#me at all times: hey what if vex and godhood. but what if her brother was that god. what if its both a good and bad thing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

countenanceblog · 10 months

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Chapter 56

Karen shook Rufus, who was asleep in a bunk bed. Rufus absentmindedly pushed her small hands away from his chest. With a spasmodic movement, he awoke.

"Oh my God," he said. "Maggie's dead."

Karen nodded. "Yes, and I'm Nyx, and we're deep underground with David Griffith, and my mom is dead, and . . . " She trailed off. Rufus chuckled. He sat up."

"Sorry," he said abruptly. "So if you can commune with the dead, can you talk to Maggie? How about it?"

"I have . . . I have heard her already," said Karen.

Rufus' green eyes alighted. "What did she say?!"

Karen sighed. "She's terribly upset that she's dead, Rufus. She feels as though her lot in life was unfair. She thinks that she . . . deserved you." Rufus blinked.

"You heard her say all that?"

Karen made a strange expression. "More and more, all the time now. Now that they're all dead, I can hear them. Even my dog. You know how in role-playing games, the wizard is on a totally different curve from a fighter?"

"Yes," said Rufus, knowingly exactly what she meant.

"Well," began Karen, "I feel like I'm on an exponential curve. I was able to move several large crates around."

Rufus smiled brightly. "Is that why you woke me up?"

"No," said Clearwater bluntly. "There's been another development. Everyone's in Nook's room. Apparently, Wayne is Grindall. Not only that, Gwyneth and Wolf are immortal too." Rufus shook his head.

"That's impossible," he said. "That means Fort Retard was filled with Old Gods. Do you think, maybe me and the others, maybe we are too?"

Karen shook her head. "I have no idea. Things are moving too quickly for me to be able to keep up."

Rufus ran a hand through his long, messy hair, a cynical grin on his face. "Well, isn't that just peachy? Everyone and their dog are deities except for me. I guess I missed the memo on godhood."

Karen gave him a sympathetic smile, adjusting her colorful scarf. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Rufus. Not everyone has to be a deity to be special. You've got your own unique talents and strengths. Maybe you are just a regular mortal, but that doesn't mean you're any less important. You're my big brother, and I need you."

Rufus chuckled, shaking his head. "Regular mortal, huh? That's one way to put it. Maybe I should start carrying a sign that says 'Mortal Extraordinaire' to feel better about myself. Or 'Nyx's Human Brother'.

Karen playfully nudged him. "You're more than that, Rufus. You're the one who keeps us grounded, the voice of reason in our crazy misadventures. You're my anchor."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get all mushy on me now," Rufus said, trying to deflect the compliment. "I'm just saying, it's a weird feeling knowing I'm the odd one out in a group of deities. It's like being the only one without a superpower at a superhero convention."

Karen's expression turned thoughtful. "But you know what? Being mortal means you bring a different perspective to the table. You see things in a way we can't, and that's valuable. Besides, the revelation about Gwyneth and Francisco and Wayne came out of nowhere."

Rufus's cynical demeanor softened a bit as he looked at Karen. "Thanks, Karen. You always know how to cheer me up. I guess you're right. How did they find out?"

Karen grinned, her eccentric nature shining through. "They died. They got shot to shit. They looked like wiffle balls, according to Nook. I'd rather not take the risk."

Rufus laughed, feeling a bit better about his place in the group. "So that's the prerequisite? Near-death experience? I've had plenty of those on drugs. Let's go."

As they made their way to Nook's circular room to join the others, Rufus couldn't help but feel a newfound sense of belonging. David, Emma, Ariadne, Jack and Jonah were sitting in a small circle with Nook. She convulsed.

"They escaped Vex's complex, all four of them," Nook told the others as her blue eyes opened. "If only we had some way to get there quickly, we could stop Elizabeth."

Rufus stood with Karen near the door of the room. The two of them looked at each other confusedly. "Elizabeth? Who's that?" Nook frowned, shaking her head. Griffith looked up to Rufus with a curiously similar expression.

"Your friend Beth is a queen to the vampires," said Emma reluctantly. "We had no idea how to tell you. But things are moving too fast now to withhold information or contacts. The fact that David didn't get one of your friends on the line when he talked to Herringbone, is – "

"Unforgivable?," wondered David. "Where is this animosity coming from, Emma? We need unity right now. Worse than ever before." Emma pursed her lips.

"B-Beth?," stammered Rufus. "Dude, I've been tending to a crush on her for years, as if it were a garden of endangered plants. And you're telling me she's a vampire?" David tried to speak, but Rufus cut him off. "No, no, vampire queen? Are you fucking kidding me?"

As the weight of the revelation settled upon them, the room fell into a heavy silence. Rufus, Karen, Jonah, and Jack exchanged stunned glances, each grappling with their own emotions and thoughts.

Rufus felt a mix of disbelief and betrayal. The girl he had admired and loved from afar turned out to be an irredeemably evil vampire queen responsible for the deaths of their families. His heart ached, torn between the memories of the innocent crush he had on her and the atrocities she had committed. Words failed him.

Karen's eccentric demeanor seemed to dim slightly, and her colorful scarf appeared a little less vibrant. Her eyes, usually filled with curiosity and wonder, now held sadness. She had lost her mom, and the revelation about Beth only added to her pain. Karen didn't know whether to feel angry or hurt, but she knew one thing – she wanted justice for her family.

Jonah looked shocked and conflicted. He had been grieving in his own silence, and now the truth had shaken him to the core. He teared up once more.

Jack's bold and maverick attitude wavered for a moment. The news about Beth was a revelation that sent shockwaves through his adventurous spirit. He had lost family too, and now the person responsible turned out to be someone they all knew. It left him with an unsettling feeling, like the ground beneath him had shifted.

Ariadne, sensing the tension in the room, got up from the floor with her charismatic charm intact. "I know this is a lot to take in, and we didn't tell you before because we were afraid of how you would react. The coincidence of Beth being the one behind all this was too shocking, and we thought it best to wait until later to discuss it. We needed time to come to terms with it ourselves and figure out the best way to handle the situation."

David, the strong and sanguine leader, spoke up in support. "We didn't want to rush this. We needed to gather all the facts and make sure we had a solid plan before confronting you with the truth. But now that you know, we can face this together as a team."

Emma, the intellectual, added, "We need to be smart about our approach. Elizabeth is powerful, and we can't underestimate her. But we have each other's backs, and together, we can find a way to stop her."

Nook, the shy yet perceptive woman, chimed in, "I can see anywhere at any time, and I assure you, we were working tirelessly to gather information on Beth before making any move. It wasn't an easy decision to keep it from you, but we believed it was for the greater good."

Rufus took a deep breath, feeling a mixture of gratitude and anger toward his friends for withholding this information. "I get it, you didn't want to overwhelm us. But we need to act now. Beth can't get away with what she's done. We have to stop her as fast as possible."

Karen nodded in agreement, her intensity returning as she found a spark of determination. "Right! We need to stop her, for our families and for everyone she's hurt."

Jonah, still processing the news, looked up and quietly said, "I want to help too. I may not have known Beth like you all did, but I want to be part of stopping her."

Jack's boldness returned, his resolve unwavering. "We're not going to let her get away with this. I say we hit her hard and fast, catch her off guard. Do it up."

Ariadne smiled, pleased to see the group coming together despite the difficult news. "That's the spirit! Together, we can take her down."

"First things first," said Rufus, "We have to figure out how to warn our friends in Spain City about Beth. She'll catch them off guard. Who knows what she's planning?"

"That's . . . Not all," murmured Nook. Her voice rose slightly. "Your friend Yuki is a vampire now."

Rufus tugged on his own hair. "Of course she is. I knew she shouldn't have gone off with Valarie. Oh God, is Val dead?" Nook nodded. "Great. Perfect! Fuck, I liked Yuki."

Jonah spoke up. "You mean, liked her liked her? You just said you liked Beth a minute ago. I thought you had a girlfriend, anyway." Rufus stared down Jonah. The beady-eyed young man remained calm in spite of Rufus' gaze.

Suddenly, the doors opened and Lazarus came inside. "What's up in here?," he asked the others. "Got news?"

#countenance

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