Dark and Bloody
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Me and Marley appear on the grass outside the School, both of us looking haggard.
The firefighters have the situation in Atlantic City under control now that the Silicoid Formerly Known As Vulcanus has fucked off from New Jersey to we don’t fucking know.
And it turns out that he was distracting us from something.
Not only did the security cameras in Umbra’s cell catch the Hungry Rider popping in and out via a portal identical to the one Pumyz escaped through, apparently trying to bust Umbra out and being thwarted by the Mark of Justice, but…
According to Victor, via Deston, the bust of Perenna hiding the Philosopher’s Stone has been stolen from his cabin by an unknown perpetrator.
So it WAS in that bust, like I guessed. Boy, I’m just knockin’ em out of the park today, huh?
Gloat later, Niv.
Yeah, because right now, we need to…
I look at my wrist, seeing the words “INCOMING CALL FROM: JEFF” on the COMP screen, so I quickly answer.
“Accept.”
Suddenly, the screen is filled with red, and I hear Jeff’s voice through the COMP, sounding very weak.
“Cal… help… my house…”
CRUNCH
The call ends just as suddenly, and I look down at Marley.
“Meet me at Jeff’s house. No time to explain.”
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I appear on Jeff’s front lawn, Marley appearing a second after me, the two of us teleporting into a scene that I never hoped to see.
Jeff, wearing his grey training suit, is barely conscious, face down on the grass, bleeding heavily. It looks like he’s heavily bruised and has lost several teeth, they’re on the grass too, and his left arm is broken, his COMP destroyed, the screen smeared with his blood.
I can feel his life force. He’s not dead yet, but he’s close, closer than when Jaws stabbed him.
And standing over Jeff is what appears to be a golem, over ten feet tall and made of clay like golems traditionally are, a big lumpy gingerbread man, splattered with Jeff’s blood, mostly on its fist.
I thought we’d face one of those sooner or later.
The tactics we used on our previous golem opponents won’t work here. Plant matter and fluffy corpses are a lot more flammable than clay is.
As the golem raises its massive fist to hit Jeff again, I know that this time, he won’t survive it.
WH--
The moment the golem swings its fist down like a hammer, I move to intercept, running too fast for the naked eye, my body briefly glowing with the silver aura of Mindless Mind, time seeming to slow to a crawl, and I thrust my hands up just in time.
--UD
I catch the golem's fist in my hands, pushing it back up, standing between the golem and Jeff, planting my feet, gritting my teeth.
“MAR!!! SIC ‘EM!!! I’LL GET JEFF!!!”
“WITE!!!”
Marley turns to steel, flying into the golem and knocking it back.
CLONG
“STAY DA FUK AWAY FWOM JEFF, ASS-HOWE!!!”
As Mar keeps that thing busy, I run over to Jeff, using my healing hands until he’s fully conscious.
“Cal…? You’re here…? Please don’t give me the kiss of life…”
I pull my Hermit Bean pouch out of my bag, bulging with fresh beans.
“Yeah, I’m here. Eat one of these, it’ll get you back to full health faster--”
CLONG
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
I turn, seeing that the golem has punched Marley out of the city, and is now stomping towards me, its intentions obvious: it wants to finish the job.
I grab Jeff and teleport out just as the golem gets close.
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I appear with Jeff back on the School’s lawn, letting go of him and pulling a Hermit Bean out of my pouch.
“Here, eat this quickly.”
I pop the bean in his mouth for him, he manages to chew and swallow it, and in seconds, he’s restored to 100%, his missing teeth regrowing, his bruises fading away, his broken arm unbroken, but his training suit still covered in blood, his COMP still ruined.
He sits up straight, feeling his teeth with his finger.
“Those things don’t taste very good, Cal. Did you have to give it to me raw?”
I can’t help but let out a weak chuckle, relieved that he’s not dead. He’s starting to grow on me, so I’m not going to address his accidental innuendo.
I wanna hug him, but I don’t know how he’ll take it.
“You’re not the first one to say something like that. Sorry, they lose their powers when they’re cooked. Are you okay, Jeff?”
He looks at his ruined COMP.
“Yeah… sucks that I lost all of my notes, though.”
“Your stuff’s all backed up, it’ll be right there when you get a new COMP.”
“Oh. Good.”
I help him to his feet, supporting him with my arm.
“Go inside and stay there for now, alright? Let me go deal with that golem.”
He shrugs.
“Well, my pride has already taken plenty of blows. Better you than me. I should probably go find Electra and tell her what just happened.”
As he stumbles to the front doors, I smirk at him.
“I think I know who made that golem. You’ll get what you need to pay him back for this.”
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I appear back outside Jeff’s house, looking around, but the golem is gone.
There’s still a big red stain on the grass, but the teeth that Jeff lost seem to be gone too.
Was it a golem that attacked Jeff, or the Tooth Fairy?
The Tooth Fairy wouldn’t resort to such barbaric methods, Niv.
That golem can’t have gotten far! It’ll be easier to find it from above, Cal!
Right. We’ve already got one big rocky problem to worry about. And plenty more that aren’t made of clay or volcanic rock.
I fly up, over the streets, scanning them carefully, but I can’t see the golem anywhere.
I think Dehak opened another portal, Cal. Okay, seriously, how can he do that? Probably with something that Claude guy stole from Eli, but I don’t know WHAT.
Add that to the list of mysteries we have to solve, Niv.
Marley flies over to me, back to flesh.
“Daddeh! Am Jeff otay?”
I smile at him.
“Safe and sound at the School. Did you see that golem leave? Are you okay?”
“Nu, Mawwey wand-ed owt-side da sitty. An Mawwey am fine, jus weawwy pist awf. Su whewe am da goh-wem?”
“Niv thinks Dehak portalled it out, Mar. But for some reason, I feel like Dehak already got what he wanted from this.”
On the magical side of the universe, in the New Temple of Darkness’ magical workshop, Lord Dehak looks down at a small pile of bloody teeth on a desk, next to the bust of Perenna, a cruel smile of victory on his rotten face.
His golem is standing a few feet away, next to the Hungry Rider, who is twirling his Key to Infinity on his bony finger.
“So, we got SOMETHING out of this whole thing, didn’t we?”
Dehak picks up one of the teeth, holding it between his finger and thumb as he examines it, like a jeweler looking at a diamond.
“Yes, now we can bypass Robinson’s scry protection. Neither he nor the boy can escape our sight anymore. And what’s more, we also have the solution to another of our ongoing problems. I think Darksyde Doyle has earned a place in the Octovirate. At least until we can break Umbra free, and remove that Mark of Justice you told me about.”
He puts the tooth back and picks the bust up, examining it too. He doesn’t care for the face on it, it’s what’s inside that softly glowing head that concerns him.
It’s made of illuminite, a mineral of Lumixian origin of which the only unusual property is its luminescence, but genuine illuminite sculptures can fetch a pretty penny. Victor learned how to carve illuminite from Xilane, the fourth member of the Trinity of Terra before Scarface briefly filled that role as Montana.
And Victor carved that bust not long after the Trinity of Terra (and Montana) visited the Eternal Gentlemen’s Club.
Dehak tilts the statue left and right, turning it around in his hands, but he can’t seem to find the secret button.
“How do you think it opens, Rider?”
The Rider shrugs, having put his Key away.
“Who gives a shit, Dehak?”
He points at the golem, standing perfectly still and waiting for its next orders.
“Just have Clay Boy open it for you. That Stone is pretty durable, right?”
Dehak nods, walking over to the golem with the bust in one hand.
“Yes, that will be faster.”
He presents the bust to the golem, holding it up with both hands.
“Break this open, but do not damage its contents.”
He taps the bust on the forehead.
“Said contents are probably in here.”
The golem obeys, taking the bust and grasping it firmly in both hands.
With how big its hands are, the bust can’t be seen anymore.
The golem squeezes the bust as hard as it can.
CRUNCH
When the golem opens its hands, a pile of illuminite chunks and dust falls to the floor.
And with them, a blood red stone falls to the floor too, landing in a pile of glowing dust.
Dehak swiftly snatches the red stone from the floor, holding it up, wiping it clean with a black rag he pulls out of his robe pocket, and smiling even more victoriously as the Rider fetches a broom to sweep the mess up.
“And there it is: the Philosopher’s Stone. We have the Stone, and we have an alchemist who knows how to use it.”
He chuckles.
“So now, our financial problems have been solved.”
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Me and Marley return to the School yet again, heading into the main building and navigating the hallways.
Val will be deploying some drones to monitor Jeff’s house and the surrounding area, and for the time being, I think it’s best that they stay here again.
We can get a guest room ready for them, and retrieve anything they need from their house, but they’ll be safer here, inside the School’s wards.
If we can find and destroy that golem, they can go home. I hope.
We already know where it’s gone. Back to Dehak, with those teeth it knocked out of Jeff’s mouth.
He needs Jeff’s teeth for the same reason he needed Cal’s hairs: for scrying. With a bit of the target’s body, he can bypass their scry protection. That’s called sympathetic magic.
Then why is DEHAK using it? He’s not really the sympathetic type.
That’s the same principle that poppets work on, isn’t it?
Yes, it is, but most people think they’re called voodoo dolls.
As we walk into the rec room, we find Jeff sitting on a couch with Electra, and Val and Kon’s fluffies.
Jeff’s changed into street clothes, his training suit presumably in the wash, his ugly sweater tied around his waist by the sleeves.
Electra looks equal parts scared and relieved, so I assume she knows what just happened to Jeff.
“Got Electra all up to speed, dude?”
Jeff nods.
“Just got to the part where you went to go deal with that golem. How’d it go?”
“Not as good as I hoped. The fucker is gone, and so are the teeth it knocked out of your mouth. So I’m gonna need you to give me your side of the story too, Jeff.”
I sit down on another couch, Marley hopping up to sit next to me.
“And please make it quick, because I need to go talk to a whole bunch of other people today. We just came back from a bad situation in Atlantic City when you got hurt, Vic’s got a situation of his own, and there’s still the San Francisco situation to deal with. God, I fucking hate today.”
Jeff sighs.
“Okay, let’s take it from the top…”
In a certain plane, ever so close to San Francisco now, Carnage is woken up from a nap when he detects the presence of someone else in the cargo hold.
Immediately, he’s on high alert, looking around, thinking that the airplane’s crew have finally entered the cargo hold to search for him.
He wouldn’t complain, he could do with a snack.
Carnage is startled when Darksyde Gladys emerges from a dark corner, but she holds up her hands.
“Be not afraid, Carnage. I am a fellow child of darkness, and I’m here to help you.”
She is one of Darksyde Doyle’s associates, another once ordinary person transformed into a servant of the Devourer. They and several other Darksydes have been working together on the Devourer’s behalf for years, they have worked with Vanessa and Umbra, and all of them serve Dehak now.
Carnage snarls at the hooded newcomer.
“HEWP Cawnage? How? Owt wif it, wady, bee-fowe Cawnage dee-side tu take a bite owtta yu, cuz Cawnage am pwetty hungwy wite nao.”
Darksyde Gladys chuckles.
“I regret to inform you that you have snuck aboard the wrong plane. Venom is no longer in San Francisco, and will not return there by the time you land.”
Carnage scowls furiously.
“Wut? Weawwy? Fow fuks sake! Su whewe AM dey, den?”
“You might be able to guess, but I’ll just say it: they’re currently in Cetteville, close to their fellow ChaotiX members. So I’m here to make sure you get where you need to be. My friends and I have been watching you for a while, and you and us share a mutual foe. Help us, and we can help you.”
Darksyde Gladys kneels down, reaching out with her pale hands.
“Would you mind if I carry you? It’ll be easier this way.”
Carnage shrugs.
“Fine, but nu make it tuu wong! Cawnage nu am a weak widdwe housie fwuffy, beggin fow upsies fwom hoomins.”
“It’ll only take a few moments.”
Darksyde Gladys picks Carnage up, stands up straight, and ducks back into the dark corner.
And like that, they’re gone.
Meanwhile, in Leo’s “magic school bus”, as Leo drives down the freeway again, Stephen finishes his recap of the events that lead up to him becoming a Klyntar host to the hippies who not only generously offered him a ride, but didn’t freak out and give him the boot when they learned about his other.
Stephen’s back in normal fluffy form, standing on a table and lapping up a bowl of apple juice as he talks. All of the talking was making him thirsty.
“…Su den we dee-side-ed tu gu fine Venom in San Fwan-siss-koh, su we cud ask dem fow hewp.”
Leo’s been keeping his eyes on the road as he drives, but he’s been listening to Stephen’s story too.
Like Tommy, Leo may have a tendency to get high behind the wheel, and he may have had a few close calls, but there has never been an actual crash.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, Leo scratches his chin, thinking it over.
“Y’know what I’m thinkin’, dudes and dudettes? I’m thinkin’ that we should make a detour to Cetteville. Venom’s in the ChaotiX, aren’t they? Pretty sure I heard about that somewhere. Maybe good old Cal Korkea can help us arrange a meeting. He’s a cool guy, he’ll hear us out, right? And weed’s legal there too!”
The other hippies all mumble various statements of agreement, and Leo smiles broadly.
“Then it’s settled! What do you think, Stephen?”
Stephen shifts to Klyntar form, leaps off the table, and scurries over to the front, climbing up onto the dashboard before reverting to normal form.
“Dat sown fine tu Stee-fen, mistah Wee-oh. If it wiww git us tu Venom fast-ew…”
“You’re lucky, ‘cause if we had waited ten minutes, we’d have missed the right turn.”
I step into the School’s meeting room with Marley, finding Pierre, Deston and Victor waiting for us.
I’ve got Jeff’s side of the story, but before I assume that I have to give these guys a recap…
“Can I assume that you had drones watching the Caesars in Atlantic City?”
They all nod, Pierre speaking up.
“We didn’t see the private show that you and Marley were given, but we heard everything.”
“And have there been any developments in the San Francisco situation?”
Deston shakes his head.
“None that we know of so far, Cal.”
“Good, at least our plans for that can go ahead interrupted. Unless something else happens today. God, this day feels like it’s been dragging on for a week. As for Jeff, he’s fine now, and he and Electra are gonna need another guest room. I think the one they used last time is free.”
I notice that Victor is scowling and angrily muttering to himself.
“I’m not even gonna bother to ask if you’re okay, Vic, because it’s clear that you’re not.”
His expression softens when he hears me say that.
“I don’t like this, Cal. Someone got in and out of my cabin, bypassed all of my security measures keeping trespassers out, and what’s worse, they’ve got the Philosopher’s Stone. What are they gonna use it for? And who even are they? Does Dehak have any buddies we don’t know about? Did he recruit a draak or something?”
Deston runs a hand through his hair, a look of concentration on his face.
“I may have a hunch, but we’re going to have to go through our old files, Victor.”
“Which old files, Des? Narrow it down for me.”
“The ones from our attempts to track Vanessa down. A few years before Cal crossed Threshold X, remember?”
Victor scowls again.
“How could I forget? It usually doesn’t take me that long to find someone. Wait, you’re not talking about that photo that was stuck to my back, are you?”
Pierre sighs, putting a silver hand to his forehead.
“I hope you’re not implying what I think you’re implying, Brother.”
I interrupt.
“Which photo? What is Des implying?”
Pierre takes the questions.
“Well, Cal, you know all about our past adventures as the Trinity of Terra now. You know that Vanessa was involved in the deaths of Quinton, Ellen, Mika and Felix, that she played a role in the tragedies you suffered as a child.”
Victor just can’t seem to stop scowling today.
“I’m still not sure she didn’t get Akka too.”
Pierre glances sideways at Victor for a moment.
“I’m not so sure myself, old friend. But as we told you, Cal, we suspected that Vanessa wasn’t working alone, that she had allies besides Bertrand. Even before she founded her Abuse Syndicate, she had friends in low places. The photo mentioned by Victor, one of the documents we acquired during our search for Vanessa, was of Vanessa herself, leaving one of her meetings with her friends. Fortunately, I have digital backups of all of those documents, so tracking that photo down will not be necessary.”
He waves a silver hand, projecting a hologram of said photo.
It’s grainy, black and white, and shows a woman with a veiled hat walking out of the back room of a bar, the door closing behind her. That must be Vanessa. Eddy said she wore a hat like that when she was manipulating him.
When Pierre waves his hand again, the photo’s brightness is dialed up, and I can make out the sliver of the room on the other side of the closing door behind Vanessa.
There’s a man in a hooded cloak in the room, his hood down, and most of his face can’t be seen, the door is blocking it, but I recognize half of a symbol on his forehead:
The mark of the Devourer.
Pierre waves his hand one more time, dismissing the hologram as he continues.
“Now I’m certain that those friends were using her. They only worked with her because she had the resources to help them carry out their plans, and was vengeful enough to work with them. And they must have abandoned her when she had done all she could do for them.”
Victor snaps his fingers, apparently having realized something.
“Pierre, didn’t you tell me after the Club fiasco that Eli told you that some guy in a hooded cloak told him where my cabin is, and delivered Eli’s invitation to me for him? You think that’s the same guy who stole the Stone, and was one of Vanessa’s old pals?”
Pierre nods, looking deeply ashamed.
“Yes, that is part of my suspicions. After we learned of Umbra’s connections to the Devourer, I realized something: someone had to have told Umbra about the Devourer, and it couldn’t have been Klaus or Hans. I should have told you my suspicions sooner, Cal. I’m sorry. Knowing what we know now, I have a horrible theory, and I’m hoping it’s not true.”
I wave off Pierre’s concerns, trying to reassure him.
“Doc, you can just tell me. I won’t be mad at you. You weren’t mad at me when I had Jack go back to the day your old house burned down.”
That seems to give him the strength he needs.
“Thank you, Cal, for being so understanding. Because my theory is…”
He takes a deep breath, and then drops yet another bomb on me.
“…that the people who were truly responsible for your childhood tragedies are still alive, and now they’re working for Dehak. Do you understand what this means, Cal?”
I nod, scowling just like Victor is doing.
“I do. Dehak has the Philosopher’s Stone now.”
In the white void, Pax stares at the television screens, not liking what he’s seeing at all anymore.
“Hmm. So not only is Venom no longer in San Francisco, neither Carnage nor his spawn are on their way there. It seems that the universe has thrown Calvin a bone. When he learns of this, he won’t have to go to San Francisco at all, meaning my threat has lost its power. But I can still expose him as the murderer he is, and I can still expose his friend’s dark secret… I’ll show him that it’s a bad idea to play his games with me. I’ll teach him manners. Restraint. Respect.”
Anti-Venom watches with her boss, a reluctant look on her slimy, toothy face.
“This means I’m going to Korkeaopolis, doesn’t it?”
Pax nods solemnly.
“I am afraid so, Michelle. But you don’t have to go there yet. We will simply adjust the plan, and wait until Carnage and spawn are both there. Don’t forget that the ChaotiX have at least two more Klyntar members upon whom you can test your blade. All-White will have plenty of Klyntar flesh to rend apart. And perhaps it is All-White that will end the menace of Calvin Korkea once and for all. Consorting with beings of darkness will be his undoing… unless, of course, he finally sees the light, and accepts that I am the universe’s best bet. You, my dear, will bring him to his knees.”
Michelle thinks about it before she replies.
“Do you… do you REALLY think I can beat him, Pax?”
Pax chuckles delightfully.
“I told you, Michelle. That obnoxious dark side of his draws strength from the Klyntar too. Twice now has Calvin tasted the dark power of the Klyntar race, and even today, that power flows through him.”
He looks at his hands, his skin just as pale as a Darksyde’s.
“I was so certain that the Seed of Light I implanted in Calvin would purge the darkness that tainted him. Why didn’t it work? That’s why my previous attempt to hijack Calvin’s power failed, I’m sure of it, and yet… I just don’t understand why it failed. How can the powers of light and darkness coexist like that?”
Anti-Venom hesitantly offers a suggestion.
“Maybe he was actually onto something? About the universe needing both?”
Pax immediately shakes his head, refusing to entertain the idea.
“Absolutely not. There isn’t room in the universe for me and the Devourer, Michelle. Light and darkness have been bitter enemies for eons, always chasing each other, going in circles… but the ancient war will end. And it will end with the Light of Peace shining down upon all.”
“I’m still not sure what that whole Light of Peace thing is about. What IS the Light of Peace, Pax? Or am I not at a high enough Level of the Peacemakers to know that?”
Pax chuckles again, this time with a mysterious twinkle in his eyes.
“Still you ask the wrong questions, Michelle.”
Anti-Venom groans in annoyance and frustration.
“So what are the RIGHT questions? Come on, Pax, meet me halfway here. Can you give me a hint or something?”
Leaning forward in his armchair, Pax steeples his fingers, gazing at Anti-Venom over his hands.
“I will tell you everything when you are ready, and you are not ready yet. You are close to being ready, but you’re not quite there. Prove your worth in the coming conflict, Michelle, and I promise you that you will be enlightened.”
“You’re assuming that Korkea won’t KILL me.”
“Oh, I may have a way to… even the odds.”
Just as me and Marley step out of the meeting room, I look at my COMP, seeing yet another incoming call.
This one is from Alex, and I quickly answer.
“Accept.”
When his balding ginger head appears on the screen, Val’s lab behind him, his expression looks extremely worried.
“Alex, please tell me there was just a lab accident or something, and someone there needs a Hermit Bean.”
He hesitates to answer.
“Cal… you’re not gonna like this, but… I was observing the Carnage tracking system with Sander, and… er… the dot that was on that plane suddenly moved.”
“Where?”
And then another fucking bomb is dropped on me.
“Here. He’s in Cetteville, Cal.”