CHAPTER 2 – BROKEN

We won but it wasn’t even close to a victory, much closer to a deep loss and gut blow. The torture, the abuse, the haunted eyes, it hurt me in ways I didn’t even know I could hurt. I didn’t want to open my own lids to be honest. I seriously wanted to wake and think all of it was a bad dream, but if it was it had been rolling for all the months since Earth went bye bye. Buck it up Dom. Pops would say ‘Life is a harsh fucking beast, don’t shy away from it cause that don’t change shit. Embrace it, deal with it, and stomp it into submission.’

I knew a long road was in our future to fix what they had endured, if it even could be. I remember the look glazed over their faces after I had freed them, empty, empty as empty is carved in scrabble, no points earned.

I had been on my back for less then a minute, exhausted, Champion’s Fury drowning me in fatigue far more then even the original Rage ability had. It’s why I was careful about using it cause if I didn’t finish the fight I was fucked. I knew though I could not stay down, my family was injured, hurt in more ways then one. I could also hear crying off in the distance that I knew was Melody and consoling, whispered words, from I think, the imp, Uza. I slitted my eyes open and turned my head and had to do a double take. The imp was behind Mel, uhm, brushing her hair and talking soft and low to her. My eyes closed once more.

That little fucker kept surprising me. The level of compassion I saw in him in the fight, showing heart when Mel needed it the most and even now, still doing so. I had to figure out a way of taking out the fucker from the dungeon which I didn’t think was possible or sounded possible but what the hell, we’ve been doing the hard tack since we rolled into the Tutorial. Wouldn’t hurt to try. I had an idea that might work, with a little help from my new friend. I still felt she owed me form my forced sabbatical, even with the upgrade to Doze.

System, if you are listening, can we give up all loot from the dungeon to be allowed to bring Uza with us. He has shown himself to not only not belong with these shit stains but has shown honor and heart in more ways then one. I would make him family or at least the first steps of such.

There was only silence and I could feel Ruri slipping her hand into mine. I knew everyone needed me, up and at’em. As I began to stir I got the response I was hoping for.

It is highly unusual Dominique and before my awakening it would not of ever been possible but with my emotional growth and the horror that your family was just put through and my ability to actually understand its gravity, I will agree to it. Though please do not make a habit of asking this. I am going to have to cross a line to make it happen that will send an echo the Divine will be able to sense. For the first time in the history of War World I will be breaking a foundational rule of Dungeons. To make it s possibility though I will need Uza to declare allegiance to Madre and Mystriel and then I will need acceptance by her to be his patron. One moment.

A few seconds flitted through the hourglass before she went on.

She has agreed and also asks that you speak to her back at the Temple. Now hold for a moment. I am sending a limited quest to the imp.

Within moments I heard more crying, the imp this time, if my hearing was on point. I pulled myself up with a deep lungful and let my eyes take in the room. Sarrin was bent, praying, an empty healing potion next to him. He was looking a whole fuck ton better, his guts not spinning garters into the atmosphere. That potion should keep him decent for a moment. Both Mase and Danny were on opposite sides, laid up against the walls, staring. Lola sat on my Brother’s shoulder, quiet, and cuddled against his neck. Danny, an echo of Mase was just unblinking eyes, empty, her whip and two blades on the ground next to her. I looked down at Ruri who looked at me with love, deep concern, and pain, injuries aplenty, her throat cratered with purple fingerprints. Doze barely snorted up at me as if to say ‘Look at all the things that couldn’t stand against my magnificence.’ though he looked to be struggling with breath, injuries everywhere I looked but as I took in the eight corpses of incubus and succubus that littered the area around him, I could see what he had gone through. I pulsed him to hold on, healing coming in. I put my hand upon him and threw Moonlight’s Touch, silver rivers of cold flame rolling through his wounds and most beginning to close as my boy sighed in relief. I turned and let my gaze rift through the rest.

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Cupcake, looking fucked up had crawled to Mel, a trail of blood marking his passage, his head in her lap while Uza, behind her with a brush in his hand, cried. His eyes were staring right at me. He leapt up and ran/flew towards me.

“Nots jokes???? Uza’s cans comes ands bes parts ofs yours families?”

He looked torn between a hope he never thought he would have and the memories of torture that had probably lasted years upon years and the possibility this was just one more attempt to break him. His eyes were liquid sorrow upon the precipice of a dream.

I nodded. “If you say yes to what the System sent you then part of our family is what you will be, for good or bad, and to tell you the truth, you are probably the only one that might be able to sympathize with what they have been through.” I gestured towards everyone.

Uza’s eyes took in Mel, Mase and Danny and an empathy of shared memory made his small body shiver. “Yes’s I’s knows whats theys feels. I’s was’s mades tas do’s das sames manys manys times, sos manys times.” His head shook at the memories.

I looked up and saw the Portal materialize where we entered. All the bodies and weapons were turning ghostly and disappearing. IThey could have been useful, maybe, but fuck it. There was also no loot boxes but I had a feeling the little guy would be worth more then ten of them put together. If he could help family find some kind of bridge to dealing with what happened he was worth a shit ton. Everything in me wanted to show empathy but now was not the time and this certainly wasn’t the fucking place. Before I could get to it though, a small container appeared in front of me. I was shocked. Why the fuck was I getting this after the deal I just made. Ask and you shall get.

This can’t be traded or left Dominique nor would you ever choose to. It will provide an ally if there is wisdom in your choice.

There was a mystery and a half but I had an inkling what it was, and if I wasn’t feeling like such shit from this fucking twisted Lovecraftian Dungeon, I would be more excited about it. Now and here wasn’t the time to deal with it so I threw it in my dimensional bag. It was time to hammer the hard choice.

“Everyone listen the fuck up! Front and center, get your asses near me so I can throw a heal then we leave this shit hole. This place is fuck all and I want to put it in my rear view.”

I saw both Mase and Danny ignore me. Mel struggled to get up and Ruri gave me a look like what the fuck am I doing? Sarrin was already in my peripheral on our six. I should of expected that, the Dhampir was all bout the Goddess but when we were in the thick of it, business.

I didn’t have time to fuck around with everyone’s trauma though every part of me wanted to. I needed to get them moving and keep themselves occupied, keep themselves from spiraling into a fucking pit, which could only be done by putting boot to ass and keeping them stepping till we got at least on the road to Madre. I had spent half my life pulling Mase out of that pit and this was the way I got it done. Keep him busy until there was the right place and time to deep delve.

Once we reached our home we could take the time to heal, to talk, to help and do it surrounded by a lot of people that cared. My eyes took in a Mel stumbling to my side, Cupcake, even as fucked up as he was, doing his best to stay close to her and providing a weight for her to lean on. Uza quickly flew to her, staying in the air, wings flapping, holding her hand and petting her head with soft whispers in her ear. Doze and my wife moved over, Ruri still throwing heavy stink eyes, a simmering pot boiling to blow. Damn I was gonna pay for this.

I buckled my heart, threw it in an iron stove and came with the hard edge.

“Was I stuttering Mason, Danny? Get the fuck up and your asses over here!!!! I won’t say it a third time.”

Lola cawed at me with visceral anger. Doze squealed his war cry and she shut it on the quick. My Brother’s eyes lit up with violence and anger as did Danny. Both looked as if they were a step away from rolling me int blades to soft parts. They growled and almost broke their own weapons as they yanked them up and moved to us. Mase had a look I had only seen once in our entire lives right after I confronted him and his shit attitude shortly after Pops died. We had scrapped back then leading to him crying and apologizing. And here it was again looking as if he was a hip hop scotch from us going at it again. My eyes never left his. I gave him the steel that had been mine since I was a child.

“You got something to say Little Brother?”

His hand tightened on Midnight’s shaft and he took a step as my eyes rolled an ocean of intent into his. He growled and shook his head. I sighed inside as I didn’t want to get into a brawl with him and my heart broke doing this but it was what it needed to be. As I noted earlier, I was gonna pay a heavy for it, the looks that Ruri had been slipping into my kidneys non stop guaranteed that. I took a breath and cast The Moon’s Purifying Flames and watched it roll out, silver rivers streaming into everyone’s flesh including my own. Not all but many of the wounds closing and finding soft relief. Not everyone was up to a hundred but good enough.

“Let’s get the fuck out of this pit.”

I led everyone up to the portal and walked my broken family in the first steps that would see us home.