Lisa sat there as she studied Darkness. "I.... REALLY wish I knew all that a long time ago, Derek." She admitted. "And I wish I had known about Tommy a long time ago, Lisa." Said Darkness with a shrug. "BUT, we are flawed beings... I'm sorry this whole thing caused this rift." He admitted.
Lisa nodded. "Well, then I'm in." She said with a nod, causing Silver and Darkness to raise a brow. "With whatever this stuff you're doing... I'm IN!" She added. Darkness shook his head. "Absolutely not! You are not working with-"
"Yes DEREK! I AM!" She said with a determined glare. "I'm not losing my brother to this bullcrap! I may draw a line at killing, but I am helpful in other ways! I can gather information! My powers are a lot more developed and keep me safer than you! AND, I have my engineering degree! I'm a lot better with technology than you or Silver, I want in on this!" She said as she sat fully up straight.
Darkness' eyes narrowed. "And what happens when Blood Angel strikes again, Lisa? Where were your powers when he-" But he was cut off by Lisa slapping him with a hand made of pure Light. "That happened because I didn't know my older brother was doing what he was doing! Do NOT go there!" She fired back.
Darkness rubbed his cheek. "Is this going to be so you can tell me I should be making music again? Because that song and dance is getting old... Why do you even keep pressing that anyway? You've been doing that since I got back from the Middle East." He said as he crossed his legs.
Lisa raised her left eyebrow. "Are you... KIDDING ME?! After that story? You even brought it up that you felt you should have had a band by now! You gave that up at the time over supporting a family, and I get that! But nothing is stopping you now! I just... want the big brother who sat me in his lap and played the guitar to cheer me up... Wrote that love song for Silver that he stayed up all night learning how to sing in Spanish... And even played with MOM!" She said as she began to breathe rapidly.
Darkness' eyes rose as she rattled moments from his past off. "I... Don't remember any of that." He admitted. "I guess I really put a lot of thoughts aside in my quest to further my Military career... Honestly, that just makes me more sad that it all went south." He added as he laughed bitterly. "But I'm going to let you know right now, I still am not comfortable about you joining us." He added.
Silver stepped forward. "I'm not either, but if she wants to, she doesn't have to get involved like I do." She said as Lyte nodded, but Silver held up a finger to her. "That said, you had a chance to defend yourself and got dealt with easily, young lady! So if you want to join, you'll be training with ME first!" She said as she let out her aura and showed off her muscles, causing both Lisa and Darkness to gulp.
Lisa nodded after a moment and shrugged. "Fine, but it's not Lisa anymore, I'll be the LYTE to your DARKNESS!" She said, causing Darkness to give her the thumbs down. "Christ and I thought it was dumb when my friends called me that... That is the corniest crap ever." He said with a laugh, one shared by Lyte, and eventually Silver as well.
"Fine then... Lyte, you want in? I'll see about having you work when you can on trial status... But also, you might get your wish on me working on music again as well... I feel my aura resonates best when working with it... which I guess is why Dad always agreed I study with Mom more... it's in our blood." He said with an affirmed nod.
Lyte's blue eyes lit up as she hugged him tightly. "YAYYYY! That makes me happy, big bro! I can get you a studio if you ever need time to yourself! And even people, and equipment, and-" Darkness just chuckled and rolled his eyes as he looked at Silver, who was hiding a giggle. But then he looked up and saw the spirit of the Composer, who smiled down at him with his arms crossed. 'I've made a deal with the proverbial Devil.' He thought to himself in a joking manner.
A day later, Lyte was out at the gym going through a hellish exercise program with Silver. "Silver, how long have we been running?!" She asked between pants. "Only a few miles... I can run over ten without breaking a sweat... if you think THIS is bad, wait until the self-defense classes start!" Answered Silver with a wide grin. Lyte grunted and tried to focus 'This is all for big bro' she told herself while she tried to keep up with Silver.
Derek stared at the mirror. His aura was powered down, and he had gone through a full bottle of Bourbon and a few painkillers. The sight of ghostly figures were looking back at him. He could see that his dead friends were both glaring at him.
Derek rubbed the spot where he shot himself a few years ago and sighed. "Sorry boys... But I can't move on to the future... Without letting go of my past..." He said as he stuck his fingers into his head. Derek winced in pain as he grabbed hold of the slug in his head, trying to ignore the blood leaking out. "FUCK!" He screamed as his fingers pulled the bullet hard.
As he inched the bullet out of his head, He could swear he saw Truck and Golem saluting him back and fading away as the bullet was now fully removed from his head. "Goodbye, my friends... While I'll never forget you... I will never let myself be shackled like this again. I'll make sure I get Xaldin back somehow while I'm at it." He promised while he went to treat his head injury, the bullet from his head was lying on the table in a pool of blood.
I love how both Lyte and Darkness keep stuff from each other, such as this with him and Tommy with her, but I love how she's determined to help him and utilize what she knows, nonetheless. While I do agree he should get on stage and rock on, it seems easier said than done. He needs to fix himself before he pursues any of that. It's getting there as I can see, but it will be a long journey.
ReplyDeleteI did find it interesting that he has many repressed memories of good times, and I wonder if this is the PTSD or the bullet lodged in his brain causing this, or something else. Either way, it's interesting he forgot all of these pleasant memories.
I did like how Lyte said that she will be the "Lyte to his Darkness" because it's 100% true. I think she and Silver are the reasons Darkness is motivated to stay alive and keep going.
Oh God, Silver's training sounds rigorous, but if Lyte is going to aid Darkness and Silver, she is going to need this.
The ending was BEAUTIFUL! I loved how Darkness pulled his bullet out of his head, and the ghost figures of his fallen comrades saluted him. By pulling out the bullet, Darkness is letting go of the past and making peace with what happened. The only way to move is forward.
Excellent work done, man! I can't wait for more!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was worried the ending would come off a little corny, but even as far back as the OG. I imagined this scene happening.
DeleteDarkness and Light are literal opposites of each other, but also one-in-the-same. Yin and Yang. Darkness and Lyte have their differences, but they also have a lot in common, too! They both have their demons they kept from each other, but now that they're out in the air, the air will clear now and both of them can heal and understand each other better now.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see Darkness reconnect with himself with his music again, but it's gonna be a hard road to get to that peace with the heavy burdens and trauma he carries, but this is a first step in that direction! The ending was powerful with him pulling the bullet out of his head, showing he is letting go of the past. Being happy again isn't a betrayal to those you lost, they'd want you to be happy! You don't forget them, but you gotta continue living, too!
I'm really eager and excited to see where this goes next! I love how this concludes this arc, setting up the next arc! I'm eager to see how these three team up together and how Lyte fares with them with her tech skills! I think this will be a challenge for her, if Silver's exercise routine is anything to go by lol, but she is determined and up for that challenge, and challenge = growth! And it looks like both Darkness and Lyte are about to embark on a challenging path that they will both grow from and together! I'm eager for more! Awesome work!
Oh don't you worry, Darkness will be reconnecting with his musical side soon enough! I'm not willing to let go of it being an integral part of his character! Thank you for your kind words!
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