A Rotten Situation

Silk was sweating from the magic reactor. It radiated harsh residue magic which Silk could feel burning into him. Professor Collins and Rebeca were fine because they hadn't practised magic to any extent where it extended to their lifeforce.

As they made their way through the dark collection pipe of the reactor Silk could feel something was very wrong with the situation. His demonic personality was taking hold once again so grasping thoughts was getting harder. This couldn't continue for much longer.

"What's the plan?" Professor Collins asked.

"We continue walking," he answered bluntly. "One step at a time, that's all we can do."

The sound of footsteps came from in front of them.

"Stay behind me," he ordered. Grabbing newly formed daggers of air he threw them from where the sound came from.

They missed.

Two daggers of metal came hurtling at Silk viciously.

He had predicted this and dodged to the right to find an accomplice. With a quick glance Silk could see they were demonic. The accomplice had similarities with a chameleon. After Silk activated the energy manipulation to heat his hands the chameleon looked more like a roasted bit of meat.

Using the Chameleon's body as a shield he swung around to be greeted by a larger knife being stabbed at him. Throwing the body at the attacker to pin him to the floor Silk used his boot to finish the job.

A gunshot.

A red rose started to bloom on his clothes.

"Damn, you ruined my clothes," He noted. With a savage grin Silk plunged his hand into his body and took the bullet out. The healing process for a fatal wound is hours but with a bit of manipulation of the air he separated the water and froze it around the wound. It would hold for a while.

Three more gunshots came at Silk but this time he was ready. He had also been enchanting the air to detect where the other intruders were.

He dove forward away from the bullets and then lashed out to his left. Had been swerved from the wind around himself. The wind around him threw the target into a bloody mess.

A sense of joy was worming its way up through Silk which wasn't good at all. It was happening too quickly.

"Stop or your friend is dead," called a young voice.

"Yeah, or I'll slit the babe's throat. I'll make it nice and slow, show you a real good time." A gruffer voice backed up.

Two had slipped past. They were using magic Silk couldn't detect which was unnerving.

"You two are smart enough to talk." Silk exclaimed surprised.

"The demonification process has improved leaps and bounds from what you experienced. Most demons are intelligent now, you are a relic." The younger one answered.

This made Silk smile. "A relic, I'm glad I'm still of importance."

"As important as the dinosaur. Interesting but better observed dead."

The gruffer voice spoke up, "Boss, the trash talk is nice and all but we need to kill him. The punk is dispo..a. Hmm, you know what I mean!"

"You're right. Filum!" the younger one commanded. "Get on your knees and ready yourself for execution on the orders of the high Emperor."

Silk's knees buckled instantly. The voice had been layered with magic and something within Silk made him obey.

Professor Collin's voice piped up, "Demon or not, you seem plenty human. You cared about Rebeca, you feel for her. That's all you need to be human."

That was true. He was no pure demon. Focusing Silk rose from his knees. "You know that I don't respond well to orders or threats. It's a shame for your friend though." Silk was painfully taking steps toward the voice. Each step was more painful than the last.

Two humanoid figures emerged from the dark. One feathered like an owl holding a knife to Rebeca's throat and the second looked like a fourteen year old boy.

"Stop, I ordered you." The boy's voice was panicking.

"So what, I'm not Filum. I'm Silk and no one has the right to order me to do anything so shut up small fry."

"No, no. He said it would work. The man said you couldn't disobey my order." The young boy said.

The owl man suddenly keeled over and started to vomit maggots. It was almost instantaneous.

"What did you do?" The boy backed away afraid from Silk.

"I'm Silk the Spider. Surely you have heard of me so surely you know what I did. I did something clever. I suggest you run now." He smiled. "Run hard and run fast."

The boy scrambled backwards and ran. He was terrified, the magic was so different to what he knew. The rumours seemed to be true, Silk was just as terrifying as the stories. He should never have tried to challenge one of the eight most wanted.

"We are going the other way," Silk said grabbing Rebeca's hand and pulling her away.

She tried to pull away, "You can't touch me."

"Don't worry, I think I have fifteen minutes left in me, I may be dyeing but I can get you back to Earth and your touch can't do me any more damage," Silk said with a forced smile.

"You seem awful mature for a teenager," Professor Collin's said.

"Yeah, I'm not in my teens, well maybe I am." He answered while walking in the opposite direction that the demon had run. "I lived as a human for sixteen years, then a demon for most of the first demonic war, so ninety-two more years. The demonic war only touched twelve or so in the human world. My human conscience came back after a failed mission and I switched sides sort of. A group of us did something stupid, we locked both sides of the war in different universes and that took fifteen years to arrange. That makes me in my current form either fifteen or one hundred and twenty-three."

"That's quite the life story," Professor Collins said. "I'll pretend you didn't say any of that but as I said before. You seem very human."

"Yes, that failed mission was something indeed. I don't understand how my human genetics have taken the forefront from the demonic ones. It defies logic."

"I'm not the only one cursed then." Rebeca interrupted.

"How so?" Silk said while noticing a red glow in the distance.

"You are cursed with that demon inside you," [s1] She answered.

Silk ran up to the glowing light and grabbed the rock with both hands. He blew on it and it softly grew brighter. "Now I have a plan." He spun around, "Back the way we came you two."

"I thought we were escaping from this place," Professor Collins said.

"No we were escaping from the reactor room because Phoenix and Crusher tend to make a mess when they go all out. They've probably disposed of the maggot infested moving bodies that Rebeca made by now."

"I did that," Rebeca's legs buckled.

"I'm sorry. You did, there's no easy way to say that. Just bare in mind that it wasn't your fault. When you get back to Earth no skin to skin contact can ever happen, romance or even a handshake. I can't tell you how sorry I am but we need to get back to the reactor."

"Rebeca, I will find a way to help you but we need to get back to Earth." Professor Collins said.

"Okay," She said getting up.

"Right, I have about seven minutes to live and maybe five where I'll be able to move without projectile vomiting my now maggot infested body so I'm going to run. Try to keep up."

Silk emerged from the reactor with sweat dripping from his brow, some from the run but most from the illness.

The room was filled with squirming loose maggots and loose body parts. Some were burnt others just ripped apart. The stench of rotting meat filled the room.

"Glad you could join us," Crusher said clutching his stomach.

"We don't have much time. I'm sorry, I didn't realise what I asked of you. I presume during the fight you were contaminated. We're all going to die," Silk said.

"What!" Phoenix screeched. "We're dyeing?"

"Remember how Rebeca is cursed with pestilence, well the disease is somehow converting meat into those maggots. Some weird curse crap but there's no time to explain." He explained while taking out the red glowing rock from his pocket.

"Is that?" Crushers eyes widened. "That's a magic crystal but red energy. What?"

"Demonic energy makes the crystal red. We need to hook it up." He said ripping the wires from the reactor and connecting them to the rock. Suddenly he vomited. Maggots came out where they shouldn't have been. He collapsed.

"Phoenix," he gasped. "Help."

She staggered over. "What needs done?"

"Wires, just melt them to the rock, quickly,"

Professor Collins and Rebeca came from inside the reactor.

"I'm glad you could come," Silk said coughing maggots.

"God, that's a sudden change." Professor Collins noted.

"Finished," Phoenix said giving the rock back to Silk.

"Crusher, come here." Crusher walked over slowly. "Faster," he shouted. "I'm literally dyeing here."

"This isn't the end," Crusher said.

"I know it isn't but we won't see each other for a while. Take this key, it should guide us to each other." Silk said giving a key with a bull to him.

"Do I get anything?�� Phoenix asked with an edge of sarcasm but there was sincerity underneath.

"Of course," He said struggling to get up. "Take this key." He handed the key with an owl engraved into it.

When Phoenix took the key and the engraving changed from an owl to a proud phoenix. A red glow now took over the key.

"Of course it recognises you, my key doesn't even do that anymore and it was made for me," Silk mumbled. He curled over and vomited once again.

"Take the stone," Phoenix forced it into his hands.

"I will force energy into the keys and force them to take you to another universe, they should pick somewhere where you need to be. Rebeca, stand close to the Professor. They will force you to wher you need to be for a healthy recovery. Phoenix, Crusher and I may look human but evolution treated us differently so we will go to different places." Silk explained.

"Get on with it." Crusher said angrily. "You don't exactly have long to live."

"Professor Collins and Rebeca should go back to Earth," Silk continued ignoring Crusher. "You will need to set up measures to counter the oncoming demonic invasion. I will try to get to you as quickly as possible."

"I said get on with it," Crusher shouted.

"Well goodbye for now. And Rebeca, the demon isn't a curse. Its part of me." He reached for that familiar but dangerous demonic energy within him. He connected it to the stone and started forcing the energy in the stone to move through the wires. The wires were horrifically wired by Phoenix so he had to direct all the demonic energy through the wires himself. The reactor started powering up amplifying the magic power over a hundredfold.

They would all fry within seconds. Suddenly the keys glowed and they vanished. The reactor blew leaving nothing, not even rubble, in its wake. All there was, was a crater in the planet which didn't used to be there.

[s1]Link back when they split up