The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 11 Part 3: Three years ago

     "That was a colossal waste of time... Why the hell am I even going to these therapy sessions?" Asked Derek as he pulled a full whiskey bottle out and started gulping loudly. Lisa just glared at him and put a hand on her hip. "THAT'S why you dumbass. Ever since you got back, you've done nothing but drink enough to kill 5 men a day! And when I ask you to stop, you just say cryptically dark shit like 'Whatever kills me makes me stronger!' like a loner edge lord!" She told him as they got in Silver's jeep. Derek stood up in the back passenger seat as he always did, even though it was illegal, while Lisa sat behind Silver. "We've run out of options it seems... We can always try this new experimental drug that was government-funded... The therapist recommended it." Said Lisa as they sped home." Derek scoffed at the idea "Drugs? Really? You really want me to trust my mental health to a co-dependency?" He asked while sipping more whiskey. Lisa just lowered her eyes at the bottle. "Wouldn't be the first time..." She stated. Darkness finished the bottle and grunted, "Quit judging me for drinking!" He yelled before Lisa smacked the bottle out of his hand. "I'm NOT judging you for drinking! I like to party too! But THIS?! This is just killing yourself to run away from your problems! I just... I want my brother back! The one who carried me on his shoulders when I was down! The one who watched me during my music lessons!" She said frantically, tears streaming down her eyes. Derek just sighed and nodded slowly. "Fine.... if it means that much to you... I'll give this stuff a try." He relented. Lisa wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly as she nodded.

    Derek sighed Nervously at the waiting lobby of Pure Mind Solutions with Silver at his side. He was never really told what this 'Neural Nirvana Injection' really did, or how it was supposed to help with his PTSD, but it had the backing of multiple therapists in the area, so he was willing to trust it. "Alright, Mr. Sonata... We are ready to see you now." Said a Tall blonde woman in a black suit with a white robe around her. Derek noted her nametag and nodded. "Yes, Dr. Saryn..." He said as he waved to Silver. "Hope this works!" She told him supportively as he nervously nodded. Derek sighed and sat at an offered chair as he showed his arm. "So uh... Doc.... How exactly does this... work?" He asked apprehensively. Saryn laughed and stepped out of the room, after a few minutes her voice came over the intercom. "Don't worry Mr. Sonata, Neural Nirvana works by routing dopamine into the stressful parts of your brain, with a strong enough reroute, it should push away those awful repressed thoughts!" She said as some medical staff slowly came in and took his arm. Derek braced himself as he felt the thick needle enter his arm. As the syringe emptied into him, he felt a light calming sensation. Derek slowly began to smile as the stressful thoughts subsided. In fact, those thoughts of war felt good. he began to grin wide as he thought about the people he killed like he had the chance to do it all again. He reached out and began punching brutally at the soldiers he saw, with beyond-normal strength. He laughed Maniacally as he gleefully slammed someone's head into the wall repeatedly, leaving a bloody stain on the wall. Finally, he looked down and saw a frightened enemy backing away, he reached out and grabbed him by the throat and lifted him above his head as he grinned even harder. Slowly the drug in his system began to wear off and his eyes widened when he saw the soldier he was holding turned into a panicking Silver. He dropped her quickly and looked around, the 'soldiers' he killed were medical staff... he had killed innocent people while high on a drug he trusted... "I... I'm sorry Silver!" He said as he sprinted off with Silver trying to get him to come back.

    Derek sobbed in an abandoned apartment he found shelter in as he looked in the mirror, any of the calming effects the drug gave him were gone, and he felt far worse than ever, but nothing felt worse than the guilt he felt over almost killing his own wife. "Why... Why do I keep messing up?" He screamed into the mirror as he tried once again to drink himself to death. the memory of everything he did started repeating stronger in his mind. "I Just wanted... to be normal again." He grunted as he pulled his Colt 1911 out of his holster and looked at it. "Sorry, Lisa..." He said as he put it to the left side of his head and fired. Everything went black for a as Derek hit the floor, Then slowly he opened his eyes again. "Is this death? I feel better at least." He said as he stood back up and looked in the mirror. Derek had blood from where the bullet had gone, but he noticed far more than that. His sun-damaged face was now clear, and his hair was a vibrant Dark purple. He gasped in astonishment as black tendrils grew from his back. "I.... have Aura! OH MY GOD, I HAVE AURA!" He exclaimed as he put his gun away. "I Gotta tell Lisa and Silver!" He said as he ran off.

    Silver was on the phone frantically trying to find where Derek had gone when she saw him sprinting into the house. "You're back!" She said as Derek hugged her. "Yeah! and I Transcended! I have aura now!" He said as he showed off his tendrils and hair. Silver nodded "Amazing! How on earth did you achieve that?" She asked in shock as she looked at him. Derek smiled, "It happened when I shot myself!" He blurted out. Silver felt as though her heart broke. "Y-you tried to kill yourself?!" She asked in a panic. Derek just laughed, "Who cares?! If I knew that's all it took, I would have tried it sooner!" He said in excitement. Silver gasped in shock as tears ran down her once flawless face before she hit him hard in the jaw. "YOU SELFISH BASTARD!" She yelled as he hit a wall from the force of the punch. "WHAT WOULD LISA AND I HAVE DONE IF WE LOST YOU! WHO CARES ABOUT A NEW TRICK?!" She asked as Derek held his jaw. "Oh my god..... I'm sorry..." Said Derek as the clarity finally caught up to him. Silver just hugged him tight and sobbed into the nape of his neck. For the first time in a long time, Silver wasn't flawless, she was a mess.

    Derek sighed softly as the weeks passed. With Silver and now Lisa both stressed out over his attempt on his own life, he needed a job to get his mind off things. But with a dishonorable discharge on his record, trust in him was low. Word on the street was that he could get a job as muscle for some rich guy, Derek knew him as Mr. Capryse. The job sounded out of Derek's comfort zone but Derek needed the time away from home, so Derek arranged the meeting as quickly as he could. Mr. Capryse smiled softly as he sipped his coffee, "So Derek Sonata... you come to me asking for a job... Well, I can offer you that!" He said with a grin. Derek was caught off guard almost instantly. "I uh... didn't even say anything... your information is good!" He said nervously. Mr. Capryse just laughed and nodded. "I suppose it is, but anyway let's talk! I need a contract killer! Quick and Efficient! Your military record says you were good at that! Cept the discharge! Think you can do that?" He asked with a grin. There was a long pause before Derek nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, I can." He said confidently. Mr. Capryse nodded and pulled up Derek's Bank information. "SPLENDID! Now first thing's first! You'll need a code name! Ya got one?" He asked curiously. For Derek, there was only one name he could possibly use. The one all his friends gave him so long ago. "It's Darkness." He said firmly. Mr. Capryse nodded and wrote it down. "Edgy! I love it... Welcome aboard DARKNESS! Hope you like coffee, we love it here!" He told him. Darkness just nodded and took a cup. He just eyed himself in the mirror as Mr. Capryse told him about his job. Derek Sonata was gone, all that was left... Was Darkness.

    

The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 11 Part 2: Three years ago

    Derek sighed softly and set up a spot six hundred meters from the spot Truck marked on the map. "Little far for firing range for my liking, but this should do." He said as Xaldin got in a firing position with a scoff. "Puh-LEEEEEZE Darkness, this baby can fire up to thirty-six hundred meters, and you best believe I could nail that shot! Still wish they would have put me through sniper school... Shouldn't have lost my temper over that Autism joke...." Said Xaldin with a defeated sigh at the end. Derek just raised a brow, "There's that word again... My little sister got diagnosed with 'High functioning Autism' and I don't know what that means... Like she grasps things one way but doesn't with others? What does that mean? Like she's smart, but a little dumb?" He asked curiously. Xaldin grimaced and leered at him. "It MEANS she does well in certain aspects of social interaction but struggles in certain ways.... another term would be 'Neurodivergent' No it doesn't mean she's 'a little dumb'... I thought YOU'd be better than that." He responded coldly. Derek just put his hands up. "Sorry sorry! I don't know what that means! One moment I'm in high school, the next I minute I'm marrying my girlfriend so I can adopt my little sister and then joining the Army... All I really know is..... this." He said as they looked out at the bunker where the enemy was supposed to be stationed. Xaldin just nodded and sighed. "Sorry... It's just a touchy subject for me... I barely got in due to my own diagnosis, and it's caused a few fights... some people lump it in with 'Mental retardation' and it pissed me off to be called that so many times... it's cost me a lot of opportunities." He explained. Derek nodded and sighed. "That's fair, I'm sorry if I offended you... Thanks for the lesson." He told him as they prepared for alternating shifts.

    A couple days passed and Fatigue started taking its toll on Derek and Xaldin. "Hey man, I think we should try and get back to base." Said Derek, but Xaldin just leered at the bunker. "They'll pop out as soon as we leave... No, I'm not leaving until I hear the soft rewarding 'Plink' sound of my firing pin connecting with the bullet." Said Xaldin. Derek shook his head and looked at their Assault packs. "Look man, with the gear I took off Truck and Golem... we only have a few days out here left at most... It was a long hike this far as is... if we don't"

"Plink.... Plink... Plink..." Said Xaldin over and over while he stared out at the bunker. Darkness just tried to relax so he could be ready for his shift. 'It's YOUR fault Truck and Golem died!' Derek just sat up at that, but he saw Xaldin muttering while staring at the bunker. "We've been in the heat too long Xaldin..." Said Derek before rolling over.

    Three Days had passed and Derek had predicted correctly, they were out of supplies. Derek was starting to get worried about the trip back even more, and the nightmares were really starting to wear him down. "Xaldin... buddy... I think we might be fucked." He said, but Xaldin just began chuckling. "Any minute now First Sergeant... Plink... Plink... Plink!" He said with a dehydrated rasp in his throat. "Fuck man.... look we can't just stay out here... I'm going to see if I can steal some supplies, Cover me.  He said nervously, hoping Xaldin was still mentally intact enough to understand him as he got up and travelled slowly to the bunker.

    Darkness kept his rifle at the low ready, his vision was a bit foggy from fatigue and dehydration, but he knew it was do or die at the moment. As he got to the bunker, he noticed a camera pointed at him and quickly tried to circle back. The sound of a gunshot hit Derek's senses before the feeling of a bullet penetrating the right side of his chest did. Derek winced and fell as he coughed. At long last the bunker finally opened and six men came out laughing and mocking Derek as he crawled backwards. Derek glared as they could tell through their body language and attempts to sound American they were mocking him. "YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!?" He demanded as they spat in his face and hit him in the forehead with an AK-47. Adrenaline was all that was keeping Derek Conscious as he spat blood back at them. "WELL GO AHEAD AND DO WHAT YOU WANT! I'M NOT AFRAID TO DIE! I'M NOT AFRAID TO DIE!!!" He screamed as the one who hit him put the barrel of their AK-47 to his head. Derek just closed his eyes as he heard a gunshot, then blinked as he heard five more, Xaldin had shot them all in the head while laughing maniacally and yelling "PLINK!" loud enough for the echo to reach Derek... Derek just coughed and nodded. "Yeah.... Plink buddy..... Plink..." He muttered before passing out from his wounds. 

Derek grunted and woke up what felt like an eternity later as he sat up. "Hngh.... how long was I out?" He grunted while looking around, he was back in the medical section of the base. Lieutenant Smith just glared at him. "A WEEK!" He muttered as Derek looked around. "Where's Staff Sergeant Xavien Aldin?" He asked frantically, but Smith just scoffed. "That babbling loon is being sent home for medical discharge." He explained. Derek gritted his teeth as tears began to drop from his eyes. "I didn't... get to say goodbye." He muttered. Smith just rolled his eyes. "If I were you I'd worry about yourself... You left base for some revenge mission because two soldiers died? WE OUGHT to strip you of your rank." He said sternly. Derek gritted his teeth harder as he glared up at Smith, but Smith just continued on. "It was a mistake to promote you in the first place, you're too young and emotional... not that you were ever leadership material... honestly I'm counting the days until you get someone else kil-" Smith was cut off by a mean left hook to the jaw from Derek. Smith screamed out in pain from his broken jaw as the medical staff rushed in, but Derek was still ready for more as Smith was taken away.

    Within the next month, Derek Sighed as he touched down in New York where Silver had moved with Lisa while he was Deployed. Derek was given the ultimatum of Dishonorable discharge, or time in a Military prison, and with his friends either dead or no longer accessible, the choice had been made clear. "BIG BRO!" Said a young blonde girl that Derek barely recognized as Lisa hugged him close. Lisa had grown so much that it felt like Derek barely knew her anymore. "I missed you SO much! I have a lot to tell you and-" But she stopped in horror when she saw that far-off look in Derek's eyes, she felt trapped in Darkness as if his very existence was pure pain for both of them. in her recoil, she let go and watched as Derek walked to Silver, who offered a hug. It was in Silver's Arms that finally, at long last, Derek felt fully at peace. Silver and Lisa just looked at each other in shock as the man they knew was clearly gone... This Derek... was a million-piece puzzle... one they knew they'd have to put back slowly if they even could.