X. Two Nightmares
Darrus was suddenly hit with a wave of pain. He nearly fell over. Cankerworm's voice thundered in his head.
"GET TO MY OFFICE. NOW!" The Archdevil sounded furious.
Darrus had little choice but to comply. He overwalked to Cankerworm's office, clutching his head for the few seconds it took him to reach it. The pain subsided once he'd opened the door, but the malice in the air was tangible. As his sense returned to normal, Darrus saw that Cankerworm had abandoned all pretense of civility. For starters, his image had changed from the slick businessman to an eight foot monstrosity with curved horns and a whiplike tail.
"You called?"
"WHAT IN SATAN'S NAME HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?" demanded the archdevil, his voice supernaturally deep.
"I've been in Dreamscape for the last forty minutes, so if you could explain what the trouble is, I'd appreciate it." said Darrus.
"BECAUSE OF YOUR IMCOMPETENCE, A SEARCHER IS DEAD!" Cankerworm's form erupted into flame upon the last word.
"Explain." was Darrus reply.
"THE...THING...YOU'VE ALLOWED TO EVADE US HAS STRUCK AGAIN, AND THIS TIME IT KILLED ONE OF OURS! HALF AN HOUR AGO, THE SEARCHER REVIS WAS SLAUGHTERED!"
Darrus started. "Where is the body?"
"IT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU ARE OFFICIALLY DEMOTED; I'LL SEE YOU IN THE PIT BEFORE--" Cankerworm's words degenerated into a howl. After a moment, he spoke again. "YES, MASTER.
"YOU ARE LUCKY, DARRUS! ONE OF MY SUPERIORS HAS DECIDED THAT YOU SHALL NOT BE CHASTISED--BUT BE WARNED! IF ANOTHER DEMON FALLS TO THIS MENACE, LUCIFER HIMSELF WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU FROM ME!
"NOW, GO! GET YOUR NEXUS TAP AND RESOLVE THIS DILEMMA BY SUNSET, OR YOU AND YOUR NEXUS TAP WILL WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN REBORN!"
Darrus overwalked out of the office. "Odin, get back to the Nexus."
"Aw, Darrus..." came the reply. "I'm right in the middle o' a game o' chess with Thor!"
"Tough. We've got work to do or Cankerworm's going to throw us into the Lake of Fire. Er, wait. Move your queen to D6."
"Aright..."
"Good, he fell for it. Now move your knight forward and to the left."
"Aye, that's checkmate!"
"There. Now get connected! I'm going to get some protection, I'll fill you in on the details when I'm on Earth."
Darrus was standing in front of the Nightmatorium. The door was heavy and reinforced. The things inside were something less than pleasant.
Demons could go back and forth into dreams freely. Every once in awhile, they'd bring something back with them. The Nightmares were kept inside the Nightmatorium, where they were used strategically, usually to be deployed into the nightmares of others. Darrus had a slightly different fate in mind today. He threw the door open.
"Szziszzigji!"* he called out. "Come out, we have work to do!"
There was the sound of scales scraping against the walls. Darrus turned and saw a Nightmare rapidly approaching. It had three legs, placed at uneven intervals along its body. A four-fingered arm on the left had a tentacle beneath it; a three-fingered arm came from the other shoulder. A long, twisted tail followed it, but the head caught the most attention. It was nearly as large as the beast's torso and had a mouth filled with four inch fangs. Two misshapen eyes stared down from beneath curved, assymetrical horns. A blood red mohawk cropped up between them. The creature's flesh looked as though it had been made by laying greenish-yellow tape over a framework until it was several layers thick. The creature was twelve feet tall at the tips of its horns.
"There you are. Make yourself invisible." Darrus told the creature. "We're going to Earth."
Szziszzigji's head rolled onto its side. Darrus found himself wondering why they were going to Earth.
"Because there's something up there killing angels and demons, and it's up to me to find it. I need you for protection." he said.
Darrus felt satisfied with the answer. The Nightmare's method of communication wasn't quite telepathy, but it got the job done. Szziszzigji started to fade. Whoever had dreamed this creation up had had quite an imagination.
"Now, follow me." said Darrus, and they went through the door, back to Earth.
*Pronounced "Ziz-uh-Jee"
"GET TO MY OFFICE. NOW!" The Archdevil sounded furious.
Darrus had little choice but to comply. He overwalked to Cankerworm's office, clutching his head for the few seconds it took him to reach it. The pain subsided once he'd opened the door, but the malice in the air was tangible. As his sense returned to normal, Darrus saw that Cankerworm had abandoned all pretense of civility. For starters, his image had changed from the slick businessman to an eight foot monstrosity with curved horns and a whiplike tail.
"You called?"
"WHAT IN SATAN'S NAME HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?" demanded the archdevil, his voice supernaturally deep.
"I've been in Dreamscape for the last forty minutes, so if you could explain what the trouble is, I'd appreciate it." said Darrus.
"BECAUSE OF YOUR IMCOMPETENCE, A SEARCHER IS DEAD!" Cankerworm's form erupted into flame upon the last word.
"Explain." was Darrus reply.
"THE...THING...YOU'VE ALLOWED TO EVADE US HAS STRUCK AGAIN, AND THIS TIME IT KILLED ONE OF OURS! HALF AN HOUR AGO, THE SEARCHER REVIS WAS SLAUGHTERED!"
Darrus started. "Where is the body?"
"IT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU ARE OFFICIALLY DEMOTED; I'LL SEE YOU IN THE PIT BEFORE--" Cankerworm's words degenerated into a howl. After a moment, he spoke again. "YES, MASTER.
"YOU ARE LUCKY, DARRUS! ONE OF MY SUPERIORS HAS DECIDED THAT YOU SHALL NOT BE CHASTISED--BUT BE WARNED! IF ANOTHER DEMON FALLS TO THIS MENACE, LUCIFER HIMSELF WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU FROM ME!
"NOW, GO! GET YOUR NEXUS TAP AND RESOLVE THIS DILEMMA BY SUNSET, OR YOU AND YOUR NEXUS TAP WILL WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN REBORN!"
Darrus overwalked out of the office. "Odin, get back to the Nexus."
"Aw, Darrus..." came the reply. "I'm right in the middle o' a game o' chess with Thor!"
"Tough. We've got work to do or Cankerworm's going to throw us into the Lake of Fire. Er, wait. Move your queen to D6."
"Aright..."
"Good, he fell for it. Now move your knight forward and to the left."
"Aye, that's checkmate!"
"There. Now get connected! I'm going to get some protection, I'll fill you in on the details when I'm on Earth."
Darrus was standing in front of the Nightmatorium. The door was heavy and reinforced. The things inside were something less than pleasant.
Demons could go back and forth into dreams freely. Every once in awhile, they'd bring something back with them. The Nightmares were kept inside the Nightmatorium, where they were used strategically, usually to be deployed into the nightmares of others. Darrus had a slightly different fate in mind today. He threw the door open.
"Szziszzigji!"* he called out. "Come out, we have work to do!"
There was the sound of scales scraping against the walls. Darrus turned and saw a Nightmare rapidly approaching. It had three legs, placed at uneven intervals along its body. A four-fingered arm on the left had a tentacle beneath it; a three-fingered arm came from the other shoulder. A long, twisted tail followed it, but the head caught the most attention. It was nearly as large as the beast's torso and had a mouth filled with four inch fangs. Two misshapen eyes stared down from beneath curved, assymetrical horns. A blood red mohawk cropped up between them. The creature's flesh looked as though it had been made by laying greenish-yellow tape over a framework until it was several layers thick. The creature was twelve feet tall at the tips of its horns.
"There you are. Make yourself invisible." Darrus told the creature. "We're going to Earth."
Szziszzigji's head rolled onto its side. Darrus found himself wondering why they were going to Earth.
"Because there's something up there killing angels and demons, and it's up to me to find it. I need you for protection." he said.
Darrus felt satisfied with the answer. The Nightmare's method of communication wasn't quite telepathy, but it got the job done. Szziszzigji started to fade. Whoever had dreamed this creation up had had quite an imagination.
"Now, follow me." said Darrus, and they went through the door, back to Earth.
*Pronounced "Ziz-uh-Jee"
posted by Andrew Michael at 3:06 PM
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