The Absence of Darkness; ShadowNc's Blog.

September 19th, 2029.
Castle Mobius.
Scott Lycanthrope walked through the halls of his castle, fully concentrated on his task. His sister, the vampire Elementire, walked past him, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her with.
She grunted, “What’s this about, then?”
“I need someone to show this to,” Scott said, turning towards her, “I’ve got a secret, and I just can’t keep it for much longer.” He smiled, and she chuckled.
“Typical. So what is it then?”
He grinned, “Follow me.”
He led her down to the lower levels, where they came to a laboratory of sorts. The room was entirely white, with a testing area blocked off from the rest of the room. The testing area was a room inside of a room, built entirely from see-through glass. Inside there was a scientist injecting a liquid into the head of a corpse.
Elementire turned to Scott, “How recently deceased is that man?”
“This morning. He said he’d donate his body for science, so I had him shot.”
She glared at him, and he laughed, “I’m kidding. He turned up dead. No records, no family, nothing. I thought, ‘Why not?’”
“So what are you doing down here?”
“Reanimation,” Scott said simply, “Bringing the dead back to life.”
“You’re kidding,” Elementire said, laughing, “Earth can do that with the wave of a hand.”
“Ah, but that’s limited. They’d still die eventually.” Scott turned to her, “My goal is to reverse death entirely. Make it completely avoidable. And the best part is that it will work on elves.”
“Seriously?” she questioned, excited, “So you can make me...not a vampire?”
Scott rubbed his chin, “Possibly. If we can get it to work. The trick is figuring out how.”
He opened a door into the testing area and stepped inside. He closed the door behind him, alienating Elementire from the conversation he proceeded to have with the scientist. She watched, confused, as they mouthed an argument in front of her, and then Scott formed a ball of black energy in his hand. This only caused the scientist to become more infuriated, to which Scott responded by arrogantly shoving the black ball into the corpse’s chest.
Scott walked out of the testing area, slamming the glass door shut behind him. He walked back over to Elementire, mumbling, “Unethical my ass...”
“Okay, I’m confused...what exactly did you just do?”
Scott shrugged, crossing his arms, “Basic stem cell stuff. Just reactivated a lot of the the primary functions with electricity. And stuff. I just sort of vaccinated a cancerous insulin, causing the resistance of graftification to be deferred, and, you know, it’s kind of like a Gastric bypass surgery, except-”
“You have no idea what any of those words mean, do you?”
Scott raised an eyebrow, “Not a clue. I just did whatever the hell we were going to do, except without the use of a machine. And there’s one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Because I did it myself, the effect will be quarterfold what it would be with the machine.”
“Meaning...?”
Scott looked at Elementire and shrugged, “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
They turned back to the testing area, where the scientist was loading a needle with a blue liquid. He reached across the corpse to inject it into its neck. Suddenly the corpse opened its mouth wide and bit down on his arm.
Elementire reeled back in alarm. Scott frowned, “I was afraid this might happen.”
The scientist cried out in intense pain. He stumbled back, and then fell onto the table which held all of the chemicals. He slipped onto the floor and the vials fell on top of him, shattering and raining their contents onto him.
Scott pulled a shotgun from his belt and opened the door into the testing area. As the scientist’s arm turned a sickly black color, Scott raised the firearm to his face and blew the corpse’s head off. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, turning back to Elementire and grinning.
He exited, closing the door behind him. He chuckled, “Always finish things before they start, and always go for the head. Everyone knows that!”
Elementire crossed her arms, “So you’ve stopped anything bad from happening, eh?”
Scott thought about it for a moment, pouting his lips. He nodded, “Yep, pretty much.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed, “Just turn around.”
He frowned bemusedly, turning on his heel. The scientist’s skin burnt away, leaving behind his black underbody. He stood then, and took a uneasy step towards them. His face had entirely rotted away, leaving him with a sickly expression. The jaw hung open as what was left of the scientist raised an arm, placing a hand against the glass.
Scott chuckled nervously, “Not a problem, we’ll just...kill him again. One headshot, that’s all it takes.”
He raised his gun and shot the former scientist in the face through the glass. A huge hole blew through the center of his face and he leaned forwards, forehead resting against the glass. Suddenly he twitched, his body dissolving into a pool of black liquid. It rose up, squeezing through the hole Scott had made with the shotgun blast. They stepped back in alarm.
“It’s still alive, kill it again!” Elementire shouted hysterically.
Scott pumped the barrel, firing off another round. The blob of blackness merely squirmed through the hole and shivered. It formed into the shape of a man, but did not resemble the scientist. It was pure black, like a silhouette, and its particles shimmered, moving back and forth. It opened where the mouth would have been, and it drooled onto the floor, resembling ink dripping from a quill.
It spoke in an eerily silent screech, “We are the Volution.”
It raised an arm, dripping blackness all the way, and then started walking towards them. Scott turned to Elementire, saying, “Now would be an excellent time for us to leave.”
They ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them. Scott locked the door and smiled, “We’re safe now. There’s thirteen inches of solid steel surrounding this room, preventing anything from getting in or out except through this door, which is enforced with an eternity code lock-”
The door started to melt, and they reeled away. Elementire glared at him, “You know what, Scott? Shut the hell up; every time you talk it jinks us up!”
“Harsh,” Scott pointed out, hurt. The blackness surged through the door and reformed into its humanesque form. It screeched at them.
“Elementire, do you remember what race the scientist was?” Scott asked unexpectedly as they backed away slowly.
She furrowed her brow, “I think he was white, maybe asian, why does it matter?”
“You’re definitely sure he wasn’t dark-skinned?”
“Yeah, but why?”
Scott relaxed, “Because the black guy always dies first, everyone knows that.”
Elementire narrowed her eyes, “You’re surprisingly genre savvy, but I have to tell you this is real life. The patterns in movies don’t exactly apply here-”
“Hey, I got the reports you wanted,” said an African-Mobian as he walked around a corner. Scott opened his mouth in warning, but was too late. The mass raised an arm and shot off a blob of blackness that struck the human in the chest. It engulfed him, amassing his body and tearing him apart in seconds.
Scott made a noise halfway between a sigh and a groan, “Yeah, now that he’s dead, we’re screwed.”
The fresh corpse rose up, becoming a blob of blackness as well. The creature was multiplying.
They ran, never looking back.

***

October 13th, 2029.
Metroponente, Mobius.
Scott and Elementire had hidden away. Weeks past, and the blackness known as the Volution was spreading. It had already enveloped two-thirds of the planet. Nearly every human on the planet had been transformed violently into the Volution.
They had found Elementres and two other humans, an African-Mobian couple whose names were Moreau and Skyla. Earth, Venus, and 9volt had gone missing.
They had hidden out in the outskirts of Metroponente, waiting for the apocalypse to die down. Unfortunately, it didn’t, and now the Volution was specifically seeking them out.
“We can’t hide here forever,” Elementres said, sharpening a knife with another knife, “Out there, more and more people are dieing due to the Volution, and we’re sitting here, doing nothing!”
“You didn’t see them,” Elementire said quietly, “It was maddening, watching those things come back from the dead. We’ve tried everything, nothing can kill them, they just keep reforming.”
“And once again,” Elementres said, setting down her knife, “All of my problems derive from our generous and loving King Scott Lycanthrope.”
“Me?” Scott cried, outraged, “I had no idea this would happen!”
Elementres held her knife up against his throat, “You’ve seen literally every zombie apocalypse movie in existence, don’t give me that bullshit, Scott.”
Scott shrugged her off, muttering, “Well, deep down I’ve always wanted an apocalypse of this large of a scale before, but I thought I could contain it. I never expected anything like this...but don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t planning this out or anything, it just happened. I was gonna wait another five hundred years until I started my apocalypse, but then that damn ethical scientist had to get in my way...”
Elementres sighed, “So tell me, Scott. Why shouldn’t I kill you right here and now for ultimately damning us all.”
Scott stared at her, “Because Earth is still alive. You know it, I can see it in your eyes. You’re hopeful even throughout all this. I don’t know about Venus or 9volt, but I know for a fact that he’s alive.”
Elementres slowly lowered her knife. She looked at her sister and sighed, “Fair enough.”
Scott cracked his knuckles, “Now then. I think you’re right in saying that we should do something. By now the entire human population should be dead except for these two,” he gestured to the two dark-skinned humans, “So I see no reason why I can’t activate my plan early. You see, I built an apocalypse device that would kill all life on Mobius except for humans and elves. However, I couldn’t work out how to stop it from killing humans. Clearly that’s less of an issue since we can just transfer these two and wipe out the Volution with a snap of the fingers.”
Elementire perked up, “That’s brilliant!”
Elementres narrowed her eyes, “But what’s the catch?”
Scott frowned, looking at the floor, “It’s on the top floor of Castle Mobius.”
“Effing perfect,” Elementres groaned, throwing her arms up into the air, “We’re going to have to walk a quarter of the planet, towards the highest concentration of an invincible enemy, just to climb a heavy fortress to get to this device, then somewhere along the line get the humans off of Mobius. Freaking beautiful.”

***

October 13th, 2029.
Metroponente, Mobius.
The three Lycanthropes, Skyla, and Moreau slunk through the city streets. They had thus far met no resistance. Elementire looked around warily, “Where are they? I could have sworn they were all over, and searching for us. So why aren’t there any around?”
“I’m not sure,” Scott said, slowing his walk, “It’s actually quite unusual, now that I think about it.”
“Oi,” said Moreau, “What happens if we do come across some of those things? We’ll have to be prepared, right?”
Scott grunted in agreement, “Aye, that’s true. Here, take these.” He pulled his shotgun from his back and handed it to Moreau as Elementire pulled two pistols from their holsters and Elementres drew a knife. He turned to Skyla, “Sorry, I don’t have anything for you,”
“That’s quite alright,” she replied, “I think it’s better if I stay out of conflict. You see, I’m pregnant.”
“That’s good,” Scott commented, “All of the patterns have been consistent so far, and one of the rules of a zombie apocalypse is that PREGNANT WOMEN. DO. NOT. DIE.”
They all stared at him as he stood unblinking for a moment. He shook his head, breathing in, “Well then, let’s get going then.”
He turned around and shouted, “Oh shit!” He fell back in surprise, seeing a Volution standing across the street from them. It screeched tremendously, and suddenly more appeared, surrounding them.
Elementire fired off her machine pistol, shooting the ones closest to them. Elementres threw her knives at the Volution, each one stabbing into their chest areas. She waved a hand, causing each knife to expand, bloating each of them like balloons before they exploded. Moreau ran forward, firing off the shotgun. He cleared a path, calling back to them, “Come on! We have to keep going!”
They ran after him, knocking back the Volution whenever one came close. They ran, every few seconds one of them turning to fire bullets at the pursuing Volution. Scott stood up and finally noticed they had gone on without him. Several of the Volution were surrounding him, dripping ink all over the ground. He released a burst of energy, and they drew back, but still rose back forth. He leaped into the air, drawing the Soul Reaver. He landed on the ground and then spun around, releasing a shockwave that cut each of the Volution in half. They melted down into pools, but started to rise up once again. He jumped over them and ran after his companions.
A wall of Volution rose up in front of them. Elementire surged forward, swinging her elbow. A wicked blade extended out from her sleeve, wrapped under her arm up to her hand. The blade ripped through the Volution in front of her and she spun around, slashing through the nearest blobs of blackness. Moreau was the next to arrive, blasting a shell through the head of a Volution. A drop of blackness landed on his cheek, but he seemed not to notice.
Scott roared, “EVERYONE DUCK!” They all complied immediately as he slashed horizontally, releasing a sonic boom that annihilated the Volution. They continued running, but suddenly Scott grabbed Moreau by the shoulder. They all turned back. Elementres shouted, “Scott, we don’t have time for this! Let’s go!”
“He’s infected,” Scott breathed.
Skyla gasped, “No!”
Moreau seemed to suddenly notice the black drop on his cheek. He wiped it away, but then cringed. He clutched his wrist as his hand shook, slowly turning black from the fingertips down. Skyla cried out, rushing forward, but Elementres lashed out, grabbing her and holding her back. She began to cry as Scott backed away. Moreau screamed, his body blackening and beginning to melt. Elementres looked back at the way they had come and noticed the Volution just watching.
She grabbed Scott by the shoulder, “We need to go, they’re not attacking us now for whatever reason. We would do good to exploit this.”
He nodded, and they began to run again, Skyla crying as she ran.

***

October 13th, 2029.
Metroponente, Mobius.
They had come within sight of Castle Mobius now, and Skyla had stopped crying. Scott wiped some blood from his shotgun and put it on his back once again. Elementire looked out at the castle, saying, “We’re so close and yet so far. This will be the hardest part of this journey.”
Skyla nodded, “Guess there’s no point in turning back now.”
Scott sighed, “Let’s go then.”
They leaped down into the street, running towards Mobius Castle. The Volution at the castle stood, looking towards them. They raised their arms and fired blobs of themselves at them. Elementres drew five knives with each hand and threw them up into the air. They expanded, forming a large metal umbrella. It flew up, smashing into the side of the castle, knocking down those Volution there. Scott grabbed Skyla by the hand and they leaped up through the hole formed from the collision.
They ran through the halls of Castle Mobius, heading for the throne room. They turned a corner and slammed into a figure going the other way. He drew back, raising their weapons at it.
Earth raised his arms up. He grinned, “’sup bitches.”
Elementres ran forward, hugging him. They embraced, and Earth whispered in her ear, “I missed you so much.”
She smiled, “We’re together now.”
Suddenly a black mass of ink ripped through them both, and they simultaneously cried out. They dissolved into a pool of blackness.
“No!” Elementire yelled in despair.
Scott turned back, pushing Elementire and Skyla the other way, “Wrong way, wrong way!”
They watched as the Volution ran after them, chasing them right into the throne room. They gasped at the sight they saw. On the throne sat a gigantesque blob of the Volution that radiated black light. It looked at them and screeched.
Scott shouted at it, “What the hell are you!?”
It melted into a pool of boiling oil and then a single figure rose back up. It was dressed in a suit, its hands bony with long curved fingers. Its head was a blank skull without a face. Its jaw opened, saying, “We are the Volution.”
“Obviously not,” Scott said, “It was all just a disguise for whatever...” he gestured to it, “that is. So let me ask you again; what are you really!?”
It breathed in, and then said in a sinister whisper: “We are the Deathless.”
“BULLSHIT.”

***

October 31st, 2029.
Mobius Castle.
The illusion dissolved, and Scott turned sternly to Earth, scowling, “Well, way to ruin it.”
9volt, Scott and Earth sat around the fireplace on Halloween, sharing a scary story. It had been Scott’s turn to tell a tale, but the revelation that the Volution were in reality the Deathless was too much for Earth. He growled, “You can’t just put the Deathless in your story just because you feel like it. Pulling a Twilight Princess is not cool, man.”
“At least my story was realistic,” Scott pointed out.
Earth glared at him, “The Smoothie Story actually happened.”
9volt and Scott cried out, arguing simultaneously. Earth shouted repeatedly, “Alright, alright! Point taken. No need to be complete assholes about it...”
“Well,” said 9volt, “It’s nice to know it won’t be hard for me to top you both next year.” He sat back contentedly as the other two angrily shouted out.
“Oh, can you boys just shut up already.”
They looked up at Elementire, who was standing there in the doorway. She sighed, “I really look forward to next year. 9volt’s an excellent storyteller.”
9volt blushed as Earth crossed his arms. He shrugged, “Alright, I guess the Smoothie Story means absolutely nothing to anyone.”
Elementire chuckled, “Actually, Earth, I believe you. I think the Smoothie Story really happened, it seems legitimate.”
Scott narrowed his eyes, “Oh, no, that is complete bullshit right there.”
Elementire shrugged, “Hey, anything’s possible.”
“Except zombie apocalypse,” Earth pointed out.
“Shut up,” Scott growled.

***