The Deepest Darkness

By Alize Remix

Summary:Tick has lost both Sofia and Paul during the trails Reginald Chu put them through. Blinded by anger when he faced Mistress Jane, Tick's lost of control of Chi'karda killed her. Master George has no way of communicating or rescuing him. Tick is all alone with Reginald who has taken him on as his apprentice. Features a Dark!Tick.

Disclaimer: I do not own the 13th Reality.

Part II

Demanding Hope For Others

"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man." - Friedrich Nietzshe

"I have one request from you, Mr. Chu."

"Then speak it, Atticus, and I shall prove to you that I am not your enemy."

"Free Sato from your control."

"Pardon?" Reginald Chu swifted uncomfortably in the chair next to Atticus' bed.

"I said free Sato or I won't believe you." Atticus found his voice to be much stronger than usual but he had just dusted it aside as being a part of his body's reaction to growing older. He'd done a lot of that in the pass few weeks thanks to the man sitting right beside him.

Mr. Chu's silence held in the air for a while before he had the courage to voice himself.

"...Very well." Atticus almost would not have believed it had it not come from Chu's mouth. Chu had agreed to free Sato from whatever mind control he had kept the boy in for a while now. "However, I should let you know it will take some time before I can fully restore Sato to his former self. It may take months."

"I don't care as long as you do it." Chu had not smiled. How those words would haunt forever.

"There is nothing I cannot do, Atticus." Atticus almost laughed.

"You can't bring the dead back," Tick couldn't hold back. "You can't play God forever." Tick wondered whether Chu truly believed himself to be above the rest of the Realities. Surely he was not that driven with power.

"Not yet, Mister Atticus."

Tick wasn't sure which statement Reginald was refering to.

Mothball was in a state of utter depression. She had done nothing when Sato nearly died and came under the influence of Mr. Chu; even though she could do nothing in the first place. She had done nothing when both Sofia and Paul had died, Master George had forbidden her or Rutger from doing anything. She had done nothing when Tick had fallen into Mr. Chu's hands.

No words could describe just how useless she felt inside. She was dead from the inside out.

Mothball lost two of the people she considered as good as her children. Yet...even in knowing this, she knew there was still some hope.

Sato was alive; insane, but very much alive. And Tick, oh sweet, dearest, Tick was alive, in the most dangerous man's hands in all of the realities, but alive. For the time being.

She, Mothball, promised that at the first chance she got, she was going to dive into Mr. Chu's stronghold and recuse Tick even if it killed her.

Which it most likely would.

The only thing Sato knew was darkness. He didn't think. He didn't feel. Time did not exist for him. He only existed on the outside.

Sato was just floating; floating in a sea of emptiness. He was nothing. That is all he was and that was all he was ever going to be.

He didn't remember anything from his past or present. He only needed to exist.

He was getting bored. It was a boring existence, after all. Just being was tiresome. Sato wanted to break free of this hell; his prison that he didn't remember getting into.

What had he done to deserve to be punished like this? Certainly he wasn't that bad of a person was he? He no longer knew.

The only thing Sato knew was existence.

And it was getting dreadfully awful.

"Is he awake yet?"

"Was the city of Rome built in a day?"

"No. But-"

"Then it is quite obvious that I cannot rebuild a person in a single day." Tick's glare did not soften at this. "I should tell you that rushing me will only lead me to make mistakes and I am sure that you do not want me to put your friend in danger's way."

"It didn't stop you last time." With that last comment silence filled the room. How far had Chu gone to see to it that Atticus would be standing (sitting really) before him, partically defenseless, and bent to his uses?

He had cost the boy his friends and pushed him to split accidental blood on his innocent hands. Though he knew this, he never felt guilt for his actions and probably never would. The deaths of those three had brought him his prize in the end; he had won.

No, what Reginald was worried about was the boy's mental state. Proper killing took training, least it leave one's mentally in ruins. The same could be said for watching a person die right before one's eyes, even if they did not know the dying person. It is a human emotion known as empathy, an emotion Chu clearly lacked.

However, it wasn't just anyone Tick saw die, it had been two of his closest friends, Miss Sofia and Mister Paul. And although the two were archenemies to the death, Mistress' Jane's death would not go unchecked in Atticus' conscience.

Still, Reginald had no remorse for their deaths and Tick knew it. Chu wanted the boy's abilities, nothing more.

The very thought shook Tick's inner core. Tick would most likely be dead without his Chi'karda. It seemed to be a double edged sword; his Chi'karda, it had saved him but at the same time, trapped him.

Never had he wanted some kind of message from Master George so badly even when he began receving the damnable letters almost two years ago. How long had he been sealed with Chu in his hold? It seemed like years since Tick last saw sunlight, he had a sinking feeling that he would not for a long time.

"Tell me," Chu stated, looking up from his computer screen. "Is Sato close to you?" The question raddled Tick out of his thoughts.

"No," Tick answered before he could stop himself. "Why should that matter?"

Tick saw Reginald's eyes darkened and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "It should." The older said, tapping his chin never once looking away from the other.

"Why is that?" Tick heard himself say. Feeling out-of-body, Tick felt as if he was watching the conversion from outside his body.

"It isn't worth the pain to go through hell if someone isn't important to you." A distant expression spread across Chu's face, and he stared intensely at the young man. That look chilled Tick. It was so full of raw emotion and showed a side of Reginald, Tick didn't think existed. If he was daring enough, he would even say that the man's eyes held a deep pain he was never able to get over.

After that episode, the two sat in an awkward silence. Chu working over his computer, focusing on the screen and not the boy next to him. Tick allowed his mind to wander as he felt it safe for the moment now that the man was distracted.

There was more to Reginald Chu than he or any of the others had believed.

End of Part II

Author's Note: Reply to Positive Potter: It's depressing isn't it? But for the sake for the fanfiction's plot and development, they died because this is to progress Tick's conflicting emotions, thus giving Tick a darker approah to the Realities, as well as Mister Chu and Master George and company. This is not going to be a happy story, as they say; "It's all down hill down from here." It's just going to get darker and darker from this point on. I just thought the 13th Realities could be have had more tense atmosphere if Sofia and Paul had died due to Mister Chu's challeneges (how they died will be explained later in the story) as well as Mistress Jane's actions (she's not innocent of all her crimes). I'm just a fan who is just a bit off her rocker.

To the other reviewers: Thank you so much for your feedback guys and I apologize for the very late updating. You could say that I've had a writer's block these pass few months and I will try to update faster. Also- I apologize for the short chapter after waiting a long time for a new one. I promise the next ones will be much longer.