Shadow’s Note: I’ve been thinking about tinkering with the P.O.V. a little bit for these arcs. There will be two of them: one of Jace, the other with Praxis. For the P.O.V of the arcs that focus on the character, I wanna do first person for them. Let the character’s feelings and thoughts simply... jump at you. Do you agree, Craimer?
Craimer’s Note: Well of course my esteemed colleague! I think that is a fantabulous idea. But, you do realize for most of the Jace arc, it will be written by myself since, he’s my character.
Shadow’s Note: Excellent. Because even though I know Jace a little bit, he is obviously YOUR character, so I won’t know how Jace thinks, feels, and reacts. So you shall take control of the board for this arc.
Craimer’s Note: WELL HELLO SHADOW, WE ARE IN THE SAME DOC ON GOOGLE. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
Shadow’s Note: EXCELLENT, MY GOOD SIR CRAIMER. SHALL YOU BEGIN THE STORY, BOYO?
Craimer’s Note: WILL DO!
XVIII - The Plan
Jace Arc: Part I
Coldness.
Darkness.
Misery.
Right now, this was what I was feeling as my body was pulled into the black shadows. The arms grabbing my body were many, so there was no use of shaking them off. ‘I’m going to die here...’ I thought to myself as I just felt myself fall into nothing.
Air whipped past my face as I descended into the black abyss. The hands had long since went away and I was alone in this realm. Little dim balls of light just floated around, looking feeble as they try to brighten. I tried to touch one, yet before I could make contact with it, the light dissipated. I saw the small ball that held its luminance dim and become dark. It fell into the dark surface I walked on, never to arise again.
You know, it’s funny. I’ve had this experience before, long ago. When I was first in the beginning stages of Markarth, when it was my own little Purgatory.
“Welcome to the Graveyard of Dreams, Jace Romero, where everybody’s hopes and surreality come... to die.”
I spun around as quick as a bullet to see who had spoken. I saw something huge coming my way. Red eyes shone in its face, which bore teeth as long and sharp as daggers, the tips barely touching the obsidian-colored gums. It was trailing black wisps behind it as it advanced towards me. The horns on its head rivaled Praxis’s in both length and lethality. The thing was enormous, towering over me by twice my height.
I stared down the figure as it strode towards me. I could feel my own eyes slowly changing to their red hue, signaling anger or annoyance. I reach to my back to grab my scythe, but it’s not there. Returning my arm to my side, I stared down the figure. “You must be Insanity....”
“Indeed I am, kiddo,” the deity whose name wasn’t a misnomer told me. “So do you like this little land I’ve erected? Quite stunning, if you ask me.”
“I never asked you,” I retorted flatly.
“Well, too damn bad. I have news for you, your little goat bastard pal, Praxis, and your drunk raver slut of a marefriend, Vinyl--”
“DON’T TALK ABOUT VINYL LIKE THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” I cocked my fist back to punch him in his stomach, yet it just... passed through him. He was intangible, his form shifting to leave a gaping hole where my fist would’ve struck him. Insanity just cackled maniacally at the scene. His laughs rang throughout the Graveyard of Dreams and shivers running viciously up my spine. I withdrew my fist before his dark figure could grasp it.
“You foolish human!” he choked through his demonic laughter.
“Human? I find that insulting.” Insanity stopped and turned to face me. I pointed to my glowing eyes with a smirk. “I thought you knew I was a reaper. Wow, where have you been?”
“Oh, simply planning the obliteration of Equestria.” Insanity swiped a clawed hand at the air on his left side. A small rift appeared to have opened where he slashed. He dug his hands into it and opened it widely. I nearly screamed at the sight.
Princess Luna’s moon was shown in the rift. Yet, there was something off. Unlike when the craters in the lunar surface of the giant, rocky orb were rearranged to resemble Nightmare Moon, there were no craters to depict the evil face that the moon now bore. The jagged-toothed, open mouth smile that it presented scared me, yet nothing was more frightful than the eyes. The blank, empty eyes, staring coldly at me, the gaze nearly piercing my soul. I watched it, a flaming ball of annihilation, descend into the surface of Equestria, destroying everything that stood before it. Every iota of me shrieked in fear. But I stood my emotional ground and refused to succumb to the terrifying sight that I was witnessed.
Alas, I only did HALF of a good job. A chuckle from Insanity was the thing that snapped me back into the black reality I was currently residing in. After a while, a thought arose in my head and I started to laugh like a maniac.
“Umm... why are you laughing, simpleton?” Insanity asked, slightly disturbed at how my laughter had begun, and it seemed like it wouldn’t stop.
My laughter subsided after a while as my hand reached into my shirt and I tore the Calling Card from my neck. With a senile look at Insanity, I placed it on the ground. “You’ve made a mistake, pal... Bringing me right to you.” A look of worry washed over Insanity’s face. I could only smirk. “Because with bringing me, you’ve brought three.”
“Do your worst. What could possibly go wrong?” At that statement, Insanity spread his hands out. Orange electricity crackled around his black arms as it struck the ground. The black surface rippled in a pond-like manner. Bubbles of the black, disgusting matter began to rise. The bubbles took form of some of the most monstrous creatures I’ve seen. Soon, a whole hoard of chimaeras, draconiqui, dragons, wolves, hydras, and many other horrendous animals and monsters stood behind Insanity. The creatures roared, howled, screeched, or cackles wickedly, their glowing yellow eyes shining with malice and evil at the decimation they will cause. Insanity snapped his fingers. The monsters and beasts sank back into the ground. I was painfully reminded of the evil witch at the end of the Wizard of Oz, except this time, there were about thousands of them, and they were all dangerous.
“Impressive...I can raise you one as equal.” My hands waved over the Card as my magic overtook the hourglass. The top opened and a sagewood staff arose from its demonic innards. “Come my pets, it’s time to wreak havoc...” I lifted the staff and then let the butt fall to the ground, letting out a red shockwave. From behind him, demons rose from the ground, standing at attention. “Oh, this is the start of my army.” The blade of the scythe quickly shot out and a smirk played at my lips. “Here comes the main course!” Revving the blade, I slammed it into the ground and ripped back, a fissure opening and letting in thousands and thousands of demon spawn.
Insanity let out a low whistle at the sight of my demonic armada. “What a BEAUTIFUL collection you have there!” he darkly complimented. “I hope you don’t mind if I... DESECRATE IT!” He pointed his open hand at my army of demons. Half of them resisted the orange, surging lightning, but the other half... they didn’t stand a chance. They started twisting and writhing, much like Praxis when he transformed into the weresaytr that everypony now despises so much. The demons affected by the lightning exploded. Their black gore dispersed across the Graveyard of Dreams.
“Trust me, dude, there’s more where that came from...” The fissure was still opened, and flooding out came more demons to replace the ones that had fallen. “Now tell me, what’s this about the Zone? Got bored and wanted to start the cliche zombie apocalypse?”
“Cliche? Oh my, you are quite dense, aren’t you? It would only be cliche if they were actually zombies. My Shadowlings are... overshadowing them, taking control of them from in the inside. Just like how I overshadowed that hydra that your friends slayed.”
“That was you?!” I was pissed. If Insanity wasn’t intangible, I would’ve pulled a Zeus and chop him into pieces with my scythe before casting him into Tartarus. “Right, well, that’s still a cliche. So many movies have done the whole demon apocalypse as well. Hell, I’m a fucking cliche. I’m Death!”
“Not yet, you aren’t...” The voice came from the Calling Card as it expelled a black cloaked figure into the Graveyard. “You still have ten years in the Card...” The figure turned to Insanity. “Ah, yes. You. I remember you. Demon High, 1098...”
“Oh, Zeke, I can’t believe you remember me! Honestly, I’m flattered!” Insanity’s “dreamy” tone soon morphed into one of boredom. “So what’ve you been up to, Bonehead?” Zeke still remembers that old nickname. Oh, how he hated it.
“What? Going back to your roots of being a giant dickface like in highschool? A thousand years and you haven’t changed a bit.” He shook his head, reaching out a skeletal hand and pointing to the Card. It let off the same glow as when Zeke was coming out and Aksheal’s form started to take shape next to Jace.
“Now, I’m one you do not know... Allow me to introduce myself.” Aksheal’s hands sheathed in red magic and formed into a pair of red swords. “Aksheal, God of Markarth. At your fucking service.”
“Nice to meet you, Aksheal. And it will be even nicer when I destroy Markarth WITH Equestria. If I recall, aren’t the two worlds interlinked through that boy’s little necklace? Which reminds me. Hourglasses? Really? Honestly, child, your taste in fashion is grotesque.”
“Speaking of things that are grotesque...” I was unamused at Insanity’s taunt. “What’s wrong with your fucking face? It looks like somebody took Slenderman, gave him some meat, and drew a face on him. Really, my SON can draw up something better than you, AND HE’S NOT EVEN BORN YET!”
“And what about YOU? A kid who just MAGICALLY came to Equestria because the tendrils of Death sucked you and Coal under? Bitch, please. That’s unbelievably cliche. At least your damn goat friend came here because Lyra was a sniveling and nosy mare, who apparently has the hots for that livestock freak of nature the day she met him.”
“Keep talking about Praxis, motherfucker.” I was livid. My fists were wringing the sagewood of my scythe. “I KNOW that he and I will be rid of you. I just know it.”
“Keep dreaming, whelp. It’ll still end up here, and rot for all eternity.” Insanity pointed two fingers at the figures of Aksheal and Zeke. Orange lightning shot from his fingers and struck the two figures in the chest. They both disappeared with a *pop*
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?” I shouted.
“Oh... making sure no one helps you....” He advanced towards me again.
“Help? They barely help me at all...” My grip on the scythe had me feeling slivers in my hands. “I’m all the help I need.” My grip alone snapped the scythe in two, having the two halves fall to the ground. Since he wasn’t tangible, I couldn’t hit him, so what was the point of picking it up?
The same thought rang through my head, ‘I’m going to die here.’ It played over and over like a broken record player, soon finding a permanent spot in the back of my cerebellum. I stepped back from Insanity, eyes still planted on the floor.
“Ta-taaaa~” Insanity charged forward and gave me a little push. For such a tiny nudge, it had a ferocious force to it. I was tilting backwards, flailing my arms to regain balance. I was barely standing on the one solitary foot that made contact with the ground. Insanity dealt the final blow. Literally. He sucked in as much breath as he could before letting it all out in one, little puff of exhalation.
That did it, alright.
Before I knew it, I had lost my balance and had toppled backwards. What I thought was black ground was nothing but a never ending abyss. I was falling down into its greedy and bottomless maw, the blackness swirled around me. I wasn’t screaming, I wasn’t crying, I was just... falling. Tumbling down into the darkness that suffocated me, infecting me like the plague. I shut my eyes and succumbed to the darkness.
But something didn’t feel.... right wasn’t the correct word for this feeling. Something felt... inappropriate.
Yeah, that’s the right word... Inappropriate....
And I had proof to support that feeling. Was it me? Or did the blackness seemed to brighten as I kept falling?
It seemed so. I opened my eyes and gulped.
I was back in Equestria and out of the Graveyard of Dreams. I could see the castle of Canterlot gleaming in the still morning sunlight. I would’ve gasped at the captivating beauty of it all.
I would’ve... if it weren’t for the fact that I was falling at terminal velocity through the clouds. Straight towards the ground would be both my catcher... and my grave.
“Aw, shit.”