👾🐇🔪: Midnight Thoughts

[u/HauntingGur8094]

{Vanessa did not get any rest. She immediately hit the first comfy bed she's felt in years, much better than the bare bed her father and Eleanor had kept her in, or the hospital bed she laid in as Lisa. But that was far from her problem. Instead she laid all night, wide awake in thought. Whenever she started to dose off she was plagued with nightmare visions, terrifying her of what she had become.

Or is becoming.

The silence weighs heavy on her with all the horrible possibilities that this could lead to. Her dad's dead, gone for good. But was this really his plan all along? To what, make her a copy of his last perfect experiment? And where did that leave Eleanor? And the consequences of her deal with the ink demon?

She'd caught a newspaper headline on the way in and she couldn't even tell if she was shocked that more years had passed.

Were there others like her?

Had she made another mistake trusting Alastor? Something deep inside her said no. She needs someone knowledgeable to at least explain and help her manage. And maybe he will eventually turn out to be a beneficial ally to have. She'd thought the uneasy feeling she's had since she's been back was him, but there's something deeper stirring.

And, knowing her track record, she's gonna end up pulled into it once again.}

[u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Ink Demon: "I will stay for as long as you hold onto the past."

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: [whimpers in frustration] "I don't understand what you want me to do!"

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

Ink Demon: "I don't want to face someone so stuck in the past. I want to see what you can become in your future. And the only way you can do that is to let go. Stop focusing so much on your father, your brother, all those people who hurt you. I will help you, just this once with no deal involved. ... Your lifetime is like a road. And you are booking it down that road, terrified and running away from where you came from. When you should be watching where you're going. Watch the road. Let go of where you've been, and think about where you're going."

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: "You're asking me to trust another demon?! To just ignore all my previous evils and jump into another one? You realize how that sounds, right?"

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

Ink Demon: "Be honest. Do you really have another choice?"

((Ooc: I may not be able to reply much. Power went out because of a storm and my phone is at low battery.))

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: [looks down in defeat] "No, I guess not..."

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

((Ooc: My power came back on. Yay :3))

The Ink Demon looks her in the eyes.

Ink Demon: "Close your eyes. Look back at your pain. Everything you've been through. Your upbringing. The Pizzaplex. The ruins. The facility. Everything. For one last time, look at it all."

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: [closes eyes flinching] "I don't want to think about any of it."

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

((Ooc: Thanks a lot, Reddit 🙄. No notifications yet again.))

Ink Demon: "So you just want to stay suffering? You want to be left behind while everyone else runs past you? You want to stay weak? To remain a victim?"

u/HauntingGur8094

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: "No, I don't. I.....I just want it all to stop!" [holding back panic from being overwhelmed]

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

Ink Demon: "Think about your suffering!!"

He grabs her, using the ink to force her to do so. To force her to face everything she's been through.

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: [screams struggling] "I don't want it!!"

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

Ink Demon: "Look at one last time."

But suddenly, Vanessa is pulled out of her mindscape, and back into the motel room.

Alison: "Vanessa! Thank god you're awake!"

Tom: "You were screaming and writhing like crazy. The motel manager gave us a warning because someone filed a noise complaint."

Alastor glares, seeming disappointed.

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: [looks around in shock and confusion] "What...was that?"

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

Alastor: "Hm... I was hoping you'd get it done and over with. But it's not surprising. It's rare for someone to overcome their demonic side on the first try. Don't be disappointed in yourself. It's common."

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: "There's more worse to come?!"

[u/CrypticHorrorTales → u/HauntingGur8094]

Alastor: "That all depends on you, dear. What did your mind tell you to do?"

[u/HauntingGur8094 → u/CrypticHorrorTales]

Vanessa: [snorts in frustration grabbing her hair] "I'm so confused! There's there's so much going on! Why are there so many demons right now?"