The Unbinding

by awesomesauce4

Chapter 9: Exposition

“Sister, have you found anything more on Isaac’s alternate selves?” Luna called, walking into her sister’s study and taking a seat by the warm fireplace.

Celestia, who had been sitting there herself, smiled as she draped a wing around the lunar princess, pulling out the Bible from under her other wing. It only seemed to stay put when Isaac was asleep, which made cross-referencing with the human child quite tedious. “Indeed I have. Their stories are quite lengthy, but I’ll give the short versions."

“Cain was one of two sons of Adam and Eve, and the first human to be born naturally. He killed his brother Abel out of envy, and as a result was marked and cursed by God to wander the Earth forevermore.”

“Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ. His greed was such that he betrayed his own leader, and the rest of the Disciples, for a mere thirty pieces of silver. Afterwards, most traditional interpretations of the story state that he hung himself out of guilt.”

“Mary Magdalene was one of the followers of Jesus, and bore witness to his death and resurrection. Jesus cast seven demons out of her, making her healthy once more, and she became one of his most loyal followers.”

“Eve, as you know, was the second wife of Adam, created from one of his ribs so that she would serve and obey him. Her curiosity led her to commit the Original Sin by partaking of the Tree of Knowledge, and saw her and her husband Adam cast out of the Garden of Eden.”

“Samson was a hero, blessed with immense strength by the Lord to carry out his heroic deeds. However, his strength was only sure as his hair was long, and in his lust he revealed this secret to his unfaithful third wife. Shortly afterward, Samson died, powerless and held captive by his enemies – but not before he had his final revenge.”

“Azazel was an angel, one of the leaders of those who rebelled against God and became fallen angels, though he never fell to demonhood. He taught humans how to make weapons, tools, and jewelry, as well as the art of witchcraft and sorcery. As punishment, God sent down an angel to bind him to the Earth, trapped there until Judgement Day so that he may be cast into holy fire and consumed forevermore.”

“Lazarus was a common follower of Jesus, who lived and died in a small town called Bethany. Four days after his death, Jesus had the stone over Lazarus’ grave removed, and called to him to come out, despite the townsfolks’ protests that the man was deceased. To their amazement, Lazarus did so, dressed in the rags he was wrapped in when he died. Lazarus continued to live for some time afterwards, strong and healthy once more.”

Here Celestia closed the Bible, and turned to her sister. “Here, things get a little murkier. The last two do not have any direct Biblical representation, and even Isaac is not sure of their purpose, though they seem to be intimately related.” Luna nodded impatiently, comparing what she had learned to all she had seen. So far, Samson fit the bill: He was aggressive, scarily strong, and his hair came down to his shoulders. Celestia chuckled, and pulled out a few pieces of paper that Luna recognized as Isaac’s own, handwritten notes, probably from the day before.

“The Lost, as far as Isaac can tell, are pieces of himself: The souls that escaped every time he died in the Basement. Very rarely, it seems, they can return to the Basement, though any harm will instantly end them once more, this time without hope of return. Once ‘dead’, they appear to pass through places unknown, and end up in… Eden.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “But is this ‘Eden’ not a person of their own?”

Celestia nodded. “Though Isaac refuses to say how he knows this, Eden is apparently the collective amalgamation of all those spirits. He could not give numbers, but he estimates that the total amount of souls Eden possesses numbers in the millions, if not more.”

Luna stared, wide-eyed. “So many souls… how could one body command so many?” she asked.

Celestia looked down at Isaac’s notes. “Even Isaac does not know. It seems there is a sort of refuge inside Eden for these souls, something akin to… Heaven.”

Luna stared down at the notes as well, the drawing in the center depicting a white-haired child with glowing white eyes. “Do you think Eden might know of the location of-“ Luna began, but was cut off by Celestia’s hoof.

“Not now, Lulu. This place isn’t safe,” she hissed, and Luna obediently nodded.

Celestia took her hoof away, looking sheepish, and Luna gave her sister a searching look. “So… a sacrifice, a murderer, a traitor, a lover, an inquirer, a hero, a teacher, a follower, a ghost, and a place…” Luna mused.

Celestia nodded again. “Isaac said there were more, though he claims he cannot remember who they were. Perhaps we shall see, in time,” the solar princess concluded, standing up. Princess Celestia quickly left the room, leaving Luna alone with her thoughts as the sun fell like a hellbound angel from the sky.

She was not alone for long, however, as Samson quickly came stomping in. “Moonbutt!” he barked, and Luna quickly stifled her feeling of irritation.

“Yes, Samson?” she replied, sounding as polite as she could. To her surprise, Samson beckoned for her to follow.

He led her down a series of corridors, through parts of the castle Luna had been sure nopony but she, her sister, and a select few guards knew of. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“You know where,” was Samson’s only answer, and her heart sank.

They arrived at a barred steel door, flanked by two guards at the entrance. Their hackles were raised as they pointed their spears inward, and voices could be heard on the other side of the door.

“For the last time, let us out! We’re not going to hurt you!” a young voice cried, while another voice was audibly sniffing.

“What is going on here?” Luna demanded, and one of the guards saluted.

“Princess Luna! We were stationed here as you ordered, and two beings climbed out of that chest. We detained them in the room for the time being, but the child here-“ the guard gestured at Samson, who merely raised his middle finger – “demanded they be released. We refused, and he left to find you,” the guard reported, and Luna briskly nodded.

“Who are you?” she called to the dark, barred room, which fell silent.

There was a moment of complete silence, then Samson sighed irritably. “Chris’sakes, if you’re one of us she’s not going to hurt you, morons! Speak up!”

There was a short chuckle on the other end. “Samson? You got out? It’s Cain and Lazarus,” the voice answered.

Samson raised an eyebrow. “Cain, what do you wear typically?” he asked, and there was a short silence.

“…An eyepatch?” Cain answered, sounding confused.

Samson nodded. “That’s him,” he informed Luna, who nodded.

“Open the door,” she ordered, and the guards hastily removed the giant steel brace.

Out stepped two more children, as naked as Isaac had been when he escaped – which reminded Luna, she needed to have clothes made for Samson as well. One of the boys had nothing on but a black eyepatch, eerily recalling Luna to a certain young colt living in Ponyville. This child, however, was much less energetic, and looked exhausted – this, then, must be Cain. The other boy had short, orange hair that was neatly parted in the middle, and was fairly covered in blood.

“S-sorry,” the orange-haired boy apologized, sniffling slightly as he caught sight of Samson’s and Luna’s shocked expressions.

“Art thou alright?” Luna queried, checking him for injuries. To her surprise, the only one she could find was a small cut on his head, barely noticeable.

“He’s got hemophilia – really hard to get him to stop bleeding,” Samson informed her. Luna’s eyes widened – partially from the severity of the condition, and partially that Samson knew what hemophilia was.

“Get him to the hospital,” she ordered the guards, who made to pull Lazarus away from Cain.

“NO!” Samson roared, springing between them. “Do you have a death wish?” he yelled at Luna. She looked at him, confused and a little frightened by the intensity of his glare. Seeing her confused stare, Samson growled angrily. “Short version: Lazarus is super unlucky, stuff goes horribly wrong around him. Cain’s super lucky, so he balances it out – but only if they’re close enough!” he explained, and Cain nodded, enclosing Lazarus in a protective hug.

Taking a quick, deep breath, Luna weighed her options. “Take them both to the hospital, then. And do not let them out of the others’ sight,” she revised, and the guards escorted Lazarus and Cain out of the room.

As they left, Luna turned to Samson, who was still looking at her with that same annoyed expression on his face. He walked out of the room, Luna at his side.

“Did Isaac not tell you this?” he demanded after a moment of walking, Luna taking the lead this time - it seemed that Samson was only now unsure of where to go.

Luna thought back to the many conversations she and Isaac had had on the intricacies of the Basement. “He mentioned that Cain had higher luck than normal, and Lazarus lower… but he did not mention anything like this,” Luna answered.

Samson sighed. “That kid… more concerned with stats and numbers than real tactical knowledge. No wonder he made… us.” Luna stopped, turning to Samson in surprise. He returned her expression, though accompanied by his customary rudeness. “What, you think we didn’t know? We’re the products of his mind. Hell, he’s the product of his mind too. So’s that,” Samson continued, pointing back in the direction of the Chest, “and everything inside. All the product of an eight-year-old’s twisted, suicidal Biblical nightmare.”

Luna gulped. “Samson, I…” she started, unsure of what to say. At first glance, Samson had seemed a mindless brute, intent only on breaking things and yelling at others. But now, he was showing the barest glimpses of an intelligence that might rival the average adult’s – or perhaps even her own. “How do you know this?” she asked. “You are a child, and yet not a child. And normally, you’re so…” she trailed off, unsure if she wanted to directly insult Samson.

To her surprise, he merely sighed again, shaking a lock of hair out of his face and adjusting his red headband. “Angry? Yeah. I was created to be Isaac’s anger, his wrath, his rage – it’s what I do. That doesn’t mean I’m a stupid brute, though,” he added. “I can be as smart as I goddamn want, and he can’t do shit to stop me.”

Luna smiled. “A wise sentiment, despite its rude nature,” she complimented. Samson smiled up at her, a brief, passing smirk of an expression. Yet another thing he had never shown her before.

“So, how did you know where the Chest was?” Luna asked, after a moment more of walking.

Samson snorted. “We all know where it is, though we can’t exactly give directions. It’s like we’re… drawn to it. We can always find our way back, no matter the obstacles in our way. Isaac can do it too, though he’s asleep at the moment. I should go fix that…” Samson remarked, a glint in his eye that was all too recognizable to Luna. It was the same mischievous glint Celestia displayed whenever she was up to her usual pranks.

Princess Luna giggled. “Go easy on him, he’s still recovering from that incident in the Crystal Kingdom. Two Sins in one day…”

Samson laughed. “Please. He’s going to need to be stronger than that, if we have any hope of escaping this hell for good. Because I can guarantee you, Sins won’t be the worst of his problems, not by a long shot.”

Luna looked at Samson worriedly. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Samson crossed his arms. “Well, think about it. We’ve been in that Basement for who knows how long. Hell, each Gaper and Mulligan probably knows our names and favorite drinks by now. And now, some of us have disappeared – most notably, Isaac himself! Once word reaches the Guardians that we’re escaping, they’re going to come find us and attempt to drag us back. And with the easily noticeable hole in the ceiling of Basement I…” Samson concluded. Luna shuddered – some of the Guardians she had seen in Isaac’s drawings were nightmarish enough to give even her, the Dreamwalker, pause for thought.

They arrived back in the throne room, and Samson immediately made for Isaac’s quarters, Luna tempted to follow after but reminded that she had a duty to perform the night court. Sighing, she took a seat on the throne, a bat-pony secretary depositing a stack of petitions in front of her. For once, work was less stressful than her off time – Luna didn’t even want to think about the prospects of raising the gaggle of children that Isaac had thought up. Not that they were bad, really… but she was already getting distracted.

Cain and Lazarus showed up a few hours later, around midnight. Lazarus was laughing at something Cain had said, though his eyes still spoke of sadness. Luna wished with all her might to hug the poor child, but was afraid of his ‘unlucky’ status – she’d seen enough of the Element of Laughter’s ‘Pinkie Sense’ to infer what might occur if she provoked such an abstract notion. The Princess of the Night was very surprised, therefore, when Cain and Lazarus both hugged her, and after a brief moment she returned the hug warmly.

“Feeling better?” she asked, and Lazarus slowly nodded.

“One of the guards said you were going to be our mom. Is that true?” Lazarus asked, and Luna nodded.

“If you wish it, I shall be your mother,” she answered, and the two boys smiled up at her.

Just then, Samson came stomping in, a disgruntled expression on his face. “Motherfucker wouldn’t wake up!” he burst out, and Luna winced.

“Samson, please control your language,” she called out.

Samson glared up at her, infuriated, but Cain interrupted. “Dude, cool it. She’s trying to help.”

For a second, Luna thought Samson might buy it. To her shock, however, Samson flew at Cain, fist outstretched and an enraged expression on his face. Her surprise only increased when instead of crumpling Cain’s skull as she expected, Samson’s fist bounced off, Cain’s eyepatch briefly glowing white as Samson’s punch rebounded and hit himself.

“Agh, grfraaarr-aah!” Samson cried out, stumbling back and rubbing his face.

“Get that out of your system?” Cain replied coolly.

“I friggin hate that Mark of yours,” Samson grumbled, but made no further move.

Cain shrugged. “Hey, it only works on ‘real’ people anyway. Besides, you deserved that,” Cain pointed out.

“Yeah, just like you deserve a chainsaw up the ass sideways…” Samson muttered under his breath. He glanced up at Cain, who smirked at him. “Okay, okay. Shouldn’t have tried that. I’m sorry,” Samson got out, the words seemingly surprising him as much as everyone else. Luna stared – Samson had just apologized? Almost as if he were aware of the rarity of what he had just said, Samson crossed his arms, blushing and looking away in embarrassment. “Anyway, my point was, Isaac isn’t waking up. Tried shaking him, cold water, screaming, nothing. He’s still alive, last I checked, but that must be one hell of a nightmare,” Samson remarked.

“Does he have the – the thing?” Lazarus asked quietly.

“Yeah, I checked his bag, he’s got it,” Samson replied, his tone surprisingly devoid of rudeness for once.

Luna looked at both of them curiously, but said nothing – perhaps they were referring to the Bible, or one of the other items Isaac had collected so far. “Anyway, I believe it is time for the three of you to retire to bed as well – after the events of tonight, all of you deserve a rest,” Luna declared, standing up and using her magic to pick up Cain and Lazarus.

“Aw, but Mom-!” Samson began to complain, but was silenced by a look from Luna.

“No buts, Samson. You need to sleep sometime,” Luna firmly rebuked.

Looking dejected, Samson followed them to bed, surprising Luna one last time with his obedience – perhaps he too had become tired of the pace of the night’s events. She tucked the three of them into her bed, adjusting their pillows and singing a soft lullaby. Once she was sure they were asleep, she gently closed the door and returned to her Court.

Comments

[corruption]

I. LOVE. THIS. STORY!

[Mother3Forever]

This just gets better and better.

[Sagel]

6102529 I SECOUND THAT OPINION!

[Lord Shaxx]

Wait, Lazarus has NEGATIVE luck? So, all those times I had runs as him, and got Tears Up or something good from his spawn pill, I was basically flipping his luck stat the bird?

On another note, I fucking love this story!

[IAmNotSmartest]

Samson's gonna mess with some shit. No way he'd just walk off, doing what he's told.
... At worst, I'm expecting him to use an item or pull more kids from the chest.

[Bryce98]

6108673

Remember what he said when Isaac asked about the Blue Baby?
What if that one crawls out next?

[Doctor REDACTED]

You writer person I have not played THE binding of issac please explain Lasserisus perk s

[StarChaser01]

The Mind, Luna's becoming infected by Glutiny, isn't she? Wait... have we seen Isaac defeat Greed yet? If not... then that's who's infecting Luna. Very slowly... He may be Greedy, but I doubt he's stupid.

[ShadyCanopy]

6323046

He starts with one less heart however he will come back to life after being killed once per play through.

[Brianna484]

6103543 I HOWEVER THIRD IT!

[draco the flamewing]

7191788 I fourth, fifth, and sixth that opinion!

[Omega C]

8074057
Seventh...I am not sure if theres an infinity version of this