The Howling Dark, Part 11

Both The Knight and The Doppelganger wore a shocked expression as the latter's arm fell from his shoulder in a collection of finely minced pieces. Only seconds before there had been a series of flashes like metal glinting when the light catches its edge just right but the event took place with such speed that someone looking right at it would have to stop and wonder if it even took place at all.

That wasn't the only strange occurrence because right after an unsettling sound rose in the deafening silence of The Howling Dark. It was like a knife twisting and turning inside one's skull... It was the sound of laughter but not from any Human or even Demon. It was more like a strange combination of noises... The sound of an insect's legs walking slowly across cold stone, the sound a dull saw makes when **** against bone, the hiss of a frightened cat, the last gasp of a drowning infant, and a mourning Mother's cries of anguish... that as impossible and inexplicable as it might seem added up to what sounded like a strange kind of laughter. Just hearing it for a moment would give a person a chill for a lifetime.

The source of this infernal laughter was nowhere to be seen but its cruel laughter hung in the air like a hanged Man swinging from a Gallows Tree. The Knight took this opportunity while The Doppelganger was distracted to withdrawal several hundred feet.

The Doppelganger's arm had already regrown before the first one had hit the ground but just as a new one grew in its place that one too fell to the ground and so did the next three with narry an indication as to who, what, or how it was done.

The Doppelganger's face twisted in animalistic fury and ignoring the injured Knight with a dismissive grunt and a flick of its claws its eyes scanned for the culprit behind its partial dismemberment. After losing a number of arms to the same invisible ****, Aaron's Doppelganger began to grow a new one but this time its regeneration stopped at the elbow... The individual muscles, nerves, and blood vessels writhing and squirming like a collection of hungry worms.

The moment the bone began to grow from the cleanly cut shoulder a series of brief but intense flashes could be seen in the distance as something approached at unbelievable speed. The Doppelganger's cracked lips twisted into a venomous sneer as it plucked a small but inconceivably fast-moving object out of the air with its newly regenerated arm.

"Gotcha, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!," Exclaimed The Doppelganger as he held tight to the vicious bundle of fur fidgeting in his vice-like grip. The creature was small but unbelievably ferocious as it tore into The Doppelganger's constantly regenerating flesh with its long claws and sharp teeth. The creature resembled a Ferret with its long, slender body... It had glossy black fur and icy blue eyes that glinted cruelly under its captor's inspection, the claws of its front legs were abnormally long and knife-like, and it was grinning widely, giving those who saw it a dreadful chill.

As The Doppelganger's already bone-crushing grip tightened, The creature's cries of pain sliced through the air with a deafening screech like nails on a chalkboard but before Aaron's Doppelganger could crush the spiteful little bundle of black fur the laughter from just a few moments ago began echoing from all around the bewildered Doppelganger then his attention was drawn to sudden movement and he could see what appeared to be a streak of lightning racing across the ground. When the quickly approaching bolt of lightning was only a few hundred feet away, a pillar of shiny black stone jutted out of the ground at an angle, propelling the streak of lightning up into and through the air, heading straight toward The Doppelganger's face like a bullet. As it shot forward, a series of loud cracking noises could be heard as it picked up speed but were quickly drowned out by its hideous laughter.

With only a few feet left until it was on The Doppelganger, time seemed to slow and the zig-zagging streak of crackling white light could be seen. It looked almost identical to the creature The Doppelganger still clutched tightly in its fist except that it was longer with a more slender body, shimmering white fur like the light of the rising sun on a field of freshly fallen snow, it had mischievous green eyes, and a malicious smile on its cute little face.

The Doppelganger's eyes widened as the still laughing ferret-like creature was only a few feet away, twisting its body and spinning, its bizarre laughter took on an actual physical pressure that caused the ground beneath The Doppelganger to crack then explode.

While The Dark-Skinned Goddess used her powers to heal The Pirate Captain, he and The Priest suddenly began to roar with laughter which aggravated their injuries, causing them to cough up mouthfuls of blood but that only seemed to make them laugh even harder. The Goddess herself couldn't help but smile.

Looking in the direction of The White-Haired Youth who had fallen earlier in battle The Priest was unable to hold his laughter in check and guffawed loudly with abandon as he stared at The Youth's handsome face and the vicious smile that reminded him of a reaper's scythe pressed against the throat of a dying Man and that revealed a mouth full razor-sharp, shark-like teeth.

A Few Minutes Earlier...

The White-Haired Youth lay virtually forgotten by his Comrades, The Readers and even The Author apparently. He had suffered grievous internal injuries from using up all his Mana to protect his companions earlier in their battle against Aaron's Doppelganger and while not as sturdy as his Brothers and Sister he was by no means easy to kill. His injuries were enough to kill a human but luckily he wasn't so weak as to die from from such wounds and even in his **** state he exuded a relentless stubbornness as he clung to life with an iron grip.

A faint light shown from the darkness beneath his left hand and something underneath raised his hand up slightly, appearing from a swirling void that twisted the darkness around it into new and inconceivable forms as something alive and wholly sinister peered out from beneath The Youth's hand and looked around. Two pin pricks of malicious green light shone from deep within the darkness under his hand. A second later, a second pair of lights appeared above the first only these were a cruel blue in color and underneath each pair of lights was a wide, sardonic Cheshire's grin full of sharp, glinting teeth.

The two slender forms hurried out from underneath The Youth's cold, pale hand... nuzzling the distended veins bulging across the top of it before scurrying across the ground, criss-crossing each other's path several times before stopping face to face and rubbing each other's cheek then darting off toward Aaron's Doppelganger who was busily fighting with The Knight. The two ferret-like creatures moved at an almost supernatural rate of speed, One appeared and disappeared out of a sea of icy white fog while the other popped in and out of the ubiquitous Darkness surrounding and permeating everyone and everything in The Howling Dark.

Back To A Few Seconds Ago...

The Doppelganger's eyes widened as the cackling ferret-like creature was only a few feet away, twisting its long, slender body as it sailed through the air, its bizarre laughter took on an actual physical pressure that caused the ground beneath The Doppelganger to crack then explode.

As the creature spun it attacked Aaron's Doppelganger from the eye of a sudden storm, slashing at The Doppelganger's face and chest with its long, knife-like claws. Momentarily stunned by the small creature's intense ferocity, The Doppelganger's crushing grip momentarily loosened and the black-furred creature slipped from his grasp, laughing hysterically as it ran up his arm, slicing and slashing with mad glee.

"AAAAAAH!," The Doppelganger roared, losing another arm as it tried to avoid being decapitated by its other attacker.

Another arm instantly sprouted in place of the lost one and Aaron's Doppelganger used it like a bat to send the dark-furred creature flying while narrowly avoiding the ferocious slashing of the other before sending it flying as well.

The two creatures landed not far away and watched with sinister glee at the look of consternation on the face of The Doppelganger who flicked some excess blood from his hand before straightening his tie. The Doppelganger motioned with his hand for them to give it their best shot and the two looked at one another with a shared grin then rushed forward.

The Doppelganger sneered evilly and stomped his foot, causing a huge swath of the ground the size of a skyscraper to rapidly rise up catapulting the two furry bundles of misery right toward him and he was ready with his teeth bared and claws at the ready.

He managed to grab the black-furred one but the white one evaded his grab, cutting into his torso or at least trying to but only managing to cut his suit jacket and shirt but not his skin which didn't have a scratch on it., "That won't work anymore RODENT!"

Shocked by the ineffectiveness of its attack, The small but incredibly vicious creature was slow to react to what happened next and that was a kick from beneath that sent the creature flying high into the air.

"Here!," The Doppelganger growled, tossing the other ferret-like creature into the air., "Go play with your mate before you DIE!" The mischievous and utterly demented creatures high-fived one another before turning so that they were plummeting head first with their sharp claws thrust out in front of them.

The Doppelganger raised his head toward the falling creatures, closed his eyes and moved his hands through the air as though he were following some imaginary ocean current. When his hands were about to meet he spread his arms wide and slammed his hands together, The two ferret creatures shrieked loudly as the two clawed hands came together.

The Doppelganger's eyes snapped open and he frowned momentarily before suddenly turning and thrusting his hands out to grab the two flailing creatures before they could react. They bit and clawed at The Doppelganger's hardened flesh but to no avail. A few seconds later and the two ferret-like creatures were crushed in The Doppelganger's inescapable grip. Their lifeless bodies thrown to the ground like so much garbage.

The White-Haired Youth convulsed, his vicious smile from before gone as thick yellow ichor flowed from the corners of his eyes and silvery black and red blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

"¡ԍW boϝƧ uɑC ԍuO oИ ¡ԍW boϝƧ ϝˌuɑC no⅄," The Doppelganger's eerie and unsettling voice caused the temperature of the non-existent air to go into freefall as its form writhed and contorted before returning to normal.

Having caught their breath and regained control of their senses, Chikushōdō, Shuradō, and Tagaidō attacked from behind while The Knight launched a frontal ****.

As the four closed in on him, The Doppelganger straightened his tie once again and assumed a pleasing smile. The Knight slashed horizontally with his huge sword but The Doppelganger's hand shattered the blade of the enormous sword and grabbed The Knight, slamming into the ground with the **** of an exploding star. Chikushōdō, Shuradō, and Tagaidō glanced at one another before leaping up into the air above The Doppelganger who was crouching on the ground with his hand still around The Knight's throat.

The Knight smirked but it was short lived as Thick, pulsating threads of darkness shot out of The Doppelganger's back and pierced each of The Knight's subordinates before tearing them to pieces. It was truly as ghastly sight, It was like a bomb had gone off inside the three of them and they just exploded.

"I would not be here without all of my Brothers and Sisters...," Aaron's Doppelganger stated in an eerie and disjointed voice before standing up and walking toward where Aaron and the others were., "... But neither they nor you can fathom the depths of what I am... What. I've. Become. Now... BEGONE!"