An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 15
Author's Note: Hey everyone! I know that a few of you aren't too fond of the Lovecraftian twist, but I'll do my best to still make it entertaining. It's only going to get stranger from here on, but eventually it'll come back full circle to normalcy. For now, I hope you all enjoy the chapters. Please feel free to favorite and review, I always love hearing feedback. Best of luck in life and literature. - Kiba
I soon fell silent, my eyes locked with the small girl's as she extended her arms outward. She was begging for me to approach, to embrace her and hold her close. My heart began to pound in my chest as I found myself unable to tear my gaze from her violet eyes. "Lusca?" Marie asked, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"
In truth, Marie was hesitant to strike me again, but if I were to do something dangerous, she'd have no choice but to knock me out for our shared safety. "I see her." I murmured, grasping to my lucidity with every ounce of will I had. "I see the young girl from before, she's sitting over there, in the corner." With a trembling hand, I gestured to her.
"What is she doing?" Agent 2 asked. "Is she trying to attack you?"
With a deep inhalation, I shook my head. "She's calling to me. Well, in a sense. She doesn't speak, but her arms are outstretched like she's asking for a hug. For some reason, when I look at her, I can feel large amounts of fear, but at the same time…" I paused, seeking the words to explain. "The feelings are alien to me. I don't think they are my own."
I began to stand to walk towards her. Marie was up, about to attack me but I slowly took off my gun and set it on the ground. Every step I took towards the girl, caused me to notice even more details. She was beautiful, stunningly so. She seemed to tremble as I approached. "Lusca, be careful." Marie warned, ready to grab me at a moment's notice. It wouldn't be necessary.
"What's your name?" I asked, but she gave no response. Instead I felt the fear beginning to subside from my mind a little. "My name is Lusca. Can you say 'Lusca'?" Still she remained eerily silent. I was just within arm's reach now. I could see her face clearly, her purple and viridian tentacles now stretching out as well of their own accord.
Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed up from the tunnels, snapping me to my senses as the vision of the young girl vanished once more. I recognized the scream immediately. Callie was in danger! "Marie!"
"I heard it too." She called back, scooping up my gun and tossing it to me. Quickly sliding down the ladder, I found myself running through the dark corridor to find the woman we'd sent there. My hand blindly trailed along the brick masonry as I searched desperately for any sign of her.
"Callie!" I shouted, but all I heard in response was my own echo. "Where are you?!" Still, there came no reply. I couldn't see a thing in the darkness, but as I heard footsteps behind me, I turned to be greeted by a nearly blinding blue light that lit up the tunnels ahead of us.
I was shocked to see that the source was Marie as she rushed past me. "Lusca, come on! We can't just stand around." She began to run faster, and I quickly followed after her.
It wasn't much time later that the dark black tentacles of Callie emerged in the light, still glowing a faint pink. Her light wasn't nearly as bright as Marie's. "Callie?" I called in concern, placing my hand on her shoulder. Again, she didn't respond, but slowly turned to regard the both of us. Over her face was an ivory mask, and through it I could see shimmering golden eyes. However, these were not her's.
"Callie, what happened?" Marie asked, approaching her. Could she not see the mask that she wore. "Are you alright?" Her hands reached out to touch her, but with an unnatural strength, Callie grabbed her wrist, squeezing tight enough to bring her to her knees. "Callie, stop! You're hurting me!" Her cousin wailed, trying to break free from her grip.
The entire time, her eyes did not leave mine. Behind the mask, a distorted voice spoke to us both. "You will not lay hands upon the Queen." The voice was hypnotic and mesmerising, as if thousands of angels were speaking all at once.
"Marie, apologize." I instructed her quickly.
"Apologize? For what?"
"For attempting to lay hands on the Queen."
"The what?" She looked up at her cousin stunned. No words had been spoken, but still she felt like her hand was about to burst from the amount of pressure her cousin was putting on her wrist. Marie attempted to transform so she could pull away, but her body wouldn't change. She began to feel very afraid.
"Marie, do it!"
"I'm sorry! I won't touch the Queen!" She quickly blurted, causing Callie to release her death grip on her. Marie nursed her severely bruised hand as I stepped between her and the alien figure that had possessed the older popstar.
"Who are you?" I questioned bluntly. "What have you done with Callie?"
Her eyes shimmered in recognition of the question, looking first to Marie behind me, then back to me. "You have heard my voice?" She inquired, dodging my question. "That is...unexpected." The last word came out as a throaty coo that sent shivers through my tentacles.
"Please, answer the question."
"Very well. My name is Camilla, heir to the throne of Carcosa and sister to Cassilda." For the first time since she'd grabbed Marie, she began to move, circling the two of us with what appeared as an insatiable desire. "And you, Bearer of the Yellow Mark? What is your name?"
"Lusca. Where is Callie?"
"Lusca…" She whispered, seemingly to herself as she tested it on her tongue. "Lusca. A fine name, indeed. Well, Lusca...do not fret. I have indeed seen and met your friend."
"I gathered."
"I see you have brought along another. What is her name?" My eyes went to Marie who shook her head desperately.
"Lusca, whatever she's telling you to do, you have to fight it. You can't let her…" There was a thunderous clap as the back of the Camilla's hand struck Marie hard enough to knock her to the floor in a heap.
"That's enough," I snarled, standing between them. "Queen or no Queen, you are not to lay a hand on her again!"
The masked Callie tilted her head in thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "Very well. I will forgive any disrespects that she makes. I am a merciful Queen, after all." Somehow, I doubted that was the actual case.
"I won't ask you again, where is Callie?"
I could feel the slight smile emanating from the creature in front of me. "Would you like me to show you?" She asked.
I took a deep breath, looking to Marie nervously. "She says she can show us where Callie is."
"What are you talking about, Lusca? Callie is right there!"
I glanced at the mask once more, just a horrendous realization struck me. "Marie, that's not Callie…" I muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"That's not a mask." I began to tremble. Just what was this thing?
"An astute observation." The woman cackled. "My offer still stands. I can show you to your friend if you like."
"Why did you take her?"
"I did nothing of the sort," she replied with a derisive 'hmmph'. "It is not in the nature of a Queen to kidnap a peasant. Although…" Her eyes scanned me up and down, "there is a first time for everything."
"Take us to Callie." I requested, causing another smug sensation to flow from Camilla. Without a word, she brushed past the both of us, walking with a seductive sway in her hips further down the tunnel. Taking Marie's hand, I helped her to her feet and the two of us began to follow the Queen.
"What did she say?" Marie asked in a hoarse whisper. I could feel her entire body shaking in my grasp. "Where's Callie?"
A dozen voices echoed in my mind, over and over again. "Carcosa," I answered. "She's in Carcosa, isn't she?" The Queen looked at me over her shoulder.
"Indeed she is. I see you too can hear the voices of my siblings. You must be very strong willed. For anyone else, you would have collapsed into a gibbering mess under the weight of the Crest of Carcosa."
"The what?"
"You do not know? It is the symbol carved into your chest. I imagine that means you have run into one of my many cousins. Pray tell, I am curious as to which one you've met."
"Do you mean that little girl that I saw? The one with purple and green tentacles."
The Queen immediately came to a halt. "That's the one you saw?" She demanded, for the first time raising her voice. "That's not possible!" Even the Queen seemed to be afraid now. Just who was this little girl? "Come, we must hurry! We will be safer in Carcosa." She began to run down the tunnel now, the two of us following after her, despite Marie's desperate confusion.
Sure enough, every now and then, the little girl would apparate within Agent 2's light, always staring straight at me with arms and tentacles outstretched. It seemed like no matter how fast we ran, she always was ahead of us. But soon, a brilliant light filled the tunnel and as Marie and I vanished through it, we found ourselves standing on a gigantic platform with crumbled pillars and broken buildings. "Where are we?" Marie gasped.
The woman spoke, causing Marie to jump. "Welcome to the ruins of the once great Carcosa." She explained, her arms outstretched wide. "This was once my father's domain, until the day that he was slain by his half-brother. Since then, the Kingdom was passed down to me and my sister, Cassilda."
The two of us stared around in awe. This world was so foreign, so strange. I wasn't even sure we were on Earth anymore. Up above us, two blackened suns hung in the sky, dimly illuminating everything with an ominous light. That was when my eyes rested on the horrified visage of Callie. "Callie!" I cried, running towards her.
"Wait, Lusca that's just a statue!" Marie called after me, before the realization struck her. "Oh no...no, no, no."
I stood before the marble figure of Callie, throwing my arms around her and hugging her tightly. "Callie, I'm so sorry." I cried, my tears streaming down my face. "I should have been stronger. If I'd gone down the pipe instead of you, I'd be the one trapped in stone."
Marie leveled her weapon towards Camilla, her eyes boiling with fury and rage. "You! You did this! You just made a grave mistake killing my cousin. I may not be able to bring her back, but I can sure as Hell put you in the ground beside her."
"She was not the one who did this." Another voice explained, a hand extending to push the barrel of her weapon to the ground. "And I'd appreciate if you didn't point your weapon at my sister." Beside her, there was an almost exact replica of herself, save that this Marie had a mask on her face akin to the one on Camilla.
"Hello, dearest Cassilda." The Queen greeted her sister with a bow. "Thank you for showing yourself to our guests."
"They are here for the trespasser?"
"Indeed. Apparently she is dear to the Bearer."
Her eyes widened behind her mask as she examined me where I stood. "This is the Bearer? Now that I think about it, his resemblance is uncanny."
"Change her back." I begged, holding on to her even tighter. "Please, turn her back!"
Cassilda chuckled as she walked closer to me. "I'm afraid, your Highness, that is not possible."
"Highness?" I snapped.
"Yes. After all, you are destined to marry my dear sister. Did she not inform you as such? The Crest of Carcosa is a high honor indeed. It marks you as the next leader of our fair city. What's left of it anyway."
"I don't want to be the leader of your damned city," I snarled, "I want Callie back."
Cassilda tsked. "We can't very well have another woman with your heart, now can we? It would be unbefitting of a King to be unfaithful to his wife. Besides, I'm sure you've noticed by now that these two are very similar to us."
"Why? What's the point of that?!"
She grinned once more beneath her features. "It's really quite simple. You may view your world as the only one, but in fact there are many. An innumerable amount of stars, each with their own reality and laws. In your reality, we are called Callie and Marie. In this reality we are Camilla and Cassilda. If you love Callie, you should have no problems loving Camilla." Running her hand through the silver tentacles on her head, she looked towards her doppelganger. "And just to prove that we're not completely heartless, we'll bestow you with a gift." Holding up her hands, Marie suddenly felt a cold chill forming beneath her feet. She tried to pull away to see that the marble was now ascending her.
"We shall preserve them forever." Camilla explained. "This way, even if you miss them you may always visit them here in the courtyard."
"Stop!" I demanded, running to try to pull Marie out. "Stop it, now! I'm the King right? So I order you to stop!"
"You are not the King until you've married my sister." Cassilda pointed out. "Even then, you are still only the Bearer of the Mark. Camilla will still hold the power in Carcosa."
"Damn it!" I cried, as Marie began to panic, struggling more.
"Lusca, help me!" She wept, tears starting to roll down her now stone cheeks as I tugged and pulled with all my might.
"Marie, hold on. Please!" I begged, until the very last of her tentacles was now made of stone. I fell to my knees defeated. I couldn't save her. I couldn't save my two best friends in the world and now...they were stuck here forever. What would I tell the Captain? What could I tell him? "You...bitch!" I snapped, turning immediately to Cassilda. "You killed them! You killed both of them and I'm going to make you pay!"
I ran towards her, fist cocked back as I went to punch her with every ounce of strength that I had. But holding out her hand, she simply flicked her finger, sending me soaring back to land with a thud. I was up again in a blink, running at her with everything I had. "You are wasting your time, sire. I think it would be best if we prepared for your wedding."
"You can take your wedding and shove it right...up...your…!" I snarled, lashing out over and over again, despite that Cassilda just stood there as if she felt none of my blows. With a quick strike, she sent me flying once again to land with a pant.
"If it will help you, my liege. I suppose I can indulge you in this battle. You won't be able to hurt me and it'll be good for you to get out all of those silly feelings and energy. All the better to focus your attentions on my sister."
Camilla watched with mild amusement as I tried time and time again to land a blow on Cassilda, each time she knocked me back with only a minimum effort. Just as she'd predicted, my energy was running low. I was starting to struggle to stand back up again. "Come now Sister," Camilla sighed, "must you really torture the poor man? Just smash the statues and get it over with. Perhaps when he sees that there truly is no stance, he'll be more co-operative."
"NO!" I boomed, just as Cassilda smirked, drawing back her hand and turning towards Callie. Before she could, however, a quick purple blur flew past my vision, sending her hurtling back. It was the girl from before. Was she from Carcosa as well? Glancing at me over her shoulder, I saw she still looked the same as she had in my visions. She wore no mask, but still she did not speak.
Cassilda stood, wiping a bit of deep yellow blood from her lip where the young girl had struck her. "Cousin." She noted, as Camilla stepped forward as well, taking a fighting stance of her own. "Come to finish your father's job? I'm afraid it will not be so easy."
Turning to look at me again, two of her tentacles reached out, touching Callie and Marie on the forehead. The marble that encased them began to crack, and for a moment I feared that the little girl had only quickened their demise, until as chip by chip fell from them, the two Inklings began to reappear. She'd saved them!
Suddenly, the arena was a blur of purple, pink, and green. The three beings seemed to be fighting everywhere and yet, nowhere at once. I quickly ran to the two girls. Colored streaks in my vision deflecting off one another all around me, but unable to get even close to myself or the other two.
"Lusca?" Callie yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I'm really sleepy. What happened?"
"He carried me to my bed last time, Callie. Do you think he could carry both of us? I'm sleepy too." As her eyes looked up at me, more tears began to fall. Before either of them could react, I threw my arms around both of them, drawing them both close to me.
"What's this for?" Callie wondered, as I nuzzled against them both.
"I was scared I'd lost you both forever." I whispered. "Right now we have a friend fighting the twin terrors. We need to get out of here, fast."
"Carcosa." Callie suddenly uttered, seeming to have remembered where she was again. "I couldn't find an exit last time. But then that woman petrified me. Did you rescue us, Lusca? If you did it would really stink. That means I'd have to go down another tunnel again."
Squeezing her tightly, I leaned closer to her ear as Marie stroked my back reassuringly. "Callie, I…"
Suddenly, there was a loud crash as Cassilda slammed through one of the pillars, hurtling into the waves of the lake around the platform. Just as other Inklings, her body struggled to stay afloat, just as a massive tentacle stretched upward, ensnaring her and pulling her beneath the waves.
What little there was left of Carcosa began to crumble and fall around us, spurts of water racing upward through the platform like geysers. It was then that I could see the tunnel once more. I was not the only one. "There, go!" Marie cried, and the three of us quickly began to flee from the foreign kingdom.
Just as we made it through the portal, the violet blur that was the small girl hurtled straight towards us. Just as the portal began to close she leapt outward. Instinctively, I opened my arms catching her mid air. "Are you okay?" I asked, as the small child eagerly clung to me. She nodded, staying completely quiet before I set her down.
"Lusca, who is this? She's such a cutie." Callie asked. She smiled at the little girl, reaching out to rustle her tentacles before the girl let out a frightened chirp and hid behind me. "Oh…"
"It's okay." I assured the girl. "That's Callie, and that's Marie. They're not like those other two. They're friends." The girl looked up at me quizzically. The fear she'd instilled in me before now felt almost like one would feel about a family member. It was an odd sensation to be sure. "Callie, Marie...this is the little girl I saw in the shop."
Both of the popstars were stunned speechless. They couldn't believe the things that were happening, and I knew it was only a matter of time before one of us cracked. Just as I expected, Marie just kind of chuckled it off. "Well… you know, maybe this old sewer system has some kind of hallucinogenic gas. I mean...that explains what happened, right?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but Callie quickly agreed. "Yeah. This poor girl is probably seeing all sorts of crazy things right now. I mean, the poor thing is trembling she's so scared." The child seemed to be enjoying this 'game'.
"Listen, I don't know what to think of what happened, but it was very real."
"Lusca, you would say that." Callie pointed out. "That curse you have on you is making you insane. I mean, if we could just redraw that symbol Gramps used." As she reached up to touch my forehead, immediately the little girl jumped between us, her tentacles splaying out menacingly. Immediately, Callie drew back her hand with a surprised squeak.
I gently placed my hands on the little girl's shoulders. "Listen to me. It happened, and thanks to this one we managed to all get out. I already almost lost both of you once. I don't want it to happen again. That being said, I think we should stick together from now on. No more going off on our own."
Marie let out an exasperated groan. "Great, more kids to babysit. Do we at least get a name for her?"
"Do you have a name?" I asked the little girl. She thought about it for a moment, her mouth opening to speak, before she thought better of it. "Well, what would you like us to call you?" In my mind resounded a language similar to the one I'd heard in my nightmares. "Ygoff'nn?" I asked puzzled, causing her to nod. "We'll need an easier name to pronounce than that. Any ideas?"
She seemed to consider the question once more before drawing a strange series of symbols in the muck that clung to the wall.
Staring at the script made my head hurt, but I could barely make out some letters. "Sil?" I tried, prompting her to nod again. Callie and Marie, however, grit their teeth as they quickly turned from the words. Walking to it, I wiped it off the muck and immediately they looked relieved.
"Ow." Callie whimpered, rubbing her temples. "What was that stuff she wrote?"
"If I had to guess? R'lyehian. It looked like the words I saw in the nightmares before my curse started to affect me when I was awake." I explained.
I could tell that Marie was not pleased by this prospect. Pulling me by the hand, she whispered in my ear. "Do you really think we can trust her, Lusca? I mean, you saw what she did to those...those...things! And you couldn't even touch them! I have a bad feeling about this."
I looked over my shoulder to see Callie making silly faces as the little girl just stoically watched. She seemed to only smile when she was around me, which meant that she was probably connected to the Crest of Carcosa as well. Maybe that was why Cassilda and Camilla called her cousin. Was she also Carcosan? She didn't look like it. "Me too. But we can't just leave her here. Don't forget she saved our lives in there. Had it not been for her, I'd be married to interdimensional version of Callie with a ceramic face and you two would be a pile of rubble."
Marie sighed. "I suppose so. But still...keep an eye on her Lusca. I'm not sure if I trust her just yet."
I nodded in understanding. "Let's go find Shelldon. The portal's closed and it looks like the exit's just ahead. On the plus side, I don't think I'm going insane any more."
As I began to walk off, Sil turned from Callie and ran after me, giggling as she extended her arms upward in a request to be carried. I looked at her, unsure of how to respond, but the feelings of joy she instilled broke my resolve. Lifting her in my arms, she climbed on to my shoulders before situating herself.
"Why doesn't she like me?" Callie asked her cousin, watching as Sil and I proceeded through the tunnels.
"I don't think it's personal. Be careful around her Callie. She may look like a little girl, but don't forget she nearly made Lusca swan dive to his death. She's not a normal kid or squid. I think Lusca has baby fever. He's blinded by her charms." She sighed, heading towards the exit as well, with Callie trailing behind.
"She is pretty cute." She giggled, causing her cousin to shoot her a stern glare. "What? She is. Besides, look at him." Marie's eyes lifted to see me and Sil giggling with one another. "When was the last time you saw Lusca look so happy?"
"Never. Come to think of it, I don't think Lusca has ever really been happy with us."
Callie grinned. "Well...I think that everything is going to change after this."
"Yeah." Marie agreed solemnly. "Probably so." She'd told me that it didn't bother her that he liked Callie, but if she was honest with herself she was jealous. It wasn't that it was unexpected, but still...she would have liked to win just once.
A strange thought occurred to Marie at that time. What if they hadn't manage to find Camilla? Would Callie have been gone forever? Surprisingly, the thought didn't make her upset. If Callie was gone, I would have no one else to care about, except for Marie. Part of her wished that her cousin had stayed in Carcosa. Then, she knew, she'd be the one to get the guy for once.
As Callie began to walk ahead of her, cheerfully following after Lusca and being swatted at by Sil, Marie's hand wrapped around her gun, silently drawing it. It would be so easy. All it would take was one squeeze of the trigger and Callie would be gone. She'd be able to make any number of excuses: it slipped. She was cleaning it but it accidentally went off. She saw Callie drawing her weapon to shoot Lusca, after all who knew how long she was stuck in Carcosa. How did they even know it was the real Callie?
Ink began to flood through the tank as Marie's eyes shimmered an envious green. A wry grin crossed her lips as she began to take aim. Her cousin was in her sights now, the swaying black tentacles doing little to avoid her. She realized, ironically, that this was the exact position Lusca had her in when they'd first met if he hadn't had his line cut. How different things would have been if he'd actually killed Callie before Marie captured him.
This was finally it! Marie would finally be free from the binding chains that her older cousin placed on her. No longer would she have to clean up messes because of her naivety. Never again would she have to share the stage while everyone oohed and aahed at her sugar and spice act. Marie wouldn't be the bitchy one anymore; she'd be the only one! "Sorry 'sister'," she muttered, "but this time, you won't be coming back."
She took a deep breath, braced herself, and pulled the trigger.
To be continued...
