ACH: Side Story

Canon to Main ACH Timeline: No

Sinners Like Us

Emery's hands were stained with blood. Not the blood of the innocent. No, that… man was far from innocent. It was the blood of the guilty, of the rotten. She held no regrets over what she had done. It was justice.

That being said, she knew this high wouldn't last for long. As soon as she had finally killed him, she had run out of the tavern as quickly as she could. He had friends after all, and those friends were hunting her down.

It wasn't fair. How come when innocence had been stolen, it was written off as part of the job? But when a rapist is killed, suddenly it becomes a problem. And yet she was the criminal. She, who had been a victim for so long, was now a murderer in the eyes of the law.

But that was fine. She knew that this was going to happen. That's why, she made sure to prepare.

Emery opened her front door, noticing a small leak coming from the roof. For the longest, she has lived on the outskirts of town, in the poorest area there was. Her home was little more than a small shack, and no matter how hard she tried, she was never quite able to get the stench of rotting wood out.

Making her way to the only closet in the house, she took a deep breath and opened it. The closet was entirely empty, with the exception of a single stool and rope. These two were the closest things she had to friends. Sometimes, during the more… exhausting days at work, she would come here and just stay with them. They were always ready for her, for when she took the plunge. But she never had the guts to do it.

Until now.

She stepped onto the stool, shifting her weight slightly as she grasped the end of the rope. A noose, tied many moons ago, was gently placed around her neck. Emery gulped, wiping her sweaty palms on her ruined barmaid uniform. The rope felt tight against her neck, despite it being relatively loose. This was the moment she had been waiting for, longing for.

Taking a deep breath, she kicked away the stool.

Her hands reflexively reached up to her neck, grasping the rope around it. Her legs flexed and kicked as the rope burned around her neck. She couldn't breathe, instead simply choking out a few pained gasps as the rope strangled her. Her vision began to fade, and she could feel her sweet release finally approaching. This was it. This was her way out of the hell that had become her life. This-

Something above her creaked, and she suddenly fell to the floor.

Emery groaned, picking herself up and staring at where the noose was. Damn it. The wooden rod it had been connected to broke. Just her luck. Her hand reached up to her throat, her fingers lightly brushing the rope around her neck.

Panic began to set in. If she didn't die before her persecutors got here, she would be in a far worse position. They may choose to deny her the sweet release she had been craving. They might… they might do that to her all over again. She had to get out of-

Her door slammed open, and a shocking sight greeted her.

She recognized that face entirely. It was… her, somehow. Angry eyes stared down at Emery's defeated form, and the imposter limped over to her. From what she could see, there looked to be a few arrows in her back, as well as more than a few cuts and gashes across her skin.

The imposter brandished a sharp black dagger, and glared down at her. "You… what did you do? The entire town is looking for us, for you!"

Emery didn't know what to say. There in front of her was a perfect replica of her. What was she supposed to say?

"Oh, never mind. Once you're disposed of, I can finally go and find Darius!"

Darius? What an odd name. But at the same time, it must be someone important. This other her… she seemed to want to find him. "Who… who is he?"

Almost as if a switch were flipped, the imposter smiled brightly and held her own face, almost like a child. "Oh, he is just the greatest! He's so… and then he's… he's Darius, and that's all that matters."

Emery couldn't understand what any of that was supposed to mean. But at the same time, the sheer joy and love within the imposter's voice… it sounded lovely. "That sounds amazing. Right, then I won't keep you. Please, kill me quickly."

The imposter paused, staring down at her. Confusion marked the other woman's face, almost as if she couldn't comprehend what had been asked of her. Nevertheless, she limped forward, dagger at the ready.

And that was when voices echoed out from outside the house.

"I think this is it boys! Come on, we have a whore to beat!"

No, no no no no! Not them, anything but them! Emery watched as the imposter turned to face the door, a scowl on her face. Damn it! She had to hide!

Crawling into the closet, Emery shut the door and held her breath. No sooner than she had done that, did the door to the house bust open. Her heart pounded, and all she could die was hope as she listened to the voices of the men and the imposter.

"There you are. You ready to pay for killin' our boy Blu like that, slut? Wait what are you- "

She could hear a scream, and a loud thud. The other men began to shout, and more bodies began to hit the floor. She could hear their pain, their bloody cries for help as their pitiful lives ended. It was almost cathartic in a sense. This was their punishment, the due they have long since needs to pay.

Another thud rang out, along with the loud clattering of a dagger hitting the floor.

"O-Oh my gods. She killed them. That crazy bitch killed them. I-I killed her. I won. Oh shit, I've got to get out of here! No way they'll believe a bitch like that did all this. Fuck!"

Feet pounded against the floor, and her front door was thrown open and slammed shut. Was… was it over? Gingerly pushing the closet door open, Emery's eyes widened as she saw the carnage. There were six bodies, five of them belonging to the men who had been hunting her down. The final one, was of the imposter. An axe was buried in her skull, and blood was pooling around her head.

Emery's gaze landed on the black dagger the imposter had been wielding. It had fallen to the ground, just slightly out of her reach. The dull metal gleamed with an otherworldly glow. Right, this was her ticket out.

Her hand reached forward, grasping the dagger in her hand. Her grip was shaky, and it took both of her hands to keep the dagger steady. She took a deep breath, bringing the dagger towards her throat.

"Oh come on now Em, surely you don't want to end it like this?"

A voice echoed out behind her, and she whipped her head around to face it. A man sat on her rotten cot, an almost translucent glow surrounding him. A silver ring with a green gemstone sat on a chain around his neck, falling atop of what looked to be some kind of vest. The most striking feature about him however, was his striking navy blue eyes, which contrasted nicely against his dark hair.

"W-Who are you?"

The stranger grinned, standing up as he casually made his way over to her. "Well, that's a loaded question. In the simplest way possible, I'm your new guardian! That dagger of yours is quite the toy. So long as you hold it, I'll be right here to help you find your true love."

True love? "What do you mean?"

A sad smile graced his features as she squatted down to get to her level. "Why, I mean Darius Artifice of course! He's the one who was meant for you after all! The one who was born to pamper you, to love you, to treat you with all the respect you deserve. Doesn't that sound fabulous?"

It did, oh it really did. The mere thought of it made her mind feel all fuzzy. Love and affection, two things she hadn't felt since she was small, and they were actually in her gross now. She could actually turn her life around, and get her happy ending. "…Yes, it sounds wonderful. How do I find him?"

He stood up, walking behind her back placing a hand on her shoulder, though she felt nothing. "Whatever you need to do. Whatever you need. Now come on, let's go find the man of our- your dreams!"

A tear escaped Emery's eye, and she smiled. "Yeah, let's find him."

Not once did she notice the manic look in his eyes, nor how his eyes flickered to a honey brown before returning to their navy blue.

She simply couldn't wait to find her happiness.

…

So yeah, that's it. That is the conclusion of this little story of mine. From it's initial creation, which shocked most of you, to this. Honestly, I wish I had more to say about the whole thing. But at the same time, I'm glad I don't. Honestly, I'd probably be unable to really describe it properly without taking the piss out of it. And for something so unique and different than my usual work, I think that'd be an injustice. So instead, I'll leave this segment with this:

If this little experiment of mine was something you enjoyed, for better or for worse, than why not let your voice be heard? Pop down over to the SGO server ( discord. gg/ khT5a69ThB ) and let your thoughts be heard. Alternatively, you could always leave a review about how much you loved/hated this whole thing. This is the place where I prefer to be a bit more experimental with subject matter and writing style, so it's always nice to get some feedback.

Now, onto our review of the story:

"Wh- wtf that was crazy why do I love it so much"

Yeah, that was my reaction when I was first coming up with this mini-series. It was a one-shot idea that quickly grew to a three chapter mini-story. I had a lot of fun with it, and I think that's what drove me to really keep it going for as long as I did. Though I knew that it would have to end quickly enough, and tackle different fucked up situations in order to keep that feeling alive in some way. Repetition begets complacency after all.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and you didn't think that was the end, did you?

…

Her eyes opened, and the abyss stared back. An all encompassing void was Emery's only friend as she floated aimlessly.

She had failed. She hadn't been able to find Darius, to finally put the pieces of her life back together. From world to world, timeline to timeline, she traveled across it all in the hope that she would finally be able to be with him once more.

Everything that she had done, all the lives that she had ended to accomplish her goal, it was all pointless now. The atrocities she had committed in the name of love, they were all worthless.

Tears escaped her eyes, and she curled up into a ball. She felt so alone. There was nobody here, not even the dagger that had become a part of her. She felt so… empty.

A light gleamed in the distance, and Emery looked up towards it. She could feel the comfort and warmth emanating from the place. It made her feel safe. She uncurled, doing her best to float up towards the glowing comfort. It was so close, she could almost feel the happiness. A smile grew on her face. Yes, this must be it! Darius, he must be up here! reaching a hand out, she desperately tried to touch the light, to feel it's warmth on her skin.

And that was when something grabbed her leg.

Her upward ascent was halted, and the light began to fade from her view. No… no! Not when she was this close! She was almost there, almost free! Her eyes looked down towards her leg, and she gasped. IT was some kind of shadowy figure, pulling her down as it cried.

She tried to kick it off, to fight the force with all her being, but it wasn't enough. Emery continued to sink downwards, and an ominous crimson glow began to grow beneath her.

Oh gods, this wasn't supposed to happen! This wasn't the ending that she wanted, that she fought and killed for! The shadow below her began to multiply, dozens of hands reaching up and grabbing her. They began to pull her down faster, into the crimson light of despair. Their hatred of her was palpable, and it was impossible to ignore why.

One was a young woman with big dreams, hoping desperately to escape the life she had found herself in.

Another, a girl who had just found the man of her dreams. Her love would take time to grow, but the seeds of it was already in place.

The hands of another, the hands of a woman who had lost everything that she held dear. And who was willing to do whatever it takes to get it back, regardless of the sacrifice.

Emery knew these shadows, these remnants of what once was. She knew them intimately. And yet, as she stared into their empty faces and listened to their tortured cries, she refused to accept them. It wasn't her fault. She was just doing what she had to do! You couldn't blame her! It was for a good cause!

Her pleas fell onto unhearing ears, and they continued to drag her down. The crimson light expanded, and soon all she could see was jagged red rocks, and the boiling of an unholy blood. She tried to scream, but a hand covered her mouth and gagged her.

And yet, they refused to cover her eyes and ears. To shield her from the suffering wails and broken bodies of the damned. They continued to drag her down, deeper into this hell.

Her feet then touched some kind of sand, and she could feel it trail up her body. All at once, the screams of an infinite number of souls rang out within her. Their pain, their torment, their regret, she could feel it all. It burned her body, her soul, and her own cries of pain soon joined them.

Why does it have to end this way? Why can't she be happy? Was this her punishment for loving another? Was this what she got for believing that she could ever find her happiness? Why must she suffer, why must she be stricken with this never ending guilt!? Why…

Why?

Something grabbed her hand once more, but this time it felt different. It felt warm, like the touch of another. It was almost… familiar.

The hand lifted her up, saving her from the jealous cries of the damned. All of the pain, the guilt, the unrelenting sorrow, it all seemed to fade away as she gazed upon the face of her savior.

"D-Darius?"

He didn't say anything, instead just choosing to hold her in his arms. Her soul sang in delight, and she snaked her arms around his torso. Please, don't let this be some cruel dream. Let this be real, let this be what she has been searching for. "Are you… are you real?"

The arms around her tightened, before pulling away. His eyes, their unique navy blue piercing her soul, stared deep into her own. A bitter smile grew on his face, and he spoke. "I may not be flesh and blood anymore, but I'd like to think that my hugs are good enough to be real."

She laughed, falling into him as she bathed in his comforting presence. It was him. After all this time, she had finally found him! Her tears began anew, only this time she was happy with shedding them. "O-Oh gods, Darius! I've been looking for you for so long! You never c-came back, a-and I was so scared! I tried to be positive, b-but then the baby… oh gods the baby."

Emery continued to break down, weeping as he held her in his arms. "I've done so many terrible things Darius! I tried to be with you, to finally spend our lives together! B-But it never worked! And I- oh gods, I've killed so many people, so many who had hoped to see their own happiness! And I tore it from them before they could even try!"

The guilt of all she had done, all she had taken, was pouring out from her. Every sin, every drop of blood that had ever stained her hands, she confessed to all of them before him. The pain she was forced to carry was finally coming to light, and her misdeeds were too many to count.

And yet despite all of that, Darius just sighed. His hand lifted her chin up, and he gave her pity. "Oh honey, you've done so much. Why did you need to find me? There were millions of other men to choose from, to love on with. Why'd you hold onto me? A guy who died far too long ago, and who has been trapped here ever since. You didn't need me to be happy Em."

Of all of the reactions he could have had, this one somehow hurt the most. "Because Darius… I love you."

It was the truth, the reason behind everything she had ever done. And as she stared up at Darius, she knew that it would always be so. Her hand cupped his cheek, holding his face. She didn't want to let him go. Not when she had just found him.

Darius just looked down at her, emotions mixing and flashing in his eyes. But out of all of the emotions she saw, hate or disgust was never one of them. Indeed, love was the prominent feeling. Love and sadness.

He leaned towards her, tilting her chin up a bit more. Emery's heart raced, and she stood on her toes to meet him halfway. Her soft lips touched his own, and she held him tightly in her arms. This was it. This was what she had been searching for. And here it was. After all this time, he was finally with her.

And she was happy.