Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-25808351-20170217234150/@comment-28358106-20170226030238

Thomas reaches the end of his efforts. He begins to falter when he feels something pushing his mind from behind, a force so powerful, it's unmistakable. He immediately tries to shut it out, but to no avail. The words slowly drip in his mind like bloody ichor.

'"...Done so soon, O my brother?  Hast thou no strength left with which to bolster thy efforts?" '

{No...no! You will NOT interfere here! You will not...}

"I will not be told what I may and may not do in my own kingdom.  Your approach is...admirable, but ultimately incorrect.  You must not pull him along.  He must be pushed, by the one singular puppet string of his damned soul.  Allow me to show you..."

{NO..!}

But it is too late. The images form in Marcus' mind, and Thomas feels his own memories pulled from them by the shadowy hand within. It is not an old memory, but nor is it too recent. It is the living room of the Estate. Regina and the daughters all sit on one side of the room. They look sad and somewhat frightened as Regina silently comforts them.

But on the other side of the room is Aegis. She paces furiously. The rugs are shredded, a table overturned, a menagerie broken. Her claws scrape the bare wood as tears stream down her face, her mouth rigid, her teeth bare, her brow furious. She paces back and forth as Thomas stands between her and the group.

"WHY??  Why would you do this, Dad?  Why are you doing this??  This isn't fair!  THIS ISN'T FAIR!!"

"Aegis, listen to me..." he starts.

"NO!  NO!  I'm NOT listening to you!  This isn't fair!  Why are you all of a sudden doing this?  Because he's your friend?  Is that it??  Because of the things he's done for you?!"

"No, Aegis, he does things that benefit his people!  He's---"

"HE KILLED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE!" She screams. Thomas says nothing. "LUCIDA LOOKED IT UP!  WHAT MAKES HIM SO FUCKING GOOD NOW THAT JUST MAKES THAT GO AWAY?!"

"Aegis, it isn't about him being good..."

"Then what is it??" She says, her rage shaking her body. "What makes his people better than the ones he slaughtered??  What makes him like them more??  Answer me that!  ANSWER ME, DAD!!"

Thomas takes a deep breath, his voice calm. "Aegis, he helps people now to make up for what he has done.  It's not going to make what he did go away, but it's not---"

"So fucking what?!" She raises a her wing and points it at him. "You help people all the time!  Every day, for free!  You keep people from dying, and look at you!  Nobody treats you like you're some fucking hero!  Maybe if you killed a lot of people instead of acting like a fucking coward and refusing to fight anything, maybe you could get away with murder, too!"

"AEGIS, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Regina stands, her voice shaking the walls, her eyes blazing. "You will NOT speak to your father that way!  You!  Will!  NOT!"

"I'm not going to speak to him at all!" Aegis shouts, sobbing. "He's a fucking coward who won't stand up to a real monster!  He's a monster and if he ever comes here again I'LL KILL HIM MYSELF!"

With a burst she takes off indoors,. The wall shatters as she leaps straight through a bay window and takes out part of the wall surrounding it.

The image fades. The shadowy hand retreats from Thomas' mind. It echoes with a low chortle.

"You will see, O my dear brother, that the will to resist must be given purpose.  Let us see if his desire to make amends is enough to drag him back to our existence..."