Chapter 2: Father Dearest
It had been a long six months for Arthur Morgan. Too damn long. Six months of suffering. Six months of heartache. Six months of watching his comatose wife show no signs of waking up. It was hell for him knowing that he had nothing money could buy and not enough power to gain in order to open that cursed door and get his loves out. The pain Arthur felt when he saw his wife's lifeless body in Darrach's arms was an all too familiar feeling. Arthur felt it any time Lilly had been killed, kidnapped or harmed.
The pain that often made him ask himself "what should I have done differently? What could I have done to prevent these awful things?"" The feeling like his heart had been ripped from his chest and got stuck in a vice grip before being shoved back into place. The constant barrage of this feeling finally made him snap and now Arthur pretty much had gone insane from his grief.
So as he stared down at the broken and battered pig man, it was safe to say that Arthur was going to enjoy every moment of this man's suffering.
However, he had questions first.
"Dubh?" Arthur cooed teasingly as he knelt down to the shivering pig man. "What's the matter? At least you ain't dead...yet."
Dubh sobbed through his rapid breathing, making Arthur smile maliciously. Now he understood why Lilly loved to torture folks.
"Mmffmffgh..." Dubh muttered through his tears.
"Sorry, you're gonna have to speak up, boah," Arthur said gently. It was then that Arthur noticed the piece of wood lodged in Dubh's ear. "Oh, you probably can't hear me. Well, shit," he said before looking at a pregnant Brigid. "Brigid, can you heal his ear, please?"
Brigid came walking over with a smirk. "Just the ear, right?" she asked smugly.
"Yes."
Brigid bent down and yanked the wood out, blood spraying and Dubh groaning loudly before trying to muffle his cries. She then placed a hand over his bleeding ear and healed it. Dubh snorted loudly over and over and it made Arthur laugh.
"He really is in a lot of pain, ain't he?" Arthur remarked with amusement.
"That's what happens when you fall down a mountain," Brigid explained with a giggle.
With a chortle, Arthur snatched up some of Dubh's hair and stood while lifting him up. Dubh trembled and groaned loudly from the action. "Now can you hear me?" Arthur drawled lowly.
"Yah," Dubh replied with a broken jaw, coughing up blood.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "For cryin' out loud, heal his jaw, will ya?" he asked in annoyance. Brigid sighed and held Dubh's jaw then healed it back into place. "Any other injuries that will keep you from talkin', pal?" Arthur asked.
"N-No," Dubh stammered before whimpering.
"Good." Arthur dragged the man's limp body around, making Dubh cry out. "You got a lot to answer for, buddy. Gotta say I...I almost feel bad for ya."
That was a lie. Arthur didn't feel the least bit guilty about what Dubh was going through. A small, whimpering cry is all Arthur got out of the man as he walked towards his clan members. He held up Dubh by the hair as his prey squealed, and the Van der Linde clan cheered and whistled while applauding happily. Arthur smiled with a deep chuckle before tossing Dubh like a rag doll to the ground. Dubh let out a long groan as he tried to curl up in the fetal position. Arthur could see he was struggling and it brought him pleasure to see the man suffering so much. He wondered what to do next.
Without thinking, Arthur delivered a good kick to Dubh's stomach and sent him across the way into the crowd. People guffawed and cheered as Arthur marched over to the whimpering pile of shit that was Dubh.
"What is Mallacht doin' to my family?!" he barked loudly.
"I don't know what you mean!" Dubh snarled.
"Yeah you do." Arthur bent down at the waist and held his knees as he glared down at Dubh. "That fucker's been stealin' my people's souls, like the damn wine stole Lilly's! Why is he gatherin' souls, Dubh?!"
"I don't know what you mean!" he cried.
Arthur kicked Dubh in the face and he heard the crunch of something before teeth shards came flying out of Dubh's mouth along with blood.
"What the fuck has he been doin' to my wives?!"
"Enough!" Dubh yelled pitifully. "I won't tell you!"
Arthur growled before grabbing Dubh by the ears, lifting him up and kneeling him in the balls. Dubh took a deep, wheezing breath in as he keeled over. People cheered again when Arthur released the pig man, watching him flop into the blood stained snow.
"I only wish Hosea were here to see this," Dutch mentioned calmly with a cigar in his hand. "Sean, too."
"And Brian, James, Tilly and Lenny," Uncle added. "I hope killin' Dubh wakes them up."
"You gonna tell me what I wanna know, boah?!" Arthur said gruffly.
"Never," Dubh hissed.
"Alright," Arthur replied before whistling loudly. "You're up, Jack!" Dubh froze immediately when Arthur said that and Arthur noticed. "Oh, so you can be surprised. Who'da thunk it?"
Dubh's vision was blurred but he heard the slow crunch of footsteps on snow walking in his direction. A white boot appeared in his line of sight and he looked up with just his eyes, seeing only white fur blowing in the wind. Someone grabbed Dubh's shoulder and shoved him onto his back. When his vision cleared, Dubh saw the impossible standing above him. A man with red curly locks, sapphire blue eyes and a chiseled face.
"Sir Jack?!" Dubh said in shock.
Jack smiled down at Dubh before chuckling deeply. "Glad tah see yer memory's intact, laddie," he said before pulling out a sword. "Do ya recognize this as well?"
"Dia a Mharú!" Dubh growled. "How did you get that?!"
"Why should I tell ya that?" Jack asked with a wink.
Without warning, Sir Jack stabbed Dubh in the heart and he inhaled deeply as he felt himself start to slip away. As his life began to fade, white light surrounded him.
A young, kempt version of Dubh aroused from his slumber with a gasp. "Dubh," he uttered before he scrambled out of bed.
Some naked bodies were in the bed, groaning when Mallacht left. He ran to the window curtains and opened them before storming out through the balcony doors. He was a tall, bulky and handsome man with four black dragon horns twisting and circling out just above his forehead. Mallacht stared across the way of Saint Denis from his large, Gothic Victorian castle. A storm was brewing far to the north. That could only mean one thing.
The door was open.
"Shit!" he hissed before stomping back into his room. "Everybody get out!"
Suddenly the castle started to rumble and something that sounded like an explosion occurred outside. The people in Mallacht's large black themed canopy bed jolted out of it in a panic as Mallacht ran back out on the balcony. A stream of white light went flying from one of the castle's windows and raged across the sky to the north. He groaned before looking down at the windows that were now shattered.
It came from the Queen's bedroom.
"What is that fucking cunt up to now?!" he growled before black fog enveloped him, a large black dragon with multiple, slick black sharded horns on its head and back emerging from the smoke. He flew down to the Queen's balcony and landed with a loud roar. "What the hell did you just do?!" Mallacht shouted. A loud hiss and a series of clicks and wheezes were his answer and he chuckled bitterly. "Bullshit! Don't make me come in there and find out, you worthless bitch!"
A loud, haunting shriek erupted from the bedroom and Mallacht sighed. He didn't have time for the Queen's games. He had more important things to deal with.
"Fuck it! I'll find out later!" he shouted before leaping off the balcony and flying back to his own, landing and shifting back into human form. "Violet better not be high off her ass today!"
Inside a room full of posters and pictures of metal bands and rappers from the 80's and 90's, among other trinkets and such, was a woman with long, straight violet colored hair sitting at a desk with all sorts of gadgets and devices spread across it. The song, "Slim Shady" by Eminem was playing loudly on her speaker system, the sub woofers blasting with bass and vocals as she worked on a piece of machinery. With a lit joint in her mouth, the woman with violet eyes worked diligently on one of her devices with a soldering gun. As she connected some wire to a small piece of metal, she took a drag of her weed and puffed it out shortly after, adjusting the magnifying glass she had attached on her head over one of her eyes. Two black curved horns stuck out from her hair near the top and two smaller ones were just before and above her ears.
"Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records...well I do, so fuck him and fuck you, too," she rapped along with the song. The woman moved a lamp over to shine on the object she was working on. "This last adjustment should do it..." The computer screen started flashing and she sighed before turning the music down and pressing a button on her worn out keyboard. "This better be important!" she yelled in an English accent.
Mallacht's face appeared on the screen and he looked calm, but the woman knew better. "Violet," he said coolly.
Violet sighed with an eye roll. "Yes, Father Dearest?"
Mallacht growled a little. "Why do you insist on calling me that?"
"Because you're an awful father and I despise you." The two stared each other down before they both burst out laughing. After calming down, Violet took a puff of her joint. "What can I help you with, Pops?" Violet asked with a giggle.
"Well, we have some "guests" that may be arriving today," he replied while leaning back in his chair.
"And these "guests" deserve my attention because?"
"They're from the outside."
Violet gasped with a devious smile. "No! How'd they get the door open?!"
"Dubh was killed," Mallacht said with a frown.
"Oh dear," Violet sighed. "So The Alleged Savior is coming?"
"Doubtful. He's human and isn't compatible with the technology, but I'm sure others will be sent to fetch my prize." Mallacht leaned forward. "I know you're on holiday, but-"
"Are you kidding?!" she exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair. "I've been waiting for this for suuuch a long time, Dad! Please let me be the one to kill them!"
"No," Mallacht chuckled. "I already have plans for whoever comes in. Just send the wolf bitch out to take them to Saint Denis."
Violet looked over at the large red wolf sleeping in her fluffy doggy bed. "Are you sure that's wise?"
"Oh please. She can handle herself despite her disabilities. Or maybe my luck will turn and she'll get herself killed. I honestly should've killed her a long time ago, but at least she can be useful. Now send her out."
Violet nodded in understanding. "Yes, Father."
Mallacht smiled. "That's my girl," he said affectionately before cutting the line.
Violet took another hit off her joint and looked at the wolf. "Hmm," she said before putting the lit joint out and walking to the wolf. She put a palm on the wolf's back, making the wolf jerk as she raised her head. "Oops, sorry girl."
The wolf got up and stretched before facing Violet. The red wolf had no eyes, red wire stuck out of her ears and her throat was open with a bunch of string chords hanging out. Violet scratched behind the wolf's ear as she panted and wagged her tail. The dragon woman grinned before leading the wolf from the room to the front door. Violet took a glimpse around at her menagerie of things from the future and sighed before grabbing the knob and opening to the door. She helped her wolf out and shut the door to her oak tree before locking it with a key. Violet stared up at the glass bottles hanging from the tree branches with twine.
"How about we take the car, my pet?" she asked before looking at the deaf, blind and mute animal.
"Thank you, Konstantine," Arthur said as he shook the man's hand. "We couldn't have got him without you."
"You're welcome," The Russian Giant replied. "He was a good friend, but he had it coming."
"He sure as shit did." Arthur's bracelet started to glow and he clicked on his communications bead, seeing Cernunnos and Ogma's face come up.
"Lord Morgan," they both said.
"I hope you have good news," Arthur said enthusiastically.
"The door is open," they both said with a smile.
"Good. Have any of them come out yet?"
"No," Ogma said. "I'm afraid what Apate told us is true. They're stuck in a version of Hell."
Arthur nodded. "Well, I'm sure it's nothin' they can't handle. And it's only been six months. For all we know, the girls could have defeated this Mallacht guy already."
"Let us hope that is the case," Cernunnos said.
Arthur rubbed his face with a gloved hand as ones who couldn't fly or teleport loaded up on Big Boah. "And the others?"
"They're stable but haven't woken up yet," Ogma replied. "As for your triplets, Lilly doesn't seem like she'll be giving birth this month. Hopefully they'll be born by Christmas."
Arthur looked at Konstantine, who was smiling at him and slapped him on the shoulder. "How many children does that make it now?" he asked Arthur.
"Six."
Konstantine laughed. "You lucky dog. You-" suddenly the man looked towards the night sky. "What is that?"
A loud boom was heard and everyone drew their attention to it. Arthur watched as a flaming object was flying through the sky towards them. "Uh...boys? What is that?" Arthur asked as he aimed his bracelet at the white blinding light.
"Those are someone's prayers," Ogma said with a brief chuckle. "Looks like a lot, too."
The light was getting closer and people started backing up. "Should we be worried?" Arthur asked.
"Nah," Cernunnos assured him. "Prayers are often...oh shit."
"What?"
"You might wanna get out of the way."
Arthur whistled for people to get out of the way and everyone scattered as the light screeched loudly during its descent. The horses neither neither reared up as people tried to calm them and Arthur went running as the light started to follow him. Before he could get much further, the powerful light hit him and he went flying into a large bank of snow with a shout.
