Chapter 52: The Weight of Darkness
"With a narrow 1% gap at the last minute…the overall winner of the elections is…Joseph Dark! The first ever Independent elected President!"
"I remember my legs clamping down on the spot as I struggled to breathe…"
My wife jumped me for a hug and nearly knocked me down. She was crying so many tears of joy the shoulder of my suit was irreversibly dampened.
My brother patted me on the back. He probably wanted to cry, but thought it wouldn't look cool.
Julius…I don't know what you were thinking at the time.
So many wonderful sounds of celebration filled the air, and for once in my life…I had actually succeeded against the impossible.
But I knew at the time how many enemies I was making going down this road to the seat of the Presidency.
With Catherine's help, we were able to win over the people's trust by exposing the underbelly of corruption in the government with nothing but the undeniable, blatant truth.
A majority of it was bits and pieces left behind by Judas Jeremiah, the man known as Prometheus…the man who ruined my family's life…BOTH of them.
But there was corruption festering all on its own. Still is.
But now I get why I have this power. This…vast whirlpool of darkness inside of me.
It's so I can wade through the muck of society with my shoulders held high, as support to carry the hopes of the future across to cleaner waters.
It's never been an easy journey. I know I've made missteps. Not just as a President…but as a man…and as a father.
I've…already lost too much along the way.
But I know I'm not alone anymore. Even if it feels that way.
I don't hate the child I used to be.
Because without him, I wouldn't be here now.
…Alex, are you still watching? A lot of what I'm doing, I'm doing to make sure something like us never happens again.
Another day in the Oval Office…
Joe Dark, clad in his expected suit and slick leather shoes, felt a slight chill in his system as he prepared to tackle another round of legislation and meeting plans.
He rubbed his arms and shed away any signs he might be coming down with a cold as he came in view of a few members of the press who had been invited in to ask him questions.
Standard fare, curiosity about his recent plans to implement a tax deduction in the West Coast states was the primary target.
A few of them were trying to twist his words to make a hit piece against him.
"President Joseph Dark Ignores Struggling East Coast Cities." He could envision clearly in his head.
Yes. New York in particular was suffering a heavy economic decline due to too large of a population boon combined with an ill-timed rise in criminal activity sometime last year.
But he hadn't forgotten their plight. He just needed to get the bill through to give them relief. And unfortunately, both sides of the Senate were pushing against it for their own reasons.
He would not push back against these reporters for any perceived notions of ignorance. They knew what they were doing. He would simply let his actions speak out against their liars.
As he left the foyer and started to make his way to his office, he was joined by his two best members of security.
A girl named Mina, a dry-witted young woman with a penchant for enjoying ice cream pops, but whose reflexes and skills with pistols are allegedly second to none. She definitely has a cloaked present that makes her hard to notice at times.
A young, slender man named Troy, graduated top of his class, highly decorated for years in the service. His facial features were like a mirror into Julius' younger years. But he didn't talk much, and spent most of his spare time twiddling around with the stock market on his phone.
They came to him with Catherine's glowing recommendation, but it's not hard to feel a little guilty about having hired help when he could single-handedly stop any threat to the planet.
"It helps with your image!" Catherine said with her heroic enthusiasm.
"Plus they LOOK cool!" That part was a little harder to get behind. Then again, he was always behind the times on what was "cool".
"...Probably shouldn't linger on that." He collected himself before old age set in early, and with a clear head and a careful choice of words he navigated his way through the reporters with his security detail guiding them out when he had the final word.
Then came the next wave of the morning assault, with some senators directly confronting him about his recent plans.
Of course it was primarily Republicans chewing him out for, *gasp*, daring to show concern for the lower class.
It was no secret they hated the homeless, seeing them as a reflection of the sin that now came to haunt them.
But if he broke his silence…Returned to being the lashing out child he once was…just to make it clear that HE used to be one of those 'dirty hobos', would they hold their heads up so high?
…It wasn't worth the momentary catharsis.
He didn't stare down men who had the power to end all creation just to bend the knee to people with less bite than newborn pups.
But it's not like it made it any less strenuous to get through their barks. The layers of bags under his eyes could attest to that.
He played along with their comments, and then once he was on approach to his office they backed off to try again another day.
He needed votes to secure his bills. But there would be no compromise.
Not for their opinion. Not for their dirty votes.
"Haaaa…" He sighed once out of their earshot, his security detail dully commenting in turn…
"I would've poured coffee on their shoes." Troy remarked, not taking his eyes off his phone.
"Heh, nice." Mina commented with a weak smile.
"You know you can't," Joe Dark replied, "...But if you were, do it on Friday when they put their best shoes on."
Troy typed something up rapidly with a smile, "Coffee on shoes…Scheduled. For. Friday…"
"Don't…" Joe Dark raised his hand back, holding back a laugh, but didn't have it in him to commit to reprimanding him.
All of a sudden, Catherine bolted down the hall to get in front of him, "Morning, El Presidente!"
This time Joe Dark raised his hand to wave the two off, and they were perfectly content to shrug and go their separate ways with Mina pulling a concealed ice cream pop from her vest and sucking on it.
"What do you have for me today, Catherine?" Joe Dark said, envious of the young woman's inability to slow down.
Catherine nudged up her glasses and smirked while pulling up an empty clipboard, "Well, you got a meeting with the Governor of West Virginia later in the afternoon."
"Yeah, I remembered that. Did you hire the chef I asked for?"
"Yep yep! He arrived ten minutes ago," After rolling out a cough Catherine remarked, "Aaaand, I've got him on board to handle the dinner with the Secretary of Defense's family later tonight."
"T-That's tonight?" Joe Dark rubbed his chin with a hum, "...I can't imagine we can push that back to tomorrow, can we?"
"Can't do. Word around the ol' DC is that he's got a new story about his grandkids he's dying to share."
Joe Dark clicked his tongue, "Damn, those are usually pretty good. Alright, then let him know I'll be there."
Catherine then nodded, "Cool. Cool! Aaaaas for the final major order of business for now…"
She pointed to a person-sized crate being rolled up behind him.
Joe Dark immediately raised a brow and was taken aback enough to laugh, "Alright, what's this?"
He knocked on the wood and then turned to Catherine, "A new gadget?"
"Ha ha ha! You should know my lips are sealed!"
Joe Dark saw the crate rattle and a faint giggling was heard inside.
With a relaxed smile after his heart skipped a beat, he threw his hands up and raised his voice an octave, "Well, I sure don't recall ordering anything recently…Who knows? This could be a security risk."
"What? Naaaaah, I bet it's a surprise from a fan! You oughta take it into your office and pry it wide open!" Catherine was good at not breaking character, that's for sure.
But as one little added joke, Joe Dark remarked, "Alright, but if a bomb goes off you're fired."
He then took the reins of the cart used to bring the crate in and pushed it into his office, with Catherine closing the door behind him and locking up.
Now alone with this "mysterious" crate, he stopped to stare at it, rattling with a sense that it was "anticipating" being opened.
Instead, Joe Dark shrugged and walked over to his desk with a smile, "Well, time to get to work…It sure would be awful if I was interrupted by a cute succubus though."
The box leaned forward and then seesaw's back and forth on the cart for a bit.
He glanced over his shoulder and with a sigh, wandered over and helped loosen the nails with a light tug of the board.
And after he took a couple steps back the board flew off as his wife Alura sprung out and clamped her arms around his neck.
"Boo!" She shouted cheerfully, carrying him around in a spin-like dance towards the desk.
Seeing her for the first time in months, around this time of year, made him remember her in her younger years when she never would've been this bold and clingy.
But no matter what phases she's gone through, he's loved every one.
So he let her drag him along to the desk and tip him over flat on his back. Sure, it'd be a pain to clean all the papers and pens up, and his back hurt a bit, but he enjoyed having her pin him down and essentially force him to stop prioritizing work for once.
"This rose still has thorns…" He whispered fondly, stroking the back of her hair.
Alura, however, popped her head up and puffed her cheeks briefly, "Awww c'mon, Joe Dark, you're such a spoilsport! You could TRY to pretend I caught you by surprise!"
Joe Dark's eyes widened and he made his heart beat elevate while throwing his hands up, "Aaaaah! Oh nooo!"
"...Hmm." Alura gave him a smarmy look and then pounced her lips against his, giving him a half-minute long kiss to truly savor the taste of his love.
After pulling away with a sultry smack of her lips that she licked clean, she smiled and dragged her finger along his chest, "Good to see you haven't lost your spice."
Joe Dark touched his own lips and felt a gloss-like texture, "Raspberry?"
"You got it!" She proclaimed in joy.
He closed his eyes and grinned, "God I missed this…"
"Hee hee hee!" Alura stood up and he followed after, staring long and hard at the empty crate in his office.
"...But seriously?" He pointed at it to make sure she got it, and she looked back with a slight blush in her cheeks.
"Hey, I have to keep things fresh in our marriage!"
Joe Dark flashed back to her repeated attempts to sneak into the White House before.
Like when she hid herself in a massive bundle of roses.
Or when she pretended to be a DoorDash delivery girl.
Or when she hired a mariachi band and wore skull makeup and a poncho…
Or that time she simply jumped up to his window and let herself in.
"Really feels unnecessary when she could just waltz right in with her illusions but…" He gave her a glance and smiled, "It's like she said…"
"Hey," He spoke softly to get her attention, "So why are you all the way in DC? I can't imagine you took a plane just to visit."
Alura leaned forward and put her fists on her hips, "Pfft, obviously!"
She closed her eyes and propped her head back with a smirk and the plainest tone you could hear, "I flew."
"..." Joe Dark spread his fingers across his forehead and sighed, "O.K. Logistics of travel aside…"
She puffed her cheeks and groaned, "I was feeling a teeny bit lonely, ok?"
Joe Dark waved his hand out and put on a smarmy tone, "I guessed."
He then gestured back to his desk, "But you know…"
"Don't read me the riot act, Joe Dark, you're spoiling the romantic atmosphere I set up!"
"S-Sorry…" He said, nibbling on his bottom lip.
She then glided forward and took hold of his right cheek, using her thumb on his eyelid.
Admittedly, he was kind of into it.
"...You haven't been getting enough sleep lately." She remarked.
"Again." He gestured to his desk.
She gave him a light slap on the face and a disapproving frown, but quickly replaced it with a fond and romantic smile, "Hee hee, pushing your limits to save the world? Now who could you have gotten that from?"
A certain head of brown hair came to mind, "Couldn't imagine…"
She gave him another light slap on the other cheek and then pulled him away from his desk while he remarked, "It's just…after what happened with Julius, I-I felt I wasn't working hard enough to make a difference."
She stopped and turned around to look him dead in the eye, completely serious, "I get it. I cried for him too, Joe Dark, but you NEED to take a break."
In this game of tug o' war there was no chance he'd win. So with a faint shrug of his hands he said, "Alright, chill, I'll hang out with you for a while."
Her smile rose and she rounded him to sit on the desk with legs crossed and her hands laid down, pushing the last few papers off, "Sooo, what do you want to talk about first?"
Joe Dark walked his paces while rubbing his chin, "Well, why don't we start with the kids? How are they adjusting back home?"
"So so. Alex is managing just fine, Erin…"
"Misses me?" Joe Dark said with a sigh of regret.
"She's going through a bad rebellious phase. I've been trying to help her, but she doesn't want it," Alura then winked, "But on the upside, their grades are amazing! Top of their class!"
Joe Dark was staggered by this news, "T-That's wonderful…"
And then guilt set in, prompting him to pull out his phone, "I-I should really send a message, at the very least…"
Alura hopped off and clamped his hands in place with both of hers, "No. You should go in person."
He looked into her stern gaze and both knew the weight of her suggestion.
"...We agreed not to so they wouldn't get swept up in my business." He said matter of factly.
Alura nodded firmly, "This only stops working if I don't do my part. So have some faith, ok?"
"Hmmm…" Joe Dark looked down at their hands bound together and trembled, wanting to put up a resistance and send just ONE message to let his daughter know he still thought about her.
But Alura was right. It would be cruelly giving her hope that he would come back home.
"She must hate me." He mumbled, wracked with guilt.
"I think she does," Alura said, a dash of bluntness and uncertainty only meant to make her kind words sound better, "But it's because you did SUCH a great job as her father."
"I still have essentially abandoned her, I…" He tightened his fists in frustration with a little darkness squeezing out, "Didn't want it to wind up like this!"
Before his voice raised further, Alura turned him around and held him steady, "Neither did I, but it's not your fault."
"...I know. But it feels that way," He then looked at her, "Speaking of, there…hasn't been any signs of…?"
Alura feverishly shook her head, "You would've been the first to know if there was."
Joe Dark wanted to say something else, but she was two steps ahead, "And IF something went wrong, I got Lunis, Auris, Riku, Solaris and Mew to rely on, in that order."
He had a slight eye roll at that last bit, because he knew she was joking.
She always spoke her jokes with confidence the same way she did anything else, even if they're flubs.
And as much as Joe Dark wanted to keep beating himself down, being reminded of what he was missing out on in life, she had become too strong for him to hold back.
But for one last flourish of whimsy, she dashed for the windows and threw them open, flashing him with the light of the morning sun.
"Look outside for a moment? Do you see red in the skies? Or people rioting in the streets?" She shook her head and smiled, "Hell no! Because of YOUR efforts, Joe Dark. And you…"
She wagged her finger at herself and he felt like she had him tugging along by a string, "Deserve to reap the benefits of it too."
He slowly made his way to the window and as far as he could look, he saw families able to safely walk the streets outside the fenced areas. Very little trash, and no concerns of violence afoot.
It wasn't hard to think back to a time when he was crying in the cold rain, feeling like no one was ever going to reach their hand out and invite him into a warm home.
But now he had many hands, many homes, that would offer him company in trying times.
His eyes started watering down his cheeks and he quickly wiped them onto his sleeves, regaining a bit of his bite as he said, "Alright, fuck it. I guess I can shirk my responsibilities for a couple hours to enjoy time with my wife."
"...Though I should give Catherine a heads-up so she can hold down the fort in the meantime." He started to budge the other way but Alura snagged him by the sleeve and chuckled.
"I already coordinated everything with her," Once they made eye contact she fanned her fingers against her mouth and laughed, "How do you THINK I got in so easily?"
"...Oh," Joe Dark rubbed his head in embarrassment, "I've lost my edge a bit."
"Joe Dark, you've NEVER been good at picking up subtle details." She said in a playful voice.
"...Hey, I succeeded where it counts." He said, looking deep into her eyes until she was beet red.
Charmed, she laid her hand atop his and tugged him towards the window, "Now come on! And hold on tight, before you get zapped away by an alien!"
"Geez, really?" He did while obeying her every whim, "Fine, Mrs. Confidence, then where do you want to go?"
Her eyes popped and with a look back she hummed, "Surprise me…Joe Dark!"
She then fell out of the window with a resounding "Wheeee!" and Joe Dark, charmed by her every childish bout of innocence, leaned out after her, paused and whispered, "I love you so goddamn much…"
And then he jumped after her and caught her before she landed.
After which, she kissed him on the lips, and the taste felt oh so spicier now.
Whatever they decided to do with the rest of their fleeting spare time was their business alone.
Either way, it made them happy.
Next Time: To the Beginning