Boyue's Note: Thanks for the all the reviews and support! I'm glad that people are still interested after all these years! C:
Warning: This chapter contains a character death!
MATERNAL HEART
"THE THIRD TRIMESTER…
Only Human"
Damien hasn't stopped pacing in a circle since he got to Kenny's trailer. With the trailer being so tiny, he's mostly doing laps around the small dining table. Moving around is the only thing that's keeping him from visibly shaking. He feels a different kind of sick to his stomach than when he was throwing up his guts after being drugged. It's hard to find the right words to describe the way he feels, like he's walking in a body that doesn't belong to him. He feels exposed, vulnerable, weak. Human. His insides twist into shit thinking about how powerless he is. Fuck, he hopes he doesn't puke again – there is nothing left in his stomach.
"It's been a fucking week," Damien finally says after making the bazillionth circle around the table. "I still haven't gotten my fucking powers back."
With Damien taking up much of the room, Kenny has been forced to take post on his bed. He isn't wrapping himself in his blankets even though their breaths are hanging in the air. He presses his lips into a grim line that says he's both realizing the severity of the situation and is already coming up with a solution. Damien, on the other hand, is more interested in staring daggers at every object in the room and thinking about how delightful it'd be if he could just set everything on fire right now.
"Calm down, Damien," Kenny says.
"I can't fucking calm down. You told me to wait it out, well, I'm fucking waiting and nothing is happening!"
"Excuse me for not understanding how your satanic weed works." Though his words are bitter, there is only concern in Kenny's tone.
"I'm so fucked. Pip's fucked. We're all fucked!" Damien shouts.
"Look, dude. Instead of freaking out, how about you cool your shit and we can put our heads together and see what we can do?"
"We can go to the store and get me a bottle of lube because I'm about to get fucked in the ass!"
"Now you're sounding like Cartman," Kenny jokes. "And I thought you said you're already fucked."
"Stop fucking around," Damien screams – and he's never screamed at Kenny like that before. He briefly wonders how it'll feel to smash his knuckles into Kenny's perfectly shaped nose.
"Just trying to lighten the mood. It's not like any of this could've been prevented if you'd just told Pip to begin with." Kenny shrugs and gives Damien a chiding glance.
Damien ducks under Kenny's look like a kicked puppy. He swallows his breath and licks his chapped lips. He knows it's not fair to take his anger out on Kenny but he really doesn't think he can stay calm when all he wants is to punch a hole in fucking Pluto. He tries to steady his breathing but his heart is jumping all over the place like a squirrel on crack. He stops moving around and takes a seat on one of the chairs. As soon as he settles down, his whole body starts trembling with anxiety.
"I know I messed up," Damien says with his head hung low. "I just want to fix things but I don't know how. I don't know what else I can do. Pip is… He's really bad, really out of it. I'm…" Scared, he wants to say but doesn't. Kenny already knows anyway.
"The herbs – are they still working on Pip?" Kenny asks.
"Barely. It used to work for a week or so, but now I'm lucky if it lasts a day."
"And upping the dosage doesn't work." At Damien's nod, Kenny goes on to ask, "How much more do you have left?"
"I don't know. Maybe eight day's worth? Used to have more but we all know what happened with that."
"Yeah, man. That's why you never keep your stash in a cookie jar," Kenny says and makes a little scoff of a laugh.
Damien wants to laugh along but he can't get his muscles to move the right way to form anything resembling a smile. He digs in the pocket of his jeans and hands the small bag of herbs over to Kenny. Kenny takes the bag and examines the grounded grass.
"Just in case Pip finds my other stashes," Damien says as Kenny opens the bag and takes a sniff.
"I hate to break it to you but this is basil."
"What?"
Kenny dips a finger into the bag and licks the grounded herb. He nods his head before he hands the bag over to Damien. Damien shakes out the herb onto his palm and takes a sniff. The scent of basil fills his nostrils and burns a (metaphorical) hole in his heart. He throws the bag as hard as he can and ends up scattering grounded basil all over Kenny's floor. Kenny eyes the mess and frowns a little.
"Where are your other stashes?" Kenny asks. "He might have gotten to them too."
"That fucking shit," Damien hisses.
Damien slams a fist against the table and finally lets go of his pent-up frustration. He stands up and flips the plastic table over. He then picks up the chair he was sitting on and throws it across the room. It hits the side of the fridge and breaks open the flimsy door. He spots the grounded basil on the floor and stomps all over it like he can snuff out its life. Kenny pushes back a little further on his bed but does nothing to stop Damien's rampage through his home. He only sits in silence and watches Damien scream "FUCK" and kick down another chair, throw a roll of toilet paper, crush an empty beer can, and slam both fists into the wall so hard that the trailer rattles a bit.
Damien pulls back from the wall and ends up sitting on the edge of Kenny's bed. He palms his face and exhales through his mouth, hot breath hanging in the air before it vanishes like it never existed. He mouths a muted apology to Kenny as he slides his hands down until they rest on his chin. There is a sting in his eyes and he smothers it with the heel of his palm before he turns over to face Kenny.
"It's okay," Kenny says before Damien makes a sound.
"No, it's not." Damien gestures to the trailer where it looks like a hurricane has gone through. That, or a very upset anti-Christ without any anti-Christ power and had to resort to throw tantrums like a normal human. "It's not okay."
"We'll figure this out." Kenny puts a hand on Damien's shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze. "We need to think what we can do with what we got."
"I'm stranded here, Kenny. I can't open a portal to Hell. I can't get Dr. Ralph up here to help. I can't - I can't do anything."
"Except sit here and mope about it, apparently."
Damien gives Kenny a hard look. He's used to Kenny being his voice of reason but he is getting irritated at the almost condescending tone Kenny's been using with him. Who does Kenny think he is anyway? Looking down on him like he's fucking Mr. Perfect who has never made a mistake in his life. Granted, he's sure that Kenny has never erred so hard that it leads to someone's death and maybe ending the world while he's at it. But being flawless isn't one of the perks of being the anti-Christ. Now that he's lost his powers, he can truly blame it on that he's only human.
"Is there something you want to say?" Damien asks, eyes narrowing in a fit of anger. "Say it to my face."
"Ever since this happened, you've done nothing but bitch and moan to me," Kenny says, eyes matching Damien's glare. "Grow up, Damien. And grow some balls for fuck's sake. I can't always fix your problems. You need to learn how to deal with them and solve them yourself."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"You've been coming over here every day because you're too afraid to face Pip alone," Kenny says. He points to his overturn table and continues, "And now you've fucked up my house because you don't know what to do. Here's some fucking news for you: that doesn't help with anything. Instead of acting like a fucking five-year-old who pisses on everything when things don't go his way, how about you use your head for once?"
"How dare you talk to me like that," Damien says. As much as he knows there's some truth to Kenny's words, he has his pride to think of.
"What are you going to do? Cry about it? That's all you seem to be good at lately, anyway," Kenny taunts, lips curling into a condescending grin. "Maybe it's good that you don't get to be the anti-Christ anymore. You certainly don't deserve it and you don't deserve Pip. Guess what, Damien? Congratulations, you fucking killed him!"
As it turns out, it feels pretty fucking amazing to smash Kenny's perfectly shaped nose with his knuckles. Kenny falls flat on his back from the impact of the punch. He doesn't make much of a noise other than the initial yell of surprise and stays still with his hand over his mouth and nose, where blood is seeping through the gaps of his fingers. The adrenaline and the thrill die in Damien as soon as they emerged. He just punched Kenny – the closest thing he has to a best friend. Fuck it, Kenny IS his best friend and he's sure he just ended the only meaningful relationship he had outside of Pip.
"Fuck, Kenny, shit," Damien says and reaches to help Kenny back into a sitting position. He's thankful that Kenny doesn't reject his offer, which also actually makes him feel about a thousand time worse about the punch. "You okay?"
"I ttmmink ummf brmmm my mmose," Kenny mumbles with his hand over his face. He takes his hand away and stares at the blood on his palm. He winces and covers his mouth and nose again.
Damien stumbles off the bed and hurries over to locate the roll of the toilet paper that he threw somewhere earlier. He finds it by the overturn table and grabs it and runs back to Kenny. Kenny takes the tissue and stuffs as much as he can fit in his nose. Damien sits next to him, his hand gripping the toilet paper, and eyes nervously flicking between the reddening tissue and Kenny's soft blue eyes. Kenny breathes short bursts of air out of his mouth.
"I don't know what came over me. You were saying that I killed Pip and I freaked out," Damien says, knowing damn well that he's trying to justify his actions. But there is no justification; he lost his cool and made a huge mistake. "Fuck, did the bleeding stop? Did I really break your nose?"
"Give me a minute," Kenny says with his fingers pinching the ridge of his nose to stop the flow of blood. "It'll stop eventually and no, you didn't really break it. Still hurt like hell though."
Damien sinks into himself but gets the guts to keep eye contact with Kenny. He'd feel better if Kenny cusses him out or punch him back, but instead, Kenny just looks at him with soft eyes that are impossible to read. Kenny pulls out the bloodied tissue and winces again at the collected blood. Damien hands him some more tissues, trying to be as helpful and hoping it'll make up for what he did.
"You have a real anger issue," Kenny says, and Damien relaxes when he detects the hint of teasing in Kenny's voice.
"Yeah, I know. I got it from my mother." God and everyone's mom know he can't possibly have gotten it from Satan.
"Your mother?"
"Yeah, I think she was a jackal or something."
Kenny frowns in a way that says he doesn't know if he should believe Damien or not, and Damien doesn't bother pushing him in any direction. He leaves the bed for a moment to wet a towel in the sink while Kenny pulls out the tissue and continues to breathe out of his mouth. Damien comes back and hands the moist towel for Kenny to clean the blood off his face. Once Kenny has the towel, Damien diligently begins to pick up the furniture and put back them to their original place.
"You don't have to do that," Kenny calls out.
"Yes, I do," Damien says as he pushes the chairs back in. "I have to clean up my mess and fix my own problems, right?"
Damien can hear Kenny laugh then coughs a little when he must have accidentally swallowed blood. He stands next where he slammed his fists into the wall and checks if he did any actual damage. Luckily, he isn't strong enough to leave dents in the metal paneling. He does a double-check to make sure that the trailer is in the same condition as when he entered before he makes his way back over to Kenny on the bed. Kenny's nose has stopped bleeding, and he's cleaned the blood off his face and fingers. The dim bruise on his upper nose and the bloodied tissues are the only physical evidences left. Damien doesn't dare to sit down on the bed and chooses to linger by the edge with his weight shifting between his feet.
"I didn't mean what I said," Kenny speaks first. "About you killing Pip."
"It's true though. All I've done since the day I met him is mess up his life," Damien says with a dip of his head. He quickly perks up, remembering why he was fighting with Kenny in the first place. "But I'm going to fix that. I'm not going to let him die."
"If there's anything I can do, let me know."
"You've done enough for me, Kenny." Damien makes a move that looks like he wants to give Kenny a hug. He doesn't follow through and only asks, "Are you sure you're going to be okay? Your nose, I mean."
"Dude, please, I've been through worse. If I can take a crossbow arrow through my face and bounces back, I can handle your punch."
Damien smiles for the first time in a long time even though he doesn't like the whole idea of Kenny dying and coming back to life. Once he fixes his own life, he makes a mental promise to fix Kenny's. If he can't fix it, the least he can do is take the guy out for dinner and beer and maybe find him someone to go home with. God knows Kenny deserve much more.
"Thanks for everything," Damien says as he heads for the door. "Next time try to teach me a lesson that doesn't end with me punching you."
Kenny just rolls his eyes and gives him the bird before he flops down on his bed and crooks his neck in a way that Damien thinks can't possibly feel good.
Damien's eyes are burning. He has never read as many books in his life combined than he has been doing for the whole day. The only luck he's had so far is that the library is fairly empty with the exception of the staff and a few students who have nothing better to do than spend their Saturday in a college library. With the emptiness comes a quietness that helps him concentrate on reading. He's a terrible reader and can easily be distracted by the sound of someone's breathing. Also with no one in the library, he can find a corner table to read and not have to see the questioning looks about why he's surrounded by demonology and Satanism books.
He stretches his back with a frustrated yawn and lets his eyes close for a few seconds. He came here thinking that a college library would have more reliable information than the internet. While he isn't completely wrong on that, since he's found a number of books that's given him some insights, he's still sorely disappointed by the information he is represented with. Some of the books need to be seriously updated (demons don't shove pitchforks up sinners' anuses anymore – they have a machine that does it for them now!) Some are just silly (Damien has never heard of demons being expelled by peanut butter.) Some are just downright stereotypical (Damien has never met a demon with a goatee, thank you very much.) But nothing tells him how to get rid of the second anti-Christ. In fact, most of the books here don't even mention a second anti-Christ. He occasionally holds onto the hope that his dad is just trolling him, but he knows in his heart of hearts that Satan won't joke about something like that.
"Oh hello there, Damien."
Damien snaps out of his thought and stares at the person in front of him. Not that he's being rude (though he isn't too happy about being disturbed), but he does have a hard time trying to put a name to the face. The person shifts shyly under his gaze but keeps a sweet smile that can melt the coldest of hearts. He's clutching an armful of books against his chest and Damien's sure that one of them is Fifty Shades of Grey. Damien squints, like that's going to help him remember the name of the boy in school who was always a little odd and bicurious and got treated like shit by his parents and Cartman and has a name that is also a candy.
"Butters?" Damien says, the name sounding foreign to his tongue.
"That's me," Butters greets with a cheerfulness that's rare for South Park these days. Not counting normal-not-possessed Pip, of course. "It's awful good to see ya."
"What are you doing here? I thought you went to school in Hawaii." Or Alaska. Or somewhere that's far away enough from South Park that no one will ever think about him again.
"Ah gee, my parents sent me back because I was being a bad boy in Hawaii," Butters says. Damien mentally groans at the fact that Butters still sounds like he's ten years old. Butters makes an angry face at himself. "I shoulda never bought the blue bed sheets and now I'm grounded for a month."
Damien opens his mouth to say something about how fucking ridiculous Butters' life is, but decides against it. He isn't here to judge and while he isn't remotely close with Butters, he's kind of happy to see a familiar face. Or maybe he feels sorry for Butters that he can't escape South Park after all. Plus he knows that Cartman will be happy that Butters is back for him to abuse and maybe that fat fuck will leave Kenny alone.
"Well, if it means anything, it's good to see you," Damien says. He's exhausted all his civility for the day and turns his eyes back to his books.
"What are you reading?" Butters asks. He takes the seat across from Damien and sets down his books on the table. He rubs his forearm while he peeks at what Damien's reading.
"Just doing some research," Damien says and puts his arm to cover the chapter title that reads DEMONIC POSSESSION.
"Golly, what kind of research?"
"Just stuff. Look, Butters, I'm kind of busy so if you don't mind."
"Oh gee, sorry about that. I didn't mean to bother ya." Butters pulls back and rubs his knuckles together with a lowered head that makes him look much younger than he is.
Damien swallows a sigh at Butters' reaction. What is it about blonds that make him weak in the knees? He scans Butters' books and raises a brow at the The Magic School Bus books. He has no clue why their college stocks them but he really doesn't have the energy to give a fuck. He moves his arm a little so if Butters wanted, he can see what he's been reading. As expected, Butters scoots and steals looks at Damien's books. His mouth drops open into an O. Damien starts to think that it might have been a bad idea to let Butters know what he's reading. Being out of town for so long, Butters might not know what's going on, but there's no guarantee that he won't open his big mouth and let the town know. Especially Cartman. Fuck. Cartman will get it out of Butters in a split second.
Now the question is: is Butters smart enough to figure out what's going on?
Damien slams the books shut and puts a hand over them like that'll keep his secret safe. Butters gives him a wide-eye look and leans back into his chair. They're both quiet for a moment. Nervousness builds up in the pit of Damien's stomach and fills him with the familiar taste of nausea. There's no way Butters can deduce that Pip's possessed by a demonic baby just from the books. No fucking way. No one except for Kenny knows that Pip's pregnant. He's freaking out over nothing.
"Gee, Damien, is someone you know possessed by a demon?" Butters' words fucking stab Damien in the chest.
"No." Damien keeps his face flat and calm. But if Butters is attentive, he'll notice the anxiety dancing in Damien's eyes.
"Oh okay. Because-"
"Because what?" Damien's voice is too loud to be used in a library. He can feel the librarian glaring at him.
"Oh nothing. I was wondering if possession is real is all. My folks was showing me a documentary about a little girl and she was possessed by a demon and she threw up on the priest trying to exorcise her," Butters says. He's rubbing his knuckles together again and goes on, "My dad says that's what happens to kids who don't do their parents' laundry."
"First of all, there wasn't a documentary, it was The Exorcist. It's a movie," Damien says. "Second of all, your parents tell you that you'll get possessed by a demon if you don't do their laundry? What the actual fuck? Are you a fucking moron?"
"Oh golly that's not a nice thing to say."
"Look, demons have more important shit to do than possess kids who don't do laundry," Damien says.
"But if I do get possessed, the priest can get it out of me, right? I'll get grounded if I vomit on a priest," Butters says, his eyes heavy with genuine concern.
Damien doesn't answer. He stares at Butters' baby blue eyes and feel like he's being stabbed again. Only this time, it's the good kind of stabbing. He can't believe he hasn't thought of it – it's so fucking simple! A rush of blood shoots through his entire body and leaves him feeling a renew energy and hope that he hasn't felt in a long while. He stands up immediately and makes a break for the door.
"Oh gee, I don't wanna get grounded," Butters says as he watches Damien leave.
"No running," the librarian calls out.
"Fuck you, lady," Damien shouts back and runs out of the library.
Damien strokes his fingers through Pip's tangled bangs. A brief smile creeps up his face when Pip stirs under his touch but doesn't wake up. He hasn't seen Pip so at rest since the pregnancy started. Pip's body temperature is still a bit higher than normal, but Damien's willing to pretend that it's because he's bundled beneath a pile of blankets and comforters. Pip breathes out of his nose and makes a little sigh as he lolls his head toward Damien's pillow. Damien pushes Pip's hair up and leaves a trail of kisses from Pip's forehead down to Pip's slightly parted lips. He pulls back and smiles down at how peaceful Pip looks and everything seems okay for a moment before his eyes land on the baby bump. It's grown bigger over the week, but Pip hasn't complained of having more pain. He even once told Damien that maybe he's just gotten used to the pain – a fact that Damien isn't pleased to know.
He lingers a while longer and writes intelligible words on Pip's shoulder with his fingers. He takes in the curve of Pip's neck and remembers what it feels like to bury his nose there and inhale the sweet scent. If all goes according to plan, he's sure he'll be able to do that very soon. He climbs off the bed and circles to the drawers, where he takes out a few lengths of ropes. He pulls off the piles of blankets one by one. Pip stirs a little but doesn't seem to know what's happening. As gently as he can without waking Pip (and he's been such a heavy sleeper lately), he ties Pip's hands and feet to the bed.
He double-checks his work before he bends and gives Pip's forehead another kiss. He walks out of the bedroom and leaves the door open. He stands in the short hallway and looks back in to check on Pip one more time. Once he's sure that Pip's still sound asleep, he steps into the living room and gives a nod to his two houseguests. Father Maxi looks as uncomfortable to be here as Damien feels about having him in his home. He's never been on good terms with Father Maxi, and it's taken Kenny's persuasion to get the priest to agree to come. Kenny, too, looks uncomfortable as he slouches on the couch.
"It's ready," Damien announces but stays in his spot, effectively blocking anyone from entering the bedroom.
Father Maxi stands and dusts imaginary dust off his cassock. The hair on the side of his head has turned grey over the years and there are visible wrinkles and crowfeet on his face. He pushes his glasses up though it hasn't been sliding off his nose. A bible stays close to his chest. As he walks over to Damien, he grips the cross he wears and chants something under his breath that makes Damien's skin crawl. He steps away so Father Maxi can get into the room and might have given Maxi a dirty look along the way. Kenny stays on the couch a little longer before he follows suit. He doesn't go in the bedroom and stays outside the room with Damien.
"Are you sure about this?" Kenny asks in a low whisper.
"Not really but it's worth a shot, isn't it?" Damien says with a shrug that's made of half determination, half crippling doubt. "If it doesn't work, we'll think of another way."
"You're going to have one pissed off baby after your nuts if this doesn't work."
Damien presses his lips together and gives an agreeing nod. Of course he's considered that possibility. He can't expect the baby to take it lying down while his father tries to exorcise him. He's never witnessed an exorcism in person but he's heard stories in Hell and oh boy, is it not fun for the people involved. For the weaker ones, it can take years of therapy before they feel adept to possess another human. Kenny looks into the room for a bit before he looks back at Damien.
"I guess here goes nothing," Kenny says and gives Damien a pat on the shoulder. As he goes to head into the room, Damien pulls him by the arm and keeps him immobile.
"Thanks for coming," Damien says. His squeeze on Kenny's arm doesn't go unnoticed.
"Don't mention it." Kenny grins. He maneuvers so he can put an arm around Damien's shoulder and guides him into the room with him. "What'd you do without me, bro?"
"I hope I never have to find out."
Damien takes a spot near the back of the room. If he knows anything about exorcism, he knows that he probably doesn't want to be caught in the crossfire. Father Maxi has kept his head down in the meantime and is reciting a prayer. When he's done with whatever he was saying, he gestures for Kenny to come over and stands in as his aid. Damien won't deny that it isn't pissing him off that Maxi hasn't made eye contact with him once. He swallows his pride for now, seeing as how he practically had to beg for the priest to come, so he has to play nice until he doesn't need Maxi anymore. Fuck this town for only having one priest – who isn't even that good of a priest for the record.
Damien watches with impatience as Maxi whispers instruction into Kenny's ear, like children whispering gossips on playground. Maxi grips his cross and gives it a kiss before he takes out a bottle of what Damien assumes to be holy water. He blesses himself and Kenny with the holy water before handing the bottle over to Kenny. Kenny takes the bottle and grips it tight in his hand. He looks to Damien and nods, and Damien nods back. Maxi steps forward closer to the bed and clears his throat as he flips open his bible. As Maxi begins to recite the Lord's Prayer, Pip starts to shift on the bed. The movements begin with slow, subtle stirs. As the prayer goes on, and at Maxi's instruction for Kenny to recite along (though Kenny kind of mumbles through most of the words), Pip begins to get noticeably uncomfortable. He tosses on the bed and arches his hips up toward the ceiling.
A haunted groan breaks out of him at Maxi and Kenny's in-time "but deliver us from evil." Pip would've levitated off the bed if he hasn't been tied down by his limbs. He gets up as much as he can with the ropes limiting his movements. His eyes are glowing red. Grey veins pop out and spread like tendrils all over his face. Damien bites his lips when he sees tiny hands pushing up against Pip's baby bump. Maxi skips a beat in his next prayer while Kenny just stares with uneasy eyes, his hands gripping the holy water tighter than ever. It's during that missing beat in Maxi's prayer that Pip finds his way out. He pulls his arms and breaks free from the ropes, letting out a snarl as he does so.
"Shit!" Damien shouts. He looks to Maxi, who seems unable to move. "Maxi! Keep going!"
"Uh, uh, Holy Lord, almighty Father," Maxi chants but keeps stumbling over his words, "everlast – everlasting God and Father of our – our Lord – Jesus Christ!"
Pip levitates off the bed as much as he can with his feet still tied to the bed. He breathes heavily, his chest raising and falling. The end of his hair floats around him like he's standing in zero gravity. He stares down at the three of them with an ocean of lust for destruction in his eyes. Maxi stares back up at Pip with an open mouth. His hands tremble so hard that he drops the bible on the floor.
"Maxi, you piece of shit. Keep going!" Damien shouts again.
Damien's voice draws Pip's attention to him. Pip's red eyes flare with anger before a sly smile slips on his lips. Damien fists his hands and meets Pip's glare with one of his own.
"Hello, Father," Pip says in a voice that's an octave lower than his usual one. "It's so nice to see you."
"Maxi. Do something," Kenny says. He bends down to pick up the bible and shoves it back into Maxi's hands.
"Oh, and what do we have here? I sense a joke coming on," Pip says, "A human, a priest, and a former anti-Christ walk into a bar."
Pip's laugh echoes through the room. The ceiling light flickers to the sound. Kenny nudges Maxi again with the bible while Damien takes cautious steps until he's next to Kenny. He reaches over Kenny and yanks hard on Maxi's elbow.
"Keep going!" Damien says.
"I command you, unclean spirit, whoever you are," Maxi chants in a shaky voice.
Pip lets out a shattering scream. His body goes rigid as he tilts his head so far back that it isn't humanly possible. Kenny breathes out of his mouth and presses the holy water against his chest like it's a shield.
"This is intense," Kenny mumbles to no one in particular.
"Whoever you are, along with your – your onions – minions now attacking this servant – this servant..."
Maxi skips in his prayer again, and Pip immediately snaps his head back so fast that Damien is surprised Pip's neck didn't break. Or maybe it has, but Pip just doesn't feel the pain anymore. Pip makes a hissing snarl. The drawers begin to rattle. Framed pictures of Damien and Pip fly across the room. One of the light bulbs shatters into pieces, dimming the room. Maxi and Kenny both duck from the broken glass while Damien just lifts his arms up to protect himself. Pip laughs again and the lengths of ropes that used to tie his arms slither on the bed like snakes.
"Hell no. Fuck this shit," Maxi says, lifting his cross up as he backs away from Pip. "I'm out."
"What?" Kenny says, eyes going wide.
"You can't fucking leave!" Damien wonders if he can beat someone to death with a bible.
"You're on your own, you demon fuck." Maxi lets the bible drop to the floor again as he makes a break for the door.
"Maxi! You fucking asshole!" Damien makes a grab for the fleeting priest but a photo frame to his face stops him from doing so. He stumbles back from the impact and presses his hand over his cheek. "Shit!"
"There goes my joke," Pip says as he watches Maxi run out of the room.
Pip looks down at his feet still tied to the bed. The ropes burst into hot flame before they incinerate into nothing but fine ashes. Though he's freed, he doesn't move from the spot that he's levitating. Kenny backs into Damien, partially shielding him while still holding the bottle of holy water against his chest. Damien hisses at the numbness on his face and grits his teeth. So his plan to exorcise the baby has failed. He makes a mental note to beat the shit out of that fucking useless priest when he gets out of this. He can hear Kenny panting next to him and feels incredibly bad that he's dragged Kenny into another one of his messes. And here he was hoping to start anew and start wiping his own ass.
"Told you he'd be pissed off," Kenny says and gives a quick look back at Damien. He flinches when the bedroom door slams shut with a bang that shakes the whole apartment.
Pip looks down at Kenny with a stare that chills even Damien's spine. He stays hovering above the bed as he tilts his head a little in a chiding manner. "Now, now, Father, you know Papa Pip doesn't like it when you hang about this man," Pip says as he shakes a finger. "He'll be so upset if he finds out."
Damien steps out from behind Kenny and stands by his side. He hears Kenny's breath hitch in his throat. He looks to Kenny then down to the bottle of holy water. When he meets Kenny's eyes, Kenny gives him an understanding nod. They both know what they need to do; Damien only needs to make a long enough distraction for Kenny to follow through. He narrows his eyes at Pip and hates everything that the baby has done to his Brit. There is no joy in those eyes that he loved. The smile on his face is full of malice, so unlike those that used to light up the darkest room. He hates the baby for wearing Pip's skin like a costume to be toyed with. He hates him. He hates him. He hates him so fucking much! Most of all he hates how powerless he feels not being able to fix the situation.
"Why are you doing this to Pip?" Damien is loud enough that he's sure his neighbors will come knocking in a bit. He steps forward and shields Kenny out of sight. "I'm the one you want, right? Leave Pip out of this!"
"It's not that simple, Father. Besides, I've taken quite a liking to Papa Pip's body. It fits me so terribly well, don't you agree?"
"If you want the anti-Christ title, fine, I don't give a fuck. Take it. It's yours!" Damien says. Behind him, Kenny takes a step forward, closing the distance between him and Pip. "Just give me back Pip."
"I don't want the anti-Christ title." Pip gives a slight shake of his head.
"Then what the fuck do you want?" Damien can hear Kenny unplugging the holy water.
"Oh Father, I've ever only wanted to be a good boy," Pip says.
Everything happens so quickly. On the same second, Kenny is running toward Pip and trying to splash him with the holy water and Pip is lifting his finger and pointing at Kenny. Damien knows what is going to happen before it even happens but he can do nothing as the sound of Kenny's neck breaking and Pip screaming in pain shoot through the room. He watches Kenny's head spin almost a 180 degree, his body following through with the motion, before Kenny falls to the floor with an unceremonious thud. At the same time Pip collapses on the bed, writhing in pain as his skin burns in loud hisses. It's over as quickly as it happened. Silence takes over the room, leaving only Damien behind.
Damien can't make a sound. His heart jumps into his throat and his lungs refuse to work properly. He stares at Kenny's lifeless body and does everything he can to stop the rush of nausea and guilt from taking over his senses. He bites his teeth so hard into his lips that he draws blood. He kneels down next to Kenny. His heart sears from the unnatural angle that Kenny's head faces with his eyes still wide open.
"Kenny, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…"
He forces his legs to move and wobbles over to the bed. He looks down Pip lying equally still and barely breathing. Pip's body and the sheets are soaked in sweat. Blood seeps out of his nostrils. Damien runs a hand through Pip's hair and shudders at how awfully cold the Brit feels under his fingers.
"Pip? Can you hear me? Please… answer me. Pip…"
The only sound that responds to him is the doorbell ringing. It must be the neighbors checking in on them after that unholy ruckus. Damien doesn't move from where he's standing. He doesn't go to answer the door or pick Kenny off from the ground. He sinks into the bed by Pip's side and drives his palms into his face. His throat hardens. His eyes burn with a need he's never felt before.
For the first time in his life, Damien lets himself cry out loud.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Boyue's Note: Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome! Sorry I couldn't write Butters that well…
11.03.12
9:56 PM