(Strider and myself only in here, with me filling in for another user until he gets back. This thread takes place during [i]The Darkness II[/i], encompassing the first "Vendettas" mission, the introduction of Johnny Powell to Jackie Estacado in the main game, and perhaps a little bit with Brother Victor for Strider's character near the end.

For Isaac and Cheryl, this takes place after the upcoming thread "Long Arm of the Law" and before the plot known as "Rip in the World". I am uncertain where this is for Cain Flueves, Strider's character, but I assume quite some time after "Water's Truth", perhaps on a reconnaissance operation while Styx also gets information somewhere else.

Isaac and Cheryl will begin at the end of the first "Vendettas" mission ahead of the actual team, while Cain will be on his own for most of this.)

"F***! Please don't kill me, I'm not with them, I [i]swear[/i]!"

Arriving on a world to those words really didn't help Isaac Zivaku's mood. Something about this place seemed... familiar. He'd forgotten this sector of the map, but knew he avoided it for some reason. Best to just find out why and then leave.

What he didn't expect was to land, with his traveling companion near him and his powers intact, in a garage of sorts, a warehouse with an iron door locked by a padlock on the outside.

[url=http://images.wikia.com/thedarkness/images/f/ff/DII_Johnny_Powell_in-game.jpg]Someone[/url] was still in a wooden chair in the corner. His arms were tied behind his back with a rope. He had a green right eye and a blue left one, his gaze wild. Looked to be in his twenties or thirties. From the twitching eye he seemed to be some kind of addict, or at least crazed. Short brown hair, a blue suit with a white shirt underneath it, both dirty, and blue and white sneakers. Isaac skimmed his heart for an instant. "Johnny Powell."

Powell took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, you're a guy, she's not showing a holy aura, you're good, you're good." He looked to the other woman...and paled. "F***!" He took a deep breath though again. "Gotta check, gotta check, she'd be trying to kill me, trying to kill him too I guess... no, no, just Interferences..." At least this one was one of those types who knew. Crazy for one, but one nonetheless.

Isaac looked to Cheryl Mason. "You pick next world, and have dibs on the ammunition. I guess something can replace the clips for a while."


Cheryl just had to deadpan at the crazy man tied to the chair. As with her demon companion, those words also didn't help her mood much. Unlike Isaac, she had no idea what this world was, though something about it right now almost put her on edge. At least she had her weapons, for once.

The Holy Mother didn't give much a response when the man freaked out over her presence, other than a roll of the eyes. Good to know someone recognized her as a freak of nature, she said to herself. She didn't pay attention when Powell then recognized them as Interferences, and just shrugged as she picked up the ammunition on the table by the iron door. Keeping a mental note to test them out later, she then turned her attention to the door and tried to lift it. No dice; she found the padlock on the other side holding it down. She let go, and instead kicked the door to see how strong it was.

"...that's one tough lock," she said, then turned to Powell, gesturing to the door. "What's up with that? They keeping you locked up before they take you to the loony bin?"

[i][color=blue]"You could do without insulting the man's clinical insanity,"[/i][/color] the second voice, the one of her true self, reprimanded her, clearly unamused by her joke.

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(This takes place after the scrapbook "Chasing Shadows" for Cain.)

"Am I in the right place?" Cain wondered as he walked on the empty floor. From what he saw of it, the rooms were made by propping up wooden boards hastily. This told him that he was in some abandoned warehouse and that he was likely in an illegal establishment. Cain thought back to the meeting he had back in Lior with Jessica. The older version of the Jessica that had joined up with them a few years ago who told him about a secret society known as the Brotherhood. Considering his intent in visiting the world, he figured he'd try anyway. Especially if it meant working with Jessica again which was the good fortune he had been wanting. "Is this really their base? It is inconspicuous but still, it could be in better conditions. May as well search for Valente. I'll deal with the rest when I finally find him." He continued traversing the labyrinth of rooms made of wooden walls.

Cain had to stop though as he ran into two men, both of them wielding AK-47s. They were wearing normal body armor in gray with gray pants and shoes. What was odd about them was the helmets they were wearing, which was black and glowing orange in places around the neck with a circle with a vertical line on the forehead and covering everything but the mouth. They both had the assault rifles pointed at him and were prepared to shoot him.

"Wait!" Cain said, knowing that it would simply provoke them to shoot him but continue. "I want to talk to Brother Victor! I have a proposal for him. Let me explain myself." A nod from one of the Brothers told him he could continue. "I have contacts with a powerful group that seeks an alliance with the Brotherhood. I've come as a favor for their leader to speak with him. She has access to weapons and technology that can help with your goals. And if that doesn't convince you... I was a host of the Darkness."

The two Brotherhood members glanced at each other, their AK-47s still trained on Cain and surprised at what the latter had just revealed. With a nod from each other, one of the two walked around and aimed his assault rifle at Cain's back. The Brotherhood member in front turned around and walked forward. Cain simply followed his escort, one part of his plan already done.

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Isaac had to admit, Alessa Gillespie was right about how it was rude to make fun of this man's obvious instability. It didn't mean he didn't find it funny, though. He grinned, looking down at the lock like Cheryl had. He felt the metal door. Shouldn't be too hard to get past that.

"Oh ha, ha! Just get me outta here!" Johnny kept trying to struggle against his ropes, but Isaac just walked up behind him, summoning his Abyss and slicing through the ropes with little effort. Apparently those worlds with no powers had helped to increase his physical strength.

Powell practically jumped up, rubbing his wrists from the rope burn. "Holy sh**, holy sh**! Thank you, thank you, [i]thank you[/i]! You saved my [i]life![/i]" He paused, looking at his hands for a moment. "Hey... wait a second." He looked back to Isaac again. "You [i]stink[/i] like [i]Dark Essence[/i]!"

[i]Dark Essence?[/i] Isaac did a brief skim of this man's heart again... he remembered why he didn't like going here. [i]The Darkness. Oh crap...[/i]

[i][b]Remember thyself...[/b][/i] boomed a voice from within the Silver Tongue, audible to only he himself and Cheryl. He understood Dormin. This was where it lived. This was its universe, where it held sway in one way or another.

He had to put it off like he didn't care, though. "I don't stink [i]that[/i] bad." Still, Cheryl might have noticed his apprehension, though he hid it. She knew him well enough.

Johnny was not done, looking down. "And that means..." Looking back to them again, terrified. "Aw, [i]sh**[/i]! You guys were sent by Jackie [i]f***in'[/i] Estacado! That's not good! Pretty sure he wants me dead." He seemed more angry with himself than with them. "F*** me twice!" Finally, he calmed down, or at least resigned himself. "Well go on, take me to him. Out of the frying pan, into the fire."

Isaac did have to clarify something. "I was a Darkness host. Not anymore." He looked into a corner of the room, where a kind of golden cylinder container on a stand was kept, and picked it up as he dismissed Abyss. "What's this?"

"Hang on, hang the [i]f***[/i] on!" Unlike Helen's case, Isaac could tolerate this level of swearing. The Darkness was scary stuff, and his case was less than typical. "You [i]were[/i] a host? How do you get rid of that sh**?!"

"Scammed a Lord of the Dead. He took it along with most of my powers, but I still have some of the Essence on me, I imagine." He waved the container. "So you were explaining this?"

Powell looked down again, shaking again. "Interferences, changing the laws... no, no that won't work..." He shook his head. "Think about it later, can't deal with it now, gotta get over there before he punches my f***ing skull in!"

"Powell. Focus. We'll leave soon. Just see if you can focus on something else for a few seconds." Isaac's patience was wearing thin already. He was only being relatively nice because he was also scanning Powell's heart. Twisted, crazed inside, driven mad by the occult objects he had to study, the growing addiction to The Darkness itself. And... there. There was a map of New York City, the location of the Estacado manor. In lieu of using a portal, he'd walk them there. Much easier, and he would risk less dark-based infection.

"Right, right... the Fool's Phylactery." He took it from Isaac's hands, speaking. "To you, the Darkness might have been a curse, but not everyone sees it that way. It's like that old saying, y'know? One man's curse is... is another man's.... 'gimme, gimme!'." To Isaac's incredulous, blank stare, he spoke again. "I mean that's a stupid way to think, obviously. The Darkness is the [i]possessor[/i], not the [i]possession[/i]. But stupid people do [i]stupid things![/i] Which is why many of them have tried to [i]steal[/i] The Darkness over the years." He looked back to Isaac again. "Lucky for you, I guess, these attempts usually don't go very far." Isaac wouldn't count that as lucky, but let him move on. "Take this relic, for instance. Over time it has earned the name 'the Fool's Phylactery'. If you every played D&D as a kid... and by the looks of those muscles I will assume you have [i]not[/i]... You'd know that a phylactery is like a Tupperware for souls! It keeps them safe, fresh, unspoiled!" Well, that was a nice thought. He probably could use one of-- "It also [i]doesn't f***ing exist![/i] Nowhere, in the black arts is [i]such a thing as a 'phylactery'.[/i]

"See, the Fool's Phylactery is a [i]hoax[/i], perpetrated by a monk back in the 1600's. He... he'd had his fill of [i]religion[/i] and was looking to [i]cash out[/i]. So he crafted this fancy [i]container[/i], forged some ancient [i]scrolls[/i], then sold it to the first rube he could find. That idiot tried to catch The Darkness. [i]And got eaten[/i] instead."

Okay, so far that seemed pretty standard. People were sometimes selfish, other times idiotic. At least that was the end of the story?

Unfortunately not. "You'd think that would be the end of it, but no. Four hundred years and countless dead later, this sh** is [i]still[/i] going on!" Isaac couldn't help himself. He palmed his face, sighing in exasperation. "People are [i]f***ing idiots![/i]" Finally he calmed down. "This is why I live in a box. Under a bridge."

Isaac lowered his hand. This guy was crazy, useful, or both. He was banking on the latter option. "Thrilling. We'll just get you over to Estacado, since, with your knowledge, he probably can use your help with whatever he's currently up to."

"Ugh, fine." He pointed to the door. "Unless you guys are teleporting all over the place, there's some guys who wanted to do who knows what to me right outside. I'll stay here, you guys keep them from [i]blowing our heads off![/i]" He took a breath again. "Then maybe [i]you[/i] can tell [i]me[/i] where you got the holy aura, since it's [i]sure as hell[/i] not from The Angelus!"

Isaac had waved his hand. He had a kind of black and white "film" projection over his hands, ready to use the Scout plasmid... when he heard that. "The Angelus?"

"You get us out of here, I'll explain all of it to both of you! I'd [i]assume[/i] that, knowing that you took in [i]The Darkness[/i], you had [i]no idea[/i] what you were doing, so maybe you need to get your head examined!"

"...this is coming from the man who lives in a box under a bridge," the demon deadpanned.

A twitch. "Gah, just get the hell out there and get us free. Dunno how you managed to get [i]in[/i] here without an [i]escape[/i] route, but there ya go."

Isaac shrugged, and looked to Cheryl. "I'll be right back. Just watch him and be ready for a fight." He stepped away from the door, to a place where he wouldn't be hit immediately if the door opened... and his spirit, invisible, walked free from his body. The misplaced eye, the weaponless nature, the shadows playing over his hands... he walked throughout he metal door, and looked at the scene outside. Okay, a bunch of men with submachine guns and pistols, not to mention a shotgun or two, but nobody they couldn't handle. Definitely not a big deal at their power level. He turned around, looking at the lock holding the door down, and raised a hand, calm as the dark power gathered in his palm. "Dark Sphere," he whispered, and the shadowy force blasted forward in the form of a ball...

[i]Boom![/i] The explosion destroys the lock, the door swinging open and up immediately as Powell dove into cover, swearing as he hid behind a wall, and Isaac's soul returned to his body, a few blinks letting him get his bearing as shouts came from right outside, the gunmen coming their way, firing.

He took his Collector Assault Rifle off of his back, aiming down the sights as he flatted his back against a wall. "This what you wanted by a world where you could have your weapons?" he asked the Holy Mother, turning and firing a short burst that hit a man in the throat, then another that took a man in the chest, both dying due to a complete lack of body armor, especially any that would measure up to this level of technology.

(They'll be going to the Estacado place and getting some more exposition on the universe in the next round. This is basically a curb stomp given the fact that this is a "first level" group of enemies going against high "level" Interferences who [i]don't[/i] had the weakness to light.)

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