Xxv.h: Destroyer,guess This Was Partially Why I Liked The Imp Versatility. Yeah! No Totally. I Had Become

xxv.h: Destroyer, guess this was partially why I liked The Imp … versatility. Yeah! No totally. I had become … flustered. “*Popcorn popping* Well … isn't this unexpected” I know … that I don't have to become … me … again. I just … *sigh* I can't help feel that I could do more of what I want, and be more for everyone else, if I could reconstruct myself. I … know … but still Really! … appreciate you saying what you said, nice to hear regardless of my current progress, at least you approve, I'll keep that in mind, thanks. *I flip my hand as to connect palms and hold her hand tightly, then let go* I get up and grab both of our now empty plates, I walk to the kitchen and wash the plates immediately. “Of Course! … you're always welcome here … speaking of … I'd like it if … you were to stay here, with me. At least while you're you know … fighting this fight” Oh! “You don't have anywhere else to stay really right?? So why not here, a base of operations of sorts, Me … You … and Ein!” *I giggle* Y-yeah … I think that's probably for the best honestly. “PERFECT! Yeah … of course it's the best, I mean look who you're talking to!” Yeah yeah. I finish washing the plates. “It's getting late … think I'm gonna head in ok?” Yeah for sure, I'll stay up a little longer then, probably crash on the couch, that way I can watch over Ein as well. “Yeah ok! … you could … sleep with ... ” She paused for a good second. “I'll get your blankets and a pillow!” She rushed into her room and out came with such. I take them and set them up on the couch, I settle in and cradle Ein in my hands as he rests on my chest. The Imp walked over to be, pet Ein's head as he purred and said “Well … Aren't you cute” *She said ... smiling big.* Yeah … I was born that way. *She stops petting him and proceeds to flick my forehead* “Quiet you … good night. If you need anything, just ask” Got it … and Night! *She waves* walks into her room and shuts the door. I lay there, resting with Ein, and feel … somewhat at home … like I was kind of living in the past for a moment, in a good way. I felt calm and collected. I felt … “Confident.” I close my eyes … and soon … black.

01010011 01100101 01110010 01100101 01101110 01101001 01110100 01111001

xxv.e: Destroyer, just general voices that were chatting away in the background, things being said such as ... “Fuck … is this where we are in life?” “I think this is good, I think if we hold strong, and keep to this good path, we can prove our strength and individuality.” “Think they care? … You must be huffin exhaust street rat! … haha, yea ... ain't no one in this head seein that silver jubilee pal.” “Still? There has to be a more efficient way to connect … maybe a gray path of Naughty and Nice?” “I should see meine oma, she's still healthy and not going anywhere, but sooner than later … that'll change.” “Lookin' for me? *He Coughs Blood* … ha … we both know that's a little too late now.” “Remember when we used to steal cucumbers from the neighbor's garden? Take them to the pink playhouse and pretend to cook, chopping them up with a knife we stole from the kitchen.” “YOU'RE GOING OVER THE LIMIT … Stop NOW … or you'll kill yourself.” “*Sounds of a Mourning Doves Coo*” “come on, Come On, COME!!! … ON!!! … Pull that Fuckin! Trigger! … I know you wanna thrash and thrill a little, dance with danger … so just … pull my devil trigger.” “ … in a strange time in my life … “ I snap from it, realizing I hadn't really washed that much … more so stood and glared at the drain while the hot water ran down my head, down my body, and just kind of fucking zoned out. I finish up and hop out, dry myself off, and put on the aforementioned “Old Shorts” … they were of my old school gym uniform, all white shorts with a red stripe on each outer side of the legs stretching vertically from top of the waste band to bottom of the seam, the shorts themselves rode just above the knees and were flexibly tight fitted but comfortable. I walk out, shirtless as there was no shirt to wear (As if it were planned that way) to The Imp strung across her fluffy white couch, laying down on her back, under a thin but also fluffy black and purple checkered blanket with her tablet in front of her face … I walk over and ask, Where's Ein? It was then she moved the table from out away from in front of her to reveal, a very sleepy and cuddled-up Ein, nestled on her upper chest closer to her neck, covered slightly in the blanket. *light gasp* I cannot believe what I'm seeing … You! … taking care of something without killing it? … astonishing, truly. “Shut up … feel lucky I like him more than I do you, and I don't turn him over to the vet immediately.” Well … aren't you grouchy all of a sudden “HE'S Supposed! … ” *she goes to a whisper* “He's supposed to eat/drink milk and a special type of formula since he's so young” Shit … well ok, did it say anywhere to get it? Pet store? or … straight to a vet? “Said a pet store typically sells the formula” *She gets up slowly, putting Ein down on the couch wrapped in the blanket* “You go get the formula, looks like this, I'll stay here to watch over him, and get dinner started … as well think over some things we need to discuss, understand?” Yeah … got it. “Good” *She goes in and gives me an unexpected deep hug* “I was scared you weren't gonna be able to make it this far, sorry to doubt you, I just worry … glad you're here.” I felt my heart beat hard and fast for a second … as if I had lost what it had felt like to hear someone say those words. *I go to hold her, wrapping my arms around her* yeah … thanks … Imp. I could feel her heartbeat, she was so close, she was so … light. We let go and I set off, taking about an hour, I returned with two bags full of formula and a little adjustable red collar, with a silver dog tag attached that had engraved, Ein, stretched vertically down the tag. I lay everything down on the counter, trying not to take up so much space. “Find the formula?” She said while sautéing something in a sauté pan, Yeah! “Good, because he woke up … and he is … Hangry!” I grabbed a formula bag with its helpful little bottle design, pick up Ein on the couch, and watch as he devoured one whole bag, then watched as he sneezed, burped, and hiccupped all at the same time ... [To Be Continued]

xxvi.g: Son of Salem, that drug lord has signed his death warrant *Bzzz* I can’t believe … I can’t believe I’m alive … the trash must have broken my fall, why didn’t they come and check if I was dead? What kind of lackluster effort was this shit? *Bzzz* I try to move … It sends shooting pain all across my body, it felt like I was wrapped in a web of pain for a mere second … *Bzzz* Come On!! Please!!!!! You have to pick up … I need you more now than ever *Bzzz* My face … goes dead in shock … my chest starts to sink, eyes start to dim with … fear. *Bzzz* No … no … please not now. *Bzzz* ... ... ... “you have reached the voice mailbox of … ” *click* I end the call. … … … I sink into the trash and water … looking up at the clouds as the rain falls and hits my face now like little missiles, for the rain picks up in intensity slightly. My jaw … starts to shake … my eyes start to fill with water, not brought by the rain … that sinking feeling now is so heavy, it might as well have been an elephant sitting on my chest. I start to weep … then cry … then let it all out as if no one could hear nor see my pains. I think to myself, now as tears run like rapids down my face. Oh … so this was the grand setup, wasn’t it? This was the oh-so-awaited karma payout that was waiting for me, this was the feather that broke the camel's back … is this really what I deserve? Is it my fault something like this did happen? Did my luck finally run dry? Was I careless … was I not accommodating … I was always told I was robotic in nature, always trying to figure out others … but was this the punishment that I deserved? To be left here in a canal surrounded by trash and dirty rainwater … to die now? Of all times why now? … My stress … and heartache … overwhelmed me and triggered the ill-fated passenger that had haunted me from birth … Cataplexy … I pass out. … … … It was strange, although I slept … I had never felt closer to that beating heartbeat that I strayed away from for so long, my entire life. I could feel it … it wept … it cried … I could feel as its warmth engulfed me in this empty space of abyss. I awake … I hear … footsteps trenching through the water … then I hear what sounds like someone dancing in and kicking the water around … then I hear … laughter. “HAHAHAHAHAAAAA” That voice … sounded familiar, but I could not pin it. The footsteps grow closer and closer until … Scarlet Red horns peak from the outside of my vision in … slowly … then white, ashen hair *BOOM* lightning can be heard. Then a forehead then eyebrows then … golden framed, red-tinted, glowing in crimson circular glassed, glasses. A shiver gets sent through my entire body. Then a nose then a … then a … devilish grin … then the fuller picture. “Why … hello there … having some issues?” He giggles under his breath in a dark and evil way. My eyes widen … my heart stops … my past faces me. No. I said with great struggle and fear. He removes the glasses to reveal, glowing pinkish-red eyes. He tucks them away in his pocket. “What!? Hahahaaaa … not happy to see me?” I struggle but try and move again … I jolt around but my legs still refuse to move. He laughs again, this time louder. “Well look at that!!!!! … all these years you’ve been runnin … and all it took was for you to break those little legs of yours for us to finally sit down and talk! … if I would have known that sooner, I would have wished for a bus to flatten you.” NO!!!! NO!! Stay the FUCK away from me. I struggle and struggle some more … then … I stop almost completely as if I were frozen. “Aww … what? … scared?” The man that stood above me … the devil … the careless, the heartless, and the damned. The last shard I wanted to face … was … The Son of Salem. *BOOM* Dressed in a white tight-fitted dress shirt, tucked into black jeans, while wearing a black tie, and black boots. Why now!? How’d you find me? “Oh dearest old friend … why not now? How could I Not! find you … you glow like a Fucking disco ball when hurt … it’s like a damn neon sign that says … HELP ME” No that’s NOT TRUE ... [To Be Continued]

xxiv.e: Recompile, I slowly pet him while he nibbles and chows down … he started to pur … the world felt … better. I said, well … guess it's Me, Hope … and now You little buddy … we got lots to do, I don't even really have a full plan worked out yet but … I promise to think of something. He looked up at me while open-mouth smacking and winked … Haha, got it buddy … What should I call you? He kept eating, not batting an eye … hmm … maybe … Case? Nah … unless you're capable of net-running cyberspace … are you? He looks at me while holding a chunk of granola in his hand… *Squeak* … I'll take that as no … hmm, you like … Marty? *No Response* ok well … damn wish I was better at this … how about … Ein? His little ears popped up and tilted his head all the way back as to look at me directly with curiosity. Oh!? Well hello there Ein! I grab one of his little paws with my thumb and pointer finger as to shake his hand … Guess it's settled then … now if only we could get The Cazbium back, we'd probably be a couple of space cowboys now wouldn't we. I go to stand placing him on the ground near the campfire … I grab some twine and a linen strip I scavenged, fasten it through some holes I made in the bag to make straps … quickly turn my burlap sack into a burlap backpack, tie another twine around the top of the bag to secure the opening as well to close the top so nothing falls out. As I walked around gathering the little supplies I could gather up, Ein followed me everywhere, frantically sprinting to my feet wherever they may be placed next. Finished gathering everything, leaned down picked up Ein, and placed him on top of the back of my bag … he immediately raised his two front paws and rested them on my right shoulder, as if to look over it. Ok Ein! time we get going, gotta stop somewhere first however … gotta see if that Imp is up to no good, and to make sure she's fucking eating properly … as well talk over the past a little, need to understand what I lack most from the past, figure out what shade I should seek first. I reach over and scratch his little head, and then … I set off … to find ... The Imp.

01000011 01101111 01101101 01100110 01101111 01110010 01110100

xxvi.f: Son of Salem, I try to loosen my restraints silently and in an inconspicuous manner, to no avail … whatever tethered me down was tight and restricted to the point that I could feel my hands a tinge colder than the rest of my body, due to the limited blood flow … Once again … he starts cursing and throwing slurs my way, trying to make a point, which I just key out in my ever-increasing panic. Then … the van stops … they all get out and the back doors open wide, I can see orange street lights and the open road … what? This wasn’t a compound or safe house? They grab me by the legs and drag me out of the van, I fall from the back and slam into the street still restrained, they then all take their turn kicking the ever-living shit out of me … with each kick, I feel my body recoil in shock. Then the kicking stopped, they stood me up, removed my restraints, the two men in the back held guns to me … the main torturer that was in the back of the van with me, eyes me down, and says “You should have listened … you should have done as you were told and behaved, but now … I have to do this.” I look around … I’m on a bridge … an overpass … and over the overpass was a large rain canal that was dead and dry, nothing but concrete, the drop … was immense. It was then I realized, I was not going to be used as a bargaining chip, or even be tortured or shipped off to be used as some slave worker … no … NO … They were going to Sewer Me!!! THEY WERE GOING TO THROW ME OFF THE BRIDGE INTO THE OVERPASS TO DIE. He hits me again, this time really hard, I fall to the ground, and this time something is off, my head starts to spin and I can feel my vision go a little … he must have rattled me a little with that one, then he puts his hand to my neck and says, “You make me a bad guy … if people like you didn’t exist, I’d be a happy man.” I look him in the eyes and say, YOU DON’T GOTTA DO THIS YOU CAN ST … He grabs my collar and says to me “You did this.” He pulled me in … then he forcefully pushed me back with both hands … over the concrete barrier … I fall backward, and suddenly I was staring at the ground, ever growing closer, I continued to flip … then … not in slow motion at all but almost as if time had sped up. I slammed into the ground, partly onto some trash heap that had built on the overpass pillar … Light’s out. … … … I can feel rain … on my face … I can feel water surrounding my body, about three inches worth. The rain was light, and gentle, with light gray almost illuminated clouds. I slowly open my eyes … I’m at the bottom of the rain canal, I can’t feel my legs, I go to move them, they twitch slightly and send a shrieking pain right back my way. I gasp in pain. I immediately reach my hand down into my pocket, It’s still there! They didn’t take it. I pull out my phone … all while gasping even harder now, fear intensely rising, pain ever enshrouding as I start to come to more. I fumble my phone and drop it on my lap off to my side, I struggle to grab it as it slips around in my soaked hand, but I manage to grab it … It doesn’t turn on at first. DAMN IT!!!!! I yell into the night, all though it was but a mere whimper in earnest. I try again … no deal. NO NO NOOOOOO!!!!! I gasp again. WHY NOW!!!!. Then … it turns on. My eyes light up not just from the white LEDs of the screen, but from hope for my chances of survival as well. I immediately swipe the emergency call button … It slowly reacts to my touch with great delay, it opens … I call the first number on my list … hoping … they’d answer … I sat there as the phone rang, feeling all of the pain I had dished out over the years now coming straight to me in the form of broken bones and physical trauma from my fall. *Bzzz* I gasp again … trying to catch my breath, I start to have a minor panic attack, wheezing ensues *Bzzz* This will start a war … that drug lord has signed his death warrant *Bzzz* I can’t believe … [To Be Continued]

xxvi.a: Son of Salem, I awoke on the Falkor-disguised couch in a never-ending story of comfortability and refreshing rest. I also awoke to what sounded and felt like a mini tap dancing session was being held on my chest … I looked up, Ein had been standing on his hind legs slightly bouncing up and down and tapping his feet … why? Because also above me hovering was The Imp, dangling a long strip of velvet, spinning it around his head as he tried to grab it. Well … this is a pleasurable way to wake. “Wakey wakey … do you want some breakfast?” Yeah for sure! I grab Ein and put him down on the couch, I kick my feet up and jolt to a stand. The Imp takes the velvet strip, and runs it across my face my face making a sound *Woosh* *Woosh* *Woosh* “Knew it!” *she motioned to high five* I jab her in the gut. She releases all the air in her lungs and makes a sound *Uagh!* she falls to one knee. I lean over, with a shit-eating grin, and say … That! … was payback. She raises her left arm laterally with quick speed and paints my face with a red handprint. I stumble a bit. “Fuck … fuck you bitch” I rub my face and walk past her to the kitchen. So … what'd you make? She stands and also walks to the kitchen, going behind the island table sink combo she had that was white marble table topped with pitch black wooden slick finished body. She picks up a white plate and lays it on the tabletop, spins it towards me, landing perfectly in front of me. “Omelet! Made with minced garlic, sliced mushroom filling, garnished with fresh diced thyme and parsley. With a side of apples and crème parfait AND *Slam* *Crack* … a nice cold Dr.Pepper Zero.” It was at that moment I thought I could cry. This has to be … the best fucking breakfast I've ever been served … holy shit. “*ahem*” … Thank You, Imp … seriously. “There it is!” you remembered my Omelet recipe? “Uhhh DUH … it's fucking the best. And you said you loved it right? So I wrote it down!” My heart raced a little, as she stood there and smiled at me big and wide. Well yeah! Of course, I mean … breakfast is the shit so … I had to make the best Omelet recipe ever. She picked up a second plate with the exact same assortment. Sat next to me and we ate breakfast. Afterward, I cleaned the plates and then got dressed in my old clothes from yesterday, now washed and clean. “So … what's your plan then? What's next?” Gotta head out … go find a shade named Vigor. “Vigor? You need to be More! vigorous?? Thought you would have had that one already” Hell no … I mean look at me. I need to collect as much of Body as possible … I'll need more physical strength and endurance, again realistically as much as possible, as well as understand more and find as many Bells as possible, in case my preparations fail. “Woah woah woah … slow it down. Collect as much of Body as possible? How does that work exactly? Thought Wrath had Body so … you gonna shatter Body then collect the bits?” Not exactly, I don't even know if I could do that honestly … but, it's true Wrath has not just one … but both Primarchs, Body & Mind; with every other shade I've been looking for technically being a piece of those two … I guess I'm looking for shards really more than shades but, whatever you get the idea. “Wait … so Body & Mind are like the two main pieces right?” Yeah pretty much. “So then they aren't shards to anything bigger?” No, they are! they're the two main shades to the whole damn Shadow, so to speak. “Well … if they're the two main shades … and Wrath has both of them … why haven't they joined together to become the whole Shadow already? The complete you again.” Well that's … well uhm. My mind went blank, and started to fill with a million questions simultaneously being answered … the supercomputer at work. Well … Well I guess maybe, well no that can't be I guess, oh maybe … or … I … why wouldn't they? “Wait … have you … forgotten?” I-i … don't understand, why wouldn't they combine and end this … nightmare. “Hey … ” She sits beside me on her couch, and cradles her arm around my neck ... [To Be Continued]