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“Lovely girl,
You're the beauty in my world.
Without you there aren't reasons left to find....
Lovely girl,
You're the murder in my world.
Dressing coffins for the souls I've left behind
In time.”
“Ava Adore” by The Smashing Pumpkins
Stern was one way to go about it but with the force tugging at him Stefano thought he should probably step it up a notch.
“AGH FUCK N-NO PLEASE!”
Stefano sighed, a slight crease worrying the skin between his brows. This was giving him a headache.
“My precious child”, he said patiently, his smile somewhat strained, “I realize you are eager but you need to—“
He gave a sudden extra hard tug, betraying the frustration he masked with the smoothness of his voice. The sound of ripping preceded a few screams.
“OH GOD PLEASE SOMEONE JESUS FUCK!”
“—be good for papa. Come now. Don’t make me beg.”
With an exasperated sigh, he planted his heels in the floor, glaring up with disdain as a disobedient feminine groan expressed displeasure.
Obscura was having none of it today. They were too high-strung, too restless. It had been a few days since his first real brush with the Core’s father and he had not wanted to give the uncomprehending Neanderthal another chance to destroy one of his most precious creations.
That said, he had basically grounded poor Obscura until he could figure out what to do. Should he try strengthening his darling or straight up murder the bastard who dared lay a finger (and several shot gun blasts) on them?
Well, eventually he would kill him but he’d prefer it on his own artistic terms.
A ragged sobbing cut through Stefano’s thoughts rather rudely. His lip curled up slightly in disgust at the broken thing crying and carrying on at being stretched between his own strong grip and two of Obscura’s needle-sharp protrusions currently impaling their rowdy guest through the ribcage.
“Obscura”, Stefano warned, his voice low and hopefully commanding.
This unplanned hiatus had made him rather antsy himself. He had gone out to bring back something to give him inspiration on his next piece but upon his return Obscura had pounced on his catch and tried to claim it as their own.
It wasn’t their fault. This particular canvas just happened to scream a little too loudly, bleed a little too much and once Obscura took notice of the blood...well...that was it.
Obscura had also been uncharacteristically listless following their encounter with the Core’s father, wallowing in what Stefano assumed was self-disappointment. He had tried comforting them, telling them they would get him next time with better planning. It had really just been an introduction and they’d get another chance to play with him.
This was probably them acting out, trying to curry favor from their master from what they must have seen as a failed project. It was very likely they wanted to either take it out on the unfortunate Mobius agent in their grasp, maybe show their papa what wonderful art they were capable of creating.
Obscura began pulling, Stefano’s own physical strength no match. Oh, sure, he could easily take back his quarry with the bending of physics and logic but that wasn’t the point. He had to show dominance.
“Drop it”, Stefano continued, his grip on the helpless agent’s already dislocated arm tightening as he saw his creation’s muscles tense for another round of tug-of-war.
“AGH NO FUCK!!”
“You’re not helping!”, Stefano sharply scolded the agent, two wide, tearful eyes visible behind the faceplate of the helmet.
The agent did not reply, at least not intelligibly, as Obscura moaned low and dangerous, a clawed hand gripping a shredded uniform-clad leg possessively. The sound of squelching and bones snapping followed by an irritatingly pitched scream did nothing to lessen Stefano’s frustration.
“You are being a brat. I know you know this.”
He frowned at a whirring noise and flinched at a sudden flash of light.
“Now, now. Patience is a virtue, my pet.”
Their neck craned and Obscura’s camera head arched not unlike the warning stance of a snake about to strike, another clawed hand smoothing fingers slowly over the helmeted head of their prize. Luckily their “prize” seemed to have passed out for the moment, blessing them with silence.
“Don’t”, Stefano warned again, drawing out the word and ending it curtly.
The hand tightened on the helmet and the tell-tale sound of cracking tactical armor awoke their captive.
“Ugghh...what—OH GOD OH GOD!”
Stefano had never raised a hand to his cherub. He cherished them more than all his creations. But perhaps this was one of those times physical discipline was regrettably in order.
“I am going to count to three.”
Obscura paused their increasingly vice-like hold as Stefano shifted his grip so his arm was secure under the agent’s and reachedy back for his knife. They seemed to believe he was bluffing. If he was being completely honest he wasn’t quite sure if he was.
“Uno....”, he began, his eye steady and unwavering from the giant unblinking camera lens.
Another low girlish moan floated up indignantly, Obscura’s hand adjusting on the agent’s helmet, causing the pathetic thing to whimper again.
“Due...”, he continued, not exactly sure what he would do once he reached “tre” and hoping he didn’t have to. He liked to think his Obscura more reasonable than a disobedient dog or an unruly child.
This was it. Master and pet stared each other down. Stefano sighed in exasperation, his teeth and tongue beginning to reluctantly sound the final number.
“Tr—“
With a mournful wail Obscura released their grip and both agent and Stefano fell back in a heap. The man was a dead weight, passed out in a swoon and probably from blood loss. Obscura also tended to intimidate their occasional guest so it was very likely he was simply overwhelmed. Stefano’s creation was simply too grand for normal mortals to comprehend. Stefano did not assume this; he was sure of it.
Grimacing, Stefano roughly pushed the agent aside where he lay moaning and sniffling and holstered his knife, breathing a sigh of relief. Obscura was currently tossing their head, skittering backwards and shrieking rather sadly.
“Mia bella”, Stefano crooned soothingly, approaching them cautiously in their throes of disappointment and dodging a stray appendage, “You must stop this. It is very unbecoming of you.”
After a long ragged groan the poor creature stood stock-still, a statue in their grief. Their massive neck hung listless, their skinless, slick body slumped despondently. He sighed, smiling up at them reassuringly. Such a dramatic child, this one.
“Ah, come to papa, mio passerotto piccolo. I am not upset at you. Never. Don’t fret.”
With a weak moan, Obscura seemed to look at him, then theatrically turned their massive head away in despair. He chuckled and reached up, stroking their lowered head with his gloved fingers. Obscura tried to resist but then moved along with his hand, relishing their master’s touch. They let out a soft, contrite sigh, pressing against his hand.
“There, there now. I know it’s hard for you to stay put but it won’t be for long. I promise.”
A scuffling sound distracted their moment and Stefano glanced over with irritation at the fallen agent who was now dragging himself away amidst gasps and groans. He wouldn’t get far.
Stefano turned back to Obscura, noting the poor baby trembling beneath his hand. Their lens was focusing on the trail of blood their guest was leaving behind. They really were bent on releasing some artistic stress on the undeserving thing, weren’t they? And who was he to stop them? Wasn’t he himself feeling that itch?
“I know, I know”, he cooed to them, patting their neck, “It is not only difficult but useless to fight the urge to create. Papa is so sorry for ever having tried to hold you back.”
Stefano, being somewhat indulgent of his favorite child, sighed and gripped the bottom of Obscura’s camera face, turning it back towards him.
“I’ve an idea, cherub. What do you think of a collaboration of sorts?”
Obscura put their full attention on their master, craning their neck so Stefano could see his reflection in their lens. He felt a clawed hand reach up, a sharp nail lightly trailing his chin. He nodded up at them, his smile broadening.
“Would that make my cherub happy?”
He grunted in surprise as both of Obscura’s arms wrapped around his waist and he was crushed suddenly but gently against their body in a grateful embrace that literally took his breath away. He laughed (as much as Obscura’s squeezing would allow) and firmly pushed back, Obscura’s body leaving a sort of film on his face and clothes.
“Ah, that’s better! We’ll have fun this time. And it will be good practice for the next time we meet that philistine.”
Obscura shivered deliciously as they released their master, their legs stamping in agreement.
“Let’s put that pent up energy to use.”
He fingered the handle of his knife, hooking his finger into the ornate ring at the end, then threw it up in the air and caught it, much to Obscura’s delight. They always loved his knife tricks and they caught a few shots of it dazzling in the light as it twirled.
Turning, he aimed the blade carefully and let it fly. There was a dull, moist hit and a strangled cry as it reached its target.
“Fetch”, Stefano said pleasantly to his eager pet.
Obscura was on it in seconds. Screams of terror and pain serenaded Obscura’s return to Stefano’s heels, the knife sticking from one of the unlucky agent’s shoulders and one long spear like protrusion thrust through the muscle of his other shoulder, his hands weakly gripping its blood-slicked pointed end.
“Nnng...p-please—“
“Perfect!”, Stefano praised his pet with applause.
Obscura tossed their head back, much to to agony of their captive who swung miserably from his impaled shoulder. Grinning at their enthusiasm, Stefano pulled the knife out of the squirming agent with a fluid sound and a yelp from their new toy.
“Now, what about a little target practice?”, he said, running his gloved fingers against the flat of the blade and admiring the blood dripping down the soft red leather, “Papa can’t be getting rusty now. Want to help papa?”
With a obscenely loud groan, Obscura pranced in place. The jostling and Stefano’s suddenly excited laugh made the stuck agent more nervous than he already was.
“Wh-what are you gonna—?!”
“Go!”, Stefano cried.
Obscura spun and flung the agent towards the ceiling, who cut off his useless question with a very undignified scream. Aiming carefully, Stefano followed with his eye and let his knife fly once more. Another choked gasp at the sound of metal penetrating armor and flesh made them both jump in victory.
“HA!”, Stefano yelled, throwing a fist into the air. Obscura’s scream of ecstasy mimicked his enthusiasm perfectly.
The human blade sheath landed with a loud thud and a whimper, Stefano’s knife sticking out from the middle of his stomach. Stefano bounded over and ripped the knife out, bouncing on his heels as Obscura skittered towards him, moaning excitedly.
“Incredibile! Such a smooth throw, my beauty!”, Stefano crooned to his pet, who was currently snapping pictures as the agent faded in and out of consciousness, “Ah, but wait. Were you trying to go easy on me?”
Obscura managed to capture the horror dawning on the agent’s face as he awoke and looked up, cooing at Stefano guiltily. Stefano merely chuckled in reply.
“Once more then. And make me work for it.”
Despite the desperate pleas, Obscura sunk their claws into the agent’s arm and leg and seemed to draw their body in a coil, then with a graceful spin they released the agent so he cartwheeled into the air.
Stefano’s eye narrowed, pursing his lips in concentration before he released his knife once more. When the agent landed, somehow still alive, Stefano huffed in disappointment at the knife barely held in place in the very edge of the man’s torso.
“Hmm. If you please, once more. I’m not very pleased with myself.”
Obediently, Obscura gathered the reluctant play-thing in their arms but not before nudging their master affectionately in support. It took a few more times before Stefano was satisfied.
“Look! Nearly got the same spot!”, he said proudly, crouching down and smiling broadly at the agent’s dazed face.
The agent did not share his enthusiasm and merely hacked up blood at him. Stefano waved a hand at him dismissively and yanked the knife out again.
“Uuugggh please just kill me please—“
The agent’s requests for death were ignored as Obscura groaned, Stefano lightly rubbing them under their camera face.
“Such a good baby, as usual.”
He looked down amused to see one of Obscura’s legs tapping in time to his caresses.
“Are you ready for a new trick, piccolo mio?”
The agent strained to hear what this lunatic was planning with his monster. Whatever it was, it had the thing listening very intently (where the hell were its ears???) and then lurching its long neck back and forth excitedly.
“Sei pronta, mia bella?”
With a groan, the agent could only allow his already mangled body to be picked up in the massive claws already dripping with his blood. His armor was in shreds and had been useless anyway since the first time he’d encountered the psychotic bastard.
“Une...due...”
Stefano chuckled quietly as Obscura waited, the trembling in their limbs evidence of their excitement.
“...TRE!”
Bracing himself, Stefano watched them fling the agent across the room before he moved, always amazed by the brilliant streams of blue and white energy as he phased to where he could see the body slowly arcing towards the ground.
He paused, stepping back a few paces until he could see the wide, frightened eyes behind the blood-smeared helmet faceplate.
With a wide swing of his arm, he cut neatly across the helmet, his knife cracking through the faceplate easily, and just barely slicing the bridge of the unfortunate man’s nose.
He grinned as the impact of the knife’s pent up energy sent the man flying back towards Obscura.
They were there before Stefano could even drop out of his phasing. They released a high kick of their laced limb, the man letting out a sort of squawking noise as he was made airborne again.
Stefano met him at his descent once more and sent him flying towards the ceiling with a fierce upwards slash, cutting diagonally across the torso.
With each strike between the two the man began to lose more blood, then chunks of flesh, and finally full limbs spiraled through the air, blood like thin red streamers trailing behind, until both players were drenched in red.
“Fantastico!”, Stefano cried, idly wiping his face with his sleeve, which was a bit pointless as his clothes were completely blood-soaked. It did nothing but smear the gore further on his face but he didn’t seem to notice.
Obscura was frantic, snapping pictures at the carnage around them. With a satisfied sigh, Stefano beamed at his creation. Then they both paused and looked up surprised as they heard a weak groan. Stefano followed Obscura’s brisk trot to where the biggest piece of the agent lay in the midst of all the red.
They both peered down at the cracked faceplate until Stefano gingerly pulled it off and a bemused smile lifted his lips.
“Signore...I must admit I am thoroughly impressed with your endurance.”
The agent only moaned, bubbling blood dripping out of his slackened mouth to slide sluggish and thick down his cheek. The man was all torso and nothing more. Streams of crimson pumped slowly out of multiple wounds and out from the stumps of his limbs. He reminded Stefano vaguely of a starfish.
“You have gifted us with such a wonderful time but I feel it best to send you on your way.”
Whether the agent could hear him or not was unimportant. Stefano straightened up, knife ready, then paused. He looked up, noticing Obscura’s massive camera head hovering above him.
“Ah. But you deserve a treat, mia bella.”
He bowed and stepped back, and Obscura hesitantly craned their neck. With a few gasps, they let out a number of twisted, metallic tendrils and wrapped them around the agent’s neck, what remained of his limbs, then pierced half a dozen of them through his middle.
A dying groan. A flash of light. And Obscura mercilessly ripped the agent to pieces, his innards exploding in a brilliant red fountain. In that instant another brighter flash lit up the immediate area in a calming blue.
Obscura stepped back, the focus of their lens adjusting at the slow, thick ropes of entrails blooming out through the air over and over hypnotically. Stefano let his camera down and sighed, then blew a bloody kiss towards Obscura’s massive inquiring lens.
“A bouquet for you, mia bella.”
Obscura tapped their feet excitedly against the floor, then hurled themselves into their master’s open arms, once more stealing the breath from his lungs.
“Of—“, Stefano cut off and coughed, gasping as the hold around his waist grew tighter but hiding his discomfort, “Of course, anything for you, cherub.”
He planted a light kiss on their lens and was gently lowered to the floor, his shoes squelching on red bits of Mobius agent. Obscura looked definitely at ease now, even with a little hop in their step. He smiled up at them and Obscura cooed back.
“We must do this more often.”
Obscura stopped in mid-step, then stamped like a young horse and tossed their head back. Stefano let out a surprised laugh.
“My dear, you are insatiable!”, he exclaimed before he lightly scratched their neck, “Just like your papa. Alright then. You pick this time.”
He jogged after Obscura as they scampered excitedly towards the doors of studio, eager for the hunt.
—
End