Altercation
*Isaac lay shivering on the cold stone of his temporary asylum. The Angels had not yet found him, but he knew they would. And he knew they would take him back there. And everything would go back to the endless, assiduous cycle of descent and ascent. It was futile to try and prevent it, but the child found some small way to enjoy the calm this world beyond his own purgatory. The atmosphere was serene, in spite of the shouts and calls of the Angels and their minions. Nothing immediately hurting him, or for him to hurt. Just… inaction. It was something he would treasure, find some solace in, even if it would not last.
He wasn’t sure how long he lay there, but he was sure of something quite immediately. There had been a new sound among the search. A loud, resonating crash, followed by yelps and screams of horror and distress. And then, a sound he knew all too well.
The groaning, wet belch of a beast he’d slain dozens of times.
Isaac did not want to get up. He didn’t want to confirm this intrusion on the placidity of this world. But he knew it to be true.
Monstro, the cat-lipped mound of flesh and teeth, had found its way to him. And it was attacking the creatures living here.
But… were the creatures not minions of the Angels? The Angels and Monstro were both of the same alliance - against Isaac - but then why would they conflict?
*A scream of pain tore him from his ruminations. Isaac rose to his feet, and opened the door just enough to peer through. The child saw the beast, landing right by the door. He heard something slam bodily into the wall he stood behind, flinching as he saw the White Angel slumped against it, and against the far wall, the Darker Angel was fending off a horde of Gapers and Pacers, narrowly avoiding the spurts of blood and gore. It was no doubt now - they were enemies as much as he was theirs. He knew not whether to run or to continue hiding, but it was not his choice to make.
Monstro turned to him, grinning lopsidedly. Isaac ran out the door and around the it, already firing the stream of tears he knew as his only offense. Several spheres of saline sorrow splattered against his foe like acid on it’s skin, Isaac’s pain and Isaac’s sadness becoming one with the beast before him. The monster, of course, displayed no suffering, and yet still, the tears would wear down it’s corrupt and abandoned soul. Old patterns resurfaced as he circled the Boss, ducking the hematemetic flurry of projectiles as best he could, bolting underneath Monstro when it tried to squash him with it’s enormous body. High leaps yielded no reward, Isaac rushing away from the impacts, ignoring the taunting grunts, the gruesome grin of Monstro’s face. In the corner of his eye, he saw the White Angel being surrounded by Gapers, all of which looked ready to tear her apart. In the spur of the moment, Isaac made a split decision.
He ran up to the Gapers as Monstro jumped, the creature’s impact crushing the gapers entirely, splattering both the child and the Angel with their remains. Isaac started to bait the boss away, turning to see the Dark angel, across the hall, glaring at them with rage. Isaac ducked. Monstro only had time to stare vapidly at the angel as it fired a beam of energy intense enough to sear Isaac’s skin, without even touching it. Monstro erupted into a pile of flesh and gore, leaving only a simple pedestal with a torn scrap of a photo floating above it.
The small boy lay on the ground, unmoving, hoping the Angel would mistake him for dead. He had no such luck, as he felt himself lifted up harshly and without care, pulled up to the Angel’s face. Such intense hatred radiated from them that Isaac would’ve started bawling openly if he already wasn’t.
“You…” it growled, tears of it’s own forming on it’s eyes. “You… wretched demon…”
Isaac wailed in pain as the glow of energy surrounding him contracted, crushing him, suffocating him. The Angel had called him Demon. It wasn’t wrong. The chest was supposed to be his coffin. It became his prison. Now, that he finally had been released, seen the brightness of the sun, tasted the sweetness of the air… maybe he’d finally have true release, even if death was its messenger. The angel’s benevolence, given form of cruel death. He hoped.
As his vision grew clouded with red spots, his voice petered out for lack of air, he fell. He didn’t feel an impact, and could just faintly hear cries of anguish and shouts of censure from voices that remained in anonymity as his faculties faded. Isaac paid them no mind. At last, reprieve.
Celestia’s eyes crunched open through a crust of dried blood. She groaned, almost inaudibly, her whole body a sore mess. Her head swam, but she vaguely remembered some beast bursting through the mosaic, slamming her into a wall. Brief darkness, unconsciousness. Then the alicorn remembered the child… Isaac. Him leading the monstrosity to crush what looked like several bloody copies of the boy. She’d been showered in their gore, and then the Solar Princess’s memory failed her, as she’d descended to blackness again.
Then the searing heat. She could hear gasps for breath, her sister’s voice… shouting, angered. Celestia scrambled to her hooves unsteadily, ignoring the pain, looking around to see her sister suffocating Isaac in a fit of rage. Panicked, she called out to Luna, racing over to stop her. “Luna, No! Stop!”
Her sister heard - wide-eyed, she dropped the now silent child, running to Celestia, crying openly in relief. Her eyes let the tears flow as she embraced her elder sister, holding to her tightly as if she may disappear if released. “Oh, Celestia,” Luna sobbed into her sister’s shoulder. “We were so frightened, we thought you had been…”
“I’m fine, Luna,” Celestia said tersely, quickly reciprocating the hug and checking on Isaac. “What were you thinking?”
Luna, stunned by her sister’s unempathetic response, replied uneasily, “We… I saw him try to crush you. You weren’t moving, and you were both covered in blood. That Demon,” she glared over to Isaac. “had tried to kill you. And he’d brought that abomination to do it.”
Celestia hoisted Isaac up onto her back with a sweep of her wing, then gave her sister a look of uncertain confusion. “Luna, Isaac tricked that thing into crushing those bleeding doppelgangers, not me,” she looked down at the blood coating her and used a quick spell to vanish it. “Did you not see him distracting the large one? How he moved away from it, and used whatever form of magic he had against it? There’s no way they were on the same side.”
Looking nearly insulted, Luna shook her head. "Sister, that is not what we observed."
“He needs medical attention,” Celestia said, giving her sister a more earnest embrace. “We can discuss this at length later, alright?”
Luna gave her sister a look that most definitely did not say ‘alright’, but did not stop her from taking off with the child. She only looked over to the floating photo scrap, a wave of dread washing over her. ‘This is the beginning of something far worse.’
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Dang. Not even time to grab the Torn Photo?
I really love this story, so far. Incredibly well written, and the quality hasn't diminished at all. That's not something you see very often.
Torn Photo?
Huh.
6608104 That's great to hear, I was worried about the battle segment, I've had a history of writing them poorly.
6608167 Torn Photo indeed.
6608276
I got the D6, and I was like:
"Everything is different now."
Then I received a carton of milk.
Ahem.
My favorite item is The Relic, I'd love to see it used.
Not immediately, but whenever, really.
OH BOY NEW CHAPTER. Keep it up buddy! Doing a great job. 10/10 would read chapter again W/O pants.
yeeeah, fuck luna, I can tell she is gonna be a very unlikable character given how much of a douche she is here
If Isaac grabbed one of Celestia's feathers, would he be able to Crack The Sky and call down death rays from above?
6611900
)
An excellent observation. Though I severely doubt it...Though with what the author's got planned for Sunbutt, it might come to pass.
(Obscure trolling is obscure
This chapter is crude. It reads like you wrote down the basic idea for what happens in it for further development and uploaded that instead of the real chapter.
SHOW, don't tell. That's a golden rule of storytelling.
6612568 I think I understand what you mean, but I need to be sure.
Am I not writing enough for the events outside of the 'Isaac's thoughts' sections, descriptively? I did spend a good hour trying to find places to add more, particularly concerning the fight against Monstro, as I've never been good at those. But perhaps I spent too much focus there and not on the other parts.
Are you referring to the end portion, between Luna and Celestia? Am I being a poor conveyor of their positions, or should I have gone into more detail, concerning their expressions and emotions? I suppose I should, given their recent struggle, and the ethical conflict...
I really do appreciate the help, I'm always open to constructive criticism.
6612772 Up until Luna throttled Isaac, it's fine. The problem is the section after that, where there isn't a single line of dialogue and everything is just the narrator's word. Extend that section to include the sisters actually having a conversation, without skimping out on details, and it'll already be a HUGE improvement.
6615230 Ah, I see! I myself was uncertain about it, but thought it fitting, given that most takes place from either an outside perspective or a perspective involving Isaac's thoughts. But, looking back at 'Deliverance', I can tell that's not at all what I'd been doing.
Changes will be made once I've had a chance to write them separately and splice them into place. Thanks again!
MOAR
6612259
6611900
I myself am thinking Celestia and Luna's magic blasts would suddenly function as custom Brimstone.
Torn Photo? Faster fire.
c:
I have absolutely no idea what's going on or what Binding of Isaac is.... but I am starving for new and original content so I'll keep reading.
Dammit, Luna! Always the paranoid idiot, aren't you?!
6861697
What would you do if a whole bunch of monsters invaded your kingdom looking almost exactly like the one in your grasp?
after you saw it head towards your sister?
6976585 you can count to potato? so can I. 1, 2, skip a few, Potato.
6608167
You complaining? I'd take a Torn Photo. I mean, it's not a huge thing, but there are worse boss drops.