In The Dark
7/4/1948, Blue Harbour, Maine
The Petersons and the Atlanteans had been working on the car with everything that they were gonna need when the Prince looked towards them, “Okay, so are we all ready?” he asked and hearing that, the kids all started to laugh towards that before they saw that there was something which made the man curious, “What the Hell is this?” he asked, making the group look.
It was a strange mask which made the group all confused, “I had no idea–” “Oh, I got that for Samoh.” Nammu said towards them and hearing that, Namor looked towards her with confusion, “Are you kidding? I thought that–” he began to say before noticing that there was a shadow that looked like it was moving, making him blink in confusion before shaking his head.
“Are you alright, Namor?” Randal asked the Atlantean, thinking that it was another headache, “No… I have no idea, I just saw something–” he began to say before there was a shadow that wrapped around his leg in annoyance, looking towards it before he was dragged away, “Someone call Monako! I have his number in my–!” he started to say before he had been dragged into the shadows.
Seeing that, they were all shocked, unsure about what was going on before the group all looked, “What happened to Uncle Namor?” Nay asked and hearing that, They had no real answer for that except to start heading inside towards their own home as fast as they could, trying to find the number that was talked about before Randal saw it and began to call the strange man.
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7/4/1948, Monako’s Residence, The Bar with No Doors
Monako, The Prince of Magic was looking over his latest reports before he saw that there was a ringing of the phone, making the man walk over as Pere Kauraka continued to clean the bottle downstairs, “This is Monako, The Prince of Magic, how can I assist you?” he asked and hearing that, the person on the other end spoke, “Namor had been kidnapped by a shadow! We need him back!”
That made Monako curious as he stood up straighter, “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that?” he asked of them, “A. Shadow. Stole. Namor. Please. Get. Him. Back!” The man on the other end being replaced by a woman who seemed VERY angry, “I’ll be there in only a moment.” he said to the people on the other end before hanging up, looking to Pere, it looks like we’ve got a new case, Pere!”
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7/4/1948, Peterson Residence, Blue Harbour
The family had been placing around with some worry and anticipation when there was a knocking on the door, making the group look towards it as Nay ran forward and opened the door, “Uncle Namor?!” she asked, but instead it was Monako who walked through, the a bar on the other end which should be a backyard as he tipped his tophat towards them, “Hello there, I am Monako, The Prince of Magic.” he said.
“I may not be The Sorcerer Supreme, but I am more than capable of finding your friend.” he told them, making the group look with some hesitance before Nammu spoke, “He was taken by a shadow when we were packing to prepare for the Fireworks, all he said was to call you, so we did so.” She told the man who pulled out an amulet that looked like a monocle which he looked through.
“Blimey, there is Darkforce energy everywhere! What, did your Prince touch The Void?” he asked them, making the group look towards each other, “He touched The Void?” Monako said, “Then we need to hurry, because I fear that Umbravores have targeted your friend, and if we aren’t careful, than that means that The Devourer will be getting closer to coming here.
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7/4/1948, Tree of Shadows, The Darkforce Dimension
The man looked around and saw that there was something that was looked towards him with a smile, “Shadows… shadows that are shadows of shadows.” the woman said, looking human once moment and then some sort of demon which was laughing and leaping towards him, going and starting to kiss him deeply which made the Atlantean confused as she went to bit his lip.
He pushed her off as the woman smiled, “You may call me Shriek.” she said towards him, “And you will be a beautiful mean for The Devourer.” she said towards him, cackling as she said this, “And then he will allow me to be reincarnated into The Human Dimension!” she said with glee which made Namor confused, “You want to go to Earth?” he asked of her.
“Of course! It’s so bright and delicious and chaotic and full of so so much pain and disgusting violence that it is a salivating full course meal that ANYONE would want to devour.” the demon said, appearing more and more monstrous as Shriek went and leapt towards him, her nails becoming claws as she started to claw through the flesh, but Namor was not going to go down.
He went and started to punch her in the face, but instead of blood, she had bled shadows instead which made the man confused as some of them started to try and enter his body, but the man was not going to allow the beast to try and murder him, “I’m thinking that Frances would be a nice name! Don’t you?” she asked and hearing that, the Atlantean got angrier.
He went to grab at the shadows and realized that there was the ability to hold and feeling the shadows, the action ws insane as he snapped them, making the demon chuckle before she went and grabbed at a branch there, but before she could snap it off, the tree started to shriek, making the demon leap off the tree and appear to be floating in the void now, “Have fun!”
That made the Atlantean confused before he saw that the wood started to rise up, beginning to try and bend around him, wrap around the man, but he followed suit like the demon, at least before he saw that there were demons that were trying to attack him, looking like some sort of strange breed of raptor that was trying to attack him, but Namor was not going to die that easily.
He punched on and then used their claws to cut through the wood there, seeing he had gotten out, Namor used his wings and flapped as quickly as possible, going and starting to get into the void and as he did so, the demons in the tree and the one that talked were all glaring towards him, making The Atlantean think before he went and flown towards another place away from them to try and survive.
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7/4/1948, Peterson Residence, Blue Harbour
“I don’t understand, what’s a Darkforce?” Nammu asked, thinking it was like that void that had stolen Namor, “Think of it… Imagine that there is a source of all shadow and light.” the man said towards the two of them, “And in those sources, beings made up of either shadow and light exist, the Darkforce Dimension, the one that Namor had been taken to, it’s the most frequently visited.” he explained.
“The problem is that there are predators, monsters that have been sentenced there or attempted to destroy everything hidden there, so we need to hurry and hurry with the correct weapons.” he said towards them, going to the door and knocking a strange pattern onto it, the group were confused before they saw that there was Pere who looked towards him.
“Yes, Mister Monako?” he asked, “I need that dagger from the Lightforce Dimension, we need the tool to enter The Darkforce Dimension.” he said and hearing that, the human nodded, closing the door for a moment, making them confused as the man looked towards the door as it opened up again, allowing Pere to come in, “Here you are, my old friend.” he said to Monako.
Looking towards the item, they saw that it was a glowing white blade that seemed to be a star that could be held, “I will be back post haste–” “I’m going with you.” Nammu said towards him, making the man look towards the Atlantean, “You’re going to need all the help you’ll need.” she said and hearing that, he nodded towards her, “Fine then, but we’ll need to stay connected.” he told her.
The man made a small prayer, forming a thread of energy between them, “This will keep us together to ensure that we do not get separated.” he promised before heading towards a shadowy corner, “Now, to the Darkforce Dimension once more.” Monako said towards Nammu, stabbing the Lightforce Dagger into the shadow, almost making it scream as a portal opened for them both to walk through.
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7/4/1948, The Null Space Border, The Darkforce Dimension
Namor had escaped from the area and looking around, relieved, he realized that there was a change that seemed to be around him, the area he was in was like a crimson red space with no gravity or any sort of directions, but there was something else just a bit across which made him confused when a voice spoke, “I wouldn’t go there if I were you!” The Demon shouted.
“The Null Space is safe compared to there! The Ink Sea is full of predators that make me look like a lightling!” The Demon that he was calling Frances said in his head, but as Namor saw how scared she was of the place, he decided that it was the perfect place for him as he turned, “Then I will take my chances with them!” he shouted, going to enter the other space and as he did so, something changed.
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7/4/1948, The Tree of Shadows, Null Space
The two of them arrived in the Darkforce Dimension and the moment that they did so, the woman started to shake, “Why is it so cold here?” Nammu had asked of the magician who started to create something else, “This is the place of all light, of all warmth, cold here is the natural temperature for all.” he said towards the woman as some sort of compass appeared.
“We will follow this and we will be able to find him with ease hopefully.” the man explained towards them and hearing that, Nammu tried to swim closer to the man and as she did so, the woman saw that there were demons crawling over the tree but there was also something that was black and white, looking human one moment then something else which made the two of them cautious.
“Hi there! Are you looking for Namor? Because I have dibs on tearing him to pieces!” The Demon said before noticing the knife that Monako held, “Ooh! Lightforce! Can I have that?” the Demon asked before lunging forward, but Nammu was able to get behind her and put the demon into a full nelson while Monako aimed the knife at her face, “Tell us where he went. NOW.” he ordered.
“Easy! He went into The Ink Sea!” the demon said towards them as her body started to pulse and change before she slipped out of Nammu’s hands, “I can feed him to The Devourer another time! He’s been stained!” the thing said before going to leave them to what they were doing, “What did that thing mean by Stained?” Nammu asked of Monako as he started to look around.
“To be stained… it’s like when a predator marks you as prey when hunting you down.” he said towards Nammu, “And if he’s been stained that something like THAT is hunting him, and if he headed to The Ink Sea, then we need to get out of here as soon as possible.” He warned, making a small chant that formed a stream of light to come in and point in a direction, “We have our direction!” he said as both went to find Namor.
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7/4/1948, The Ink Sea, The Darkforce Dimension
Namor looked around, something was following him, but that wasn’t what was important, what was important was the fact that he escaped from the demon, but there had to be a way out of this place, heading towards one of the stones that were set up like a outcrop which he hid in, not seeing anything inside as he checked himself for any wounds, but there was a noise.
Pausing at his checkout on his wounds, the Atlantean looked towards the source of the… was that a growl? A rumble? He had no idea what it was, but he knew that there was a beast below, it looked like a squid head had been attached to a large beast that seemed to notice him, making the beast start to rise up, revealing that there was more mass than should be possible as it opened its maw.
From it there seemed to be a legion of screaming writhing phantoms of flesh that started to crawl out, connected like tongues as they tried to grab at him, but Namor was already on the move when he saw that the Eye turned to look at him, heading up and away from the beast, trying to get back to The Null Space and as he tried to head back towards The Tree.
He knew that the demons were there, but they were also less dangerous than this as he saw that there was a light, the light made him confused before he saw that there were two people who were coming towards him and as he got closer, Namor saw that the two people that had been coming in and realized that it was Nammu and Monako who hadn’t been there in a while now.
“Namor–!” “We need to leave, NOW!” The Prince shouted towards them, making Monako look towards the beast, “You go big, don’t you?!” Monako asked of the Prince as Nammu looked to Monako, “Wait, shouldn’t you be able to–?” “This is the equivalent of a bug bite to that bloody thing! We need to leave!” Monako shouted towards them which made Namor and Nammu worried.
They both got close as he started to chant something arcane, something that was making a crack in the fabric of this reality before The Magician went and stabbed the Lightforce Dagger into the center of the fracture, making it carve open a space for them, “Come on! We need to run as fast as possible away from that thing”! Monako shouted, making the two go to follow after.
One of the tongues grabbed onto the ankle of Namor, making him turn scared, “Please don’t leave me!” the beast pleaded towards him, the man knew that thesis was a lie and he was not going to allow himself, spooked, he went and kicked it off before starting to vanish, this was a place of shadows and beasts, and he was more than happy to get away from there.
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7/4/1948, Blue Harbour, Maine
The group fell down onto a beach, all of them panting as Monako looked towards the two of them, “How the Bloody Hell had you gotten stained by a Darkforce Demon?!” he asked Namor who only fell down, trying to keep himself awake, “If I knew this, than I wouldn’t have left the stain there.” he snapped, the three of them glaring towards each before they started to laugh, glad for the newfound freedom of their.
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7/4/1948, Peterson Residence, Blue Harbour
The three of them walked up and as they did so, the Peterson Family had noticed the trio, making Nay get up and run towards them, “Namor! Nammu!” she shouted out with a grin, going and starting to give the full force that would have made anyone else grunt in pain at the least as Namor chuckled, “I’m glad that we were able to return… Nay.” Namor told the girl.
She grinned wider towards that as Monako pulled out a necklace from around his own neck, “Here.” he said towards Namor, tossing the necklace with he took, “Keep that on your person, it’ll hide your stain.” he promised towards the Atlantean and hearing that, he was surprised, seeing that it looked like a coin that had some sort of star carved into it, “Thank you.” he said with a bow to the man.
“If you ever need ANYTHING, let me know.” Namor promised towards Monako and hearing that, the man nodded, “Of course, now if you need me, I need to go and prepare my payment.” Monako told them, going to knock on the door like before, the moment he did so, the door opened up one more and the same bar was there, but the man, Pere, he now had a rabbit with him.
That made the group confused by that as the door closed, Namor took one last look before he put on the necklace, the shadows seemed to recede back into themselves, they were gone, and it made him a bit relieved, but there was something else that he looked towards, it was a letter that had been sent from the West Coast, curious, he went to open it up.
“Jesus, what’ve I been missing?” he asked, making the Petersons and Nammu look, seeing that it was from Bobo who told them that something strange had popped up, it was some sort of static that showed up something… something strange, looking almost like there was something that was trying to come in, and it made the Atlantean worry about that, “It looks like I’m going to see Bobo.” he told them.
“Can I come?” Nay asked, making the man smile, “I’ll have to see if it IS safe.” he promised towards her, “But if it is, then I don’t see the harm in you joining.” he said, Nammu and The Petersons in agreement, making the girl smile wider towards that, “REALLY?” She asked with a smile, going to hug him tighter than before, the girl excited for that while Randal went to read the letter.
As he did so, the man skimming through everything that had been stated, he gave a look towards them, “If we are going to go to Long Beach, I think that we should at least be prepared for anything that might be coming out, don’t you?” he asked of them and hearing that, Namor nodded, “Don’t worry, we’ll be more than ready for whatever it may be.” The Prince promised.
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7/4/1948, Kendal Residence, New Canaan
Cass was looking over everything for their vacation, smiling at the sight of everything that she was preparing to bring there and as she did so, Liz had entered the room and saw how she was so excited, “Wow, I haven’t been there in years and you’re more excited than me.” she told the girl and hearing that, Cass smiled towards her even brighter, “Of course! It’s where you met Bobo and Namor The Sub–Mariner!”
That made Liz get a bit nostalgic before she looked towards her, “If we’re lucky, than my old friend Sandy will be there with us.” she said towards her, making Cass curious, “Whose Sandy?” she asked her, making Liz smile, “Sandy was an old friend of mine back when I was young.” she explained towards her, having gotten an old picture in case she asked about her.
“She went to live in Atlantis with Namor and Nammu… I think she’s okay now, but I never got any updates.” Liz said, worried for the woman before taking a breath and smiling, “But hopefully, if we see Bobo, there’ll be an update.” she told her and hearing that, Cass got curious and a bit excited at what she was going to see there, all she DID know was that it was going to be an adventure.
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7/4/1948, Bobo’s Home, Long Beach
Bobo had been at work, trying to make sure that everything was fine before he noticed that there was something which made the man sigh, it was another bit of static, making him look and see that there was something there, something which was making him sigh as he readied his rifle, going and aiming towards whatever this beast was and seeing that there was a more humanoid one than before.
The being seemed to be screaming, their body starting to morph and then change before it seemed to be an animal, then back and then a monster once more, making the Atlantean confused by the sight before he noticed that there was something which seemed to look towards him, “HELP ME!” The person shouted towards him, “My name is Sybil Simon and I need to–!” she started to say.
But it was too late, the static seemed to break down then make her vanish, but this woman, this person named Sybil had disappeared, “So she has a name, good to know.” Bobo thought, he had no idea if the woman was a victim or some sort of danger, but what he DID know, was that whatever happened to her was dangerous, and he was most likely going to have to deal with it eventually.