Cold, that was how the figure felt for a good long while after the screaming stopped, but not because the pain was over no not at all, it had ended due to his throat having been worn so rough it began to bleed. So he just let himself fall to the ground to writhe and twitch as the suit finished its process, which is when the air became freezing as to try and help him. And it did for the most part, made him feel numb and suppressed the fire burning in his soul, so by the time the suit was finished and he could proceed with the next phase of his plan, he wasn't hindered by any hot sensations. It took him several minutes to get to his feet, even more to make sure he wouldn't wobble or sway, one foot after the other he'd walk to something else in this chamber also made by his hand.
Despite being a demon he didn't possess much power, yes he could conjure what may be described as shadow fire, but there was only one other thing he could do. However this second ability, which was to create a portal similar in color to his flames, had a major flaw that kept him from being able to use it on its own. The portal if opened by his hand alone only went to one destination, a place that even now in spite of its separation from all reality could still be accessed through him. So if he ever wanted to use this he'd need something to amplify it, a device that would enable him to travel to other locations as his power originated from there.
Although referred to by many names across the countless mortal species that could make one, he called it by a name that the Slayer had shared with him, a Slipgate. Thankfully the one advantage this power did grant was the Slipgate was simply a conduit, meaning he didn't need to manually input coordinates into the machine. All he needed to travel across reality was know exactly where he was headed, able to visualize the space in its entirety so the device could then do the rest. And as of right now there was only one place he cared to go, though he knew that once he set foot inside of it there would be no going back, not that he had any hesitations of course.
Turning it on and giving it the time it needed to reach full power, he took this moment to say one last thing to his host and companion.
"Farewell..." He said while keeping his gaze on the gate, "And thank you for easing my pain..." He added before summoning his portal.
Waiting a few seconds just to be certain the Slipgate had the location, once he was sure there was no error he walked through and disappeared, the portal dissipating and the Slipgate turning off once he was gone.
Sometimes in life we're forced to endure something that makes us want to die, something we do not want to do at all but we know we have to. During these moments people handle this frustration in their own way, some tap their fingers on a surface or maybe tap their foot, while others hum or sing to themselves to try and make it better. Then there was Katie Killjoy, and as she sat in yet another group of people some new some returns like her, she had reached the level of irritation that made her want to crack her head open like a coconut. She hid it very well though, just sitting there in her chair as calm as could be, but on the inside she was a few good nudges away from going postal.
And it was only made worse by the hotel employee who conducted this particular part of the program, for somehow someway Charlie and her family managed to find people as cheery and as hokey as her.
"Hello hello hello everyone!" The female demon exclaimed with a big bright smile, "Welcome both to newcomers and those who are still with us to anger management! My name's Sophie and I'll be helping you figure out ways to deal with your frustrations, that don't involve disembowelment or dismemberment!" She introduced.
"...I wonder if they cloned her..." Katie thought to herself, trying to find some explanation as to how anyone else could be as peppy as Charlie.
"So, the first thing we're going to do is go around the circle and share with everyone why we're here, specifically what it is we do when we get SO angry with someone we just can't contain it!" She explained.
"I swear to fucking Vega if she does it again..." Katie dreaded while gripping the seat of her chair, bracing herself in case this woman had the audacity to say-
"Katie!" She exclaimed causing her grip to tighten.
"Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me." Katie began repeating in her head over and over.
"Why don't you share with all our newcomers what brings you to anger management?" She suggested.
"It's because she's as crazy as they come..." A male demon next to her muttered beneath his breath, for some reason thinking it was a good idea.
Suddenly he felt a cold chill rundown his spine, and as he slowly looked towards where he thought it came from his body went stiff, for Katie was glaring at him with eyes full of murder.
"Katie?" Sophie said noticing how much she was staring at him.
"...I'm...fine..." Katie replied, calming herself down by breathing slowly, "I just...needed a moment to figure out what I was going to say is all..." She lied while moving her gaze to the other woman.
"Are you feeling nervous today?" Sophie asked with genuine concern, yet despite that Katie couldn't keep from feeling patronized.
"...Sure." She answered, not wanting to dwell on that any longer than what was needed.
"Aw there's no reason to be nervous, we all get a little weak in the knees sometimes." Sophie assured.
"...Right." She continued to reply with one word, hoping to keep it up for as long as possible. "So, are you ready to share now?" Sophie asked immediately shooting down that strategy.
"...Yeah..." She answered with a sigh before looking to her lap, "My name is Katie Killjoy, though most of you probably remember me from when I was the face of channel six six six news, and I am here at anger management because I have a tendency to display my anger through actions, more often than not very violent and destructive actions." She explained having done this several times already.
"Oh yeah I remember you! Now Tom Trench is doing it all by himself, which is cool cause I like him better." One of the newcomers said, they being a female imp.
Much like with the demon she felt a chill go down her spine, followed by the quick snap of Katie's
neck as she looked at her with the same murderous glare.
"SUPER." She told her in a very strained way, having to hold back just how much that statement pissed her off.
"Anyway!" Sophie exclaimed as to keep things on track, "Now that you've shared what brings you here, why not share why you have such issues dealing with your anger?" She suggested.
Letting out another sigh as this was something else she had to do repeatedly, by this point she managed to whittle it down to be as short and straight to the point as possible.
"In short my life sucked, I know most of us here had shitty lives so that's nothing to brag about, but still it is what has made me so hostile towards people who irritate me, only way I survived while living was by being a bitch, a ruthless unstoppable force of nature that took no shit from anyone, but that's why I'm down here like all of you and just like all of you am sitting here in this circle, there ya have it." Katie explained.
Crossing her arms a bit triumphantly because now her part was done, she got a sickly feeling in her gut when she noticed Sophie was still looking at her.
"...What?" Katie asked, unsure as to why she wasn't talking or asking someone else to start sharing. "Katie, you do know this is a safe space right?" She asked.
"Uh...yes?..." Katie answered hesitantly as this was entirely new.
"And in safe spaces we can share everything without the fear of ridicule or dismissal correct?" She asked.
"...What game are you playing at brain witch?" Katie questioned.
"Well, since we've had trouble figuring out a solution to your anger I began thinking if perhaps there was another source, something much more personal and deeper that you weren't telling us, so I asked miss Magne about it and she told me something I didn't know." She explained.
"No...she didn't..." Katie thought with widened eyes, horrified by what she expected was going to come out of her mouth.
"She said that about half a year ago you lost someone close to you, and that they were the first real love of your life, not someone you had interest in for sex, money, or power but genuine feelings for." She revealed.
The moment that was said everyone else in the circle scooted their chairs as much as they could from Katie, as she near instantly began giving off a terrifying aura.
"Your point?" She asked with her eyes still wide, and though her expression was blank it was the scariest thing any of them had ever seen.
"That maybe the reason why you're angry now doesn't have anything to do with your past, which is what we've been focusing on in these meetings, now I'm not asking you to share the name or identity of this person or how you came to have feelings for them, but if you can look me in the eyes and tell me that I'm way off base in assuming this, then I will apologize and promise to never bring it up again." Sophia answered.
The next few seconds were as stressful as a gunslinger showdown, with Katie serving the role as
the jacked up sharpshooter with a score to settle. Yet as it drew closer and closer to a full minute having gone by, all of them especially Sophie noticed two things about her. The first was that she was gripping her arms dangerously tight, to the point she may even break the skin on them with her nails and draw blood. But then there was the other thing they saw, which was how tears seemed to be swelling her eyes, not to the degree she was about to start sobbing, but enough to where they could all see she was upset.
"Katie?" Sophie asked once again with real concern, a bit afraid she might've crossed a line. "...So what?..." She responded while averting her gaze by looking back to her lap, "Say that is
true...say that I did lose someone I actually cared about for once in my entire fucking life...am I not
allowed to be angry?..." She asked.
"Of course you are, but holding onto that anger isn't healthy for you or for the other people close to you, now again I'm not trying to pry or invade your personal life, but the fact that miss Magne knows about this and felt comfortable enough to share it with me, tells me that at the very least both of you knew this person or that you two are close enough that she could know this, and if that is the case then do you want this anger to affect your relationship with her and anyone else you care about?" Sophie questioned.
"No...but we all lost him...so why am I the only one who has to deal with it in group therapy?..." She asked.
Upon hearing that Sophie suddenly stood up, before then walking over to her and pulling out a piece of paper.
"You're right, you shouldn't be the only one." She said while holding it out for her to take, "Hence why you will no longer be coming to these sessions, as there is a new one that is more suited for your issue." She explained.
Confused by what was happening Katie took the paper to look it over, only to be surprised by what was written on it.
(Meanwhile)
"So, you think she's killed everyone yet?" Cherri asked the others while sipping her drink through a straw, all of them sitting around each other in the lobby.
Apart from their missing member, the group from Slayer Studios didn't have much to do for their programs today. In fact one could describe it as mostly a check up, each one being evaluated and proven to not have broken their current goals. Cherri's was obvious as she wasn't allowed to destroy any property or kill anyone with her bombs, though given their business she was still permitted to perform some controlled explosives for their productions. Angel Dust's was also pretty clear as he had several addictions, all of which he had to avoid indulging in even in the smallest possible way, such as say sipping medical alcohol to try and get a buzz or something.
As for the two married Imps they each had something specific to them, for Moxxie it was trying to get passed his numerous anxieties and fears, while for Millie it was finding creative ways to express herself that didn't involve any of her several knives. Thankfully for all four of them, they were handling these goals amazingly well.
"Why do you keep giving her so much grief about it?" Angel Dust responded with his own question, also sipping on a beverage though unlike hers it wasn't alcohol.
"Yeah we noticed that too." Moxxie chimed in speaking for both him and Millie.
"Oh come on guys Katie's the baddest bitch we know, I'm just having some fun with her is all." She answered defensively.
"Still she is getting pretty upset at making no progress, which is weird to me since she has been practicing her exercises back home." Millie mentioned.
"Maybe her group's leader is just bad at their job?" Angel Dust suggested.
"No that can't be it, I asked Charlie and she said she hand picked her." Moxxie said. "You asked Charlie?" Cherri questioned, finding it weird that he'd go straight to her.
"Well yeah, like Millie said it's not like Katie hasn't been trying, yet for some reason she keeps having to go back to anger management." He explained.
However, before their conversation could go any further the sound of stomping feet was heard, and as they all looked to the source they saw the topic of their conversation coming towards them like, no pun intended, a bat out of Hell.
"Alright, which one of you FUCKERS thought THIS was a good idea?!" She asked while slamming something down on their table.
Completely shocked by this abundance of rage she was showing, they all looked to what she put before them and felt their eyes widen. For what she had nearly broke the table with was a piece of paper, and written on it was the name of a new "group" that was going to be held here.
"Slayer support?..." Moxxie questioned as he picked it up to look at it, wanting to be certain this was real.
"Yeah, my anger management counselor just fucking told me that I'm going to this shit out of nowhere, and I want to know which one you came up with this idea." She said.
"Why would you think any of us would?" Cherri asked.
"Gee I dunno, maybe because we all live together and we've talked to each other about the very person this shit's named after?" She suggested.
"Okay, fair point, but still do you really think any of us would push you like that? We know that you're not ready to really talk about it just like the rest of us." Cherrie argued.
"Yeah Katie, we'd never try to corner you and get you to open up if you didn't want to." Millie assured.
Looking down at them for a few seconds just to be certain they weren't bullshitting her, she let out a very heavy sigh while throwing her head back.
"Okay...thank fucking Vega..." She said as she looked up to the ceiling, "I really didn't want it to be any of you, last thing I need is trust issues..." She added.
"Girl join the club." Angel Dust said as he pulled out a seat for her, "Now come on and sit down so we can figure this out." He told her while patting the seat.
Gladly taking the invitation she sat down, honestly feeling more relief in this moment than she ever had in her entire life.
"Sorry for going off on you guys like that..." She apologized feeling a little guilty.
"Don't be, though we're still kinda shocked by it this is just as upsetting for us, we ALL agreed to wait until everyone was ready before talking about it." Angel Dust said.
"Yeah, so who out of our group got this setup? Cause I think we all have two people in particular immediately coming to mind..." Cherri replied.
"Hmm...I don't think it was them..." Moxxie said continuing to look at the paper.
"Oh come on, you couldn't have gotten anything from just that, all it says is Slayer support on it." Katie responded.
"True, but it's the fact that it's just a normal piece of paper that's weird, like someone just typed it up on a computer and printed it out, there's no like meeting date or any other information." He told them.
"Not like there needs to be, the only people who would come to this we all know." She argued.
"True, but again there's no time or anything to tell you or us when to meet, so maybe it's supposed to be just an acknowledgement this is happening." He suggested.
"Again though how does this at all support the possibility that it wasn't Charlie and Vaggie?" Angel Dust asked.
"Especially since it was my counselor who gave me that, after she told me she asked Charlie if there was something else that could be causing my anger." Katie added.
"Well...let me ask you this, when have you ever known Charlie to do something sneaky like this? And not just run up to you and try to hug you or persuade you directly to talk about your feelings?" He asked.
In reaction to that both Angel and Katie opened their mouths to say something, but remained silent as he made a very good point. While Charlie wasn't incapable of keeping secrets or could be regarded as a chatterbox, she still was very forward about trying to make others feel better as well as helping those she cared about. This was true over the first few months of the Slayer being gone, though she eventually stopped at their request because they all agreed they needed time. That is when it donned on them that Charlie and Vagatha were not the only people in the hotel, and while Husk was automatically excluded because of...him, there were two others who immediately caused sirens to go off in their heads.
"...Yup, it's gotta be him." Katie said after a few seconds, absolutely positive it was Alastor.
"Yeah, and considering the fact he's got that shadow of his that can do all kinds of things, it wouldn't have been impossible for him to have miraculously learned about the conversation between your counselor and Charlie." Angel Dust suggested.
"But he's been so good so far!" Millie exclaimed sticking up for the radio demon, "He hasn't done one underhanded or conniving thing since he started the program like us, why would he betray our trust and undermine his progress by doing this?" She asked.
"The man eats people Millie, I do not think there's a big enough map to chart out the confusing landscape of his mind." Cherri answered.
"We still shouldn't jump to conclusions though." Moxxie said taking his wife's side, "Nifty could
have easily put this together, after all she is the head of staff." He suggested.
"Shit you're right, so that brings the total number of suspects up to three, counting Charlie and Vaggie as one since they're a duo." Katie said.
"So what's our plan then? Do we tie'em all up and interrogate'em?" Angel Dust asked.
"I'm pretty sure we'd be in more trouble than whoever's behind this at that point." Moxxie answered.
"Or, we could wait to see who else gets one of these." Cherri suggested, "Think about it, only Katie got this handed to her while none of us did, because obviously whoever in our group's responsible knew she'd share it with us since we came with her, but since Loona and Octavia are back home and Stolas and Blitzo would've been too if it hadn't been for his wife, that means if everyone's gonna know about this they'll either get their own or they expect us to share it with them, and if it's the second one I say we keep quiet, see what happens, and by then if hopefully it's the first one instead we can narrow the list." She explained.
"That's...possibly the best plan you've ever come up with." Katie told her. "Yeah, even I'm surprised." Angel Dust admitted.
"What can I say, lay off the fumes my bombs give off when exploding for a while and suddenly the ol noggin starts clearing up." She replied with a shrug and smile.
"I guess we should go back now though." Moxxie said as he folded the paper up to stick in his pocket, "That way when the mail arrives we can see if it was sent to the others." He explained.
"Good idea, besides I haven't seen Charlie or Vaggie since we all went our own way, and I think it has something to do with him." Angel Dust replied as he pointed to the front desk, where a sleeping Husk laid atop of both it and his folded arms.
With that decided they all got up from their seats and headed for the doors, their minds still abuzz of who the culprit was.
"...Hmm...no...maybe...ah forget it." Vega said in a very defeated tone before tossing this latest model over with the rest.
You'd think being the creator meant that one of your many perks was having a limitless imagination, which while true was only so to an extent. See much like his Omniscience it only worked when used in combination with what was present, in other words if he tried to see something in a possible future without having the starting point that potentially led to it, then he could go nowhere. This as said applied to his imagination as well and how he could create things, if he say wanted to make a new species of dogs or cats, then he'd use the ones that already existed as a base to work off of. But what he was doing now was what he had done when he first made his children, the Maykrs, and even when he came up with the solution for Doom.
He was trying to think of something that had never been conceived before, something that was entirely new and wasn't based off any already established knowledge or laws of reality. And yet so far all he was able to concretely come up with, was that whatever this thing is it was going to be some form of cube.
"Father?" The voice of the Khan called out from the other side of the chamber's door, "Are you in there? The angels said that this was the last place they saw you headed towards." She said.
"Yes, I am here." He replied as he let out a sigh, "Please come in, I need a distraction for otherwise I will lose my sanity." He told her.
Hearing the door open and her hover inside, he waited for her to see his mess before turning around to face her.
"I...see you have been busy..." She said politely while looking towards the small mountain of metal cubes.
"Yes, it has been a great deal of time since I have made anything, even longer since I have had to create something never before conceived, combine these two issues together and you have a roadblock that even I cannot overcome." He replied.
"I'm certain you'll figure it out soon." She replied hoping to raise his spirits, "But out of curiosity what is it you're trying to make? As it is abundantly clear it's going to be cube shaped." She noted causing him to chuckle.
"That is the only thing I've got figured out after all these hours." He admitted as he moved over to the pile and picked one up, "This is how all of my ideas start out, I think for some time just allowing the possibilities to bounce off of each other, before finally something in particular sticks out and refuses to budge, and this time it just so happened to be this." He explained.
"Fascinating." She said in amazement, never believing she'd be able to learn so much about him.
"Heh, I'm glad you think so." He replied amused by her reaction, "However I would like us to change the topic of our conversation, as I'd like to know why you've come here." He said.
"Oh? I was just wanting to make sure you were alright, for as you stated it has been a few hours since any of us have seen you." She replied.
"That I did, yet you could have just sent a drone or angel to check on me or perhaps even Samur, yet you decided to do so yourself without his company, that particular detail I find very interesting." He explained.
"One of us needed to remain to monitor the circles." She reasoned.
"I know my children even after all this time, so I know for a fact that none of them will suddenly be jumping at the chance to speak with us." He countered, "Besides, it only takes a minute or so to reach this chamber from that station, so you both could have easily come here and gone back, I believe you wanted to speak with me alone." He added.
A moment of silence came between him as he said that, which immediately proved he was correct.
"For the record Father it is rather difficult to try and be subtle around you..." She spoke causing him to laugh.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid it can't be helped." He apologized.
"As for what I wanted to speak to you about, well, it had to do with me and my position." She said. "Oh?" He inquired curiously.
"I have held the position and title of Khan longer than any other in our history, by this point I would have been added to the matrix and a successor appointed to take over as our people's leader, but this has not come to pass even after our recent victory over the Dark One, and I was just
wondering if perhaps there is some kind of issue." She explained. "Do wish to vacate your position so badly?" He asked.
"No, it isn't that, it just doesn't make sense is all, especially now that you have returned I assumed you would take full control and thus my time would be at its end." She answered.
"Ah, well then, allow me to clear up this confusion for you, there'll be no more Khans." He told her.
"...I...um...pardon?" She questioned having been sent into a state of shock from that alone. "You're the final Khan my dear, you will have no successors." He stated.
"...But...why?..." She asked.
"The whole reason the matrix was even created besides hiding my presence, was to serve as the sentience for the Slayer we had made in the event Will might've not been born, hence why each Khan that came after was added as well, for they had spent a great deal of time observing Doom and its workings and so when put into a body, which his suit had been before the alterations, we would be able to flawlessly combat the Dark One and his legions." He answered.
"What of the other Khans' souls? Are they to remain in the matrix forever?" She inquired. "No of course not, that would be the single most cruel thing I could ever do, as we speak I am
working on designs for new bodies to give each of them, however I want them to be perfect and to
their specifications as well so we are a ways from that happening." He explained.
"Then what is to be of my position when they return? Will we share the right to rule Urdak?" She asked.
"Again no of course not, as that would be incredibly unfair to you, you will remain as Urdak's designated ruler for you are the culmination of all your predecessors, you were taught by them, guided by them, you are all of their best qualities compounded into a single sentience, making another Khan passed you or having them take your responsibilities away would be pointless, for you are truly perfect at what you do." He assured her.
Being sent into a stuttering mess the Khan couldn't think of what to say to this, her mind racing faster than it ever had before. Sadly for both of them this conversation would have to be continued later, for without warning an alarm began to sound throughout the entirety of the realm.
"WARNING, AN UNIDENTIFIED INTERDIMENSIONAL RIFT HAS APPEARED, SOURCE UNKNOWN, ENERGY UNREFINED CORRUPTION, IMMEDIATE ATTENTION REQUIRED."
Hearing this they both wasted no words or seconds rushing out of the room, heading straight for the station that Samur was still in.
"Samur!" Vega called out once they arrived and hurried over to him, "What's going on? How is this possible?" He asked.
"I don't know, this portal is unlike anything we've ever seen!" The Seraphim answered. "Where is it precisely?" The Khan inquired.
"Discerning its location now...it...is in the garden!" He exclaimed.
With this information all three of them rushed out of the room, leaving the present angels to keep things under control. Once outside all of them took to the sky, each spreading out beautiful wings of yellow energy so that they could reach the garden as fast as possible. But as they drew closer and could see the black circle, as their eyes looked to the figure that came from it they were stopped dead in their tracks.
"Is...is that?..." Samur asked bewildered by what they were seeing.
"No...it's not possible...it couldn't be..." The Khan answered before looking to Vega, "Right father?" She asked.
"I...I don't know...I've never seen this creature before..." He responded.
Continuing to stare in shock at the sight in front of them, as the portal closed behind the being it slowly turned to look at them, allowing them to see its face.
"There you are." It spoke as their gazes met, the yellow glow from the symbol on its helmet getting brighter as it did.