Chapter 54: A Heart of Darkness

"Wake up! Wake up! It's morning!" a small, eager voice cried out. I groaned, and turned over, pulling my pillow over my head. The pillow was snagged out my grip with a web, and thrown to the other side of the room. "Come on, let's play!"

"OK, OK, fine, I'm getting up!" I snapped; annoyed that my nice dream was interrupted. Eek the overly cheerful spider sat on my bedside table, his eight eyes staring up at me cheerfully. Today was the final day of being of Varrock. No more interruptions. Tomorrow we were setting off at Falador. I had a large array of useful weapons on my belt. I picked it up, and attached it to my waist.

The Halloween event was only yesterday. I stayed up, wandering around Varrock, Lumbridge, and Draynor, trick-or-treating. I'd filled up my massive pot, and I'd eaten all the sweets last night. Eek the spider was another reward I'd gotten. I'd put my rewards away in the bank, on the one shelf that housed my event rewards.

I'd met a youngster called Ballbags32, who'd been more then happy to join us for Halloween. When he heard about the Glory Troopers and their intentions, he'd signed up immediately. He couldn't join me and my friends on our travels, because he had to go through with Glory Trooper training first. I'd gotten mine already during the horrific month of Delrith's rising, so if I wanted to, I could join the Glory Troopers. But why would I want to? I have too much to see first.

I went downstairs, pulling on my silver jacket. It was starting to get worn out after the amount of times I'd worn it. Downstairs I was greeted with the marvellous sight of Aubury cooking breakfast. The luscious smell of cooking meat filled the small kitchen. Everyone was outside, socializing, waiting for breakfast to be ready.

Aubury nodded towards me, and handed me a plate full of meat and fried bread. "Enjoy," he smiled. I thanked him, and swallowed a chunk of meat. It was juicy, delicious, and well-cooked -I liked it. I gulped it all down easily.

I left the house/shop as everyone else started gathering inside the kitchen to collect their breakfast. Outside, with Eek on my shoulder, I breathed in the old Varrock smell of food, mixed with a tinge of rust and cloth. People surrounded me, going on with their business. I looked down the street, and saw the resplendent, burnished, sparkling fountain, a monument to peace and hope.

I decided to do some training with my favourite weapon-the skull sceptre. It had been in my bank during the Halloween event-that's why it wasn't on my belt then. This weapon was the best I'd ever gotten so far. It had managed to defeat Death of the four horsemen of the stronghold, as well as Pestilence!

I walked around. I really could do with some evil possessed animals right now. I decided to wave it around. I ended up smashing up a disused stall stand by accident.

A guard ran up to me.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" The guard yelled. I was about to apologise, to explain myself, when a crackle of evil energy ran up the hand that was holding the sceptre. My sceptre always gave me the feeling of complete power and strength, but this time it seemed to be….almost overwhelming. It was the same energy that took over me when I killed that vampire, the shades, and even Death the horseman. Except this one seemed stronger, and more powerful and overwhelming. Why listen to him? A new, dark, sinister voice sneered in the back of my head, completely destroying any will I had. He's an idiot guard, on a 5AM to 5PM shift. Do what you want.

This evil voice seemed to come from absolutely nowhere. It contained hidden authority, and power. The rest of my brain cried in protest as to my action. I sneered. I was surprised at myself, but I couldn't properly think it.

"Shut up," I said, much to my good side's disgust, and I elbowed the guard out of my way with more strength then I knew I had. He was sent flying into the opposite wall. There was something in my body that couldn't care less, that was taking over me. It was exactly the same feeling I had when I was in the stronghold of security-power beyond comprehension, expect increased to the point of complete control.

Several other guards ran up to help the guard who was lying among dozens of bricks. He sat up, and pointed at me.

"It was him!" he cried dramatically. Stupid fool. Kill them, the dark voice of evil authority laughed. I obliged. I rushed towards these guards, and before they could even scream, their bodies lay on the floor, blood pouring from a massive sceptre-created slash. I didn't know whether it could be classed as a sceptre any more, with a massive blade sticking out of it. I didn't care, though-a dominant dark side was filling me with unbridled power. There was a part of the old me that screamed for me to stop, to ignore the evil voice. I smiled coldly at the small audience that had grown around me.

"Stop staring at me or you'll all die," I threatened, so happy to be causing pain. Something of my old self cried in protest at what I was doing. I pushed it even further back into my mind against my will, allowing it no entry to the rest of my brain. The big boys were in town.

After that was a load of fun. Killing guards, beating up innocent citizens; it was exactly what I, or my darker side, wanted to do. My skull sceptre swung around, crusted with dried blood, as I used it for cold-blooded murder. The dark voice that seemed to control me now, not allowing any compunction or fear inside my brain, took over all of my bodily functions. I couldn't even protest-my brain was forced to think evilly. Where was this evil coming from?! It was obvious where.

I walked past the small pile of bodies. More guards approached me carefully, pausing at the sight of me. I must look shocking-I stared into a nearby window. My black hair was swept to one side, causing a dark, sinister, almost sexy effect. My blue eyes shone with a furious power. The beginnings of a sneer were plastered on my face.

Of course, I didn't care. Correction-I couldn't care. The powerful evil which was showing itself exploded from me was slightly intimidating to others. My normal self was trapped in manacles, in a personal prison in the back of my head.

"I'd better alert the king," a guard whispered, before running off, wanting to put as much distance between him and me. I wandered towards a newspaper stall. The newspaper salesman gawped at me. How impertinent could these people be?! It angered me to the core. I sliced his head off cleanly, relishing the bloodshed.

A man wearing glasses and purple silk ran up to me. He was the king's right-hand man.

"You killed Benny's assistant!" he screeched. "Stop this immediately or you shall be arrested and hanged!"

I sneered. I now knew what it felt like to be Master Samuel who'd absorbed the energy matrix of Delrith. Any regret or resentment was destroyed by the evil, dominant part of me before it could reach me. With a swift movement, I split the king's helper completely in half.

A guard ran up to his corpse, his eyes wide open in shock.

"This is an emergency the king can't control-this requires the Glory Troopers," the guard mumbled, before running off towards the Glory Trooper base.

A twinge of realisation stung me, before it was overshadowed by the evil being taking control of me. The Glory troopers meant all my friends. If they came to stop me, they couldn't. It would cause so much pain if I killed any of them. But, because of my dark side, I couldn't do anything about it.

I stood frozen on the spot as the guard returned with Haru axe-man, Aubury, Haldir6, Osrie1, and Amy11. Haru stepped up to me, shock showing clearly on his face.

"Mainiac97. Is it you who has been killing so many guards, innocent citizens, and even the king's assistant?" Haru spluttered. "I can't believe it." I sneered at him, every pore of my repressed real being crying in protest.

"It is me. Are you going to stop me?" I taunted. Haru shook his head. "Then you're going to have to suffer the consequences." I lunged towards him, my skull sceptre shining with blood. But I was blasted back by a force more powerful then a tonne of bricks. I was smashed into the floor.

It was Aubury who'd blasted me back. Sadness was etched all over his face.

"I'm so sorry," he sniffed. I smiled at him, my teeth bared.

"Bring it on!" I bellowed, before running into him, intent on ending his life, against my will.

The fight continued for a while. I deflected every spell he sent at me, while he struggled. I tried, again and again, to just touch him with my sceptre. That would be enough to weaken him. Snarling, I elbowed him into Osrie1, who was sent bowling backwards. I held the sceptre to Aubury's throat, grinning evilly.

At that moment Amy11 jumped in front of me.

"No Mainiac97! Please don't! Remember who you are!" she begged, tears running down her cheeks like little waterfalls. My heart softened for a moment. I felt my newfound, sceptre-induced dark side fighting with my normal, good side. I remembered. Every time I went into a furious rage in the stronghold of security, Amy11 was the cure. When I killed the vampire, she calmed me down. When I disposed of the shades, she calmed me down. She had the power nobody else had to control me; she had even more power then the dark voice. It was because we had a connection that nobody could see, but we could feel.

I roared in agony, fighting the evil inside me, infecting me like a virus. Everyone gawped at me, shocked. I stared with tearstained eyes at the man who'd taken me into his home-Aubury. He was the man who'd gone to every extent to keep me and my friends safe. He'd made me breakfast this morning…and I was about to repay him with death. I screamed, as I painfully tried to rip the evil out of my body forever. It was like ripping out my heart. The dark voice which tried to control me roared for me to stop, and the only thing stopping me from obliging was Amy11. I fell to my knees, fighting a battle inside me. I had to destroy the evil once and for all. I knew it was going to hurt a lot, but it had to be done.

I rushed towards the fountain, and smashed the sceptre into the contents of it. I heard a scream coming from the sceptre as it drowned in the fountain water, destroying a small piece of me. I hit it repeatedly with my Barbarian hammer. It smashed to shards, and the red glow inside the eye sockets turned blue, then faded away forever. I collapsed, sobbing, and fainted.

I woke up groggily an hour later. Everyone stood above me, staring down at me worriedly. I sat up, alert. I felt back to normal-there was no evil voice there any more. Aubury stepped forward.

"I'm so sorry, Aubury!" I cried. "It was the voice, it controlled me…."

"Don't worry," he soothed me. "It wasn't your fault at all. Let me explain what I discovered after a spot of research.

"The skull sceptre was placed in the stronghold of security by Zamorak, as a very clever plot of his. He never told his horsemen-they were unimportant to him. He put the sceptre there as the only way of killing Death the horseman. Once a chosen person discovered all the pieces, put them together, and used the sceptre to kill Death, the person would gain trust in it as a strong weapon. But the sceptre would slowly be taking over his mind, planting seeds of evil. Once the time was right, the sceptre would completely take over the person, and force him/her to come over to Zamorak's dark side. Of course, it failed for you, and now the sceptre is gone."

Aubury finished his explanation with a smile. I now understood the history and the mechanics of the wretched skull sceptre. But it would never erase the horrible feelings and memories it had given me….. Eek, who'd been on my shoulder the whole time, shivered, scared at the whole idea of such a thing. I would never trust anything remotely dark again…..