The Final Victim
Jan 23, 2016 10:21:26 GMT -6
Post by Janobii on Jan 23, 2016 10:21:26 GMT -6
“What do you mean ‘no’?” His breaths came short and his ears were red. His broken eyes flashed with anger as they stared at the spirit before him. She quivered with fear, as she should. Everyone should fear him. He was powerful! He was more powerful than anyone else could ever imagine. They should all bow to him. They would one day. They would fear his name. He would be sure of that.
“Calm down, Madder. I just mean that I can’t do that for you.” Madeline looked to the side and tucked a hair behind her ear nervously. “It’s against the rules. Neither Death nor Life would approve of that.”
“Who? The one who killed you? The one who let you be killed? The ones that caused the death of your only son?” Madder spit. Madeline flinched back but hesitated to respond. It was true, Death had killed both she and Maddox, and Life had partially been the cause of the events. But it hadn’t been either of their faults. Maddox was an accident and Madeline had asked Death to kill her. Their deaths left no blood on Death’s hands. Life’s blame was debatable, but Madeline already knew how much Life regretted the incident, so she saw no reason to worsen that feeling.
“He did it because he loved us,” Madeline replied sternly, causing Madder to take a step back in surprise. “He cannot help the powers he was given and that does not change the kind soul he is. He tried to live with us and while it would have eventually happened, Death does not deserve the blame for something that was out of his control.” Madeline glared at Madder and said through her teeth, “And while Life’s guilt is something that can be debated, I do not intend to pin the incident on her. She regrets the whole ordeal like nothing else before. Those are the people they are, and I would not change them or the events that occurred for anything.”
Immediately, Madeline regretted not just disappearing and leaving Madder alone. His eyes burned with fury now, and he let out a low growl at Madeline. The current Madness Mage lunged for Madeline, his fingers wrapping around her throat. He tackled her to the ground and held her there. She would obey him. He would rule. They would fear him! She would be his first conquest. Madeline suddenly felt it. The madness waves. She had felt them only once before and she felt like throwing up as they beat against her again. Madeline closed her eyes and vanished, retreating to the Underworld.
Madeline stumbled through the gates into the Underworld and began to run to Elysium. Her breathing was uneven and her spirit shaken, but now was no time to stop to recover. She had to warn someone, anyone, about what had just happened. As Madeline entered the plains where the mortals souls roamed, a few turned and gasped at her. Madeline glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened in horror. A giant hand was chasing her, and gaining on her quick. She bit back bile as the waves beat against her again. It was Madder. He was forcibly summoning her! Madeline began to run faster, pushing people out of the way. No longer was she focused on informing someone on what was happening. She had to get out of here! She couldn’t go back!
“Death!” Madeline screamed as she turned towards his house. “Death!” she called again. Suddenly she fell to the ground, a root snagging her foot. Madeline tugged herself loose but it was too late. The large hand wrapped itself around Madeline and held fast as it lifted her. “DEATH!” Madeline screamed again before she was pulled through the doors of the Underworld again. Madder’s laughter echoed in Madeline’s ears as she ascended and she suddenly felt very sleepy. She fought to stay awake but slowly her eyes drooped and her body slumped in the hand’s clutches.
Madder watched as Madeline’s body reappeared in front of him. At first, she was limp, her eyes closed, as if she truly were dead, but then Madder snapped his fingers. Madeline sprung to life, her eyes wide and matching his insane look, a serial killer’s grin plastered on her face. She snickered and looked at Madder.
“Who’s our first victim? Someone must pay for all the evil done in the world, hm?”
“I completely agree, Madeline,” Madder replied, “Let’s teach this world what it means to be evil.”
***
“We have reports coming in from England. It appears another victim of this infamous “Jack the Ripper” has been found. This is the third woman to have been struck down so far. Police are still struggling to find a connection or a clue as to why this is happening and who could be behind it. If you have any information, please contact us as soon as possible.” Life looked up from the newspaper and sighed. Madder and Madeline had taken another life. And this was the only third confirmed life for the news. According to Death, it was actually over thirty at this point, all suffering the same way. Usually one of the mages would have been able to handle this by now, but Madder and Madeline had seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. No one knew where they were hiding or if they did, they weren’t telling. Not even Chronos was giving hints, saying he couldn’t risk it. This had to be stopped and soon.
Life stood up from where she was sitting and picked up her cloak. Well, they always did say that if you wanted something done you had to do it yourself. Life slipped the cloak on and walked down the long halls of Olympus. She reached the entrance and walked over to the large cloud mirror beside the door. She touched the side then spoke up,
“Olympus, London, England, Chapel Hill district.” There was a bright flash of light and when Life opened her eyes, she was in a back alleyway. Pulling up her hood, Life stepped out into the streets. It was night and it was dark, hard to see. The perfect time for the insane killers to strike. Life walked swiftly down the streets of London, searching for any signs of the two. Life paused after about twenty minutes and listened. She closed her eyes and focused. Just faintly she could hear the sound of running shoes. Life opened her eyes again and began to follow the sound.
The sound of running shoes led Life further into the dark streets of London. She could hear them getting louder, meaning she was growing closer to whomever was running. Life could only pray that it was the madness mages and not anyone else. Life slowed after a bit, the footsteps stopping too. There was a troubling silence followed by laughter that echoed quietly through the night. Life turned her head to the left. The alleyway, that’s where the laughter was coming from. Life drew her talwar and approached slowly. It was now more than ever that she wished Death was the one performing this exorcism but she couldn’t ask that of him. He hadn’t left the Underworld since he had found out Madeline was involved in this. It brought back too many memories for him. No matter, Life thought, she could handle this.
Life’s eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness in the alleyway. The sight made bile creep up in Life’s throat, but she forced herself to not vomit at the sight of the poor woman being carved open. Life’s grip on her talwar tightened as she moved soundlessly down the alley.
“Oh, Madeline, be careful, she might just bleed on you,” Madder teased. The two erupted into laughter and Madeline quickly said back,
“Maybe she’ll bleed a lot. Wouldn’t want that, now would we?” The laughter continued as Life approached. It wasn’t until she was mere feet away that both mages froze. Their heads snapped towards her simultaneously.
“Well, well, well…” Madder said, standing up. “Look who we have here. Madeline, your dear mother has finally come to visit. Or should we call her the world’s worst grandmother? No matter, she deserves to die nonetheless.”
“I agree,” Madeline replied. “No good mother comes armed to a meeting with their daughter now do they?” Life held out her talwar in front of her and narrowed her eyes.
“The person before me is not my daughter,” Life said. “My daughter would never do something like this. You are the persona of her powers abusing her body.” Laughter rang out in the alleyway again and Madeline approached Life, her scythe appearing in her hand.
“Do you believe that, Mother? Do you really? Because you are wrong. I am Madeline! I am the true face of your daughter. Horrifying, yes I know. But sometimes you just have to accept the truth. I did. Now you do.” Life’s talwar almost didn’t make it in time, its blade colliding with Madeline’s scythe. Madeline’s gleaming white grin shown in the dark as she stared at Life with eyes consumed with bloodlust. She began laugh and chant, “Mother, mother, mother, mother, mother…” repeatedly. Life’s head swam and she shook her head to clear it. Madeline was trying to influence her with madness, but Life wouldn’t allow her. This was not her daughter.
Life stepped back and dodged the next attack. Madeline’s grin fell into a frown and she charged for Life, swinging her scythe in a hard arc. Life sidestepped again and continued to dodge, watching Madeline’s actions for a pattern. After a moment, she caught it. Life spun out of the way and swung for Madeline’s back. The girl was caught off guard and slashed across the back. She growled as she collapsed, but could no longer move. Life turned her attention to Madder, who was standing at the end of the alley by the dead woman’s body. Life charged at Madder but he didn’t move, staring at Life with an unmoving stare. Life pointed her talwar out and prepared to stab Madder straight through. However, this is not what happened. Instead, Madeline jumped out in front of Life’s blade and let herself get stabbed through instead. Life recoiled in horror, dropping her talwar and stumbling back.
“Oh no, look what you’ve done,” Madder chastised. “You’ve gone and killed your own daughter. She was right about you. You are a horrible mother.” Madeline’s body collapsed on the ground and blood pooled out from the wound in her chest. Life stared in horror, no longer able to convince herself that wasn’t her daughter dead on the ground right now. Life stared at her hands and screamed, her body shaking. She put up no resistance as Madder grabbed hold of her. It was only when she felt a cloth forced over her mouth that Life began to resist. She struggled against Madder, trying to wriggle free. Madder put his mouth next to Life’s ear. “Tut tut tut. You’ve murdered your own daughter, Life. Someone like you deserves to be punished. Just breathe in and I’ll do that for you.” Life held her mouth shut, refusing to breath in with this cloth covering her. She knew better. This had a drug on it that would cause her to pass out. Suddenly a pain struck her in the chest and the air was forced from her lungs. Her body reacted instantly, sucking in air and the drug from the cloth. The world suddenly shifted, then everything went dark. The last thing Life heard was Madder’s laughter echoing in her ears.
***
The world was blurry. Very very blurry. Life opened her eyes barely then closed them again. It was too bright and blurry for her.
“Oh good, you're finally awake.” Life’s eyes opened again and focused on a figure standing next to her. Madder. He appeared to be cleaning something but it was too blurry to tell what. “You know, your little intrusion last night interrupted my plans. I can't kill as much now without Madeline. I still managed to make three other kills last night but you just ruined my mood. So I decided to do something better.” Life’s vision came into focus and she finally saw what Madder was up to. He was cleaning a machete. “I decided to make you my next victim,” Madder said with his signature serial killer smile.
A chill ran up Life’s spine. Next victim? No. He couldn't. He wouldn't! Life felt a cold breeze brush against her body and realized with horror that he would. Life began to struggle, but it was no use. She was naked and chained to a wooden table. She wasn't strong enough to force her way out and she couldn't teleport without her rings or key. Life laid back against the table and then tried to push up again, but it was no use. Madder began to laugh as he saw Life’s realization. She watched him with her bright green eyes as he walked around the table to another table filled with knives and torture tools of all kinds. Madder looked at Life, lifting the machete in the air, and said,
“I hope you enjoy this as much as I will.”
Screams echoed from inside the house for two straight days. Madder never stopped, continually carving into Life for as much time as he could. She constantly healed herself so he could use her as a true play too. He would carve and carve, designs swirling on her skin and organs piling up on the ground. By the end of the second day, Madder could see he had broken her. The life in her eyes had long since left.
“I'm back~” Madder said as he reentered the house. “Killed twenty more victims tonight. That's pretty good huh? I'm getting good at it to. You're providing great practice, my dear.” Madder traced Life’s chin with a dagger blade and he kissed her chin. “I appreciate your cooperation and I'm glad you're finally starting to have fun.” Life just stared at Madder in silence. Madder laughed. “Not much of a talker anymore are you? No matter. Your screams are more pleasing to me anyway.”
Madder walked over to the silver table and picked up a scalpel. . He held it up to the light and watched as it glimmered. Madder looked down and smiled at Life. He spun the scalpel between his fingers before driving it into her stomach. Life flinched but made no other move to display her pain. Madder dragged the scalpel through the thin skin that covered her stomach, carving an ornate heart there. When he was finished, Madder left the scalpel and grabbed a carver’s knife, using it to cut swirls into her legs. Madder continued to decorate Life was beautiful designs, cutting out one of her lungs and tossing it to the floor, joining the rotting organs from the past two days. His sick laughter filled the house and Life’s screams soon harmonized. It only stopped when there was a loud banging on the door.
“Madder, I know you’re in there. Don’t do this, Madder. You can fight whatever has taken over you. Just let Life go and then come with us, we can help you.” Madder frowned deeply. Fight it? Help him? Why would he ever think of doing such a thing?
“Well, Death, I believe when in a dilemma. See, I have no intention of fighting whatever has taken over me because this is the first time I have ever felt so alive. And Life here, well, she’s been a very good girl. She’s providing me very good practice for my real targets. I can’t just let her go, you know. Then who would I practice on?” Madder grabbed the scalpel in Life’s stomach and pushed it in further, causing Life to scream in agony. Madder then slowly pulled the scalpel out and laughed as he heard Death trying to break down the door. That fool! He would become Madder’s play toy too! Then he’d have two people to decorate! Oh how fun that would be!
Death lowered his shoulder and slammed into the door. He stepped back and repeated the action twice, three, four times. Death breathed hard and rubbed his shoulder. This door wasn’t coming down. There had to be some other way in. Death began to search for another way in when he heard Life scream and Madder’s laughter soon after. Fury burned within Death and his eyes narrowed.
“I’m coming, Life!” he yelled before charging into the door again. This time, the door gave. Death flew in, wood scattering across the floor. As the mage of death, Death had seen a lot of things, but nothing could have prepared him for this scene. Life was laying on a silver surgical table, her eyes dull and unfocused. Her entire body was cut open with various knives sticking out of various places, her knees, her neck, her chest. On the floor were a variety of organs that Death could only assume were Life’s given the large amount of them. And next to the table was Madder, the sick twisted fiend. His entire body was splashed with blood. He held a scalpel in his hand covered in Life’s blood and was currently licking it clean with the look of a serial killer on his eyes. Something inside Death snapped at that second. And Madder saw that. Madder’s face changed to an unnerved expression and he dropped the scalpel in surprise. Life’s eyes widened, a mixture of recognition and fear filling them as she watched Death’s skin peel off of him.
“N-Now Death, no need to get hasty here. I-It was just a joke you see,” Madder stuttered out. He took a step back but it was no use. No one could escape Death when he was like this.
“I gave you a chance, Madder, but after what I have seen, I can see that the only thing you deserve is death.” Before Madder could protest, Death shot his death bolts at the madness mage. Madder’s life was gone within an instant and his body collapsed on the ground. Life stared at Madder’s fallen body but showed no emotion about it. It was as if she were in another place, another time, somewhere where she couldn’t feel the pain her body was feeling.
Death walked over to Life, his body returning to its human form. He picked up the key from the surgical table and unlocked Life’s chains. He could see her physical wounds were already healing, but Death knew that her spell didn’t work on the unseen wounds. Death picked Life up into his arms and felt something wet on his shoulder. He looked down to see Life crying soundlessly. Death rubbed her back and grabbed Life’s belongings, wrapped her cloak around, then teleported to the Underworld. He walked to his house and placed her in one of the guest beds. Death pulled the covers over her and stood up, watching her for a second before turning away. As he reached the door, he heard a hoarse voice.
“Death?” Death looked back over his shoulder and saw Life staring at him. He nodded, acknowledging her. “Thank you,” she whispered in a voice that Death could not recognize as her own. Death nodded again then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Madeline was standing outside the room, watching Death with concerned eyes. She sniffled and Death noticed her eyes were filled with tears.
“Will Mom be all right?” Madeline asked quietly. Death looked back at the room and sighed a little.
“Her physical wounds will heal and she will live. That much I know for sure. But I’ve never seen that look in her eyes before,” Death admitted. “I think it would be best to just… not let Madder around her from now on. Or even mention him if at all possible.” Madeline nodded a little and wiped her eyes but the tears still returned.
“Do you think Mom will hate me for what happened?” Madeline asked. Death looked up at Madeline and put his hand on her shoulder. Death slowly shook his head.
“I doubt it. She’s not the type to hold something against a person. The only person she’s ever held a grudge against is me. And you weren’t in control of yourself at the time. I believe she knows that and knows that the person she stabbed was not her daughter.” Madeline sniffled again but nodded. She pulled Death into a tight hug and began to sob into his shoulder.
Madder had been defeated and while a tragedy, one of the worst mass killers in history had been stopped. A second Madness Mage had been killed and now it was time to find a third. But that left the one unspoken question in the air. If Madder’s snap had caused this, what could the next snap bring?
“Calm down, Madder. I just mean that I can’t do that for you.” Madeline looked to the side and tucked a hair behind her ear nervously. “It’s against the rules. Neither Death nor Life would approve of that.”
“Who? The one who killed you? The one who let you be killed? The ones that caused the death of your only son?” Madder spit. Madeline flinched back but hesitated to respond. It was true, Death had killed both she and Maddox, and Life had partially been the cause of the events. But it hadn’t been either of their faults. Maddox was an accident and Madeline had asked Death to kill her. Their deaths left no blood on Death’s hands. Life’s blame was debatable, but Madeline already knew how much Life regretted the incident, so she saw no reason to worsen that feeling.
“He did it because he loved us,” Madeline replied sternly, causing Madder to take a step back in surprise. “He cannot help the powers he was given and that does not change the kind soul he is. He tried to live with us and while it would have eventually happened, Death does not deserve the blame for something that was out of his control.” Madeline glared at Madder and said through her teeth, “And while Life’s guilt is something that can be debated, I do not intend to pin the incident on her. She regrets the whole ordeal like nothing else before. Those are the people they are, and I would not change them or the events that occurred for anything.”
Immediately, Madeline regretted not just disappearing and leaving Madder alone. His eyes burned with fury now, and he let out a low growl at Madeline. The current Madness Mage lunged for Madeline, his fingers wrapping around her throat. He tackled her to the ground and held her there. She would obey him. He would rule. They would fear him! She would be his first conquest. Madeline suddenly felt it. The madness waves. She had felt them only once before and she felt like throwing up as they beat against her again. Madeline closed her eyes and vanished, retreating to the Underworld.
Madeline stumbled through the gates into the Underworld and began to run to Elysium. Her breathing was uneven and her spirit shaken, but now was no time to stop to recover. She had to warn someone, anyone, about what had just happened. As Madeline entered the plains where the mortals souls roamed, a few turned and gasped at her. Madeline glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened in horror. A giant hand was chasing her, and gaining on her quick. She bit back bile as the waves beat against her again. It was Madder. He was forcibly summoning her! Madeline began to run faster, pushing people out of the way. No longer was she focused on informing someone on what was happening. She had to get out of here! She couldn’t go back!
“Death!” Madeline screamed as she turned towards his house. “Death!” she called again. Suddenly she fell to the ground, a root snagging her foot. Madeline tugged herself loose but it was too late. The large hand wrapped itself around Madeline and held fast as it lifted her. “DEATH!” Madeline screamed again before she was pulled through the doors of the Underworld again. Madder’s laughter echoed in Madeline’s ears as she ascended and she suddenly felt very sleepy. She fought to stay awake but slowly her eyes drooped and her body slumped in the hand’s clutches.
Madder watched as Madeline’s body reappeared in front of him. At first, she was limp, her eyes closed, as if she truly were dead, but then Madder snapped his fingers. Madeline sprung to life, her eyes wide and matching his insane look, a serial killer’s grin plastered on her face. She snickered and looked at Madder.
“Who’s our first victim? Someone must pay for all the evil done in the world, hm?”
“I completely agree, Madeline,” Madder replied, “Let’s teach this world what it means to be evil.”
***
“We have reports coming in from England. It appears another victim of this infamous “Jack the Ripper” has been found. This is the third woman to have been struck down so far. Police are still struggling to find a connection or a clue as to why this is happening and who could be behind it. If you have any information, please contact us as soon as possible.” Life looked up from the newspaper and sighed. Madder and Madeline had taken another life. And this was the only third confirmed life for the news. According to Death, it was actually over thirty at this point, all suffering the same way. Usually one of the mages would have been able to handle this by now, but Madder and Madeline had seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. No one knew where they were hiding or if they did, they weren’t telling. Not even Chronos was giving hints, saying he couldn’t risk it. This had to be stopped and soon.
Life stood up from where she was sitting and picked up her cloak. Well, they always did say that if you wanted something done you had to do it yourself. Life slipped the cloak on and walked down the long halls of Olympus. She reached the entrance and walked over to the large cloud mirror beside the door. She touched the side then spoke up,
“Olympus, London, England, Chapel Hill district.” There was a bright flash of light and when Life opened her eyes, she was in a back alleyway. Pulling up her hood, Life stepped out into the streets. It was night and it was dark, hard to see. The perfect time for the insane killers to strike. Life walked swiftly down the streets of London, searching for any signs of the two. Life paused after about twenty minutes and listened. She closed her eyes and focused. Just faintly she could hear the sound of running shoes. Life opened her eyes again and began to follow the sound.
The sound of running shoes led Life further into the dark streets of London. She could hear them getting louder, meaning she was growing closer to whomever was running. Life could only pray that it was the madness mages and not anyone else. Life slowed after a bit, the footsteps stopping too. There was a troubling silence followed by laughter that echoed quietly through the night. Life turned her head to the left. The alleyway, that’s where the laughter was coming from. Life drew her talwar and approached slowly. It was now more than ever that she wished Death was the one performing this exorcism but she couldn’t ask that of him. He hadn’t left the Underworld since he had found out Madeline was involved in this. It brought back too many memories for him. No matter, Life thought, she could handle this.
Life’s eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness in the alleyway. The sight made bile creep up in Life’s throat, but she forced herself to not vomit at the sight of the poor woman being carved open. Life’s grip on her talwar tightened as she moved soundlessly down the alley.
“Oh, Madeline, be careful, she might just bleed on you,” Madder teased. The two erupted into laughter and Madeline quickly said back,
“Maybe she’ll bleed a lot. Wouldn’t want that, now would we?” The laughter continued as Life approached. It wasn’t until she was mere feet away that both mages froze. Their heads snapped towards her simultaneously.
“Well, well, well…” Madder said, standing up. “Look who we have here. Madeline, your dear mother has finally come to visit. Or should we call her the world’s worst grandmother? No matter, she deserves to die nonetheless.”
“I agree,” Madeline replied. “No good mother comes armed to a meeting with their daughter now do they?” Life held out her talwar in front of her and narrowed her eyes.
“The person before me is not my daughter,” Life said. “My daughter would never do something like this. You are the persona of her powers abusing her body.” Laughter rang out in the alleyway again and Madeline approached Life, her scythe appearing in her hand.
“Do you believe that, Mother? Do you really? Because you are wrong. I am Madeline! I am the true face of your daughter. Horrifying, yes I know. But sometimes you just have to accept the truth. I did. Now you do.” Life’s talwar almost didn’t make it in time, its blade colliding with Madeline’s scythe. Madeline’s gleaming white grin shown in the dark as she stared at Life with eyes consumed with bloodlust. She began laugh and chant, “Mother, mother, mother, mother, mother…” repeatedly. Life’s head swam and she shook her head to clear it. Madeline was trying to influence her with madness, but Life wouldn’t allow her. This was not her daughter.
Life stepped back and dodged the next attack. Madeline’s grin fell into a frown and she charged for Life, swinging her scythe in a hard arc. Life sidestepped again and continued to dodge, watching Madeline’s actions for a pattern. After a moment, she caught it. Life spun out of the way and swung for Madeline’s back. The girl was caught off guard and slashed across the back. She growled as she collapsed, but could no longer move. Life turned her attention to Madder, who was standing at the end of the alley by the dead woman’s body. Life charged at Madder but he didn’t move, staring at Life with an unmoving stare. Life pointed her talwar out and prepared to stab Madder straight through. However, this is not what happened. Instead, Madeline jumped out in front of Life’s blade and let herself get stabbed through instead. Life recoiled in horror, dropping her talwar and stumbling back.
“Oh no, look what you’ve done,” Madder chastised. “You’ve gone and killed your own daughter. She was right about you. You are a horrible mother.” Madeline’s body collapsed on the ground and blood pooled out from the wound in her chest. Life stared in horror, no longer able to convince herself that wasn’t her daughter dead on the ground right now. Life stared at her hands and screamed, her body shaking. She put up no resistance as Madder grabbed hold of her. It was only when she felt a cloth forced over her mouth that Life began to resist. She struggled against Madder, trying to wriggle free. Madder put his mouth next to Life’s ear. “Tut tut tut. You’ve murdered your own daughter, Life. Someone like you deserves to be punished. Just breathe in and I’ll do that for you.” Life held her mouth shut, refusing to breath in with this cloth covering her. She knew better. This had a drug on it that would cause her to pass out. Suddenly a pain struck her in the chest and the air was forced from her lungs. Her body reacted instantly, sucking in air and the drug from the cloth. The world suddenly shifted, then everything went dark. The last thing Life heard was Madder’s laughter echoing in her ears.
***
The world was blurry. Very very blurry. Life opened her eyes barely then closed them again. It was too bright and blurry for her.
“Oh good, you're finally awake.” Life’s eyes opened again and focused on a figure standing next to her. Madder. He appeared to be cleaning something but it was too blurry to tell what. “You know, your little intrusion last night interrupted my plans. I can't kill as much now without Madeline. I still managed to make three other kills last night but you just ruined my mood. So I decided to do something better.” Life’s vision came into focus and she finally saw what Madder was up to. He was cleaning a machete. “I decided to make you my next victim,” Madder said with his signature serial killer smile.
A chill ran up Life’s spine. Next victim? No. He couldn't. He wouldn't! Life felt a cold breeze brush against her body and realized with horror that he would. Life began to struggle, but it was no use. She was naked and chained to a wooden table. She wasn't strong enough to force her way out and she couldn't teleport without her rings or key. Life laid back against the table and then tried to push up again, but it was no use. Madder began to laugh as he saw Life’s realization. She watched him with her bright green eyes as he walked around the table to another table filled with knives and torture tools of all kinds. Madder looked at Life, lifting the machete in the air, and said,
“I hope you enjoy this as much as I will.”
Screams echoed from inside the house for two straight days. Madder never stopped, continually carving into Life for as much time as he could. She constantly healed herself so he could use her as a true play too. He would carve and carve, designs swirling on her skin and organs piling up on the ground. By the end of the second day, Madder could see he had broken her. The life in her eyes had long since left.
“I'm back~” Madder said as he reentered the house. “Killed twenty more victims tonight. That's pretty good huh? I'm getting good at it to. You're providing great practice, my dear.” Madder traced Life’s chin with a dagger blade and he kissed her chin. “I appreciate your cooperation and I'm glad you're finally starting to have fun.” Life just stared at Madder in silence. Madder laughed. “Not much of a talker anymore are you? No matter. Your screams are more pleasing to me anyway.”
Madder walked over to the silver table and picked up a scalpel. . He held it up to the light and watched as it glimmered. Madder looked down and smiled at Life. He spun the scalpel between his fingers before driving it into her stomach. Life flinched but made no other move to display her pain. Madder dragged the scalpel through the thin skin that covered her stomach, carving an ornate heart there. When he was finished, Madder left the scalpel and grabbed a carver’s knife, using it to cut swirls into her legs. Madder continued to decorate Life was beautiful designs, cutting out one of her lungs and tossing it to the floor, joining the rotting organs from the past two days. His sick laughter filled the house and Life’s screams soon harmonized. It only stopped when there was a loud banging on the door.
“Madder, I know you’re in there. Don’t do this, Madder. You can fight whatever has taken over you. Just let Life go and then come with us, we can help you.” Madder frowned deeply. Fight it? Help him? Why would he ever think of doing such a thing?
“Well, Death, I believe when in a dilemma. See, I have no intention of fighting whatever has taken over me because this is the first time I have ever felt so alive. And Life here, well, she’s been a very good girl. She’s providing me very good practice for my real targets. I can’t just let her go, you know. Then who would I practice on?” Madder grabbed the scalpel in Life’s stomach and pushed it in further, causing Life to scream in agony. Madder then slowly pulled the scalpel out and laughed as he heard Death trying to break down the door. That fool! He would become Madder’s play toy too! Then he’d have two people to decorate! Oh how fun that would be!
Death lowered his shoulder and slammed into the door. He stepped back and repeated the action twice, three, four times. Death breathed hard and rubbed his shoulder. This door wasn’t coming down. There had to be some other way in. Death began to search for another way in when he heard Life scream and Madder’s laughter soon after. Fury burned within Death and his eyes narrowed.
“I’m coming, Life!” he yelled before charging into the door again. This time, the door gave. Death flew in, wood scattering across the floor. As the mage of death, Death had seen a lot of things, but nothing could have prepared him for this scene. Life was laying on a silver surgical table, her eyes dull and unfocused. Her entire body was cut open with various knives sticking out of various places, her knees, her neck, her chest. On the floor were a variety of organs that Death could only assume were Life’s given the large amount of them. And next to the table was Madder, the sick twisted fiend. His entire body was splashed with blood. He held a scalpel in his hand covered in Life’s blood and was currently licking it clean with the look of a serial killer on his eyes. Something inside Death snapped at that second. And Madder saw that. Madder’s face changed to an unnerved expression and he dropped the scalpel in surprise. Life’s eyes widened, a mixture of recognition and fear filling them as she watched Death’s skin peel off of him.
“N-Now Death, no need to get hasty here. I-It was just a joke you see,” Madder stuttered out. He took a step back but it was no use. No one could escape Death when he was like this.
“I gave you a chance, Madder, but after what I have seen, I can see that the only thing you deserve is death.” Before Madder could protest, Death shot his death bolts at the madness mage. Madder’s life was gone within an instant and his body collapsed on the ground. Life stared at Madder’s fallen body but showed no emotion about it. It was as if she were in another place, another time, somewhere where she couldn’t feel the pain her body was feeling.
Death walked over to Life, his body returning to its human form. He picked up the key from the surgical table and unlocked Life’s chains. He could see her physical wounds were already healing, but Death knew that her spell didn’t work on the unseen wounds. Death picked Life up into his arms and felt something wet on his shoulder. He looked down to see Life crying soundlessly. Death rubbed her back and grabbed Life’s belongings, wrapped her cloak around, then teleported to the Underworld. He walked to his house and placed her in one of the guest beds. Death pulled the covers over her and stood up, watching her for a second before turning away. As he reached the door, he heard a hoarse voice.
“Death?” Death looked back over his shoulder and saw Life staring at him. He nodded, acknowledging her. “Thank you,” she whispered in a voice that Death could not recognize as her own. Death nodded again then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Madeline was standing outside the room, watching Death with concerned eyes. She sniffled and Death noticed her eyes were filled with tears.
“Will Mom be all right?” Madeline asked quietly. Death looked back at the room and sighed a little.
“Her physical wounds will heal and she will live. That much I know for sure. But I’ve never seen that look in her eyes before,” Death admitted. “I think it would be best to just… not let Madder around her from now on. Or even mention him if at all possible.” Madeline nodded a little and wiped her eyes but the tears still returned.
“Do you think Mom will hate me for what happened?” Madeline asked. Death looked up at Madeline and put his hand on her shoulder. Death slowly shook his head.
“I doubt it. She’s not the type to hold something against a person. The only person she’s ever held a grudge against is me. And you weren’t in control of yourself at the time. I believe she knows that and knows that the person she stabbed was not her daughter.” Madeline sniffled again but nodded. She pulled Death into a tight hug and began to sob into his shoulder.
Madder had been defeated and while a tragedy, one of the worst mass killers in history had been stopped. A second Madness Mage had been killed and now it was time to find a third. But that left the one unspoken question in the air. If Madder’s snap had caused this, what could the next snap bring?