Cold Blood

I found him. I'm not sure how... it's like, I just knew where he'd be. I think he did that on purpose. He drew me to him somehow, so that I could fight him.

He was staying in a seemingly empty nightclub. The doors were left unlocked, and the lights were off. I entered, and made my way to the VIP room. I could feel him there. I kicked the door open, and saw him there, sitting in a chair at the back of the room. Naked bodies were sprawled across the floor, covered in deep gashes and blood.

“Ah, Danny Boy, glad you made it,” he said, slipping on a red coat with spikes on the shoulders. “I made sure to bring my favorite jacket for the occasion.”

“What... what the fuck happened here!?” I demanded.

“Oh, not much,” he said. “Just a small party.”

“What do you mean party!” I demanded. “These people... they're dead!”

“That is correct, yes,” he said. “That tends to happen to people when we worship the Red Cap. This kind of thing empowers her.”

“That's disgusting!” I said.

He just laughed. I looked around at the people lying there. Some were around my age, both male and female. Others... young girls, who couldn't have been any older than high school.

“You sick fuck!” I snarled at him. “How can you just stand there laughing!”

“You wanna know?” he said, getting up and crossing the floor over to me. “Fine, I'll tell you. You see, though we're the same person, we have completely different pasts. I went to my first party at the age of 14, where they were serving what I assumed at the time was wine. Of course, I'm sure an guess what it really was.”

“The Red Cap,” I said.

“Bingo!” he said. “Of course, she assumed control of me almost immediately, and forced me to give in to my deepest impulses. And you know what happened next?”

“No,” I said.

He chuckled for a moment before saying “I raped someone.”

“What!?” I demanded, appalled.

“I'll spare you the details,” he said. “But it happened. The cops came the moment it ended, and I was arrested. She released her hold on me, becoming dormant in my bloodstream for 3 more years. During that time, I was left with my guilt, the dirty looks of the people who were once my friends, and the shame I had brought to my family. Eventually, I couldn't take it any more! I was prepared to end it all! To make all the guilt and shame stop! But she gave me a counter offer.”

“A... counter offer?” I asked.

“That's right,” he said. “I could go on living without the pain. I'd still get the dirty looks, the people whispering about my crime behind my back, but it would no longer phase me. I'd be free, and all I'd have to do, was let the Redness take hold.”

Those words. The same words I heard when I first entered my Vessel form.

“So I did,” he said. “I became her Vessel. I became a being above mortal standards. I became free of guilt and shame! The hateful eyes of my peers became meaningless! I no longer feel guilt. I no longer feel shame! All I feel is lust!”

I couldn't listen to him talk any more. I clenched my fist and decked him right in the jaw. He stumbled backwards for a moment, but steadied himself easily, and looked me in the eyes with a smile on his face.

“Thank you,” he chuckled. “May I have another?”

I threw another punch, hitting him in the temple. He stumbled a bit more that time, but not by much.

“How is that the only thing you feel!?” I demanded. “How can you feel nothing except for that!?”

“Oh, don't get me wrong,” he said. “It's not that I don't feel anything. It's just that my lust is much stronger than any of my other emotions, save for one.”

“One?” I asked.

“That's right,” he said. “But if you wanna know which one it is, you'll have to kill me.”

“I intend to!” I shouted, charging at him and swinging my fist as hard as I could.

This time he blocked with one of his hands, and pulled the other into a fist. The problem with fighting one handed, is that you can't block very well. He hit me right in the solar plexus with enough force that I was sent flying out of the VIP room and landed in the middle of the empty dance floor. I then felt his foot slamming hard into my broken arm, shattering the bones even further. I screamed in pain.

“Ah, music to my ears,” he said, moving away toward the DJ booth. “This seems a little too quiet, doesn't it? Let's liven things up, shall we?”

He turned on the stereo, playing Bruises and Bitemarks by Good With Grenades. The song fits him, to be honest. I got to my feet and drew my wakizashi. Which burst into flames. I charged at him just as he was turning around. He raised a vodka bottle, using the neck of the bottle to block the attack. The impact caused the cork to pop out. Speaking of which, what the hell kind of vodka uses a cork? Don't the usually use bottle caps? Okay, that was off topic. Anyway, he quickly snapped kicked me in the jaw, knocking me back to the ground.

“Thanks for getting that for me,” he said, downing the entire bottle in just a few swigs. Seriously, who drinks vodka like that!?

I got back to my feet and swung my sword several times. He effortlessly parried with the empty bottle, before smacking me in the face with it. He then hooked kicked me in my bad arm a couple times and then palm struck me in the chest with enough force to send me crashing into the opposite wall. A normal person wouldn't be able to fight while being that drunk. The opposite was true for him. His drunkenness wasn't making him worse; it was making him better. He was using drunken fist martial arts. He was too good. I was definitely no match for him.

Not as you are now, said a voice in my head. But you can beat him, with my help.

You! I thought. You're...

The one person who can help you right now, she said. The only way you can win is to let the Redness take hold.

I was cornered. Red Daniel was closing the distance between us quickly, and I could barely move. I shouldn't have done it, but at the time I could see no other options.

Okay, I said. Just this once, I need your power!

I immediately felt my blood moving faster than normal. It flowed through my damaged arm, forcing the bone fragments painfully back into place and fusing them back together.. I could feel the cold red fluid encasing my arm, and all my wounds sealing shut. The strength flowed through my body. I could feel it passing through my hair and eyes, causing them to change color. I got to my feet. Or, rather, she did. I could feel my control slipping away. My body was under her influence. She grabbed my sword with my now healed arm, and lashed at him. His bottle shattered as he tried to block with it.

“Ah, so you're in control now, are you?” he asked.

“This ends now,” she said. “I'll kill you, and you're universes copy of me!”

“You think killing me will work!?” he laughed. “Don't be ridiculous! What do you think I've been doing this whole time!? My Red Cap is already spreading throughout your universe! Killing me won't stem the flow of her blood!”

Of course. It's been so long, I had forgotten. The two Red Caps, in one universe. And with the new one spreading its power, it was only a matter of time before all out war broke out between the two of them.

“In that case, I'll track down all of the other Vessels, and kill them as well!” She said.

She swung my sword again, but he jumped backwards. He then clutched his shoulder, allowing the spikes on his jacket to dig into the palm of his hand. The blood dripping from the wounds expanded and shaped into the form of a sword, before solidifying into a deep red crystal blade.

He charged, and he and the Red Cap fought each other savagely. I could hear a voice calling to me.

Daniel! Can you hear me!?

I opened my eyes. Or, I entered my subconscious, then opened my eyes. I was trapped. Engulfed in red slime. The Red Cap had my soul stuck inside her. Justin was standing a few feet away, calling to me.

“Daniel!” he said. “Don't let her control you!”

“It's useless!” she said. “He can't escape from me!”

She was right. No matter how much I struggled, I was trapped there, unable to move. Until a bunch of birds came and hit her with bolts of lightning. That loosened her grip on me a bit, and I managed to get an arm free. Justin summoned his scythe and slashed at her. I got my other arm free, and tried to pull myself out of her. Justin grabbed my arm and started pulling, while the birds kept her busy.

“Are those the Convocation?” I asked.

“Not quite,” Justin said. “We call then Dreambirds. Their subconscious replicas that he can summon.”

Justin glanced off to the side, and I followed his gaze to see the Faceless Bastard standing a short distance away. Justin managed to pull me the rest of the way out of the slime. I got up and drew my flaming sword, and slashed her with it. She recoiled in pain, as Justin and Faceless simultaneously attacked her with their scythe and machete.

“When I say 'I need your power', it's not an invitation to take over my entire body, you bitch!” I yelled.

She faded away.

“Thanks, you two,” I said.

“Whatever,” Faceless sad, turning and leaving.

“No problem,” Justin said.

“I'd better go,” I said. “See ya.”

I woke up to see Red Daniel standing a few feet away, panting.

“Ah, good, you're you again!” he said.

“That's right!” I said. “Let's finish this!”

“Yes! Let's!” he said.

We charged at each other. I blocked his attacks and managed to strike him in the ribcage with a kick. It didn't phase him. He swung at me with his crystal sword, and I ducked into the Godsway to avoid it and reappeared a distance away. With my arm fully healed, it didn't hurt quite as much any more. I then got an idea. The same trick the Fury used to defeat Enhanced Daniel. I vanished into the Godsway again, reappearing behind him. I grabbed onto his coat and pulled him into the Godsway with me. I immediately felt an intense burning pain throughout my entire body. Apparently, pulling other people into the Godsway isn't as easy as I thought it'd be. We reappeared bak in the club and I released him. We both collapsed to the ground.

“Damn,” he said. “Even I thought that was painful.”

“That's the Godsway for you,” I said, grabbing my sword.

The flames had extinguished when the Red Cap took control. Red Daniel also got to his feet, weakly. We were both in pain after that, but I knew he'd get over it quickly. He formed a new sword and turned to me. I raised the blade of my sword to my lips and whispered to it.

“I need you to work for me,” I said. “I need your flames, now more than ever.”

Something appeared in my peripheral vision, gazing at me. A large, muscular man, whose features seemed blurry, except for his glowing eyes.

“Very well,” he said, snapping his fingers.

The man disappeared, and my sword burst into flames again. Only this time, the flames were brighter and hotter than they'd ever been before. I almost couldn't handle it, but I ignore the pain and face Red Daniel any way. We lunged at each other, swinging our swords. His crystal blade shattered like glass as it struck against mine. He was taken aback by this, and I took the opportunity to stab my sword through his chest. The flames died out, and he stared down at my sword in disbelief. He stepped back as I pulled my sword out, still staring at his open wound, looking completely shocked. Then, he smiled.

“Finally,” he said, letting out a soft laugh. “It's happened.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “What's happened?”

“The strongest thing I can still feel, besides lust,” he said. “Is grief. A pain even a Masochist like me can't enjoy. I've wanted to end this for so long, but she wouldn't let me. But now... now...”

“What are you saying?” I demanded.

“What I'm trying to say is...,” He dropped to his knees as he spoke. “Thanks.”

“What do you mean thanks?” I asked. “Thanks for what!?”

“For killing me,” he said, softly. “I'm finally... free...”

He fell forward, onto his stomach, breathing heavily. That didn't last long. In a few moments, the breathing stopped. I checked his pulse. Nothing. It suddenly sank in, what had just happened.

“What.. What the fuck have I done!?” I asked myself.

I knew exactly what I had done. I had killed him, in cold blood. I had let my anger consume me, and I had murdered someone. I had killed myself, without even hesitating.

And he wanted it. That was his reason for doing this. Why he antagonized me. Why he assaulted Seraph. It was all to make me angry at him, so that I'd end his life.

But it still didn't feel right. I hadn't just killed my alternate self, but a piece of myself had died as well. MY arm had been healed, but I feel more broken than ever. I feel empty. I feel sick.

As I sat there, a figure appeared. A figure dressed in violet armor. The same man I had seen on the Path Of Chaos. He was only there for a moment, before disappearing along with Red Daniel's body and all traces of our fight. Even the bodies and blood that were in the VIP room had vanished.

“Wait!” I called out. “Who are you!? Why are you taking him away!?”

“I have my reasons,” I heard a voice say. “My name is Sentinel, and we will soon meet again.”

And that's it. I started typing this immediately after that. I'm... not sure what to do next. I know I should go back to the others, but... I don't think I an face anyone right now...