Ten Months Later

by Z-A-C

Chapter 11: Taking Back Control

We were now back in the demented part of my mind, and what I saw tore my heart out. Ezekiel had no restraints while torturing Applejack. Her legs were hanging from meat hooks, and her organs were hung up like party decorations. It made me sick! I could feel the rage build and boil up in every cell and molecule in my body. Eli put his hand on my shoulder and calmed me down a bit, until he punched me square in the face. I went flying back and skid about a foot when I landed. I slowly got up, growling like an animal. Eli smiled and turned back toward Applejack. I walked up to him and punched his shoulder.

"What was that for?"

"To get you to where you needed to be. Just look at yourself. Your eyes are red, your hair is black, and your skin has a hint of red to it. I'd say you're good to go now."

"What about you?"

"Me? I'm ready." I looked at him with a confused look. "Alright quick explanation." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You're more a Berserker type, which mean you're basically like The Hulk. I'm what I like to call a Gemini type, which means I work with my 'demon' instead of it giving me strength like yours. You get it?"

"I think so."

"Then why are we wasting time!? Hey freak!!" Ezekiel turned around while the....other me(?) continued to torture Applejack. "Yeah you!! Come here!"

"Eli? Well well, isn't this a surprise. Hey Minion, we have company." He said to the copy of me, which just groaned like it was annoyed and turned around. It looked like Shadow with the exception of his apparent love for torturing living things and seemingly not much else. "You'll have to excuse Minion, he doesn't talk....at all." Ezekiel laughed. "Tell Seth why are you here?"

"I'm here to take my mind back! You have too much power, and need to be stopped!!"

"Oh? And you think you and your brother can stop me? Don't make me laugh!" His right arm turned into a spear like weapon and he lunged for Eli.

I somehow teleported in front of Eli and caught Ezekiel's arm. "You will not touch him! I lost him once I'm not going to lose him again!!" I broke Ezekiel's arm and he let out a monster like howl.

"It seems I have underestimated you." His monstrous smile faded into a frown. "I may have to get serious. Minion its time to fight!!" Minion disappeared and reappeared behind Eli.

"Eli Watch it!" Minion growled as he plunged his hand into Eli. "NOOO!"

Eli laughed. "Really? You think I'm that easy to take down?" He laughed again as his 'demon' took his place and he appeared behind Minion. "Go to sleep!" Eli said as he to break Minions' neck but minion teleported away. "Shit!" Eli walked up to me. "Meet Jeff." He gestured toward his 'demon' "Looks like thing are going to get messy .You don't need to not worry about me, I'll be fine. Worry about him." He pointed to Ezekiel, who was walking towards me. I heard Eli say something to Jeff but I couldn't understand what he was saying. They both ran off to the left and I heard fighting. I looked forward and saw Ezekiel about two feet away from me and closing the distance. He swung at me and I dodged it. His fist missed my face by mere inches. I grabbed his wrist and applied pressure to his elbow.

"You really think that will work?" He laughed. I smiled and bent his arm backwards hearing a satisfying crack. "AUGH! How did you!?!?"

"Seems I'm more powerful then you thought." I then kicked his feet out from under him. He disappeared before he hit the ground. I looked around for him but couldn't find him. Something grabbed my leg and pulled me causing me to hit my face on the floor. It then lifted me up and began to whip me around, before it let go and sent me flying into a wall. "Ugh...damn..." I tasted blood and spit it out.

Ezekiel laughed and walked up to me. "It seems you're not as strong as you thought! Give up there's no way you can win!"

"You may be right." I coughed up some blood. "But you forgot about something."

"And what is that?" He asked. So sure that he had defeated me.

"Never let your guard down!" A hooked chain sprung up from the ground under him. He jumped out of the way, but It wrapped around one of his ankles. "Let's see how much you like it!!" The chain then started whipping him around and then smashed against the ground a few time before throwing him at the wall across from me. I heard him hit the wall and slid down. I smiled weakly and looked at where Eli, Jeff and Minion were fighting and got up. I couldn't tell who was winning, but it was interesting to see Eli fight.

I heard coughing and turned my attention back to Ezekiel. He slowly started to get up, spitting a tar like substance from his mouth. I started walking toward him and stopped when he got up. He looked at me, his eyes were glowing a fierce red and were so bright they seemed to be burning. "WhAtS ThE mAtTeR? ScArEd?!"

"GET OVER HERE!!" I yelled as a chain shot from my wrist and pierced his chest. I pulled him toward me and he didn't seem to struggle against it. He laughed and I stopped pulling him toward me. He then grabbed the chain and shot some sort of electrical charge through it. I yelled in pain as I was being electrocuted. He stopped the electroshock treatment and I fell to the floor.

Ezekiel started walking towards me. I looked over at Eli to see he had just defeated Minion. Eli looked over here and saw that I wasn't fairing as well as him. He began running over to me. I looked up to see Ezekiel standing over me, smiling like maniac. Jeff appeared behind him and all of a sudden hands burst from Ezekiel's chest. Ezekiel writhed in pain and Jeff threw him off to the side and they began fighting. Eli ran up to me and picked me up and slung my right arm over his shoulder and grabbed on to it and put an arm around my neck and began to walk me away from the fighting.

"Here you go Seth. Hopefully this will give you some breathing room."

"Thanks bro." I propped myself against a wall

"No problem. I gotta go help Jeff." He ran over and punched Ezekiel, using the momentum to his advantage. Ezekiel went flying only to have Jeff catch him and throw him into the ground. The pain I felt was so much my body wanted to shut down, but I would allow it. I looked over to Minion's body and he wasn't there. I looked around but couldn't see him anywhere. I looked at the table where Applejack was and began to walk over.

"Applejack!" I was almost there. "Appleja-" I was cut off by more blood filling my mouth and spit it out. I made it over to her but fell and smacked my head on the table. I was being dragged away from the table and towards Minion. He laughed as shadowy tendrils erupted from the floor and started to wrap around my ankles and wrists. My only thought was that this was it.

He began stabbing me over and over again. Laughing menacingly as he did. Sharp pain with every entry. I had enough. "Stop it." *Stab.* "Ugh Stop!" *Stab stab.* "Stop It!" Minion laughed and stabbed me 4 times in quick secession. "ENOUGH!!" Chains wrapped around Minion. Crushing his arms and hands, making him drop the knife. I snapped my fingers and the chains constricted. Ripping Minion to shreds, leaving nothing but ash. The tendrils disappeared and dropped me.

I just laid there in a pool of my own blood. It hurt to much to move, so I had no other choice. Everything was blurry and started to fade. I just stared blankly at the ceiling. I heard some one run up to me.

"Oh shit. Fuck! No! NO! Seth don't worry I gotcha!"

"Eli? Is...." I stopped talking and shook my head.

"Yeah don't talk. Hold on this might sting." He poured something on me and it did more then sting.

"AAAAHHHH!!! What the fuck are you doing to me!!" I started breathing heavily and screaming in agony some more.

"Ok....so maybe not sting. Keep it together! You're doing great!"

After a few very agonizing minutes I was good to go. Eli was staying by me in case Ezekiel came over here while Jeff was keeping Ezekiel at bay. I started to recover and sat up. "I grow weary of the fighting...." I pointed at Ezekiel and chains wrapped around him. "So very tired..." The chains plunged into the ground and spring up in front of me. Ezekiel looked at me. "I've had enough. You almost killed me twice, and I am done!"

"What are-" The chains tightened a little.

"Don't talk to me." I shakily stood up. "Eli...it's time to finish this."

"Agreed." Eli went up to Ezekiel and twisted his neck, breaking it. "Well that's done."

I said nothing and walked over to the table where Applejack is. The sight of her was to much. She was somehow alive still and torn apart. I fell to my knees and started to cry.

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It's been about five minutes and Eli and Jeff were scattering Minion's ashes so he couldn't somehow come back.

"Sad....so sad." The sorrow appeared next to me.

"Will I be able to save her?"

"There may be a way."

"Can you not show me?"

"This is not my mind Seth. You forget, you are in control here."

"With Ezekiel gone I am." I thought for a few seconds. "So I just snap my fingers and everything's better?"

"Why don't you give it a shot?"

I stood up and looked at the dismembered and mutilated Applejack. "I don't know how but I'll fix this. Don't worry."

Applejack looked at me "Seth...Just do it already....kill me. Ah'm in so much pain..."

Ezekiel started to laugh. "Yes Seth, end her suffering!" He cracked and popped his neck back into place and stood up. "Be a good friend and help her." He smiled and laughed again.

I walked over to him and punched him in the face. "You bastard! How could you do such a thing to her!!" I punched him again and he fell to the ground. "How do I fix this? How do I fix her!?" I pointed a shaking finger at Applejack.

"You can't. The amount of mental stress I've caused her is to much. She'll never be the same!"

I jumped over him and put all my weight down on him. I heard a few ribs crack. "You have no power here anymore!! You better talk!!!"

He spit up that tar like substance again. " Redo...." He snapped his fingers and everything went back to way is was before. Except Ezekiel was under my feet and The Sorrow was still here watching. I looked over at Applejack and she was fine, well....she was better.

I looked back at Ezekiel. "I have a plan for you! How about I send you to the same place you sent me?" I looked at the ghost like figure watching us. "What do you think?"

He smiled. "That sounds like a splendid idea." He opened the door, floated over to us, grabbed Ezekiel and threw him out the doorway. A splash could heard when he landed. "This might take awhile." He looked at Eli and Jeff. "Want to help?" Eli just smiled and lit a cigarette. He waved at me and entered the door way.

"Take all the time you need." He smiled and laughed as he went through the door and closed it behind him. I walked over to Applejack. "It's over. I'm sorry you went through that. It was never meant to go that far."

"Ah wouldn't be in this position if y'all didn't bring me here, ya know?"

"Yes I know. And I regret it. I really do."

"Just get we'll talk about this later."

I highly doubt it. "Ok..." and The link severed itself.

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We were in the living room and The Mare was sitting down waiting for us to return. She perked up when she saw me move.

"Sheesh its about time! You guy's have been like for an hour! What were guys doing in there?" Applejack collapsed. "Oh...that answers my question." She then glared at me. "Have I not warned you about that spell!?!? If this is what you do to your friends, I'm so glad I'm not your enemy!"

"I don't want to talk about it. I screwed up and I regret doing it. Can you help her?"

She looked Applejack over. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her."

"Just watch over her when I'm not able to please?"

"Certainly. Are you still up for destroying Sunny Town?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Because your manticore got back with all of your stuff about 20 minutes ago."

"I'll just carry everything back myself."

"So what did happen in there?"

I sighed, and started to tell her what happened. About 15 minutes went by when I was telling her the story. "And that's happened."

"Wow. Sounds like you've been through Tartarus."

"Yeah certainly feels like it. I bet Applejack feels worse."

"Well from what you told me, I bet she does. I think you both need to rest, and don't worry I wont make you go to Sunny Town."

"Thank you. I'll take Applejack up with me and then I'll be going to bed."

"Very well I will keep watch just in case anymore of the towns people try anything."

"Sounds good. Good night."

I picked Applejack up and went to the guest room, laid her down on the bed and laid down and closed my eyes.