Love and Madness: a demon's desire

Mascot Mayhem

After I came back from the last portal, I felt exhausted, but I had two portals left before I could save my soul from this place. Those nurses were sickly sweet and nice when I entered, I think it was mostly due to the fact I'm a female. Their main targets were men. I don't even know if they had heads under those paper bags. I started to walk to the next portal before I could even hear Bierce rant to me about how ignorant I was acting.

I popped into the next portal, took one look at the so-called trap Malak had set up and went back to Bierce's ballroom. She gave me an annoyed look before giving me a power that allowed me to vanish. I used it and snuck past the security camera that was blocking my way. As soon as I stepped into the portal on the other side the world started to appear before me. The first thing I saw was a banner saying 'welcome to Joy-Joy Land'. What is this place, a Disney wannabe park? Even the main castle was still in construction or was left uncompleted. This should be easy though, as long as I know what powers I need to use once I start collecting it shouldn't be that difficult. Once I took a few steps forward fireworks started to light up the sky. I never did understand why people like amusement parks, they were mostly made to be a cash grab. The ideas for amusement parks are like a roller coaster with no tracks, completely off the rails and destined to crash and burn when people have their fill of them. As I continued to walk into the park I saw benches, lamps, and what appeared to be small broken down shops.

As I walked by my eyes locked onto a bench, and my eyes were drawn to a peculiar sight. A demonic plush in the form of Malak, with its fiery red eyes and a twisted smile, sat perched on the metal seat. Its soft and leather horns seemed to radiate otherworldly energy, enticing curiosity and caution in equal measure. My footsteps slowed, my heart beating a little faster as I inched closer. With every step, the details of the plush became more apparent. The intricate stitching that formed the wicked grin, the tiny horns that adorned its head, and the meticulously crafted suit that it adorned. It was both enchanting and unsettling, a perfect balance between adorable and eerie. As I looked down at the plush, I hesitated, unsure of what to make of this unexpected encounter. I cautiously extended a hand, my fingers brushing against the plush's soft fabric. It felt surprisingly warm and comforting, despite its menacing appearance. A mix of emotions washed over me. Fascination, intrigue, and a tinge of unease. A high-pitched laughing sound came from the plush as it exploded into red confetti. I closed my eyes from the explosion and looked back at where the plushie once was. My eyes widen to see another red box with a black ribbon tied into a bow on top. It had a small note on it with the letter M on one side. 'Last chance to lay down to me. My last gift of mercy to you.' I opened the box expecting it to be a trap only to see it as my science class project, Nexus. It was a robotic arm with unparalleled dexterity and versatility, symbolizing a breakthrough in robotic technology. Unfortunately, my original arm never won the science fair because it wasn't completely functional at the time. The concept of the idea came from a spider enemy from one of my favorite comics. The arm in my hands was similar in detail and design but it wasn't the same. The metal was smoother and darker in color. It was less bulky than my original design too. The shoulder harness fits like a glove. The arm glowed its original blue before glowing red with runes etched along the joints. The arm went limp before it felt like my original arm. It felt light once more like I'd never lost my arm. I tried to make a fist with it and it was slow at first but as I reprogrammed my actions a few times I started to get better at controlling it.

I started to walk forward with my new arm attached to me with new pride and confidence. As I approached the castle I saw a door on the right side of the wall and went inside, finding myself in some sort of room. I looked around as one side of the room had a wall of glass. Weird, is this a security checkpoint of some kind? Before I could go forward, a light turned on beside me on the other side of the glass. My eyes locked on the two animal mascots behind the glass. One looked like a rabbit while the other was a chicken.