Walpurgis Hallow

Nightmares in Flesh and Bone

Linnea looked at Ozymandias. Her father, the man who had ruined her life, stood poised to ruin it again. He'd kill her now, she knew. It was funny. This was probably the most merciful thing he had ever done. He had straight up tried to kill them. No slow poison. No creepy, incestuous legacy. Just simple revenge and murder. In a way, she appreciated the honesty; at least he couldn't pretend to be her "loving" father anymore.

It was a nightmare, living like this. And now, she stood, facing down her father and the mechanical monstrosity next to him, even as her half-brother was seconds away from death...and so was she. She looked around her. Cindy was defiant even in what could be her last moments, her blue eyes blazing with determination, no sign of tears in her eyes. Alice was standing close to Eddie, ready to take a bullet for her beloved if need be, but clearly hoping to find a way out of it. Jacklyn and Tori were closer than ever, silently speaking unspoken goodbyes and confessions. Lex Valentine gritted his teeth, and readied his revolver for a defiant last stand even as Jack, Frank, and Robert went to protect Emily.

It was then that Linnea got an idea.

"Don't I at least get a final speech, father?" Linnea asked. "Surely a man of your acting caliber can appreciate a good last words."

The decayed man laughed, but gave something that could only technically be called a smile.

"Oh, Linnea...finally you understand what it means to be an actress. To die on stage..."

He laughed again.

"Well, go ahead. Don't keep me hanging in suspense. What sort of Oscar-winning speech do you have in mind?"

Linnea took a deep breath.

"Dad, I want you to know something. When I came to Walpurgis Hallow, I was a foolish little girl, barely a woman. But how could I be anything but? I never had anyone guiding me. You left me to starve and fuck my way to the top. And you knew it'd happen too. Eventually, though, I realized I had a gift...the one thing I can thank you for. This...this power, helped me find an out. See, I knew you were still out there, still hurting people. I could taste the bile rising to my mouth every time I thought of it. I needed a hero, someone who could beat you, but...also someone who could understand me. I searched the entire world for someone, and then...I found her. Cindy Valentine. She was beautiful...she could lead, she could make friends...she had such a good and gentle heart..."

"But then you saw what a bitch she was," Ozymandias interrupted. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm interrupting. Ra forbid I get in the way of such riveting drama."

Linnea fumed but continued.

"But she was wasting it. She was being used and abused, just like I had been. People like you were ruining her. Do you know how painful it is to sit back and watch some utter tool of a man in a letter jacket whisper things into a pretty girl's head and watch her rot and decay into a nightmare? But even as she was cruel, I loved her... I loved her because I saw what was going on in her head, the self-loathing, the pain...I saw all of it. But I couldn't save her...not at first. The night she was raped...I fell unconscious from the pain of it all. I never learned to control my powers, I'll admit. But when I got back, I found myself. I kept reaching out to her, never giving up on her. Cindy, it was I who calmed you down before you went out on Halloween. Believe me...I know what it's like to hate yourself."

Ozymandias shook his head, laughing.

Linnea growled before resuming her story. Just out of her sight, Totenkopf put down Osiris.