Darkness sat in his recliner in a black tank top and a pair of blue jeans. In his hands was his black Flying V guitar, which he had been playing for hours until his hands were cut up. "AH FOR FUCK'S SAKE! ENOUGH! I've been at this for hours... what do you want out of all this?" He asked as he looked at the spirit of The Composer.
The Composer just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I agreed to teach you if you give me something in return... and if your little 'Rock' Is your way of doing music... Then it shall suffice!" He said with a nod. "Now... Your car... Open up the front of it, I wish to see this engine of yours." He said casually.
Darkness just grunted as he put his Guitar back in its case and went to the garage. He popped the hood to his 1970 Dodge Challenger as The Composer lowered his eyes. "This thing runs on gasoline... Did your mother not teach you anything about what I did? At least SOME of my schematics should have survived after all these years." He asked curiously.
Darkness sneered at him. "I couldn't use aura back then, mom felt until I could that it was best she didn't bother, I don't blame her, I think she just wanted to wait for me to crawl before I could walk... Now that she's gone... I guess YOU get to fill her role." He said bitterly.
The Composer just looked at him. "You don't... Blame Me or Aura for that, do you?" He asked curiously. Darkness just sighed and looked down. "No... My Dad made a lot of enemies as a mercenary in his own right... My Mom sometimes made me feel like she didn't take any of it seriously enough... When they disappeared with Silver's parents, I had to pick up the slack... I guess me cutting back on the jobs and all-night binge drinking made me realize I wasn't dealing with all the repressed anger." He answered.
The Composer nodded firmly and looked in his eyes. "I can relate... being a spirit means watching your wife and everyone you know and love die... and since none of them transcended the way I did, I'm the only Aurian Spirit I know... But that training will come another time... For now, I want you to write down some notes." He said as Darkness grabbed a pen and paper.
After an hour, Darkness and the Composer had drawn out the schematics for a new Engine, and after removing the old one, they modified it. Darkness had sufficiently changed it. "Well... It's certainly not the same engine as before... what does it do?" He asked with excitement, causing The Composer to chuckle.
"What this is, is an engine that runs off of aura... when you install this, it should be able to be channelled through the ignition! I'll recommend some alterations to your car in the future, but this should be the first step in your training... Now get this in your car and take it for a test drive!" Advised the Composer happily.
Darkness smiled and hooked up his new engine, and turned the key. "Whoa..." He said as he felt a piece of his void cycle through the car. "It's like I'm... one with my car..." He said as he was overwhelmed with anticipation. "I Wonder..." He said out loud before focusing and turning his Car into a pure void before driving through the garage door. "WOW!" He said with glee as he zoomed through the streets.
The nighttime traffic now had no answer as Darkness went through each and every car while laughing. "Ease up on the void. Not only are you going to get exhausted fast, but someone is bound to notice a big black car shape going through them." Advised the Composer. Darkness nodded and slowly drove home.
"Your car doesn't use gas or oil anymore, it uses you... So get used to that as well." Said the Composer, causing Darkness to smile. "I've got to see if Silver will let me upgrade the Jeep later!" He exclaimed. The Composer just raised a brow. "Why not just do it straight away?" he asked, causing Darkness to shudder. "Look, I may be the one who built that Jeep, but that's Silver's BABY! If I touched that without her permission? I'd be punted into orbit..." He muttered.
"Your wife reminds me of mine! Flora never let anyone push her around. When they told her she couldn't become a knight, she dueled for the honor and won. Strong women, Derek... it seems we share that love." Said the Composer with a laugh. Darkness just chuckled as well before The Composer guided him to more schematics.
"What's this next project?" Asked Darkness. The Composer lost his smile before shaking his head. "I don't want to do this, as I don't like making weapons from aura... But if people like that Blood Angel are going to insist on using Aura to fight, I think those guns of yours should also be able to shoot Aura... These magazines will take time to construct, but when they are done, you can use Aura to shoot void bullets... Use them sparingly because again, they use YOU as a battery." He said promptly.
Darkness nodded. "I see... so this was why you wanted me to play the guitar, get my Aura high so I would have enough to spare for all this usage... Thank you." He said earnestly as the Composer smiled at him. "You're getting there, my descendant... But you can't reach your goals alone. I can't talk to your wife or sister, I'll be relying on you to teach them as well!" He said patiently. Darkness just nodded and kept working on the new magazines.
As the night progressed. Lyte and Silver got home to see Darkness asleep in the Garage. he had his guitar by his side, and a plethora of tools out. He had been working all day on various projects. And to Lyte's surprise, there wasn't a drop of alcohol anywhere near him.
"Glad to have you back, big bro." Said Lyte as she kissed his cheek before heading to bed. Silver just scooped up Darkness and carried him to their room. "You certainly had a busy day, my love, can't wait to hear all about it later." She said as she got undressed and pressed into him as tightly as she could before falling asleep in his arms.
Meanwhile, Mr. Capryse laid out his Ivory white three-piece suit and picked out his favorite brown tie for tomorrow's date night. "Look at me! prepping for a fun night out in town at a fancy restaurant with a pretty young lady! ...Do I have to?" He asked as Saryn prepared a beautiful white dress that had rose shapes cascading from top to bottom. "Once again, yes, dear... That 'Pretty Young Lady' as you put it... commands a lot of power in the NYPD, and we both could use a little extra weight for when Mr. Farley tries to make his move, like you KNOW he will." She answered, causing him to grumble.
"Besides Tony, Amanda Cross is like a nice, sturdy piece of concrete... I wish my road to be finely paved before I walk upon it!" She said with a menacing giggle. Mr. Capryse lowered his eyes. "You and your father with this walking on people thing..." He said as he dodged a needle Saryn threw at him. "Right, right. No comparing you to your father, my mistake." He said as he sipped his coffee. "Regardless, it's going to be a long night, let's make the most of our company!" He said as his smile returned.
