Stryder BC
princess
Neziul
SouffleGirl123
Scrawl Banditta
duskshine749
Moon Child
Pathei Mathos
Oso
Aloysius, Rufus, Lana, Circe & Tiberius
A collab between @jakeb1993, @The Grey Dust, @PureHeroine, @Cerces22, @HaleyTheRandom
Location: Dark Shadow HQ.
Time: 10.10pm.
The trip from the airport to the base was a rather uneventful one for Aloysius. He had drove right from the airport to the base, which was located deep within the cityscape. Aloysius had toyed with the idea about having his base of operations somewhere in the high rises of Manhattan. However the real estate was far too expensive for his needs. Instead he found a place just outside in the downtown area in Harlem.
The place he had found was only a few blocks away from Marcus Garvey Park. Between two buildings was a small concrete path, cordoned off with a rusting, bent metal chain link gate. The area looked abandoned, and most people wouldn’t even notice it as they walked past. Which is exactly what Aloysius wanted. Pulling up onto 118th Street, he would park on the street just outside the gate. His black jaguar looking pristine, thankfully didn’t look too out of place here. It wasn’t a run down area after all. Getting out of the vehicle he would walk on over the gate, running his hand down the the centre and lifting up the locking mechanism before opening the gate and letting himself inside. After walking through he made sure that the gate was properly shut. At the back of the concrete back was a small set back recess, which housed a small set of stairs. Aloysius walked on over and went down the steps, which eventually led to what looked like a normal basement door. The door was actually heavily enchanted, made that way so only members of the Dark Shadow could open it. If anyone else even dared to try then they would get killed.
Opening the door Aloysius was greeted with even more steps, that would eventually lead down into a vast underground basement. The basement was the remains of an old arms factory in 1943, the above ground had been renovated into apartments, though the underground had been all but forgotten about. The place was littered with cables, wires, tv screens on stands and other various apparatus. They may have been Magi, but they weren't luddites. In the centre of the basement was a large round table, filled with seats running along the edges. That was where they had their briefings. At the back was the barracks, comprising of two floors. The lower floor had small, tight rooms, made for members, the senior leaders had spacious upper floor, and Aloysius had his own room of course. There were various doors scattered around the outskirts that lead to other places in the complex, but this was the main part. Aloysius would go to the table and take his seat. Of course his seat was special: It was a tall leather chair, whose back was actually taller than him. Sinking into his seat he would pull out his phone and wait and see who was the first to arrive.
The day seemed to drag on, and by the end of it, Lana was exhausted. Even if all she had done was stack shelves and sweep and mop floors, being on her feet all day was tiring, especially since she wasn't given much opportunity to use her powers to lighten the workload. Due to her unstable emotional state, she was always under close watch from her manager, and even when he wasn't watching her, there were always customers mulling around.
When her shift finally ended, she was looking forward to going home, having a hot shower, and going to bed; until she remembered that there was meant to be a meeting at headquarters. Thankfully there was a shower in the staff locker room, so she was able to quickly wash up before she changed out of her uniform and into her casual clothes, before making her way to Dark Shadow HQ. As much as she was dreading being there, she knew it wouldn't be wise to not show up.
After at least a forty minute taxi ride -and a ten minute walk from where she had had the driver drop her off- she would finally find herself outside the entrance to HQ. Lana would give herself a minute or two to gather herself before she entered. Which only turned out to be a waste of time, when she saw Aloysius was the only other person in the room. All the resolve she had gathered disappeared, and she became tense, which was a natural state for her whenever he was around.
She wanted to turn back around and wait outside for the others to show up, but pushed forward anyway. Lana would choose to sit around the opposite side of the table, as far away from him as possible. As soon as she was seated, she would retrieve her phone from her pocket and open up a game, to keep herself entertained until the meeting started.
“Lana” Aloysius called out as she sat down, half in a greeting tone and half in a surprised tone. “I wasn't expecting you to arrive until the very last possible minute. It is unlike you to be early"
“Isn't it normal to put off doing something you don't like for as long as possible?” Lana never took her eyes off the screen of her phone as she spoke, save for the few seconds it took to roll her eyes. She was normally early, just not as far as he was concerned.
“Oh my…” Aloysius started. “You don't like me?” He said with mock hurt lacing his words, before letting out a dark chuckle. “You know, if it wasn't for me, The guild would have killed your telekinetic ass by now”
It would be a few seconds after Aloysius made his last comment before one of the empty chairs around the table jolted into the air and went hurling right towards him. If he had the chance to look over in her direction, he would be met with a death glare. The arrogant prick actually had the audacity to imply she needed his protection, and needless to say, that really pissed her off.
Circe skipped the road humming Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train to herself. It was such a nice day out and the policeman's hat dipped low on her head. It was a good night last night, two more humans lay dead in Central Park. Her shadow always keeping pace seemed to be in a good mood as well.
“Don't worry baby, hehehehe, I am sure Aly has something positively destructive plotted out. We might break all the toys we play with!! I know, I know!! I can't wait either hehehehe.” She said to her shadow. She found the entrance to base and bounced in excitement. Circe looked around to see if anyone had followed her.
“Don't you dare say that!! We might be a little hahahaha, but still we are not stupid. If someone found this because of us, why Aly might just want to play with us ahahahahaha!!” She opened the door to the base and stepped into the big meeting room.
The first thing she noticed was a chair flying towards Aly’s head. Lana stood there with a look of pure murder on her face. Circe broke into a huge grin at the sight.
“LANA!! See I told you baby, she would eventually give in and enjoy killing just as much as us, patience is a virtue!!” She said to her shadow.
As the chair came hurtling towards Aloysius, he raised his right hand a gust of wind propelling forward from his palm, sending the chair flying in the opposite direction. “Just remember...” He smirked “While I appreciate your telekinetic power, i have more magic power in my right pinky. So be careful” It was at this point he finally heard Circe’s voice. “Ah Circe…” He said while wincing from the volume of her voice. “Nice you could make it”
Lana was distracted by the sound of Circe’s voice yelling out her name, making her wince and turn her gaze in her direction, missing the moment Aloysius blocked the chair with a gust of wind. It wasn't until she heard the chair hit the wall and break into pieces that she realized it didn't hit him, a disappointed scowl falling over her face. “Asshole…” She muttered through clenched teeth, as she resigned into her seat once more. Lana leaned back in her chair slightly, and lifted her feet up to settle on the table. Then she pulled out her earbuds, plugged them in, and let the sweet sounds of, Rubber Bullies by TFS, flow through her ears. This would help to soothe her temper, and block out their irritating voices.
”Now why did you guys stop?! You were just getting to the good part!!” Circe almost sulked over to her empty side of the table. As she began to sit down her chair rose out of the ground. Made of darkness, the chair was very ostentatious, only about a half an inch smaller than Aloysius’s chair. “Shhhh baby, Alys got important killy things to tell us. We should listen to him.”
For a brief second Aloysius felt bad. While he did enjoy pressing Lana’s buttons he couldn’t help but feel he went a little too far. Lana was powerful. Aloysius had to respect that. She had trained her powers and was most certainly one of the organizations more powerful members.
The Dark Shadow. It was a rather stupid name wasn’t it? Picked out like some angsty teenage definition of cool. Perhaps it was only fitting that some kid ran the show, as a troubled Patrician trying to masquerade under the guise of a battle-hardened warrior. No matter what allies and pockets he pulled at with his elite access granted to him by through a tiny hole in his father’s rubber, he knew nothing of the world’s cruelty first-hand. It was this way with those high-born Princes, thinking themselves above the common man and common law, striving to make the world into their perverted dream. All the theory they could master, all the knowledge in the world they could be exposed to by the hours of tutoring and education granted to them by their uppity-upbringing, and yet when it comes to practicality they didn’t know shite. So that’s how their little organization got such a comical name as Dark Shadow. Shadows are already dark, what in the nine-blazes was that braindead mutt thinking when he came up with such a name. The Corpus ought to shudder to see what had became of their legacy.
Hiding in old haunts, under this old abandoned ghetto, like rats in the sewers. Sure it was an old weapons factory, but it was still buried beneath a rotting corpse of a rundown apartment. Rust and ruin reigned here lined with littered streets. Broken bottle bits of a drunkard, wraps of unsealed rubbers, and forlorn flying yesterday’s news, all the trash of humanity dredged up in this godforsaken alley. The irony perhaps is that beneath the sealed door was just that: The Forgotten. For the most part, they had done nothing for months on end, only the small incident here and there, isolated events which neither drew the attention of the national authorities nor the Guild. But now, which three-letter government organization was looking for them? Hunting for clues on who caused the derailment of the train? Wouldn’t they see that idiot’s smirk in a frame? Who cared to know that there beneath their noses were a coven of dangerous magi the world has yet to understand? If only they had a more fitting name to strike terror into the hearts of the nation.
“So… Looks like you’ve finally had your balls drop boy.” The mockery arrived to herald his arrival. A younger Rufus openly challenged the found of the Dark Shadow, walking into their dilapidated lair with an air of nonchalance and a box tucked under his arm. “It’s finally about time. Try and keep this circle jerk short, I’ve got a class to teach in the morning. Some of us work, and aren’t living off sucking daddy’s money and senators. So let’s not waste my time boy.” Such insubordination, and yet Rufus would never let anyone that failed to earn his respect have anything less than his biting Irish tongue. Regardless while the other three present were waiting around seated, the eldest member of their twisted society remained standing, almost as if he was the one in charge here. “And evening ladies. Having a fine night yet with our lad or are we waiting for that tattoo parlor to get here and join us for this little tete-a-tete?”
Oh joy. If Lana hadn't killed Aloysius’ mood, now it was dead. The dull Irish times rang through the open room. “Ah look. The granddad who has all the time in the world, still manages to arrive almost last. You would think you would be the first to arrive” He quipped, running his temples in frustration. This was why he didn't call meetings. While he was grateful for their support in his crusade, they were just all a tad bit unbearable.
“But yes, I have made a move. I felt it was time to shake up Salem. I don't expect it to do much, but at least it will force Salem to make a move. We just need to observe her response and take notes.” While he wouldn't say it out loud, he did value Rufus's opinion. He had alot of life experience, he had seen the recent blight of the magi.
“Anyway. What exactly is in that box you appear to be holding? Is it something I can use to defeat the Guild perchance?”
“Oh I’m terribly sorry, I had to go find a strapping young lad to help an old man across the street.” Said the most patronizing of sarcasm. “But a Time Keeper is never late boy, I just had better things to do with my time than stand around playing your wet nurse.” Tit-for-tat, truly a meeting of egos, and despite the chain of command at work here, it seems that the Dark Shadow was not as popular as the Guild by far. Sure he may have attracted a following of misguided youth, but to turn the attention of the old guard, veterans of magic who have been active since he was still waiting to pop from his mother’s ovaries, Aloysius would need more than just a handsome face and money. “But I didn’t come here to change your diapers boy. Onto business: stirred up trouble that you did, and you had to get your pretty little girly face all over the networks. Frame by frame on the Camera boy, the Guild ought to know by now, and it’s only been a day. You’ve forced the pieces to move lad, now follow through. Go and strike the next target, we still need to give the impression our recruitment’s just as strong as theirs. Or would you rather let them know all you have is are the lot of us?”
Time wasn’t on their side. The Guild was the establishment, they had already won once, all they had to do was play the game of attrition, and they would win again. This piping windbag needed help to claim a victory, all the help he could get looking around at the state of their affairs. Though indeed all revolutions started small, they needed the numbers on they just didn't have on their side. This was no IRA, but Rufus could work with what little resources he had, these young and eager boys and girls would be a good start. “What’s in the box? What do you think is in the box you airhead? If it’s something you could use to defeat the Guild, why in the Seven-Heavens would I just hand it over to you and never used it myself all these years? Go make yourself useful boy, bring us five glasses.” Opening the wooden box and reaching into the treasured casket, Rufus retrieved the object inquired of: “Jameson Reserve. Kept this bottle safe for a few decades. Thought now would be a good a time as any to break the seal and quaff the draught. Now that we are declaring war against the Guild and all, might as well make it proper.” Indeed a green bottle of whiskey, not because Rufus was the stereotypic Irish drunkard, but rather because at least one person had something to contribute to this meeting since their leader had evidently just called them all to tell them what their eyes could already see with and admit to a plan of doing nothing more than watchful waiting after.
Her next song was just coming to an end when she heard the door to their headquarters open and close, signalling the arrival of another of their members. It was either Tiberius or Rufus, and to be honest, she was hoping for the latter. Lana paused her music, stopping the next song from playing, and removed her earbuds. She then shifted her feet off the table and straightened herself in her chair so she could comfortably turn and see who it was. Seeing the not-so-old time master brought a hint of a smile to her face. They weren't friends or anything, but her and Rufus usually got along well. Mainly because he seemed to have as much dislike for Aloysius as she did.
The dislike was quite obviously mutual between the two males as well, as they would begin to trade insults almost immediately after Rufus had made his entrance. The whole exchange was rather amusing for Lana, as seen by the small satisfied smirk on her face.
”So I see the Dr. Who has finally arrived, have a hard time parking your Phone Booth did ya?? Old man when will you let me kill you and make it permanent??” As Circe finished her sentence she threw a knife made of shadows right at Rufus’s heart, knowing full well the Time Keeper would dodge it. A sadistic smile slowly spread across her face.
”First Aly derails a train. Lana tries, and fails horribly I might add, to kill Aly for making jokes. Now it looks like Rufus has gotten younger again!! Which means… he's been dipping into those Lucky Charms baby hehehehe. All I did this week is kill a boring police officer, and all I got was this lousy hat.” She said to the group of collaborators.
Tiberius hadn't had that busy of a day, and as usual, this left him with quite a bit of energy. Spending his whole day at the tattoo parlor - one had to make a decent living somehow - his curiosity would be at its peak, remembering the message from Aloysius that he received yesterday. Al hardly ever called for meetings, which meant something was about to go down. The day had been filled with a few customers. Two of them being a young couple wanting each others names tattooed on their wrists. While Ty obliged, as was his job, he found it stupid. Though some young couples did last, he doubted that getting their names tattooed on each other was a smart move. They would move away to college, someone would cheat - it happens more often than not.
Turning off the lights and locking the door for the night, he would slip the keys to the building in his pocket before walking out onto the busy sidewalk and whistling for a taxi. Giving the driver the address to a nearby restaurant down the street from the DS Headquarters, he would relax in the back seat, pulling out his phone and putting his music on shuffle. The first song to come on would be The Unforgiven by Metallica - one of the young man's favorites. He watched the various buildings and people go by out the window, and sooner than he would think, the car came to a stop right outside of the pizza place. Tiberius handed the driver a fifty dollar bill. "Keep the change, buddy," he said, patting the other man on the shoulder as he hopped out of the vehicle. He would walk into the restaurant and order a large pepperoni with extra cheese. He had to make the cab driver believe that this was his destination, he was hungry, and he had a few minutes to spare. Once the pizza was ready, he would pay for his order and walk five minutes down the street before opening the gate that lead to Headquarters.
Why the hell Aloysius had chosen a place with so many fucking steps, Tiberius had no clue. Maybe he figured it was a good way to get his exercises. Nonetheless, Ty walked down the steps, the smell of pizza filling the hall and the room as he entered, just in time to hear Circe's final sentence. "You killed a cop? Niiicceee. Hope you made it brutal. Though being you, I'm sure he enjoyed his death quite nicely."
Tiberius walked over to the table before setting the box down and handing out the paper plates that had came with the pizza to the others in the room. The King was there, as well as Father Time, Little Miss Basket Case, and Miss Wicked. Taking a closer look around the room, he would see the chair in pieces against the wall. He raised a brow in suspicion, but said nothing. "I see the old man brought the booze. Lovely." He sat down in the chair between Circe and Lana, promptly grabbing one of the largest slices of pizza from the box. He ripped the crust off first, and proceeded to stuff his face. You had to save the best part for last. "So. Somebody care to tell me what the fuck we're here for, or did Al just miss us and want to see my sexy face again?"
Listening to everyones words Aloysius just scrunched his face slightly. This was embarrassing. His order, his resistance… was this. These people. He had no hope. Letting out a sigh he stood up to address everyone while grabbing the glasses that Rufus desired. “Now that everyone is here, I hope I can begin?” He took another deep breath, clearly prolonged exposure to the entire group caused him some form of stress.
“Yes, I have started everything. I launched the attack and derailed a train and I made sure that the Guild were aware to some degree of my involvement. That was deliberate. I wanted to get their attention without exactly alerting the Nonmagi” He waved his hand dismissively. “I want us to be careful. I want to poke the bear, not stab it. We can not afford to go into open warfare with the Guild. Every member of the Magi community is apart of the Guild by default, even if they don’t sign up. We couldn’t win… yet” He would then lean forward, resting his hands on the table as he carried no addressing everyone.
“So here is what I want you to do: Rufus and Circe…” He started, looking at the two of them “Go out there and cause hell. Okay…” He stopped for a second considering he was speaking to Circe, his instructions would have to be more… precise. “Go cause some havoc. But not too much. Show the Guild we are capable of striking, but please...please for the love of me, don’t attract too much Nonmagi attention. The last thing I need is those ‘Conspiracy nuts’ hanging around here” With his briefing to them done, he turned over to Lana and Ty, sitting on the table to address them.
“Meanwhile, us three are going on a date! Well, not really a date, but a sorta date. Later tonight there is going to be a midnight auction. I happen to know that a magical artefact is being sold off tonight. I was going to steal it, but it would attract way too much attention if i just grabbed it, so we are going to go by it. I am hoping it has slipped under the Guilds radar as before this swindler conned me out of it, i had done my best to keep its nature under wraps.” He would then smile at Lana before pushing off the table. “Any questions?”
”Define too much?? Because once I get started, baby here will be hard to stop!! And why do I have to be teamed up with John Conner?? Can't I have someone more fun like Ty, or a pissed off Lana?? Hehehe, in fact I vote for pissed off Lana, she's fun when she loses control!!” Circe took a shot of the alcohol and stood up. Her smile spread even wider at the thought of destruction.
Still stuffing his face with the warm gooey pizza, Ty would have a look of shock on his face. “A date? Damn. I knew we were close, but I didn’t know we were that close, Al. I mean… if you want a night of romance, I guess I could probably work with that.” As he finished his last sentence, he would lean over, wrapping his right arm across Lana’s shoulders. This would surely get him killed, but as long as he could bug everyone, he didn’t really care.
“Fine then, poke it all you want boy, but you’ll never be a man if you just poke about and never learn to penetrate.I can drink to the beginnings of our revolution, and I’ll gladly raise some fresh Hell for us.” Well that was it, all members present and accounted for by the time the pizza delivery boy showed up. Not quite warm enough to offer a toast to their newfound movement, but rather quietly pouring out his Jameson and taking the brisk Irish shot and distributing out the second rounds of the firewater neatly. Smooth as time and kissed by angelical malt, the emerald bottle from the emerald isle, a brief reminder of home, or at least it were before things got English. “Suppose I’ll have to get to some supplies for the job. Your mother’s not the only one your daddy’s laid in bed with after all.” Another jab and a quick turn of the wrist for another drink. “Now then, I think it’s time for me to go.”
Finally the dagger hit the wall. Rufus parting the rest of the guild to do his assigned task. The boy was played like a fiddle at a true pub, getting the glasses, and falling to the suggestion of Rufus to strike while the iron is hot. A job had to be done, messages to be delivered, even if his apparent dancing partner was the twisted shadow girl who threw a miserable knife in a pitiful attempt to vent her sad little state of sorry frustration at being unable to kill the Time Keeper. She could will the shadows to her desires, but certainly Time was his element, a bubble of time around Rufus halted the attempted attack in mid-air. Paused indefinitely as the man calmly went about his way enjoying his liquor, although refraining from digging into the pizza brought in which probably would be better with a heartier stout. Only was it after the Time Keeper walked away from it all that the dagger escape the time bubble, continuing on its trajectory as it struck the wall behind where Rufus had been. It wouldn’t be a Dark Shadow meeting if they didn’t try to harm each other.
The strong smell of pizza would signal the arrival of their last member, Tiberius. Not someone Lana would typically get along with, but not someone that annoyed her that much either. The fact that he brought food and was willing to share it certainly put him in her good books, at least for the moment. She had skipped breakfast that morning and had only a sandwich at lunch, so she was quite hungry. Although pizza wasn't her go to food, that wouldn't stop her from happily helping herself to a piece, while she waited for Rufus to finish pouring the drinks.
Time always dragged on painfully slow whenever they came together for a meeting, so she was grateful when Aloysius finally brought it to the point. Turns out he did have a plan, something that would involve all of them. Which she was actually happy about, because she had been itching to do something for a long time. Even so, she wasn't very ecstatic about the part she was going to be playing in it all. She would much rather be wreaking havoc with Rufus and Circe, than going to some auction with Aloysius and Tiberius. A whole evening with an asshole and a playboy sounded like hell, and what's worse is she would have to wear a dress, just the thought of it made her gag.
As if she wasn't already in enough of a fowl mood, Ty just had to push her even further. The moment she felt his arm around her shoulders, her whole body tensed and went stiff. Lana would turn her head to glare at him, and as she did, his chair would suddenly jerk out from under him, leaving nothing holding him up. "If you value your life, you'll never touch me again." The chair that he had once been sitting on would now be hovering over him threateningly. It would stay like that for sometime, but nothing more would happen, as it was only a warning. Lana didn’t have the patience to stay there for any longer anyway, and would eventually get up to leave; she had some shopping to do.
As the chair was yanked out from under him, Tiberius would land flat on his ass, his facial expression going from casually flirty to borderline murderous. “Don’t be such a bitch, Princess. Maybe if you got some dick from time to time, you wouldn’t be so damn grumpy.” He hopped up, took a few steps to the side and set the chair on fire, watching it turn to ashes as the remains floated to the ground. He returned Lanas glare and then glanced at the table where Rufus was pouring the drinks. "You aren't worthy of any of this delicious pizza, either," he added, shooting flames at it as well. By the time Ty looked up, Lana was walking out of the door.
Usually Aloysius would join in with all the jokes and the mocks towards Lana, though right now, he could see she was pissed, almost full blown angry. The Dark Shadow was already a small and generally weak organisation, Lana was, although Aloysius hated to admit it, important to him. “Can it Ty” Aloysius said sternly. As sternly as he could. “I know we mock sometimes Lana” he sighed “But you are an important part of the team. I have a dress for you as well, so you don’t have to get one. Same for you Ty, we only have an hour to go” He walked across the room towards the barracks at the back, beckoning Lana to follow him.
Lana was pissed, but she was also quite amused at how hilarious it had been for her to see Tiberius fall on his ass, and then resolve to throwing a tantrum over it. It was his own fault. He knew what happened if he pushed her buttons, yet he did it anyway, and then couldn't handle the consequences that followed. It was the most annoying thing about him, and why they could never, and probably would never, fully get along. That and the fact that he was so fiercely devoted to Al, and the two of them seemed to take delight in teasing her. It was for that reason that Lana was ready to snap when she heard Aloysius speak up, expecting him to throw on more taunts of his own.
She stopped just at the door and spun on her heels, ready to raise hell, when his words finally hit her. It wasn't exactly an apology, but it was probably the closest she would get to one coming from him. He even admitted -aloud- how she was an important part of the team. Knowing how much it would have killed him inside to admit that was enough to put her in a relatively better mood, but more than that, it was actually nice to hear. She had no intention of telling him that though. Nor did she have the intention of telling him she was grateful he had thought to prepare a dress for her beforehand, even though it took a lot of stress of her having to find one on her own off her shoulders. She simply remained quiet and followed him to the barracks.
Aloysius always wanted to believe that he didn’t need anyone. Lana was one of the people that reminded him that he stood no chance if he tried to go it alone. “Look” Aloysius bowed his head slightly, this was going to put a dent in his ego “You weren’t here when I attacked the Guild for the first time a few years ago. I used to have to have a second of command: Rebecca… She had been with me since I first started the Dark Shadow. The night of the attack, I had just finished killing that bastard of man that was Salem’s father. In anger, Salem hit Rebecca with a fully charged lightning bolt. She was dead before she hit the ground” Aloysius’s tone had changed when it came to describing Rebecca. An observant person would notice that his tone had headed towards sadness, potentially something had happened between the two of them.
“I was never able to replace her. Part of me didn’t want to. I could never let go of the fact she was gone.” Aloysius walked over to a wardrobe and pulled out a black dress on a coat hanger. The dress was a mixture of both conservative and modern. It was sleek and slim around the waist, but flowed as it reached the legs. Coming at just below knee height it was long enough to be classy, but nowhere near long enough to hinder her if a fight kicked off. “This was what I was thinking you could use” He passed it over to her for inspection.
Lana could tell he was sad, and she understood his pain. She knew what it was like to lose someone she cared about, and not be able to save them, even with the power she had. She also understood how it felt to be racked with hatred and a desire for revenge. It wasn't long after she had lost her brother that she found Dark Shadow, or rather, they found her. Despite how rough her relationships were with the other members, they had been the only people around to help her get through. It didn't seem like Aloysius had had anyone there for him though. Even so, it came as quite a surprise that he was opening up to her like he was, she thought she would be the last person he would tell, and she couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen to bring it up. Not just to her, but now of all times.
“Why are you telling me this?” It felt a little insensitive to ask, but there had to be some point to him bringing it up, more than just him spontaneously deciding to confide in her, and she wanted to know. She took the dress from him when it handed it to her, and gave it a close inspection, while she waited for him to answer her question. She had no complaints about the garment, but it really wouldn't have mattered if she had because she had nothing else to wear anyway. Lana was just grateful it was modest at least. When she was done, she gave a nod to show she approved.
Aloysius observed Lana checking the dress. He has spent a while, longer than he would of liked to admit, picking it out at a store in Milan. She also ended up asking the inevitable question. “It is quite simple…” He looked out of the window, watching the rest of the Dark Shadow preparing to leave “... I have acquired a strange bunch of people. Most are pawns, that I intend to discard eventually, once they serve their purpose. You however are different” He turned on his heels to face her once more, his eyes serious, but that bite of pain from before was still visible.
“Your power is strong, stronger than Ty, hell, stronger than Circe. There have been people here who want me to call you out, challenge you then dispose of you. Clearly they feel threatened” Usually Aloysius would make a dig about him being stronger, but he refrained this time. His body language would betray him however, giving away that it wasn't because he didn't want to say, it was more about Aloysius being unsure if he would win. “Your current power and potential power makes you my best asset. I tease you, mock you and belittle you, not because I hate you. But more like I want to keep that fire burning in you. That hatred makes you stronger. It makes you terrifying”
Aloysius ended up sitting on the bed, leaning back against the wall as an impromptu chair. “So I want to offer you two things: firstly, I want to offer you the position as my right hand woman, my second in command. And before you ask, I am not joking. Secondly, after the auction I want to take you away to a warehouse on the docks so we can train. I don't think I have actually given you training while you have been here” He would chuckle slightly for a moment “Yes, that does mean you get to beat me up slightly”
Lana's expression was stern and serious, not giving anything away, while inside, her mind was going a mile a minute trying to process what was happening. First his admission to her and the rest of Dark Shadow, then his spontaneous opening up about his past, then his honest thoughts on the rest of the members, and finally a proposal for a promotion to second in command and training. None of it seemed real, it's like she was dreaming, except that she would never dream about him, so it had to be real.
"Okay..." It had felt like an eternity had passed before she gave an answer, but she finally did. The uncertainty in her tone would give away how skeptical she was about the whole situation. Obviously she didn't trust him, at all, but she was interested to see where it would lead. It seemed like an odd note to leave the conversation on, but they were running low on time before they had to be at the auction, and she had nothing else she wanted to say, so she left to go find another room to change in.
Aloysius gave a weak smile as she accepted and then left. Clearly there was no trust there. And he could understand that. He was not exactly the most trustworthy or the nicest person on the planet, so what he just did betrayed his character. But it was a necessary betrayal. The meeting had highlighted the fragility of the Dark Shadow. Rebecca was the one who used to keep the troops in line, and was the one who would deal with all the bullshit so that Aloysius could focus on making trouble. While it was approaching four years since the attack on the guild, he had never gotten around to fixing the Dark Shadow. Many members died that night, and since Rebecca was gone, he had never actively went out and recuperated his numbers. Sure, he bought the current set of people into the fold, but beyond that… nothing. Sighing, Aloysius got up and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he would get that drink Rufus offered after all.
