18 Chronicle XVIII: Despair (2/2)

- Hey, kid. Kid, do you hear me?

Daniel groaned in annoyance, his eyes widening. It took him a while to get used to the artificial light hanging from the ceiling, and after turning his face to where that voice came from, he recognized the person who was trying to wake him up with light slaps.

- Johnny? What...? Where I am? - the boy murmured, totally lost.

- Finally, until you woke up, kid. You've been unconscious for hours in the middle of my couch. Nice bruises, by the way.

Daniel took a look at his body, where he saw a bandage around his torso. He felt his wounds healed, but he still felt pain.

- Now, do you want to explain to me what hit you so hard that you ended up stuck in the middle of the road? -Johnny said, pausing before continuing- Please tell me you didn't run into the Hulk...-he added, with a tired voice.

The teenager shook his head, still half asleep. As best he could, he sat on the sofa, trying to remember what had happened hours ago. Immediately, the memories of his defeat came to his mind, and he got up immediately.

- Elizabeth! -he exclaimed- Where is the exit of this filthy house? I have to go rescue her!

With groggy steps and a grimace at his exhausted body, Dante tries to walk to the door, but is stopped by the adult.

-Whoa, stop there, kid!- Blaze recriminated -First, my house is not filthy, it is a sanctuary for me and Roxanne, especially for my motorcycles. Second, I literally spend hours healing your broken ribs on my sofa, so a "thank you" wouldn't hurt. And last: seriously, the blonde girl? I find you in the middle of the road looking like shit and all you think about is your girlfriend?

- S-She's not my girlfriend! -replied the boy stammering, with a little pink tint on his cheeks- She...!

His mouth closed before he even said anything. Remembering the night before, the girl's expressions came to her mind. He remembered her anger, her sadness, and most of all, her disappointment. He knew that Crane and the other guy had something to do with her behavior, but he had no idea what they had done to her.

So that led to another question.

Who the hell was that demon?

He looked familiar to the teenager. Hell, he even felt like he could say his name and it was on the tip of his tongue, but he still didn't remember.

It was a weird feeling.

Johnny Blaze watched the boy, curious as to why he fell silent so suddenly. There he noticed his expression: a mixture of sadness and confusion.

Dante snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Looking at the adult, he gave her a supportive smile.

- Kid, I had a lot of girl problems in my teens. If you have any questions, don´t hesitate to ask. On that topic or any other. If you need help... -the adult opened his arms, emphasizing himself- this handsome man can give you a hand.

The boy couldn´t prevent a small smile from appearing on his face, appreciating the motorcyclist's gesture.

Suddenly, a sound of sparks was heard inside the room, and a portal opened in the middle of the room, taking both men by surprise, from which Wong emerged.

-Wong? -Blaze asked, surprised- Well, this is a surprise. It must be a very fucked up thing for you to come to my house, considering that you don't like the place- he added, amused- What is the big occasion?

The clear seriousness on the Sorcerer Supreme's companion´s face made both Ghost Rider understand that his presence was due to something very bad.

- Mephisto.

The clear firmness of the sorcerer's words blanked the two men, who stared at him, searching for any hint of joke in his voice.

- It has to be a fucking joke... - Blaze said.

- Unfortunately for us, it is not. Due to certain events, Mephisto managed to emerge a tower directly from Hell in the middle of Las Vegas, and the demons trapped under his domain roam those lands -Wong reported, with absolute seriousness- The entrance of the tower and its surroundings are guarded by magic demonic Stephen and other heroes are fighting their way inside, but they won't last long. The magic that emanates is affecting them to the point of suppressing their powers.

- Ok, that's a bad situation.

- However, I have a plan. I have formed a group to attack the tower; people who are not affected by that magic.

- Let me guess, am I one of them?

- Yes, Johnny. In fact, you're the one who knows Mephisto the most out of all of us. You know what it takes to defeat him.

Blaze looked at the teen doubtfully, an action Wong shared. The sorcerer, however, shook his head gently, infuriating Daniel.

- What? Why I can´t go? - he reclaimed.

- I'm sorry, but your power is not enough for a calamity of this level- Wong replied.

- What?!

- Kid, you're still recovering. Whatever hit you, it hit you hard as hell. Your body will take a while to fully recover unlike your injuries. Leave it to us. Go home.

And before Daniel could complain once more, Johnny and Wong walked through the portal, leaving the boy alone in the room.

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Hours that seemed endless had passed. The sun went down after finishing his work and the moon relieved him. The cold wind of the night began to blow, hitting Daniel's face who did not stop his march.

On his way home, he passed through downtown Chicago. He stopped at an avenue, near a corner, while watching the traffic light.

A crowded group of people caught his attention. The whole group had their eyes on an appliance store, watching a television that reported the event that was taking place in Las Vegas.

The civilians mutter concerns and comments while the teenager watches them. For a moment, his eyes riveted to the television, which was showing an image of the demon tower in all its glory. His teeth and hands clenched, feeling helpless remembering Wong and Johnny's words.

When the light turned green, he stepped on the accelerator and sped away from the scene.

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In about fifteen minutes he reached his neighborhood, slowing down as he approached his house. Storing his motorcycle as carefully and quietly as possible, he headed for the front door, but stopped just short of opening it.

A feeling of remorse and insecurity suddenly invaded him. Crane and company had Elizabeth, due to the fact that she was a very close person to him. Now, it was just her: but what if the Johnsons were next?

His hand trembled on the doorknob. What assured him that while he was looking for Elizabeth, they wouldn't break into her house and kidnap any of them? The next could be Rex. Or Carl. Or Iris. They might even have taken all three of them.

Or even worse.

Silently, he made a decision. He would get out of there. He would leave the house in which he grew up for years, he would leave his adoptive parents and his brother. They would surely miss him. But it would be for a few years, after that, they would return to their lives. After all, they had a son, his real son. He was just taking a place in the house.

- Yeah, they'll be fine…- he whispered under his breath, talking to himself.

Opening the door carefully, he entered the house. The lights were off, so that meant everyone went to sleep. He crossed the kitchen with stealthy steps, avoiding waking anyone.

- Daniel?

The boy froze, not expecting anyone to be awake. A light came on behind him, and he turned to see his adoptive mother, who was looking at him with tired eyes.

Dante wants to say something, but he finds that his lips are sealed in shock. He realized that she had been waiting for him, who knows how long.

The woman's tired look showed a half smile, patting the sofa, indicating her son to sit next to her. The teenager, feeling guilty for her mother's expression, obeyed without question, directing her gaze to the ground, unable to look at her.

After leaving to look for Elizabeth, he hadn't even called her. When he woke up in his mentor's house, he hadn't either. So, she hadn't heard from him for nearly 36 hours. He patiently waited for the scolding he was sure to receive, and deserved it. Instead, he felt Iris hug him and pull him close, caressing his hair motherly with her hands.

- Daniel, sweetheart...-the woman began, in a sweet tone- You know this is not your fault, right?

Oh, but yes it was.

-I know it hurts. Feeling that a person with whom you shared day to day is no longer with you... -she said as if she remembered something- It's not up to you to find her. You're just a kid who suffered a hard loss as a child, one that created trauma. A trauma that you are repeating- she added without stopping caressing her son's hair.

Daniel tensed. Unconsciously, he recognized that she was right.

The woman paused, chose her next words well, and continued.

- You can't control what happens in life, honey. The life is for enjoy it. Experiencing, living, loving... These are the wonderful things that life gives us, but it also takes something away from us in return. Everybody has these kinds of problems, Daniel. Everyone fights to move on despite something bad happening to them. Dear, my point is...- the woman stopped stroking his hair and placed her hand on his cheek- We all suffer and live. Sometimes things happen to us, good or bad, and we learn to live with them, for better or worse. Even we, being adults, experience it. But we have each other to get through it.

Iris wrapped her arms around the teen, giving him a gentle hug.

- And you, my child, you have us. You have me. If you want to talk, I'm here. Mom is here. No matter how many things you have in mind, we will always be there for you. And we love you.

Dante listened carefully to everything, and felt himself finally breaking down. Tears came slowly, until the teenager burst into tears hugging his mother, releasing everything he felt.

After all, he was only 17 years old.

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Aaron Crane hummed as he paced back and forth. His plan was coming together perfectly... Just one more small step, and everything would be complete.

His only wish was to totally destroy the Ghost Rider. The hatred he had for him was impossible to erase. Despite his father's attempts to convince him, it was useless.

He had ruined his father's life, damn it! He wanted nothing less than to take everything away from him. He wanted to see him fall into despair, he wanted revenge.

However, it should wait. The meeting he was waiting for would take place in a few minutes, and with that, his goal was getting closer and closer.

He had it all figured out. A few moves were missing, like removing Daniel Johnson from the middle and taking the power of Astaroth. With that, he would have the checkmate on the board. Meanwhile, he walked through the abandoned corners of the warehouse, far from the city. A perfect place for his business.

And speaking of business, the meeting began. A light fell in front of him, blinding and pure, so much so that it sickened him. Swallowing his emotions, he proceeded to take his Vengeance form and stood firmly in front of the newcomers.

- We're here, demon, just on your terms as you wanted. What is your offer? - a male voice asked.

-𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱...- Vengeance commented mockingly.

The owner of the voice clicked his tongue, but remained silent. Instead, a female voice spoke.

-Just tell us what the offer is, demon, we don't want any conflict...- she stated.

- 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻? 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗮! 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲...-he laughed- 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆, 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆...- he added wickedly-. 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗢𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲!- he said, laughing at his own play on words- 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲?

The three silhouettes looked at each other for a few moments. Obviously, they were interested. Vengeance knew this beforehand, of course. They knew what he was offering them.

The third and final individual stepped forward, facing Crane.

- What should we do?- he questioned.

Vengeance flashed a smile of pure evil and satisfaction.

-𝗔𝘀 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿... 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱.

The demon raised his arms to his sides, smiling arrogantly.

- 𝗘𝘅𝗼𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝘇𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀, 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?