Work Text:
The sweet, heavy smell of burned tobacco hung in the air as Sylvester paced rapidly before the entry to maternity ward's waiting room, puffing out clouds and then walking through them every time he turned around. He didn't really smoke much anymore, but waiting was making him excruciatingly nervous and he found no other way to calm his nerves other than chain smoking cigarillos. He was about to use the one that was finishing burning to light another one, when he heard movement inside, so he quickly stomped it out on the pavement and headed inside.
The doctor had just come out of the delivery room's door. She seemed unfazed by all the smoke and tobacco smell – likely she was used to it from the countless nervous fathers-to-be. “Mister Mills?” she asked him.
“Yeah, that's me. Tell me doc, how did it go?” he replied and then coughed.
The doctor's face turned grim. “I'm deeply sorry Mr. Mills. We did what we could...”
“Oh no...”
“...but despite our best efforts, your wife didn't survive the birth...”
“...no no no...”
“...and neither did your daughter. My most sincere condolences.”
“...no no NO NOOOOO!!!” he screamed and fell down to his knees. “NOT AGAIN! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! PEGGY!!! NOOOOO!!!”
“He he he, well... what did you expect Hellhound?” came a raspy voice from before him. He lifted his head and saw the doctor transform into a horrible abomination with sallow purple skin, and featureless face locked in a permanent grin. “Did you really think you could escape the Cleanser's curse?” the monstrous doctor spoke.
“Not this crap again.” Sylvester growled as he stood up. “I thought I was rid of your pain-in-the-ass nightmares already.”
“Pathetic worm.“ the monstrous doctor replied. ”The affliction is still within you. And it will keep rising back up to haunt you every time your guard is down. Do you understand? This is the might of Cleanser! The taint on your mind is eternal!”
“Put an egg in your shoe and beat it.” Sylvester stated bluntly before landing an uppercut punch onto the featureless monstrous face, but it just spilled into purple goop upon impact, and it started wrapping itself around his outstretched arm. “Dammit! Not this shit again...” he sighed as the walls around him began melting into the same goop, and sky turned into hundreds upon hundreds of giant screaming mouths.
As he began to sink into the ground that turned into slime, his face was that of pure annoyance. “I absolutely hate these stupid fucking nightmares...” he grumbled before submerging completely.
******
With a gasp he woke up, falling over with the chair he fell asleep on after coming back from a gig early in the morning. It took him a few moments to regain composure and realize he was not dreaming anymore - he was back home, in the kitchen of the new apartment he moved into with Peggy shortly after their marriage. Located in West Town near Caeglefeyn square and the MELODIES OF THE OLD WORLD shop, it was by no means a luxurious apartment, but way nicer than anything in the nearby Downs.
With this realization, Sylvester stood up, rubbing the back of his head and muttering all the curses he knew and looked at the kitchen clock. It was eight in the morning and light was coming in through the blinds already. The visitors hours at the maternity ward will begin in two hours, so he decided to make some coffee before heading to the shower to scrub the smoky stench of a live music venue off of him.
As the droplets falling from the shower head caressed his face, he reflected back on the nightmare. He knew that people would get frequent nightmares after overcoming the taint of a contact wound, but from what he heard these would all be gone after a few months. But it's already been three years in his case, yet the taint kept resurfacing when he least expected it. And what was even worse, it was not just a generic nightmare like the others had, it was as if 'it' knew what was going on in his life – Peggy was entered into the maternity ward three weeks ago, and her term was approaching. 'It' also knew what happened to his first wife, that she died in labor along with the baby. And 'it' was really starting to piss him off.
After he finished the shower and dried himself, he grabbed a comb and a can of pomade and began working his hair back into shape. As he was doing so, he kept thinking about the nightmare. Was the cause behind it the fact that it was not caused by an ordinary monster, but a so-called Afflicted? Did the human-monster hybrids cause worse nightmares than the ordinary monsters? Not like he had anyone to discuss with it, he tried to learn more about the existence of Afflicted people in the library, but each book dismissed them as a myth and urban legend. And he did not want to go around asking too many questions, or the CDD and constabulary might go after him, considering it breaking the vow of silence he gave them. His yes wandered down towards the jagged scar that Ragged Wraith's claws left on his thigh. The scar looked like any ordinary scar, and when he ran his fingers along it, he felt nothing out of the ordinary.
Once he was done, he got dressed in a pair of jeans, brown leather shoes and a crimson and cream bowling shirt, and set out for the tram stop. As he was unlocking the door, he paused and loked behind him. Up above the doorway leading to kitchen, hung his old mask. It gazed at him with the empty eye holes, and the predatory jaws painted on the bottom part grinned maliciously as always. A large crack scarred its visage, along with the stains caused by nightmare essence. The stains couldn't be scrubbed off, and he thought about whether there was any connection between the nightmares and having the mask around, but when Detective Blink handed it to him, he assured him that he had a healer girl with great detection abilities check it out and she confirmed it to be safe. Shaking his head, he went outside and locked the door behind him.
******
Peggy suggested they'd take a walk in the park right next door. The doctors told her she could use the fresh air, but to take it easy. And so they found a bench by the small pond in the middle and sat down there.
“Honey, are you all right though?” Peggy asked Sylvester after a while. “You've got bags the size of plums under your eyes.”
”It's okay Fuzzy Duck, don't worry. It's just that the last night's gig was real wild and I got completely creamed, see.” Sylvester replied and ruffled Peggy's short hair like he usually did. He didn't want to worry her by revealing that he had a contact wound-induced nightmare after such a long time, especially considering the contents of it... and even moreso now that she was so close to her term.
“Oh you! Y better be taking it easier now, for the sake of all three of us.” Peggy frowned and crossed her arms on her chest, looking away for a moment. She was about to say something more about it, but then paused. “Hey, see that woman with her family coming this way? She seems rather... familiar.”
Peggy nodded towards an approaching family. There was a tall woman with brown hair an grey piercing eyes, dressed in a tracksuit, together with a short stout man with messy light brown hair and thin scraggly beard. They had two children, twin sisters apparently, who could've been around four or so years old, in small folding baby carriages with them.
“Yeah I think I saw her before too. Wait, is that a tattoo on her face? Ain't that your work?”
“Oh right! She's that badass former magical girl I inked a few years ago!”
As the family approached, the tall woman glanced over to them and stopped in her tracks. “Pardon me, but have we met before, by any chance?” she asked as their twin baby daughters curiously stared at the strangers.
“Indeed we did! I did your ink, remember?”
“Ah yes! Needles was it?”
“Eh, since I closed the shop for now, I don't really go by that moniker anymore. You can call me Peggy, and this is my husband Sylvester. Your name was... Jane if I recall correctly?”
“Yes that's correct, Jane Greene. This is my husband Ben, and our twin daughters Maria and Elizabeth. Come on kids, say hello don't be shy.”
“Hewwwooo!” the twins sisters called out in unison and both Sylvester and Peggy responded with a smile and greeting.
“Where do I know 'you' from, though?” Jane asked Sylvester afterwards.
“Uh, maybe from a gym somewhere... or the newspapers most likely. The... Violin Trial ring a bell?” he responded, and Jane's eyes narrowed.
“Huh... yes I recall that one. And I'm pretty sure you were not there as judge or lawyer... you were the convict.”
“Yes, I WAS convicted in the case. But I was acquitted of all charges later.”
Jane crossed her arms. “Really now? How come that wasn't mentioned anywhere?”
“I guess the nightingales didn't really tell that tale now, did they. But I assure you it is all true, and pretty insane even by the standards of a former magical girl. I can... tell you the story, if you have a moment.”
Jane's eyes remained narrow and her face was as if made of stone, but there was a spark of curiosity in there somewhere. “Hmmm. Tell me then. I bet the kids will like to hear some crazy adventure story too.” She replied, not relaxing on her defensive stance.
“Alright, but you better not go spreadin' this tale around, ya hear? And for the sake of the young'uns, I'm leaving the spookier stuff out, don't worry.“ Sylvester said quietly as he leaned in closer. He then spoke about his search for his lost niece, how he and his friends Buddy and Valencio got captured and threatened by the Ragged Wraith, how he got roped into the scheme to steal Ria Stradiva's violin, resulting in him getting framed and thrown into jail. Then he detailed how he was a part of the failed jailbreak (leaving out the part about how who the dreaded Jason Patrick Battes was, and his fate). He continued about Detective Blink and how he made him reunite the Hellhounds and take The Ragged Wraith and his gang down, with the City Constabulary claiming the victory for themselves in exchange for him getting cleared of all charges. With the C.D.D.'s warnings in his memory still,a ll the parts about Ragged Wraith secretly being a human-monster hybrid were also omitted, including how magical girls of Team Strings took him down. So instead he claimed that he, Buddy and Valencio knocked him out together and that his trial afterwards was kept a secret.
“Huh.” Jane raised her eyebrow after he was done, even relaxing her stance a bit. “I have to admit, that's wilder than what most magical girls experience during their time. But I know you're telling the truth – I can see it in your eyes.”
“Wait... so you two were... gangsters?” Ben asked carefully, his light brown eyes glancing back and forth between Sylvester and Peggy.
“Vigilantes, actually.“ Peggy corrected him. “Back in the day, West End was a rather lawless place you see, ruled by gangs you see, and militia groups like us stepped up to... to do the... ow... uh”
“Peggy! What's wrong?” Sylvester asked.
“Ow... ow... I think... oh no I think my water broke!”
“Shit! Already? We need to get you back inside, quick!”
“I'll help you carry her!” Jane exclaimed before turning to Ben. “Dear, take care of the twins, take them to the maternity ward's waiting room! We'll be there!”
******
“You're more nervous than Ben was when I was in labor. And I was told he almost passed out, poor sweetheart. But he's a gentle soul so that's to be expected, unlike of a former vigilante boss who defeated the City's deadliest mobster.” Jane commented as Sylvester paced in a small circle, constantly lighting and extinguishing a flip lighter (because he didn't have anything to smoke on him).
When she said that, Sylvester paused and looked at her through the small twinkling flame of the lighter, not extinguishing it this time. “Well...” he sighed as the flame's blue and yellow reflection danced in his eyes “...I do have my reasons. My first wife... she died in childbirth.”
“Oh no...” Jane was taken aback. “I'm sorry. I didn't...”
“Don't be. It's been over seven years now.” He closed the flip lighter and thought about telling her the truth about Ragged Wraith and the affliction-related nightmare he had last night, reasoning in his mind that if there's anyone who'd believe him, it'd be her. And he also assumed the chances that she would pass this information on or tell on him, causing the C.D.D. to come after him for breaking the oath of silence were very low. He was breathing in, about to unleash the unbelievable truth upon her, but then the arrival of Ben and the Greene twins interrupted his flow of thought.
“Finally... we're here. Honey, help please...” he panted, seemingly overwhelmed by the two live wire toddlers.
As Jane ran to his aid, the door to the delivery room opened and the doctor came out. “Mr. Mills?” he called out and Sylvester turned toward him ever so slowly.
“Yes... that's me. What's the news doc?” he asked, sounding as if someone tied a knot in his throat.
“Congratulations! Your wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! You can come in to check on them both now! Mr. Mills? Are you all right?!”
“Yeah.” Sylvester replied from the floor after he collapsed there after all the stress and anxiety got flushed out of his system in an instant. “Let me just... just recuperate for a moment...”