Chapter Text
A century. Once, Alcor thought a century was an unimaginable period of time. It had been before the Transcendence, before the Moon landing, before most homes had electricity; it was longer than the average human lifespan at the time. It was filled with names that loomed large to him as a kid - Einstein, Edison, Tesla, all these geniuses born so close to him in the span of all of human history, yet separated by time, by the vastness of a century.
He laughed at that, now. The vastness of a century - hah! It could pass like the blink of an eye, now. All those years, all the souls who came in and out of this world without ever seeing his face… he shrugged at it, now. These days, when he thought of humans, he thought of pathetic cultists holed away in their basements. How did he ever used to spend so much time with creatures like these? Didn’t he get bored?
…
An answer did come to him. A pull in the back of his mind, but he turned away. Mizar… she’d hated him, last time. Told him to go away and stay away, and that was fine by him - yeah, it was! What, was he going to pour his heart into another mortal just for it to not even last a mere century?
No, he’d decided. It was better this way. He was a demon, and Mizar - she’d only ever be a mortal. She’d only ever leave him, over and over and over again. So why bother, huh?
Why indeed, Alcor thought as he sat back in his Mindscape atop a pile of picked-clean bones. He was done with this, done even with showing up to rip out the throats of a couple tasty cultists.
No, he was going to close his eyes, and he was going to take a long nap, and not a soul in this universe was going to disturb him.
Alcor the Dreambender closed his eyes… But almost immediately, he opened them again, and let his form melt into a seething void.
W̶̹̹̠͇̠ḫ̖̻̯͚̕a̫͟t͉̯̱ ̹̫̳̙͖̬̹͘d̩̫̦̳͙̤i͡d̪̤̙̱ ̱͎͙s͡h̺͓̕e҉̤̤̯̗̖̰ ̪w̟͓͟a͞n҉̺t n̘͎͉͓̲̘o̫̬͉̗̣͉w?̻͢
When Mizar summoned him on her own, he usually knew what to expect from her emotions. Usually she was nervous - Alcor could feel it like a pale popping yellow coming through in the call. That meant she usually summoned him out of curiosity, and he remembered liking those ones. When it peaked into fear, though, he thought duress, and he’d come with his claws at the ready. Once in a while, when the universe decided to throw him a bone, she’d even be excited at the thought of seeing him, but that was not what he felt today.
What he felt today was stark black hatred, and the call yanked at him with too much of a strength to ignore. In a lighter century, he’d be worried, he’d wonder what on Earth he’d done to make this Mizar hate him so much before she’d even met him, if maybe there’d been some sort of misunderstanding. But he wasn’t feeling that so much, now.
Now, it just made him even more pissed off, and he dropped into the circle with his wings spread wide and golden brickwork tracing fiery lines across his form.
“W̰̦̭̥H̜̻̖͓ͅƠ̱͍̞͈̗̠̝ ̛͔̹̦̪̜̤D̵A͓̥R̦̝͔̬̘̺̀ȨS ̬̯͖̮͈̳̙S̴̱̦Ú̱M̟̪̘̜͚͉M̼̭̺͍Ọ̤N̢͕̮̙͖ ̶̝͙̲̫̰̗̣A̝͕L͇̰̰͓̯͙̘͟C̗̪̺̩͔̩͔O̘̥̞̰͔̮̮R̗͓̲̥ ͇̞̱͕̺͞THE̟̗̹̱͍͈͕͘ ̜̺̹̗D̬̲̻ͅR̞̝̣͙E̴A̗̱̯̮̱͓̖M̴B̯͔͎̘̙́E̸͕̟͍̪̝̤ͅND̤E͚̟͉̱̮R̙̫̟̼͕̪͎?”
His voice traveled through the basement - because of course it was a fucking basement - like a physical force, knocking over candles, bursting lightbulbs, shattering a window at the far corner. The figure that summoned him stepped back… but it composed itself annoyingly quickly. It turned on a flashlight, and shone it right in his eyes.
“Alcor the Dreambender,” It said in a quiet, quivering voice, and Alcor mistook it for fear. “I… I bind you-”
“B̢͉̰̥̲̺i̶̻͍̱͓ńd̩̞̰͈ ̥̳̖̥̭̞me̯̙̙͙͉?” He looked down at the chalk circle at his feet, and let a thin smile snake across his features. “B̬̹̠͔͍̪i҉̖͎̙̻͖̲n̟̜͇̻̲̯̼͠d̺̹̣̯̪ ̣ m͏̻e̴̘͕͕̠̦̻̜?̬̹̥̘́ ̹̤̼O͖h̬,̴͚͉̝ ͔́ḍo̯͢n̲̤͎̕ͅ'̻̩̳͉̀t̼̗͇ ̲̲̲̞͞t̢̫̥͍̮̩̘̣e̸̳̟̲l̫̳̠̰̩l҉̣̗͙͚̳͔ ̰m̬͎͓̰̀e̸̳͍ ͚̣͙̟̹̱͓͘y̵̱̩̞͉͖̼o͕̥͍͜u̩̣͈̘̹͔ t̴̙͙h̶̘i̲n͇̭̩̖̻̲̠k͕̦̯̲̖̳ͅ-”
And that was when - well, Alcor didn’t know how to describe it at first. Demons were used to bindings, to exorcisms, to ripping and tearing at each other in the Mindscape. They were used to violence, but it was a certain kind of violence.
But Alcor saw the fist come up. He saw it travel all the way into his nose, and when he found himself spreadeagled on the basement, blinking stars out of his eyes, only then did he realise what had happened to him.
He’d been punched. Alcor the Dreambender, Render of Nightmares, Devourer of Souls - punched, in the face! And this Mizar wasn’t done; Alcor watched in shock as he was picked up by his shirt and thrown back into the circle. Then Mizar was on top of him, beating him with the end of the flashlight.
“You FUCKING DEMON!” He bellowed, and the flashlight came down on him like a sledgehammer. His other hand was on Alcor’s throat, squeezing in a death grip. “MURDERER! You took EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!”
“I-” Alcor started, but he couldn’t get a word in. Another blow, and a growl rumbled in his throat. Mizar didn’t seem to hear - but oh, he could make this mortal listen. He could make it scream.
Another blow, and the flashlight shattered on his forehead. The last wild beam of light went out, but Mizar was still striking him - striking him! Why hadn’t he swatted this fly already? What was wrong with him?
His claws dug into its forearms… and then they froze.
What was wrong with him?
In the darkness, he couldn’t see Mizar - suddenly, he could see Mabel raining these blows down on him, Mabel screaming at him until her voice started to break.
“I hate you! I fucking hate you, I hate you, I hate you…”
Golden tears springing to his eyes, he shook his head. No, no, it wasn’t supposed to be like this! They were supposed to be a team, they were supposed to care about each other! He was supposed to care about her, but he wanted… He was going to… oh, he felt sick.
Mabel finally slowed. He watched her sink her face down for a moment, and then grit her teeth and rise to her feet. A mirror laced with binding sigils lay by the circle; she grabbed it with white knuckles, and held it out in front of her.
With blurry eyes, he studied the mirror - complicated sigils, powerful magic, but it wouldn’t bind him, he knew. Without his true name, nothing could bind him unless he wanted to be bound.
To be bound… Alcor cast his eyes to the ceiling as Mabel’s hoarse voice began the incantation, and realised he couldn’t think of a reason in the world to resist it. What was he doing with his freedom anyway? Terrorising the people he loved? No, he was doing nothing with his life. Eternity, and he was doing nothing.
He could feel the chains encircling him, their grip growing tighter by the moment, and he closed his eyes. Stars… he was tired of this, tired of everything. If Mizar truly wanted him gone, then maybe this was his chance to finally do something right by her.
The chains snapped closed around him, and suddenly it was done - he was bound. They started dragging him towards the mirror, and he had the faintest flicker of misgiving before he relaxed, and let them pull him in. He’d made his choice, he thought, and found himself looking at the world from a window. All around him was void, and for once, it was mercifully quiet.
Alcor closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep the centuries away.
“W̰̦̭̥H̜̻̖͓ͅƠ̱͍̞͈̗̠̝ ̛͔̹̦̪̜̤D̵A͓̥R̦̝͔̬̘̺̀ȨS ̬̯͖̮͈̳̙S̴̱̦Ú̱M̟̪̘̜͚͉M̼̭̺͍Ọ̤N̢͕̮̙͖ ̶̝͙̲̫̰̗̣A̝͕L͇̰̰͓̯͙̘͟C̗̪̺̩͔̩͔O̘̥̞̰͔̮̮R̗͓̲̥ ͇̞̱͕̺͞THE̟̗̹̱͍͈͕͘ ̜̺̹̗D̬̲̻ͅR̞̝̣͙E̴A̗̱̯̮̱͓̖M̴B̯͔͎̘̙́E̸͕̟͍̪̝̤ͅND̤E͚̟͉̱̮R̙̫̟̼͕̪͎?”
Piper woke to the sound of a voice shattering her bedroom window. Immediately she was wide awake, huddled in a corner, heart in her throat as her whole house seemed to sway on its foundations. Then it all went still, and she swallowed.
“Dad?” She said, at first. Then louder: “Dad? Dad!”
Footsteps down the corridor. Piper hugged herself as they came towards her, but the door flung open and let out a breath at the familiar voice.
“Piper! Are you here? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay!” She jumped down from her bunk bed and latched onto his dressing gown. “What’s going on, Dad? What was that?”
“I don’t know.” Her dad was trying the lightswitch. “I can’t find Mag either - agh, he better not be behind this! He promised me he wasn’t doing anything dangerous in the basement, but-”
“Dad? What do you mean?” She looked up at him with wide eyes, and saw her own fear reflected back at her. “Daddy didn’t do this, did he?”
Her father’s face was ashen-grey in the moonlight. “We’re going to the car, sweetie. Take my hand.”
“Wha- where are we going?” She recoiled from his hand. “What about Daddy, what did he- hey!”
Her dad took her arm and half-pulled her down the corridor.
“Ow, ow, wait! I don’t want to go! What about my toys! What about-”
“Shh,” He stopped at the top of the stairs and pressed a shaking finger to her lips. “I-I’m really sorry, sweetie, but you’ve got to be quiet now.” He managed a smile. “We’ll come back for them, okay? I promise, but just- just trust me.”
“Why? What’s down there?” She looked into the darkness of the stairwell, and clutched his robe. “Dad, what’s-”
“Please, shh.”
Piper’s heart was beating in her chest, but she swallowed down her questions as they crept down the stairwell. Now that they were quiet, every noise seemed like danger; a step creaked under her foot, and she froze in terror. What was after them? What was gonna happen? Was it coming for her now?
She dared not step again, and her father had to lift her down to the bottom. They were passing the kitchen, and voices were emanating from a door down to the basement - one voice, and it was shouting, screaming, bellowing with a ferocity Piper had never heard before in her life. Her father stopped in front of it, and she tugged at his robe, begging him to move.
“Oh, Mag,” he was saying in an undertone. “What are you doing?”
“Dad!” Piper risked a whisper. “I don’t like it here! Please, let’s go!”
He looked down at her, and all the fear in his face seemed to set into something else. He gripped her hand a little harder. “You’re right, Piper,” he said, and there was a sudden anger in his voice. “There’s nothing for us here. Come on.”
He grabbed the keys from the counter and led her out just as the screaming slowed. Piper cast one last glance over her shoulder, and saw a brilliant white light shining behind the door to the basement. It was brighter than anything she’d ever seen before, and she almost stopped to stare at it but for her father pulling her along. He unlocked the car and ushered her in.
“What was that, Dad?” She felt herself being lifted onto the seat, watched her father struggle to buckle her in. “Dad! There was a big light, what was-”
“I don’t know, I don’t-” He seemed to take a breath. “I… Piper, sweetie, I’m sorry, I don’t have the answers for you. I don’t think I ever will.” He gave her a watery smile, and cupped her cheek. “We’re going on… on a drive, okay?”
“But what about Daddy?” She watched his smile twist a bit. “Is he okay, Dad? What happened to him?”
“I don’t… I don’t know. I really don’t know anymore.”
“Dad?”
“We’ve got to go.” He rose, wiped his eyes, and shut the door. Piper watched him look towards the house, hesitate for a moment, and then get into the driver’s seat. “Okay… we buckled in?”
Piper looked to her own buckle… and then her eyes traced over to the empty booster seat next to her. Her father looked too; he swallowed hard, and turned back to the front.
“Okay… okay.” The headlights came on as he started the car. “Here we-”
A bang. Piper flinched at that, and then saw the front door had been swung violently open. In the stark headlights, she saw someone stumbling out, clutching something to his chest.
“Is that-” She leaned forwards with wide eyes. “Daddy? Oh my god, is he okay?!”
The figure was coughing, covered in blood. He looked like he was crying, but when her father wordlessly turned off the engine and stepped out of the car, she could hear him - she could hear him laughing.
Laughing, and suddenly Piper was recoiling in her seat. It didn’t sound right. It didn’t sound happy. It didn’t even sound like him.
“Mag.” Her Dad was walking up to him, and she could see his clenched fists in the beam. “What did you do? Did you summon a demon?!”
He just laughed… But maybe he was sobbing. Piper could see his hands grip the railings as he rose unsteadily to his feet.
“Mag, you need to tell me what you did, now.”
“What I…” He started, and his voice was hoarse. “What I did… I saved us! I saved the world just now, Dave! I-”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying,” Her other father stumbled forwards, caught his hand on her Dad’s shoulder, and held out something to him - some sort of mirror? “I bound him. Me. I bound Alcor the fucking Dreambender!”
Her Dad froze for a moment, and then recoiled from him. “You did what? You summoned Alcor the Dreambender to our house, Mag?”
“I know, I know-”
“You summoned the demon that killed Scarlett to our fucking house, Mag?!” The fury in her Dad’s voice made Piper’s heart stop. She watched him step towards him, shaking with rage. “With Piper upstairs? You want to get our other kid killed, is that what you want?”
“Don’t you dare say that to me. You don’t understand-”
“No, you don’t understand! You promised me you weren’t doing anything dangerous-”
“And I had it under control-”
“You lied to me! You lied to my face!”
“And I’m sorry, but-”
“But nothing!” Her Dad stepped back. “I… I don’t know what happened to you, Mag. But you’ve changed. I don’t know you anymore.”
“Changed? I haven’t changed. I haven’t changed!” He spread his arms wide. “I’ve fixed this, okay! We don’t have to live in fear anymore! You can just come back into the house, and-”
“Come back? No, we’re leaving.”
“Leaving? What are you-”
“We’re leaving.” He shook his head. “And I’m taking Piper. I’m sorry, but I… can’t help you anymore. I can’t let you put her in danger.”
“Danger? What the hell are you talking about?” He watched her Dad turn on his heel, and followed him back to the car. “I’m not dangerous - hey, wait! No, seriously, wait! I’m not dangerous! Dave, I’m sorry, just come inside, okay! We can talk about this!”
Her Dad got in the driver’s seat and slammed the door. Piper saw her other father stumble in front of her window, put his bloody hands to the glass, and try to smile. She shrank back.
“Piper! Piper, sweetie, it’s okay!” He tried the handle, but it was locked. “Everything’s fine! I’m sorry it was scary for a bit, but it’s all okay now! I did it for you, okay? I did it for-”
Her father reversed the car, and he slipped off the window, leaving red prints on the glass. Piper looked and saw him trying to pick himself up from the dirt.
“No, no, wait! Please, please, don’t go!” She saw his shrinking figure stumble forwards, and fall again. “Piper!”
And then they turned a corner, and he was gone. Piper kept craning her head to look for him; she blinked tears out of her eyes, and turned back to her Dad.
“Dad? Wh-what’s going on? What’s wrong with Daddy? Why can’t we go back?”
Her father didn’t reply.
“Dad! Dad!”
He didn’t say a word, but Piper could hear a muffled, choking sound from the front. All her questions died on her tongue, and she looked out the window again, at the cars passing by, at her terrified reflection staring back at her.
A part of her knew she’d never forget this night.
Not as long as she lived.