justprompts - Bring Me To Life
(set in wayward_au, many years down the line. Shade = justshade, and in this canon Shade has reclaimed his stolen soul. No specific time in said verse, just feeling out the voice. working out the specifics still, verse wise.)
The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say. -Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire
He didn't go by Liam anymore. Liam had been his name when he was still figuring things out. When he didn't know what he was or how to be it. But as the years passed - many more due to spending much of his time around the Underworld - he began to find the piece of him that was Adam. The soul that had been Adam, the memories. He was Adam again, just...improved.
His body healed on it's own. His demonic powers developed, and he gained more of them. He moved up the radar in his own right, and let himself be known in the demon world. There was a certain lustful joy that came with causing fear.
When he was a man, he had done what he needed to do to survive. To make the world turn as he wanted it to be. Anything that had to be done was acceptable to him. When he became a demon, as his powers and his mind grew, he was finding much more to be acceptable.
Anything that kept the spark in his blood.
Including this.
"You don't know what you're doing, Liam," Shade said from across the room. Adam turned to the other demon with a fiery glare.
"I've told you, I'm not Liam anymore. And I know exactly what I'm doing."
"And what's the purpose?! Huh?"
"I don't need purpose!"
"Then you're just another of the brainless herding demons we used to kill!"
"I'm nothing like them," Adam barked. He crossed the room to where he had Shade caught in an energy cage. Shade sat on the ground and looked up at him with dark eyes. "I'm not you, Shade."
"No. You're nothin' like me. You lost your way, Adam."
"I didn't. I found my way." He kicked one of the stones from the circle and the energy shield fell. He flicked two fingers and Shade's body flew up against the stonewall. Shade didn't even struggle. He kept pinned to the wall, watching Adam. "You see, Shade, it's you who has lost his way." Adam moved closer slowly, his fingers still up. "You were once my mentor. You taught me how to feel my powers, how to use them. You inspired me." He stopped just inches from Shade and stared straight at him.
"There are other ways of doing this," Shade gurgled, his throat closing in on him.
"Yes..yes, old friend. Remind me. How does one be evil and good all at once? You're nothing, don't you get that? You aren't accepted up there, you aren't accepted down here. No one wants to trust a half-spit like you." Adam's voice got thicker and nastier as he spoke. Shade's eyes narrowed at him as he finally began to struggle.
"What the hell do you want from me, Adam?" He spit the demon's name out. Adam was right. He wasn't Liam.
"I don't want anything from you. I know you were once the big bad power around here. Half Charmed, half demon. Son of The Source." Adam shrugged and dropped his fingers, letting Shade fall to the floor in a crumpled mess. Shade rubbed his throat and looked up, glaring.
"And you were nothing. You know nothing about what power was then. What order was. My father-"
"You father was a witch loving bastard!! And he was killed for it!"
Shade jumped up, fireball at hand. "He was ten times the demon you are! He had respect! You? You just have idiots shaking in their boots. That isn't real power."
Adam smirked slightly and walked closer to Shade, not phased by the fireball. Wasn't as though it could hurt him. But then, Shade knew that. Probably why he wasn't doing anything but standing there like a neutered bitch. "Hmm. Matter of opinion," Adam said. "However...this is." In one swift move of his arm the double-edged knife cut through Shade's gut. Shade's eyes went wide, his mouth open, and he buckled into Adam's shoulder. Adam hissed words of a spell down onto Shade as he gave the knife a turn and pushed it in further.
Shade may have been powerful, but Adam had succeeded him. Adam had the path to get close enough to harm him. Adam had found the way. And Adam was smiling as he pulled the knife from his old friend and watched the body of the demon fall to the ground. Finally silent. He crouched down beside Shade and slowly wiped the knife off on Shade's shirt.
"You made my blade all dirty with your foul blood," he said with a little pout. "Not a very good friend, are we?" Then he stood and watched the last breath of life leave the corpse, before it flushed away in a cloud of smoke. Adam turned on his heel and looked around. That had felt good. Very good. He couldn't recall the last time he'd had that much energy flowing through himself.
821
The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say. -Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire
He didn't go by Liam anymore. Liam had been his name when he was still figuring things out. When he didn't know what he was or how to be it. But as the years passed - many more due to spending much of his time around the Underworld - he began to find the piece of him that was Adam. The soul that had been Adam, the memories. He was Adam again, just...improved.
His body healed on it's own. His demonic powers developed, and he gained more of them. He moved up the radar in his own right, and let himself be known in the demon world. There was a certain lustful joy that came with causing fear.
When he was a man, he had done what he needed to do to survive. To make the world turn as he wanted it to be. Anything that had to be done was acceptable to him. When he became a demon, as his powers and his mind grew, he was finding much more to be acceptable.
Anything that kept the spark in his blood.
Including this.
"You don't know what you're doing, Liam," Shade said from across the room. Adam turned to the other demon with a fiery glare.
"I've told you, I'm not Liam anymore. And I know exactly what I'm doing."
"And what's the purpose?! Huh?"
"I don't need purpose!"
"Then you're just another of the brainless herding demons we used to kill!"
"I'm nothing like them," Adam barked. He crossed the room to where he had Shade caught in an energy cage. Shade sat on the ground and looked up at him with dark eyes. "I'm not you, Shade."
"No. You're nothin' like me. You lost your way, Adam."
"I didn't. I found my way." He kicked one of the stones from the circle and the energy shield fell. He flicked two fingers and Shade's body flew up against the stonewall. Shade didn't even struggle. He kept pinned to the wall, watching Adam. "You see, Shade, it's you who has lost his way." Adam moved closer slowly, his fingers still up. "You were once my mentor. You taught me how to feel my powers, how to use them. You inspired me." He stopped just inches from Shade and stared straight at him.
"There are other ways of doing this," Shade gurgled, his throat closing in on him.
"Yes..yes, old friend. Remind me. How does one be evil and good all at once? You're nothing, don't you get that? You aren't accepted up there, you aren't accepted down here. No one wants to trust a half-spit like you." Adam's voice got thicker and nastier as he spoke. Shade's eyes narrowed at him as he finally began to struggle.
"What the hell do you want from me, Adam?" He spit the demon's name out. Adam was right. He wasn't Liam.
"I don't want anything from you. I know you were once the big bad power around here. Half Charmed, half demon. Son of The Source." Adam shrugged and dropped his fingers, letting Shade fall to the floor in a crumpled mess. Shade rubbed his throat and looked up, glaring.
"And you were nothing. You know nothing about what power was then. What order was. My father-"
"You father was a witch loving bastard!! And he was killed for it!"
Shade jumped up, fireball at hand. "He was ten times the demon you are! He had respect! You? You just have idiots shaking in their boots. That isn't real power."
Adam smirked slightly and walked closer to Shade, not phased by the fireball. Wasn't as though it could hurt him. But then, Shade knew that. Probably why he wasn't doing anything but standing there like a neutered bitch. "Hmm. Matter of opinion," Adam said. "However...this is." In one swift move of his arm the double-edged knife cut through Shade's gut. Shade's eyes went wide, his mouth open, and he buckled into Adam's shoulder. Adam hissed words of a spell down onto Shade as he gave the knife a turn and pushed it in further.
Shade may have been powerful, but Adam had succeeded him. Adam had the path to get close enough to harm him. Adam had found the way. And Adam was smiling as he pulled the knife from his old friend and watched the body of the demon fall to the ground. Finally silent. He crouched down beside Shade and slowly wiped the knife off on Shade's shirt.
"You made my blade all dirty with your foul blood," he said with a little pout. "Not a very good friend, are we?" Then he stood and watched the last breath of life leave the corpse, before it flushed away in a cloud of smoke. Adam turned on his heel and looked around. That had felt good. Very good. He couldn't recall the last time he'd had that much energy flowing through himself.
821