. He draws Lash Equinox from his suit, and he points the blades at them as they keep shambling round the corners, their mouths glowing as they shriek again.
That was the one.
It knocks them all to the floor, and Kassius can hear Velvet groan with defeat. "I can't…do this…I can't…"
Kassius lays on the ground, defeated as he stares up at the ceiling as they approach, hearing Hyde's words echoing in his mind. "What the hell are you doing, Kassius! Get up! This is not how your story ends! I forbid it! Get up!" Hyde yells, but Kassius just closes his eyes as he lays there.
"No…it's okay…" Kassius softly says as the creatures approach him, and one of them slowly reaches its hand to his face, about to push the claws into his eyes to slowly kill him.
"Get up…"
"GET UP!"
"I SAID GET UP!" Hyde's voice roars inside of his mind, when suddenly his hand erupts from Kassius' arm…but it is not Kassius' body moving at all. The arm is burning, and spectral and his eyes widen. The huge crooked arm grabs the creature by the throat and they all back off with fear as they see him rise from Kassius. His burning Spectral image rights himself up and stares the creature in the eyes.
Hyde…
He just rose from Kassius…
He just separated his body from Kassius completely, staring the Creature down to protect him. And then he speaks with that demonic grin on his face. "Apathy…such a poor physical design." Hyde says with a mad smile on his face as he glares at the creature known as the Apathy. He suddenly grabs it by its shoulder, and with the throat still in his grasp he pulls the Apathy apart, ripping the black membrane apart with ease. Another Apathy slashes his back and he barely even flinches, turning and glaring down at the creature and it shrieks at him.
But he is not human, so it has no effect on him.
Hyde's jaws split and the jagged molten teeth form, and his tongue licks his lips before he opens them and bites down onto the Apathy's skull, crushing and ripping it from its head. The two Apathy fade away and Hyde unleashes the most terrifying roar they have ever heard. He turns and charges towards the rest of the pack, smashing and slashing through them with his demonic claws he thought the Hym with. He crushes them, beheads them, dismembers and tears them apart, even eating some of then with those damned jaws of his. He grabs one of them and smashes its head straight into the wall with all his might.
The Apathy shamble towards Hyde but are immediately knocked down, he grabs one of them by its skinny leg and swings it around like a bat, smacking it into the other Apathy like a weapon. They die from every single impact, so physically weak that they cannot withstand even the slightest impacts from their enemies.
Kassius gets up and watches with total disbelief…feeling like…he has lost an organ or something as he watches Hyde decimate the Apathy like that. But he turns when he senses another behind him, shambling towards him. Its body changes into Vetra again, who reaches out for him as she shambles, barely even disguised as her anymore. Their effect on the Hotel has weakened tremendously now to the point where Kassius is not fooled.
It speaks to him in her voice, attempting to lure him in. "I wished you would care for me like I did…" She says, reaching her hand out to him, the hand of the Apathy getting close and closer. "…that we could be together…"
Kassius stares at her and he raises Vulcan Nox.
"We were once…but not anymore. Goodbye Vetra." Kassius says to her, pushing it away and firing the round through the Apathy and Vetra's head, killing them both. The hallucination fades away, and the Apathy does as well.
Leaving them all stood there with disbelief as they see Hyde finish off the rest of the Apathy, ripping the last in half with his bare hands.
He growls like a rabid dog, until his crooked bones snap back together into their normal human looking shapes. He stands before them all with disbelief, looking at his hands…for it was the Crooked Man side of him that emerged…but now all of him has. He looks at Kassius and he looks at him.
Both sides are completely lost for words.
They have managed to be free from one another for the first time.
Hyde has some serious answers to give…if he has them.
But now…the Apathy that plagued the Stanley Hotel and the Hym that plagued Cardin are no more.
Author Note - The Apathy, the Hym and Hyde
That can sum up the big points of this chapter, the Apathy as you can guess were a new addition to this chapter but it worked so well. But the battle between Hyde and the Hym was one I have wanted to do for ages now. The idea of seeing the Crooked Man again was something I think we all wanted to see, but to see him in action against another Hym? Well that's two for the price of one. And the part with Hyde emerging from Kassius was a favourite moment for me, the way he decimates the Apathy as well. Probably my favourite moment in this chapter because I have been hinting at it for a while and also it finally gives Hyde some proper limelight instead of it being Kassius' body.
Speaking of Demons - what did you think of the Hym? It was inspired by the Hym in the Witcher if you hadn't noticed the similarity but I wanted it to be more like an animal than an intelligent being, more savagery. And showing Cardin's guilt through it was actually quite interesting. And the stuff with Vetra was fun to write as well.
All round this was a favourite chapter of mine, I hope you all enjoyed!
Please review and lemme know what you thought of this chapter! What did you or didn't you like? Always looking to improve.
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Stay tuned for the next chapter - Two Birds One Stone
- Matt