Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Are you done playing that Pokémon game for long enough for me to write this now, Michael?

Sorry about that.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Terror

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Grakak is wearing a thick apron while she tinkers with the exposed engine of a vehicle. The trio of imps from the bar is at work skinning the corpse I brought with me, still squabbling with each other as they work. The werewolf is standing at the garage's exit, chewing on a piece of my old skeletal steed and staring at Nicolas. The Human is standing next to me, his arms folded and a scowl on his face.

Grakak steps back, slams the hood of the vehicle down, and wipes the sweat from her forehead off with her arm. "There. Piece o' junk should get ya to at least Underworl' City 'fore she needs more engine work."

I nod. "Thank you, Grakak."

"I should be thankin' you, mister," Grakak scoffs. "Who knows 'ow many else that bitch woulda killed without you to take 'er down." She looks at the dead cat-beast and snarls. "Least now she can do some good."

I give a slight bow to the goblin, then turn back to the vehicle. It is a rusty piece of work. Pieces of the chassis are missing, all the lights are broken, and whatever seating it used to have were replaced be warped wooden benches. Still, better than walking.

"Get in," I tell Nicolas as I climb into the driver's seat.

Nicolas scrambles up the side and rolls into the vehicle, then sits next to me and folds his arms again. He says nothing.

The less to say, the better. I reach down and pull a cord that connects to the engine, which sputters to life with a blast of hot air. The machine creaks as it lifts off the ground slightly. The surrounding creatures step clear. I sit up straight and grab a hold on the two levers in front of me, then gently push one forward and the other backward. The vehicle groans as it rotates in place. The werewolf narrows his eyes at Nicolas before stepping out of the way.

I push both levers forward. The vehicle's engine sputters, coughs, then roars, and we glide out of the garage and head into the tunnels north of the village.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Nicolas and I sit in silence. The spying ear in my helmet is speaking again, and I am listening intently. I am certain that the Human is as well.

A groaning sound and a clattering of chains come from the crystal. "Hey... Hello? Can you hear me?" A bit of silence. "Can I have something to drink? My throat is killing me."

If whomever Michael is speaking to can hear him, they do not reply. After a while, Michael speaks again. "Okay then. No drink. I bet an OverWorlder would have been more hospitable."

Nicolas glances at me with a raised eyebrow. "What does he mean by Over-"

"Shh," I hiss. I would have put a finger to my mouth if this machine had a normal steering wheel instead of these blasted levers.

A shuffling and more clattering chains sound from Michael's end. "Hello? Can you hear me?" A pause, then a whisper. "Sorry about this."

Michael's next words are then set to a melody. "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes!"

I wish I could remove my helmet right around now. This song is just that phrase, over and over. And he continues to sing, never changing the notes, over and over.

After a few agonizing minutes, Nicolas puts his face in his hands and mutters, "Oh my god, get him his fucking water already!"

The guard's patience seems to have lasted as long as Nicolas's. "Will you shut up?!" he bellows, accompanies by the sound of clattering metal.

Michael pauses his singing. "I'd like something to drink, please."

A growl, but no response. After a few moments of silence, Michael starts singing again.

Nicolas mutters, "Is he trying to get beat up?"

"It's likely," I reply.

"What?"

"To be completely accurate, I think he's trying to get the guard into his cell."

Nicolas stumbles over his words for a moment. "So that he can get beat up."

I feel a smirk form unbidden on my lips. "We can only hear what is going on. I trust he knows what-"

A wordless roar from Michael's end interrupts me. There's a clatter of metal, a click, and then a crash. "I said shut-!"

The rest of the guard's words are cut short by a cracking sound and a rattling of chains. Michael's voice strains with effort, and the guard's cries are choked, strangled. The sounds of the struggle continue for a moment, until...

"BWEEEEP!"

The high-pitched screech is enough to make me let go of the vehicle's accelerators and rip my helmet from my head. The vehicle coasts to a stop as Nicolas and I cover our ears, while my helmet lies on the floor, screaming for several seconds. Eventually, the sound stops.

When the ringing in my ears fades, I can hear Michael breathing softly and the guard gasping for breath. Another voice is nearby, drawing closer.

"-to make this cell replica exactly the same as the cells in the Pit!" Ulmar screeches.

The voice of an unfamiliar assistant replies, "I did! Exactly to specifications!"

Ulmar's voice goes even higher in pitch. "Then explain this!"

"I-I think he loosened the screws. The Pit does not usually hold prisoners his size, he could have conceivably fit his fingers into the gaps and-"

"Fix it! You, administer more amnesiatics! You, stop rubbing your throat and get back into costume! Keep writing that down! No lost data, none!"

After several minutes of clattering noise from my helmet, Nicolas speaks up again. "So, he chokes out a guard, and you're headed out to rescue him. I choke out a saber-tooth cat, that had you pinned, by the way, and you brush me off."

"My coming to his rescue has nothing to do with that," I reply as I start the vehicle moving again.

Nicolas grumbles for a while. "Why even bring me along, then?" he suddenly asks. "Why not just leave me in that dump?"

"You were going to die there," I respond. "I could not leave you there in good conscience."

"Hey, I think I was warming up to that goblin lady." The Human folds his arms as sits back heavily in his seat. "She let me sleep in the attic, at least. I could probably have gotten a job soon, I wasn't going to starve."

"The wolf-man who stole your clothing," I spit.

I can feel Nicolas's stare. "What about him?"

I glance at the Human. "He was giving a signal to the others when he did so. 'This creature belongs to me.' I defied that claim of his when I fed you, when I kept you by my side."

"Alright, maybe he would have killed me," Nicolas relents. "Then, what, Super-Hell?"

I can feel my teeth grinding together. "You are not taking your situation seriously enough."

The Human throws his arms up. "How? This is the final destination! The punishment of all sinners. Fire and brimstone, eternal punishment-"

"You are not dead."

Nicolas stops talking.

I continue, "You and millions of others of your kind were transported to this world by some force that even I do not understand. The country, this empire, calls itself the UnderWorld, which led you to believe you were in Hell. However, you are very much alive, and you are very much in danger."

"I'm not dead?"

"For now." I glance at Nicolas's pale face. "Had I left you there, the wolf-man would have eventually beaten, raped, then killed and eaten you. You were a non-person to him, a safe outlet for his urges, someone with no connections, nobody to avenge you."

Nicolas stares at the tunnel ahead of us. "Then... where are you taking me?"

"We should see it soon, reach it tomorrow. Mount Pillar, home of the Danians. A bizarre bunch, and still a dangerous place, but you will be safer there than anywhere else in the UnderWorld."

"And you can't just keep me with you because...?"

"It will be difficult enough to leave the UnderWorld with just one person in tow," I growl.

Nicolas scoffs, "I can still help you. I can fight. I can-"

I pull the vehicle's levers backward abruptly, and the sudden stop carries the Human's face into the frame in front of him. I reach over, grab Nicolas by the back of his makeshift robes, and hoist him out with me as I climb out. I throw him to the ground and climb over him, my hands on his wrists, pinning him to the ground.

Nicolas looks up at me, eyes wide, blood trickling from his nose. "Wh-what-"

I can feel the heat on my face as my eyes light up, glowing yellow with fury. "You can fight? You can fight an animal barely intelligent enough to talk, but can you fight me? If you come with me, you will be up against creatures stronger, smarter, faster than I am." I thrust my hips forward, grinding my body against his. "I could take over where the wolf-man left off, right here, right now. Could you fight me off?"

Tears are welling up in the Human's eyes. "You're hurting me..."

"I am trying to hurt you!" I roar. "I am trying to scare you! Look at me! I am a killer, a murderer, even! I have tortured, raped, and more!" I can feel spittle fly from my mouth, feel my heart pump faster, feel my flesh engorge.

I take a deep breath, and I continue in a lower tone. "You may not be in Hell, but I am still a demon. I do not share your values. I do not care what you think of me afterward. If I need to hurt you to save your life, I will. Do I need to do that, Nicolas?" I shift over him, bringing my face closer to his. "Do I need to hurt you?"

Nicolas is trembling. His eyes stare into mine, then glance down my body. The terror is plain on his face, and his breath is soaked in the sweet scent of fear. He believes me. "No," he whispers.

I release him and stand, and he shakily gets to his feet as well. "Wait in there," I order. "I must attend to myself." Nicolas silently obeys, climbing into the vehicle while I lean back against the tunnel wall and shed my armor.

A bluff. One that I am thankful he did not see through. The threat of pain was real, but my implications were hollow. I have raped before, yes. That some had been on Van Bloot's orders means nothing. I have renounced him, though, lifetimes ago, and I swore to a new master, "Never again."

My climax is tainted by dark memories. I clean myself off, get back into my armor, and resume driving. Nicolas sits beside me in silence.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.