The Void. Infinite and Indifferent.

“That was neither necessary nor answered my question.” Christopher frowned.

A crow shrieked, although there was no bird in the expensively sterile office, and a blast of hot wind blew Christopher back into the leather desk chair. There as a thud as one of the several identical gold and black StrrexCorp operation binders fell from the bookshelf behind him and flipped open to the HR Benefits section index.

A smear of charred carbon appeared on the page, neatly underlining:

“StrexCorp Synernists Inc. Form SC-O1G: Deification or Glorification of a Corporeal or Incorporeal Being, Entity, or Element.”

A second binder dropped and opened to a copy of the blank form. Section headers were neatly aligned and were printed in large enough font to be read from where it lay on the floor:

"Dominion”

“Assets”

“Limitations”

“Alignment”

“Corporate Liaison … ”

Christopher was unsure if the entity was saying “yes” or attempting to negotiate.

snickersandjackdaniels-deactiva

//and here we are 365 days and change later from this question that started it all: the nightmares, the bargains, and a lone bullet at a party. Thank you christopherrose-pa, cleopatrathesecretary, themoreyoustrex, strexecutioner, strexcorp-secret-service, nightvalelibrary, dark-owl-lucy, mistress-strex, strexslittlestangel, earl-harlan, ellieroseofstrex for a year of fabulous writing!//

wordsnquotes

First we feel. Then we fall.

James Joyce, Finnegans Wake (via wordsnquotes)

Tilda Swinton as Gabriel in Constantine

strexcorp-secret-service

"Sir, are you alright?"

Adrian looked up to see the woman he once feared, and yet with her change, she seemed less terrifying…and her words brought him comfort. “I could be better…How have you been? keeping Diego in check?”

"He is secure, and as stable as can be expected." Clips of golden bullets were pulled from the pockets of her suite jacket and presented to Adrian so that he could see they were full before placing then on the tabletop. "For the moment. He is still not pleased with my appointment." She studied his face, the paleness that had increased in the past months, and folded her gloved hands out of respect for her mentor. "Sir, can I get you anything? Are you?" Her voice trailed off.

strexcorp-secret-service

“Sick? yes…dying…not with out a fight” he said rubbing his chest, and looking away from her, his eyes seeming to focus on nothing. He looked to the bullets, and nodding. “I’m glad you’re working with him so well with him…he has always been…a delicate subject for most” He looked to her and wondered. “what have you observed so far with him?”

"The Doctor is ... challenging." She began to review the behaviors that had already been included in the security reports submitted for Adrian's approval: addictive behavior, violent outbursts, fits of rage. Morgan poured a glass of water, making sure Adrian could clearly see all her movements, and placed it within the agent's reach before pausing in her recital.

"The truth sir?" He deserved the truth even if speaking ill of the Family was at best dangerous. "The Doctor is becoming increasingly dangerous. Unpredictable." The voices. The binges. The experiments. "Since the loss of Ms. Jezebel, and his companion, Diego's grasp on reality has become ....unmoored."

strexcorp-secret-service

"Sir, are you alright?"

Adrian looked up to see the woman he once feared, and yet with her change, she seemed less terrifying…and her words brought him comfort. “I could be better…How have you been? keeping Diego in check?”

"He is secure, and as stable as can be expected." Clips of golden bullets were pulled from the pockets of her suite jacket and presented to Adrian so that he could see they were full before placing then on the tabletop. "For the moment. He is still not pleased with my appointment." She studied his face, the paleness that had increased in the past months, and folded her gloved hands out of respect for her mentor. "Sir, can I get you anything? Are you?" Her voice trailed off.

themoreyoustrex

"There appears to be an issue with your payment Diego." Chilled words proceeding the form that loomed behind the CEO. "We had a deal."

It had been so log since he had last heard that voice, for a moment he didn’t believe it was really her. But there she was, in all her terrifying glory, staring at him as though she had never left.

He didn’t know what to say, so he did nothing besides gape stupidly at her as he tried to process what was happening, really /happening/, and try not to tremble in fear.

"Diego," the name rumbled through the rapidly cooling air between them. "As ever charming and articulate as ever." The Goddess circled him, tracing a milk white finger along his jaw and under his chin. The rush of power that came through the contact made her blush. How she had /missed/ this vicious little man, and the delectable taste of his fear.

"You remember our deal, do you not? The child, for my blood. Well you took my blood. I know you enjoyed both the act" she purred, and with gentle nudge from her finger his mouth shut with a click, "and the use of it. Now I’ve come for my payment."

Fingers as immobile as glaciers held Diego’s chin in place, forcing him to look directly into the full power of a divine gaze. “Get your /toy/ under control and bring me the child.”

themoreyoustrex

/Ellie./ This was about the girl?

The goddess held him tight, staring into his eyes, and Diego stared straight back, his knees barely shaking. The goddess had left for six years, and she expected their deal to hold? Ha! “Contracts /expire,/” he hissed. “And you have clearly fallen out of touch with Mr. Christopher Rose, else you would have known that he is no longer my toy.”

As loath as he was to admit it, there was a part of him that was thankful that the custody of both the boy and the child was out of his control. Ricardo had ordered Diego off of Christopher. If the goddess had a problem with it, she could take it up with the angel.

"An expiration clause was not part of the contract. After all, what is time to a god?" Her hand glided from his chin slowly down Diego’s neck, trailing a burning chill across his flesh. /Ah, so the angel had chastised Diego into releasing Mr. Rose./ Images, Diego’s memories, filled her mind. The fury at Ricardo’s interference. The aftermath when Diego found a new outlet. The addiction….the desperate attempts to drown the loneliness….the blood….

"If you wish to /void/ our contract you need either fulfill our bargain," she smoothed his lapels straight, "or return what I gave you." One of Diego’s memories, a particularly debauched night soaked in divine blood, made her grin. "You are a businessman Diego. I expect you to realize the severity of the penalty I would have to enforce should you choose to break our contact."

themoreyoustrex

“Our deal was that I give you the baby, but the deal was made under different circumstances. I faced intervention from…“ his lip curled, “/outside forces,/ and I lost custody of the child. I cannot give away what isn’t mine; therefore, I am unable to hand you the baby myself.” He gave her a moment to process that before he continued.

“/However,/ those were not the terms of our bargain. You would grant me power and teach me how to wield it in exchange for my giving you exclusive rights to the child. I still hold no objection to you taking her, and I will not stop you if you try. In this, I fulfill my side of the bargain, and my work here is done.”

Diego's own words, spoken in the voice of his memory, mocked her. "If you try to bargain with a businessman, you’re going to be cheated." The intervention of the archangel had changed the fundamental underpinning of their contract, changing it beyond repair.

The snarl started somewhere in her belly and by the time it breached her lips it had turned into a feral, slashing, roar of outrage. Crows screamed in the empty space above them. She slammed her free hand into the wall by Diego's skull before releasing his throat and turned her back to him.

"You have had your week Mr. Rose. I have come to collect the child per our agreement."

"It’s the weekend." Christopher shrugged. "Diego has her on weekends."

"Lying is beneath you Mr. Rose. I know she is here." The woman stepped into the apartment and walked towards Ellie’s bedroom door. "Blood calls to blood."

Christopher sighs and crossing his arms. “If I keep Ellie away from Diego it violates the custody agreement, and I risk losing her.” He watches the goddess walk through his home, making no move to stop her. On the other side of the door there would be a neatly made bed and a freshly washed uniform waiting for school on Monday. “Why would I risk upsetting such a delicate situation?”

The sight of the empty room, the neatly folded uniform, and Christopher’s comment struck her momentarily silent. He trusted the child to Diego, but not to her? How sadly amusing…

She turned in the bedroom doorway and removed her gloves. “Mr. Rose, I trust you have made your farewells.”

"Something like that." Christopher called over his shoulder, moving into the kitchen to put the kettle on. There wasn’t any worry about having to say goodbye, the god had assured him that the darkness was contained, and that the Goddess would be unable to access her. "Would you like a cup of tea? Or will you be off?"

"I regret this Christopher, but I cannot believe this mask of casual disregard you wear." Cool fingertips pressed against the flesh of his neck, over skin that used to bear her mark. Images flooded into her, his memories, the blinding light, and the actions of that jackanape who passed itself off as a god. The poor child...

She shook her head in disbelief. "What have you done? Christopher, I would have never harmed the child, but now," glacier chill crept into her flesh, passing between their bodies. The room dimmed as the cold rose. "You fool..."

"You have had your week Mr. Rose. I have come to collect the child per our agreement."

"It’s the weekend." Christopher shrugged. "Diego has her on weekends."

"Lying is beneath you Mr. Rose. I know she is here." The woman stepped into the apartment and walked towards Ellie’s bedroom door. "Blood calls to blood."

Christopher sighs and crossing his arms. “If I keep Ellie away from Diego it violates the custody agreement, and I risk losing her.” He watches the goddess walk through his home, making no move to stop her. On the other side of the door there would be a neatly made bed and a freshly washed uniform waiting for school on Monday. “Why would I risk upsetting such a delicate situation?”

The sight of the empty room, the neatly folded uniform, and Christopher's comment struck her momentarily silent. He trusted the child to Diego, but not to her? How sadly amusing...

She turned in the bedroom doorway and removed her gloves. "Mr. Rose, I trust you have made your farewells."

"Child, are you prepared to go on a journey?"

Ellie bit her lip. “I’unno,” she said slowly. “If my daddies said it’s okay…”

She looked up. “What kind of journey? An exciting one?”

Ellie shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything from him,” she said. “Where do you live?”

Hide, something inside her was saying. It’s what they were talking about. A monster. Hide.

She ignored it for the moment.

"My domain is the space between all things. It is the Void, where the light cannot travel." Lying was not in her nature, so the woman chose her words to try to help the child comprehend such an incomprehensible realm. "At night do you see the spaces between the stars? That is my home, and you are to be a welcome guest there. Your father was my guest once, and Diego promised me before you were born that you would also visit me there."

She removed her gloves as she spoke, freeing the colorless skin beneath. “It is beautiful, in its own way. I had come to meet you so that we might travel together.”

Ellie looked up at the sky, set on fire by the sunset. Soon the stars would be out. “It’s cold in space,” she said instead of answering. “Won’ I get too cold? Or have my head explode from not breathing or somethin’? I’m special but I still gotta breathe.”

Monsters hide under the beds and in the

s p a c e s

between things

runawayhideawaygetawaygoGO

The child was a delight, quick to point out the facts of the reality she knew. "You will be neither hot nor cold, and as for breathing, can you not see me breathe? You will be as you are now, and return from your visit when you are ready." Laughter bubbled around her words, and then she stood and offered the child her hand with earnest solemnity. "I am your Godmother, and as such I promised no harm will come to you."

"Child, are you prepared to go on a journey?"

Ellie bit her lip. “I’unno,” she said slowly. “If my daddies said it’s okay…”

She looked up. “What kind of journey? An exciting one?”

The woman’s mask briefly melted. Christopher had not prepared the child. He had not even warned her. For all the cruelty that had been attributed to her, even those acts that she had orchestrated herself, this was crueler than she had expected from a loving father.

"It will be exciting, and frightening. I had hoped your father had told you of my home, since he had traveled there himself." She knelt to be equal with Ellie’s gaze. "Mr. Rose has told you nothing of where you are to go?"

Ellie shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything from him,” she said. “Where do you live?”

Hide, something inside her was saying. It’s what they were talking about. A monster. Hide.

She ignored it for the moment.

"My domain is the space between all things. It is the Void, where the light cannot travel." Lying was not in her nature, so the woman chose her words to try to help the child comprehend such an incomprehensible realm. "At night do you see the spaces between the stars? That is my home, and you are to be a welcome guest there. Your father was my guest once, and Diego promised me before you were born that you would also visit me there."

She removed her gloves as she spoke, freeing the colorless skin beneath. "It is beautiful, in its own way. I had come to meet you so that we might travel together."

"You are far crueler than I, to make a child suffer so."

"Only if you intend on pulling”

"I have a right to what is mine. Would you not desire the same if you had made such a contract?"

"The purpose of my existance is to balance you out the way you balance me. If you want it, I am there to nullify it."

Her cold Wolf Moon grin matched the brilliance of his smile, but lacked it’s warmth. “And I you. However you have not chosen to act before this time, nor did you deem to interfere with other human tribute. Why this child? Why now?”

"Maybe ‘twas maternal instinct, or the fact I loathe you. But mostly because I get paid to do what I live for.” Eyes opening from within the smoke with a soft ticking noise. "I must have gone soft." His voice a amused hum.

Her divine eyes, devoid of all light, stared into his brilliance and drank it without reflect. “I have tendered my services, and intend to be paid. One way or the other, regardless of your feelings, maternal or otherwise.” She opened a bloodless hand and turned the smooth palm upwards. “The child, or Diego returns that which belongs to me. Fair is fair.”

"You bargain for things you have long lost the receipt for." Forked tongue flicking dangerously at her. "There are rules we live by, if you intend to take her by violence I am forced to enforce my contract.”

"By all means necessary."

Her expression remained neutral as he spoke. When he had finished she calmly replied, “Time means little to us, but contracts mean /everything/. I suggest you review the sacredness of the bargain with Diego.”

She turned and walked towards the temple entrance. “I will not take the child by force, but I assure you that she /will/ suffer because of your actions. May all your believers witness the her misery.”

"How low have you gone to seek out contracts in this nature. You are as sad as I remember out last encounter.” Gloved hands swatting some of his smoke away.

"The only way she will ever suffer is if you come for your trophy child. I caged your power inside her. Alas all that shall suffer is us, I made sure of this.” Ungloving one hand he shows a scorched handprint of the child. "You are powerless. As am I.”

She turned. His petulant insults meant nothing to her; a centuries old exchange. But she starred at the mark. /The poor child./

"So be it. All will suffer." Soft words carried the length of the temple to the altar. "I am prepared. Are you?"

"You are far crueler than I, to make a child suffer so."

"Only if you intend on pulling”

"I have a right to what is mine. Would you not desire the same if you had made such a contract?"

"The purpose of my existance is to balance you out the way you balance me. If you want it, I am there to nullify it."

Her cold Wolf Moon grin matched the brilliance of his smile, but lacked it’s warmth. “And I you. However you have not chosen to act before this time, nor did you deem to interfere with other human tribute. Why this child? Why now?”

"Maybe ‘twas maternal instinct, or the fact I loathe you. But mostly because I get paid to do what I live for.” Eyes opening from within the smoke with a soft ticking noise. "I must have gone soft." His voice a amused hum.

Her divine eyes, devoid of all light, stared into his brilliance and drank it without reflect. “I have tendered my services, and intend to be paid. One way or the other, regardless of your feelings, maternal or otherwise.” She opened a bloodless hand and turned the smooth palm upwards. “The child, or Diego returns that which belongs to me. Fair is fair.”

"You bargain for things you have long lost the receipt for." Forked tongue flicking dangerously at her. "There are rules we live by, if you intend to take her by violence I am forced to enforce my contract.”

"By all means necessary."

Her expression remained neutral as he spoke. When he had finished she calmly replied, "Time means little to us, but contracts mean /everything/. I suggest you review the sacredness of the bargain with Diego."

She turned and walked towards the temple entrance. "I will not take the child by force, but I assure you that she /will/ suffer because of your actions. May all your believers witness the her misery."

"You are far crueler than I, to make a child suffer so."

"Only if you intend on pulling”

"I have a right to what is mine. Would you not desire the same if you had made such a contract?"

"The purpose of my existance is to balance you out the way you balance me. If you want it, I am there to nullify it."

Her cold Wolf Moon grin matched the brilliance of his smile, but lacked it’s warmth. “And I you. However you have not chosen to act before this time, nor did you deem to interfere with other human tribute. Why this child? Why now?”

"Maybe ‘twas maternal instinct, or the fact I loathe you. But mostly because I get paid to do what I live for.” Eyes opening from within the smoke with a soft ticking noise. "I must have gone soft." His voice a amused hum.

Her divine eyes, devoid of all light, stared into his brilliance and drank it without reflect. "I have tendered my services, and intend to be paid. One way or the other, regardless of your feelings, maternal or otherwise." She opened a bloodless hand and turned the smooth palm upwards. "The child, or Diego returns that which belongs to me. Fair is fair."

"You are far crueler than I, to make a child suffer so."

"Only if you intend on pulling”

"I have a right to what is mine. Would you not desire the same if you had made such a contract?"

"The purpose of my existance is to balance you out the way you balance me. If you want it, I am there to nullify it."

Her cold Wolf Moon grin matched the brilliance of his smile, but lacked it's warmth. "And I you. However you have not chosen to act before this time, nor did you deem to interfere with other human tribute. Why this child? Why now?"

"You are far crueler than I, to make a child suffer so."

"Only if you intend on pulling”