Chapter 12: Tear Down My Reason
The dancing pages of walls covered in muck and cobwebs cornered the entire group of spiders and mercenaries as they all trudged along against the hallway, each group begrudgingly following the orders of the new overseer of their demises for different reasons. For Dennis, he loathed what was going to come, and allowed the ascending fear in his chest to continue to rise. Erosa growled at the ones handling his wife, paying no attention to his own captors as Polter stared ahead with a scowl displayed by her eyes. George looked to his mother, and the two shared a look of disdain against the two mercenaries, and the demanding hand of the new boss. The end of the hallway came closer and closer. While non spoke a work through the door, none of them would ever be trusting enough to each other to admit the only confiding emotion which they all felt: Dread, and it only grew stronger, like darkness through the veins of the heart, once the manifestation of that dread appeared alongside the originally ordained leader of the spiders.
Midnight sat quietly next to Sivah. A towering weakness tainted the air. The scent of alcohol was faint across the room, and Erosa, wide eyed at the sudden revelation of events, wished he could be drowned in the intoxicating substance so that his death would be quick and enjoyable through the dulled ache. A menacing growl scratched itself across the face of the avian overlord, teeth sharpened to a point, who took much pleasure in watching his former adversaries be placed in chairs before being tied to one another. Everyone else formed a group of shadows in the corner, and the doorway into the room became a blur, with nothing but the festering concrete and cold dust to keep Erosa and Polter company on the ground.
"Erosa." Sivah began madly, jagged leg crossed against the other as he sat."How... entertaining that my finest work now finds me, like a bottle of ether pressed against your lips by a significant other, and now that kind of pleasure is the only thing you can ever think about. Nothing ever seems quite right, but you can't help but return to that old lust. You thrust your dick into anything that will fit, and it will never be enough. You need your ex, you need that bottle of death, and most importantly, you need reason to live." The wielder of nightmares smiled, caressing the orb of unholy glowing strands above his palm. "I take it this is a purely coincidental reunion and that you're scared shitless to see me."
"Hey Sivah." Erosa said sheepishly. "How's it going? Feathers look nice. You start using the blood of your enemies as body wash?"
Sivah almost gave a complimentary chuckle, standing to his feet before trailing around the two. His scent was that of a fresh kill, slowly overtaken by the disguise of a cool breeze that one would follow for comfort until it struck with a knife. It was almost sweet in a bitter coating. Polter scowled her nose.
"Quite." Sivah said. "Although it is more than likely the tears of anguish that you're smelling. Screaming what little is left of your heart out in a desperate attempt to wane the mournful pain of having to imprison your loved one – It tends to bring a certain sheen to your coat, and not being allowed to be a bitch doesn't help your mental state. Have you ever had to fuck yourself while crying in the shower and trying to act professional about it? It's not as fun as they say."
"It's not." Polter said, receiving a look of confusion, fear, and intrigue from her husband.
Sivah nodded before coming to a halt with a raised hand clasped in formality. "But enough about me. I'm more concerned to hear about you. I felt the blood in your body shift after passing the street lights. How did you end up here, and what brought you here? You should have come earlier. You missed the story, the one about how I died."
"Yeah?" Erosa snarled. "Which one was it this time? The one about the lamb in the spears? Or was it the one with the rubber duck? Oh, did you tell these arachnut fucks that you're actually Judah in that bullshit story made up for children? That one's a classic."
Sivah's sharp demeanor turned into a frown of vengeance, his body twisting as it approached Erosa, with the tip of his beak barely meeting the mercenary. "How do you know that I tell those stories? I never recalled any of them to you other than the lamb."
Dennis crossed his arms and leaned against the least desecrated corner as the rest of his family looked to Sivah. "Wait, that whole speech about you dying was just a crock of shit?"
"Arachnut fucks?" Dennis asked curiously.
"I like to be unique." Erosa said to Dennis before turning to Sivah. "Hiding your diary in the car that your husband let us borrow isn't exactly a foolproof way to hide all of your deepest and darkest secrets. Didn't know that you could describe fornication in so many words, or that you hated basketball and loved baseball so much. The fuck is up with that?"
"What's wrong with basketball?" Dennis asked, his shy demeanor now turning to a testiness.
Ensnared in the track of the conversation, Sivah sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Nothing, It's just a shit sport. There's nothing to it."
"You just contradicted yourself." Midnight chimed up begrudgingly. "I'd really fucking hate to get off track like this, but since Dennis asked and you answered, I gotta say that's a pretty piss poor excuse to dislike a sport that many people find enjoyment out of. At least when I murder the prostitutes that seek shelter in this place I don't come up with a reason for it. I don't want them here, they die – Simple."
"My answer is simple." Sivah said, turning to Midnight. "I don't like it, because I don't like it. It's not enjoyable, much like this entire fucking bitch of a conversation... if you can even call it that."
"Just saying." Midnight said, his first set of arms raised up. "If you wanna make it in the world of opinions, don't be a little bitch when there's not a reason for your actions."
Quickly Sivah conjured a mask of darkness which ensnared the mouth of the older arachnid. It slithered across the rest of their body before tightening into a makeshift rope. Dennis frowned at such a hostile response.
"Now you'll keep your own remarks to yourself." Sivah said.
"Like you?" Erosa glared. "Good job being a hypocrite at everything you do."
"Who's fault is that, I wonder?" Sivah rebutted. "At least you're actually being useful. Your wife, on the other hand is-"
"You keep my wife out of this." Erosa declared as he leaned further towards his captor.
Sivah's smile returned. "Ooh, I struck a nerve! So, when you go after me and my wrongdoings, that is acceptable, but when I do it to you it's... disrespectful? Not right? Unlawful? I would expect more from the one who lead my most valuable missions in the past. The business deals in Lust, thieving the crystal shipments - who could forget that? Oh, and the time that we became well known for taking out the undesirables of life. My favorites would of course have to be the necklace – The Devil's Bane? My own personal belonging which I had to seize from the confines of some of the top ring's most dangerous archives?" The oppression folder their hands into an upward shape, showing amusement covering their disgust. "I'd like to know where you and that wife of yours brought it to."
Erosa scoffed. This was immediately followed by a strand of darkness protruding from the ceiling with an outstretched hand from Sivah, who pointed a gesturing claw towards the mercenary and strung them around the neck, causing Polter to start shouting out expletives towards the bird. Sivah smiled and obliged a similar treatment for her, and the husband and wife duo were left unable to speak. The silence of the room became infected with malice, and Sivah injected each moment of presence with unfaltering desecration at everyone and everything within the room.
"You want to know my true story so bad?" Sivah asked the room. "That's the point – The desperation. You wish to understand everything that you cannot understand, and when you follow a trail that leads nowhere, you start to create answers of your own. The world never waits patiently, my dear Erosa, only pokes and prods at what they think is the truth. I willfully give out lies that nobody will ever consider, because there is not meaning to them, and that suddenly makes me the problem when all of us have been lying our entire lives. Your values, your valuables, they mean nothing if you don't give them meaning. I give my lies meaning, to scare people like you."
George and Dennis helplessly watch their mother become woven in a web of darkness before being placed alongside their father, the two struggling to overcome the denial of their own prowess. The remaining brothers instinctively stepped forwards, but Sivah waved another hand and the two were shoved back into the corner as he continued to soliloquy against Erosa. The wielder of nightmares glared him in the eyes, the light fading away as the two maintained eye contact. Sivah grew a softer expression as he leaned forwards into Erosa's face once more.
"I had a purpose once." Sivah began. "That purpose was to protect what I held dear. The harsh realities of live rained down upon us every chance it got, but we remained loyal. I remained loyal. When the church asked for donations, I gave them, despite not having much. When miracles were said to be performed, I did not ask for proof. One does not simply lie about miracles, after all... Well, yes; They do, and I found that out the hard way."
The ethereal gag uncovered Erosa's mouth, as well as Polter's. The two watched Sivah return to his position next to the restrained spiders adjacent the room.
"Funny demons." Sivah laughed. "You think yourselves to be so smart. Got life all figured out because, what, you've never had to die before? It's disgraceful, really. I've known children who ended up down here and they have half a pint's worth of common sense more than every imp, hellhound, and dancing queen combined. Did you feel the tip of a blade against your throat as you fell down here in a mess of cowardice and confusion? I didn't, but I know those who have. It opens the eyes of many, so I've been told. Though, for all of the ones that DO understand, there are so many more that do not, but you try to stop me instead anyway."
"I'm not giving in to your bullshit." Erosa snapped. "Yeah, Blitz and his fucking bitch were supposed to be here with us, but I didn't tell them. I was gonna sabotage them with Sir Pentious and look good when I killed them. Granted, the car wasn't expected, but that's more on me than anything."
"What car?" Sivah asked abruptly, his eyes widening as the flicker of darkness subsided and was replaced with demeaning intrigue.
"The car they were given in exchange for that amulet." Erosa said.
Sivah's eyes widened tremendously. "You traded my Devil's Bane for a fucking car? What are you, a slut for hire?"
"Honestly? I'm feeling a little whorish this week." said Erosa. "What do you think, hun?"
Polter nodded menacingly. "I could be a bit debaucherous."
"Let me make myself perfectly clear." Sivah said. "You are going to get it back or I will kill you. Straight up. No fancy speeches, no declarations of war, just straight up death. Get me? You're also going to be bringing me those two brats you supposedly turned into your buddies after watching me suffer."
"What part of 'not giving in to your bullshit' is hard to understand? I don't care if you're super powerful, or have daddy issues or, I dunno, kill your own goddamn husband because the voices in your head told you to. I'll die right in this fucking chair to prove a point!"
Sivah smiled, his fingers curling as Polter was lifted from her seat by the invisible powers that caressed the wielder of nightmares as he called the cat's bluff. Erosa immediately lunged forward, but Matilda ensnared the mercenary in an effortless grip. He watched on while Polter gritted her teeth at her former boss.
"You will." Sivah declared, the glow of his eyes reflecting off of the dull surrounding, giving them a bluish hue, spinning Polter around. "But first, your wife will die, and then I'll call your bluff."
Erosa watched on in horror. He gave his all to escape the ensnaring arms of the spider, who just looked at the mercenary with a sense of regret and remorse. He took notice of this reaction and slowed his struggling before quietly beginning to whimper under his breath.
"Why?" Erosa asked meekly.
"Because." Sivah said. "The house always wins."
"And so does Moonstruck." Dennis said.
Sivah turned. His face was immediately pummeled by the swing of a steel chair, releasing all magical holds on the unwilling captives and sending their captor to the ground. Not even Sivah could handle the power of a steel chair. Polter found her footing and grabbed her husband and held him underneath her arm before her gun became unholstered. Matilda spun a web, grabbing hold of the weapon, but Polter's grip was strong enough to retaliate and pull, breaking the strands of webbing after the arachnid mistress was pulled from her stance and sent stumbling into the ground. George immediately came towards his mother, fists raised in defense.
"Kid." Polter said, aiming her gun towards the spider. "I'm not here for you. I'll put down the gun and just walk away, but you're not gonna stop us from leaving."
"The shit we aren't!" Midnight suddenly exclaimed, jumping between the shadows and sending a kick into Polter's stomach, following her as she fell and raising a sharpened claws towards her neck. Polter grabbed the blade inches before her neck, burning cuts seeping blood from her fingers as the blade-like weapon slipped between her fingers. Erosa regained his composure and grabbed Midnight in a blind rage, which was parried by a punch to the face by George with bared fangs. Smiling and preparing his own stance, Erosa took a step towards the young spider and began to swing, but George threw a punch and struck the cat. Erosa seemingly ignored the impact before getting close enough to grab the spider with both hands before headbutting them, and George grabbed his head as the arachnid fell to the ground.
"Can't even beat someone with only two hands!" Erosa shouted, and immediately disappeared from view as Midnight charged into his side, pinning the cat against the wall with four appendages.
"I can." Midnight grinned. He produced a vial and twirled it into a syringe on his hand before quickly puncturing Erosa in the neck. The cat was released and immediately began to stumble, groaning before sliding against the wall in a dazed state. Enraged, Polter grabbed the spider from behind and lifted him above her head, but was unable to toss them as Matilda had grabbed the reptile's arms with a dance of swinging legs that found her atop Polter's head with a blade against her neck.
"Let my husband down and I might let you live." Matilda snarled.
"Promise you'll cure my husband and I might put him down." Polter retaliated. "Otherwise he's already fucking dead."
"It's just a sedative." Midnight said hastily. "We try to savor our kills when we can, but people like you are such a damn hassle!"
"It's not my fault you can't handle this much woman." Polter said, smiling.
"Excuse me?" Matilda asked, eyebrow raised.
"You heard me."
Matilda scowled. Before she has a chance to return a rebuttal, a sudden blast sent everyone against the wall near Erosa. Sivah stood, hovering above the ground in a straining display of power. Everyone watched in a mortifying stun as a collection of dancing tendrils escaped the nightmare's fingertips, and the ensnaring strands danced across the glowing edges of the room as the concrete began to display extensive cracks, lifting above it's own foundation. He unleashed a hands, and the wall behind the group gave way as the collection of pipes burst through their confides and began to fill the room with water. The water swirled around as Sivah used his finger to spin his own web, and the water grew into a monster of collective tentacles conjoining with the darkness. Without warning, Dennis emerged from the shadows and returned with the steel chair, releasing the wielder of darkness from their suspension and sending them face first into the blackened water. The corresponding waves struck the group. Polter managed to grab Erosa and drag him to the ascending staircase leading to a higher point of the room, and the family of arachnids followed. Dennis pulled in George, who joined in returning the favor by doing the same towards their parents. As they all grasped the reality of the situation, the water began to rise, and the group of arachnids watched the water in hopes that a dark figure would not rise from it.
"Thanks." Polter heaved to Dennis.
"Don't worry about it." Dennis said. "Let's just get out of here before he learns how to breathe underwater!"
"I'd rather leave them behind." George said, receiving a glare from Polter as she stood with her husband slung over her shoulder.
"Shut up!" Dennis suddenly shouted. "You're so focused on this revenge that you don't even realize we're all gonna die if we don't do something!"
Midnight groaned, holding his back once he stood and helped his wife to her feet. "Normally I'd hate to end a fight but the kid has a point. I'm getting out of here!"
"Been trying to tell you that." Polter remarked.
With an uneasy peace, the collective of sinners and demons quickly made their trek down the hall, unbeknownst to them that a clawed hand rose from the water.