Enter the Mad-Hatter:
( Earth #8193, 1990, New-Alexandria, The Narrows,Ashcroft Asylum)
HEAVY TRIGGER WARNING FOR THERAPY-SESSION DISCUSSIONS OF PAST RITUALISTIC SEXUAL VIOLENCE Also this episode contains callbacks to Knight-Raven's First Flight episode from earlier with it revisiting the wonderlandian pedo-ring and alien fourth individual from that earlier episode.
Narrator
Chapter 30 = Enter the Madhatter,.. Ashcroft Asylum in the Narrows District of New-Alexandria, 1990 on Earth #8193… Dr. Valentine walks over to her office fireplace and stirs the smoldering remains of wood and coals. She focuses on the embers to help de-stress and re-center herself after her recent session with Smyth. After a few moments, she takes a deep breath and moves back to her desk. She reaches into her bag and exchanges Dr. Smyth's file for the file of the next new patient.
Gwendolyn Valentine
It's okay, Gwen. Smyth was creepy, but you did well. Now, calm down and prepare for the next patient. You've got this, girl!
Narrator
Dr. Valentine pulls a jade teacup out of her desk drawer and pours herself some tea from her kettle. The soothing cinnamon aroma of the tea wafts over her as she lifts the cup to her soft lips and takes a sip. She spends the next few moments of tranquil silence, looking over the next new patient's file.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Paitents name is Dr. Andrew Hawkins AKA the Mad-Hatter. Andrew was a leading scientist in the field of Inter-Dimensional Physics. However, he was suddenly brought down by accusations of top-secret illegal experimentation on and highly-ritualized pedophilic sexual acts against young girls. Andrew seems to suffer alice-in-wonderland styled delusions of a theological nature. After his crimes were discovered he avoided capture by faking his own death before resurfacing two years later as the super-villain known as the Mad-Hatter. Hawkins is also has a masters in Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering. He was captured five months ago by Deus-Excess and Knight-Raven after kidnapping the the young daughter of the New Alexandria District Attorney. Coming up with a therapeutic strategy might prove especially tricky with this one.
Narrator
Gwen takes another sip of her tea as there comes a sudden knock on her office door. Dr. Valentine casually calls out for the next patient to enter. The door opens and in walks the giant brute of a guard from before. Only this time, he escorts another scraggly-looking man who looks even more gaunt and starved than Smyth.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Gods, do they even feed these patients?
Narrator
Dr. Valentine cannot help but notice that the man seems to be constantly muttering to himself, as if completely lost in his own reality. The guard escorts the patient over to the C.N.P. couch and places him down on it. The C.N.P. Wall hums softly for a moment before becoming silent once more as its ghostly blue lights begin to shine and mingle. The man continues to mutter frantically to himself as Dr. Valentine gestures for the guard to leave. Once the guard is gone, Dr. Valentine picks up her tea and goes to sit in the chair next to the couch. She takes another sip of her cinnamon tea, allowing herself to just listen to the patient's mutterings for a bit. At this distance, Dr. Valentine cannot help but notice the man's rotten yellow teeth and the putrid smell of his breath.
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Te... tea party, where... where is my tea party? Them... they—they stole it from us, didn't they? Thieves... mindless cards, every one of them. They stole our tea party from us... we want it back... give it to us, give us back our tea party! My goddess, she calls for it, GIVE IT BACK TO US!" [agitated crazed tone]
Narrator
The man writhes and twitches slightly in his straitjacket before suddenly jerking forward. His eyes flare with twisted intensity as he turns towards Dr. Valentine. Seeing his agitation, Dr. Valentine leans forward and places a hand on the man's shoulder.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Please, Dr. Hawkins, calm down, you're perfectly safe. Now, it may not be a tea party, exactly, but I do have tea if you would like some," [warm caring tone]
Narrator
Says Dr. Valentine warmly as she moves to her desk and retrieves a second cup of tea before returning to the chair next to the couch. The smell of the tea silences him. His body relaxes. Hawkins leans his head forward and takes a cautious sip of tea, eyeing Dr. Valentine suspiciously as he does. Once he is done drinking, Dr. Valentine leans over and places Hawkins's teacup on the edge of her desk before pulling out one of her pens to start the session. Hawkins lets out a deep sigh of relief as smiles warmly at his new therapist.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Very good. Feel better?"
Narrator
Hawkins nods weakly as Dr. Valentine smiles back at him.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Now, my name is Dr. Valentine and I am going to be your new therapist. It's a pleasure to meet you Andrew. May I call you Andrew? Dr. Hawkins just feels so formal,"
Narrator
Dr. Valentine as she gently strokes his hair. Andrew relaxes even more at her touch before nodding his approval.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Good … good… See, you're safe with me. I want to be your friend, Andrew. You can trust me."
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Trust, yes… fr... Friends wit... with us. You want to be friends, yes... yeah, all right… friends. Safe... safe"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Us, Andrew? Who else is with you right now other than me?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine, tilting her head.
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Go... goddess, my goddess. My master... My love …"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"I see and who is this Goddess, Andrew? Who is your love?"
Narrator
Dr. Valentine leans back and readies herself to take notes.
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"The one... the one who guides me, who haunts me... The All-Mother… Alice, she is Alice."
Narrator
Andrew starts to tremble as his subtle twitching returns.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Yes, of course, how silly of me. Of course, Alice is your goddess and love,"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Not ju… just my goddess. Alice is go… goddess of all… Only in Alice ar… are all ma… made pure and whole!"
Narrator
Insists Andrew as he relaxes once more. Sensing he has calmed down significantly, Dr. Valentine decides it is time to start asking some more probing questions.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Andrew, the guards said you were screaming all last night. They said you were having a nightmare. Are they right, Andrew? Was it a nightmare?" [a tone that is as gentle and maternal as possible]
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"A nightma...mare, yes," [nervous tone]
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Andrew, I want you to do something for me. Something that may help you. Will you do what I ask? Will you let me help you?" [concerned steady tone]
Narrator
Dr. Valentine as she gets down on her knees next to her new patient and begins to massage the palm of his hand soothingly.
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"I'll tr... try. What do you wa... want me to do?"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Nothing difficult, so don't fret. What I want is not going to hurt you, I promise. I just need you to breathe in."
Narrator
The man does as he instructed.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Good and breathe out. Now, I want you to relax as much as you can and let your mind open up to me and my voice, okay?"
Narrator
Presses Dr. Valentine as Andrew gives a slight smile.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Now, I know this is your first time using a C.N.P. Wall, but you don't need to worry. All this wall does is show me externally what you are seeing internally, okay?"
Narrator
Andrew nods.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Good. Now, together, we are going to go back to the nightmare you had last night. I will be right here holding your hand, and I will guide you through this nightmare so you may confront it. Do you understand?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Yes," [entranced tone]
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Good boy. I know it may be difficult and scary for you, but I need you to focus on the nightmare. I need you to show me what you saw."
Narrator
Andrew nods again and begins to focus as best he can on the nightmare as the phantom lights of the C.N.P. Wall begins to shift and change, consolidating into the image of a strange dimly lit tomb-like room with a large but out-of-focus silver altar. Dr. Valentine can see dozens of people dressed in red and white hooded cloaks sipping tea silently as they all stare, transfixed, at an unknown individual coming into the room through a set of large wooden doors.
***Warning = Sexual discussion involving Occultic Ritual Child Abuse Starts Here***
Slowly the person entering the room comes into focus revealing the person to be a naked, slender young girl. The girl has deep tearful eyes and is being escorted by two more cloaked individuals, only their cloaks are black and red. They appear to be wielding menacing-looking whips of some sort.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Who is she, Andrew? Who is the girl?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine softly, her focus locked on the sad, soulful eyes of the young girl.
Young Andrew
"Leave her alone, please. NO! Don't! Don't hurt her! She's only a child! Please! Take me! Take me instead! Just don't hurt her! I will do whatever you want! Please!"
Narrator
Pleads Andrew as the image of a nude, sobbing little blonde boy transitions into focus. The pleading young boy is being held back by two more of the hooded individuals in black and red cloaks.
Gwendolyn Valentine
That's him as a young boy. He can't be more than 14 years old here.
Narrator
The Andrew on the couch cries and begs in unison with the younger Andrew in the Mind-Stream of the C.N.P. Wall.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Who is she, Andrew? Please tell me. Who's the girl?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"She's my little sister, Enollia," [sobbing tone of despair]
Gwendolyn Valentine
"How old is she?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"She's twelve. It's her birthday," [whimpering tone]
Narrator
Answers Andrew as the younger Andrew in the nightmare continues to plead desperately for his sister, offering his life for hers. The hooded individuals escorting Enollia stop and stare at him as if considering his offer for a few moments before throwing Enollia aside into the crowd of tea-drinking hooded onlookers. They gesture for the two guards holding the young boy to bring him forward. Andrew is examined intently for a moment by the hooded figures who had been escorting Enollia. Enollia's former escorts nod to each other before dismissing his previous guards. Andrew's new escorts guide him up to the large silver altar which slowly comes into focus as he closes in on it. As the grand silver altar comes into focus it reveals the trembling nude body of an even younger boy chained down to the altar. Dr. Valentine looks onward as the young Andrew's eyes lock with the terrified eyes of the younger boy.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"What's the other boy for, Andrew? They had originally intended him for your sister, right? What was she supposed to do?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Terrible things, horrible things. Unforgivable things,"
Narrator
Tears stream from Andrew's eyes.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"They were going to force your sister to engage in coital intercourse with him, weren't they?"
Narrator
Asks Dr. Valentine, trying to convey as much sympathy as possible as she continues to massage her patient's hand.
Gwendolyn Valentine
How awful. He must have been so scared, so traumatized by all this. Not to mention his sister and this other boy. Those creatures! Those monsters!
Gwendolyn Valentine
"And now they are going to make you have sex with him instead of her."
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"I didn't want to do it. But she's my sister. They'll kill her if I don't… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," [weeping tone]
Narrator
Dr. Valentine leans forward and rests her head and hands on his chest lovingly. His putrid breath washes over her, stinging at her eyes and nose, but she does not let it show. She continues to rest on his chest soothingly. The warm pressure from her helps him to steady his breathing.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"I'm so sorry, Andrew. I am so sorry you had to go through this. Do you know the boy lying before you? Do you know how old he is?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Yes. He's one of my sister's classmates. The three of us are friends. His name is Gabriel,"
Gwendolyn Valentine
Gabriel … Such a beautiful name for such a tragic fate,
Gwendolyn Valentine
"So then, is Gabriel the same age as your sister?"
Narrator
Andrew nods "Yes."
Gwendolyn Valentine
You're doing good, Gwen. Keep him talking. With some luck and a little help from the N.A.P.D. Database, this information can be used to further develop an effective treatment plan.
"Okay, so then what happened?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"I can feel the fear in his eyes. I don't want to do it. But I have to protect Enollia. I'm her big brother. I have to keep her safe. That's what big brothers do, right?"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Yes, Andrew, that's what big brothers do," [ soft whispering tone]
Narrator
Dr. Valentine whispers, her tone saturated with pity for Andrew.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"It's okay, it's not your fault. You're a good big brother. You did your best,"
Narrator
A few tears gently fall from the good doctors eyes as she lets Andrew's pain wash over her for a moment deepening their connection. She continues to watch as the events unfolding on the C.N.P. Wall go from bad to worse. Andrew's escorts draw forth whips from inside their cloaks and begin shouting at little Andrew to climb on top of the altar with Gabriel. The two escorts both lash Andrew hard across the back, leaving deep gashes, forcing him to comply. Andrew locks eyes with Gabriel as the two boys nod to each other.
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Gabriel is so brave. I know he is scared,"
Narrator
She watches as the Andrew in C.N.P. Feed positions himself between Gabriel's legs before leaning in and whispering something into his ear.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"What did you whisper to him?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"I told him that I would be gentle, that it was going to be okay. That I was sorry. He said, 'I know,' and turned his head so I would not have to look into his eyes and see how much he was hurting," [sobbing tone of remorse]
Narrator
The events in the Mind-Stream continue to escalate as one of the hooded onlookers approaches the two boys. The onlooker carries a silver tray holding a silver ceremonial dagger and two teacups, one white and one red. Each cup holds two pills Dr. Valentine recognizes as ecstasy and LSD. The hooded individual gestures for the young Andrew to take the pills from one of the teacups and put them into Gabriel's mouth. Andrew mouths, "Forgive me," to Gabriel as he complies, placing the pills in Gabriel's mouth and holding his nose and mouth shut until he swallows. He then takes the other teacup for himself and downs the pills as instructed by the hooded individual.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"This is it, isn't it? This is the moment,"
Narrator
Whispers Dr. Valentine into Andrew's ear, resting her head on his.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"This is the moment, the seed of the monster you become was planted in the soil of the child you once were."
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Yes. Yes… That was when… That was when she came,"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Wait. When who came?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Alice! All-Mother Alice… The Silver Goddess of Eternity" [tone of deep religious reference]
Narrator
Exclaims Andrew as the hooded individual who gave him the pills hands of the silver tray to one of the onlookers before casting off their cloak revealing a radiantly glowing entity that flares the C.N.P. Feed for a moment before dimming slightly, revealing a small glowing humanoid being. The form of the being, in general, appears to be that of a nude girl who looks very reminiscent of the typical depictions of the fictional Alice character of the Wonderland stories.
Gwendolyn Valentine
What the fuck is that?
Narrator
Thinks Gwendolyn, uncertain about this new development and what it means.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"So in your mind, she was there?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter and Young Andrew
"Alice is al… Always with me, She came to walk my path with me… she… She came to guide my steps on the path to… to salvation as she do… does for all who embrace her infi… infinite truth."
Narrator
Responds both Andrews in unison as the Alice in the C.N.P. projection kneels down in front of the altar and engages the younger andrew in oral sex until he is fully aroused. Once the younger Andrew is fully erect Alice climbs onto the altar behind him, placing her hands on his hips and forcing the tip of his shaft against Gabriel's unprepared entrance. Alice is handed a strange candy of some sort from a nearby on-looker and eats it. Dr. Valentine is shocked to see that after eating the candy, an erection sprouts from out of Alice's vaginal area. Alice leans forward and whispers something into Andrew's ear as she moves her hips until her phallus is resting against Andrew's entrance.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Wait… What did she whisper to you?"
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"She said I was about to re… receive her light… That it was time for my rebirth,"
Narrator
The Alice in the projection reaches down and takes hold of Gabriel's hips. She pulls them abruptly backward, forcing Andrew into him as deep as possible as she rams into Andrew as far as it will go. It is immediately clear that both boys are in immense pain as they grit their teeth to keep themselves from screaming. Small tears of blood seep from the bottoms of both boys as Alice continues to thrust into Andrew while pulling up on Gabriel's hips, forcing Andrew to penetrate the other boy over and over. Dr. Valentine, unable to witness anymore, decides they can probably skip forward.
Gwendolyn Valentine
Heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking… To go through all that. No wonder it broke you. I am going to try and fix you, Andrew. I won't give up on you. You did your best to be a good big brother so I will do my best to be the best therapist I can for you.
***Graphic Sex-Scene involving Occultic Ritual Child Abuse Ends Here***
Narrator
They both take a moment to calm themselves and catch their breath.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"So what happened, afterwards?"
Narrator
Dr. Valentine sits back up removing herself from Andrew's chest.
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"I felt something… Something warm erupt out of me and into Gabriel… I felt something hot and wet enter me… It filled me up. My… My insides and my bottom hurt so bad…. I think I passed out. The last thing I… I remember is seeing blood po… pooling underneath Gabriel's bottom… sudden screaming… gunfire... Wait... Something else! A dark figure coming toward us… That's all I remember," [weak and drained tone]
Gwendolyn Valentine
"And that is more than enough. You did so good today, Andrew. Now on the count of three, I am going to snap my fingers, and you are going to return to the present feeling soothed and refreshed. Okay? Okay. One… Two… Three!"
Narrator
Dr. Valentine snaps her fingers, causing Andrew's eyes to flutter for a moment as his mind snaps back to the present.
Andrew Hawkins/The Mad Hatter
"Ho… how did I do?"
Narrator
Asks Andrew, smiling.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"You did very well. You're such a good boy,"
Narrator
Dr. Valentine smiles back at him tenderly. The moment is interrupted by a knock at the door. Dr. Valentine walks over and lets in the guard who strides over to Andrew and pulls him to his feet before escorting him out of the room.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Goodbye, Andrew, I'll see you next time,"
Narrator
Assures Dr. Valentine as the door shuts behind them.
Gwendolyn Valentine
You did it, Gwen! You got through that session! And what's more, you got some good info that, with a little research, could really answer a lot of questions about Dr. Hawkins and hopefully help you form an effective treatment plan! You have ten minutes before the next and final session of the day, so just relax and have another cup of tea.
******
Narrator
A few minutes later comes another knock at the door and her next patient is brought in. The patient snarls and growls maniacally as the guard walks him over to and positions him down on the C.N.P. Couch. Unlike Smyth and Hawkins, this patient somehow seemed to be even more lacking in his hygiene. Normally Dr. Valentine would not notice these things in the outside world as much, but here this lack of physical self-maintenance is surprising. The session passes by with no progress whatsoever. Despite her best efforts, Dr Valentine finds she is unable to get the patient to stop roaring and screaming to even listen to her, much less talk to her. The C.N.P. Wall seems even more confused than her. She concludes that whatever is going on in the patient's head is so frenzied and wild that even the C.N.P. Wall cannot decipher any of it.
Eventually, the guard returns and escorts John Doe out of the room with Dr. Valentine close behind them. She begins to lock up her office for the night just as another staff member passes by and nabs her attention.
Hyrum
"Oh, Umm, Dr. Valentine. I was supposed to tell you that Warden Moon would like to talk to you in his office right away,"
Narrator
Explains the new staff member. Gwendolyn had seen him around the Asylum more and more lately. He is a tall, lengthy man with well-kept brown hair and a surprisingly pretty face with piercing hazel eyes. They have never really talked much but he always seems to have a kind smile at the ready for everyone he passes while doing his work.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Thank you for telling me. I know we have not properly met yet, though you already know my name apparently,"
Narrator
Gwendolyn offers an amused smirk.
Hyrum
"Oh sorry to have you at such a disadvantage. Hyrum. My name is Hyrum. I'm the Asylum's new friendly administrative secretary," [playful kind tone]
Gwendolyn Valentine
[Slight but genuine laugh]
Narrator
Gwendolyn finds some strange amusing about the man as shesuddenly offers the slightest laughs, slight but genuine… something she thought she forget how to do a long time ago.
Hyrum
"Oh, um, before you go talk to Warden Moon. I just wanted to say I heard about what happened with your vehicle, and if I am not mistaken, the bus route to your place ends for the night in about ten minutes..." [increasing nervous tone]
Narrator
Starts Hyrum. Gwendolyn blushes as the man becomes noticeably more and more nervous.
Hyrum
"I mean to say, I was wondering if, umm… well, you see, I was just thinking that well …"
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Are you trying to offer me a ride home, Hyrum?"
Narrator
Interrupts Gwendolyn amusedly.
Hyrum
"Yes… um, yeah… that," [charmingly befundeled tone]
Narrator
Answers the man, scratching the back of his head anxiously. Gwendolyn knew the man was right, if she has to go meet with the warden right now then there is no way she can make it to her bus home. Hyrum seems nice enough, cute even.
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Umm, sure why not?"
Narrator
Responds Gwendolyn. She blushes harder as the man's face lights up at her response.
Hyrum
"Okay, great! I am parked on floor two, row six, of the parking garage. I'll wait there for you to finish your meeting with Warden Moon."
Gwendolyn Valentine
"Kk, sounds great. I will be there as soon as I can."
Hyrum
"Well, best not keep the warden waiting,"
Narrator
Hyrum gestures for Gwendolyn to hurry on to Moon's office before turning and starting to head for the parking garage.
Narrator
The ride home with Hyrum is far better than Gwen anticipates, pleasant, even. The asylum's fluorescent corridors and suffocating walls still cling to her like a second skin, but the moment she slides into the passenger seat of his car, something loosens. The hum of the engine, the faint smell of pine from a dangling air freshener, the way he nervously fiddles with the radio until he lands on a station that makes her laugh, it all feels disarmingly normal.
They stop for burgers at a greasy little diner on the edge of the Narrows, the kind of place she hasn't set foot in since before Emilia. The food is terrible in the best way: buns slick with butter, fries drowning in salt, milkshakes so sweet they make her teeth ache. Hyrum is unexpectedly funny, his humor awkward but genuine, and she finds herself laughing, really laughing for the first time in years. The sound startles her, as though it comes from someone else's throat.
For a fleeting moment, she thinks she might even be smiling her first truly genuine smile since…
Gwendolyn Valentine
No. That's not okay, Gwen. She's gone. You don't get to smile. Not like that. Not without her.
But then another voice, quieter, almost pleading: It's okay to smile. It's okay to feel something… anything… isn't it?
By the time they reach her apartment building, the night air has cooled, and the city's neon glow paints the cracked pavement in shifting colors. Hyrum walks her to the entrance, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his words tumbling over themselves as he thanks her for the evening. He presses a slip of paper into her hand his number, scrawled in hurried ink. "In case you ever get stranded," he says, cheeks flushed. She nods, tucking it away, and for a brief, fragile moment, her world doesn't seem so lonely.
She turns toward the tenement tower, keys in hand, when a sound breaks the quiet. A ragged, desperate muttering. The shuffle of bare feet against concrete. Gwen freezes. Out of the shadows frantically stumbles a girl, young and filthy, reeking of gravedirt. The girl rushes toward her with matted hair and eyes wide with feverish delirium pleadingly muttering Gwen's name.
Teen Girl[Emilia]
"Gwen… Gwen… help me… please…"
Narrator
The girl lurches forward, clutching at Gwen's coat with trembling hands. Before Gwen can react, the girl presses something cold and metallic into her palm. She looks down. An engagement ring. Her ring. Emilia's ring.
The girl collapses against her, and Gwen catches her instinctively, lowering her to the ground. Her heart hammers in her chest as she brushes the hair from the girl's face. And then she sees it.
The features are younger, impossibly younger, cheeks still soft with adolescence, eyes wide and terrified, but the face is unmistakable. The face she has kissed a thousand times. The face she buried.
Gwendolyn Valentine (whispering)
"…Emilia?"
Narrator
The world tilts. The impossible presses down on her chest like a weight. She clutches the ring in one hand, the girl in the other.
Gwendolyn Valentine (whispering)
It cannot be. And yet it is.
Narrator
The girl stirs weakly, lips parting as though to speak, but only a broken sob escapes. Gwen holds her tighter, her own tears blurring the edges of the world. Gwen clutches Emilia tighter, the ring biting into her palm, her tears falling hot against the girl's tangled hair.
The impossible has happened. Emilia has come back. In that moment, Gwen's grief, her guilt, her loneliness, all of it collides with a single, overwhelming truth:
She is not alone anymore, somehow someway her love has comeback to her and she will never let her go again. But the moment does not belong to her alone.
In a high‑rise office across the city, a bank of monitors glow softly in the dark. One screen shows the Narrows cemetery, its soil disturbed, a girl clawing her way out of her own grave. Another shows her staggering through alleys, tracked by the cold precision of Lothrin satellites. And now, on the largest screen, the feed from the tenement tower camera sharpens: Gwendolyn Valentine, kneeling on the cracked pavement, Emilia collapsed in her arms.
Anya Lothrin sits before the glow, her face unreadable, eyes fixed on the reunion. She has seen everything, the grave, the journey, the collapse, the impossible return and now the only question is what comes next.
(New-Alexandria, The Narrows,Ashcroft Asylum, 1990 A.D.)
The tormenting silence of the dark cascades in on the writhing form of John Doe as he screams and rages against the storming madness inside. His body contorts and twists, his self and sanity shattered by the hellish cacophony and genocidal brutality waging a bitter war of self-destruction inside him. Trapped in the prison of himself, he repeatedly bombards the padded walls of his cell with his head.
Through celestial war zones and scorched cosmos, he feels it, a looming presence clawing out for him from the reflective void between Dream and Reality. The churning cosmos converges and smooths into a perfect silver sheen. A megalithic mirror of glassed universes forged together and stretched into infinity.
He reaches out a trembling hand towards its sparking, soothing surface, its tender resonance calming his screams to subtle whimpers as the reflective surface churns and shifts, expelling a shimmering, luminescent young girl with skin pale as snow and hair like flowing sunlight.
"Oh, in what shadowed cell doeth my dearest child find themselves in this bitter hour?" muses the golden-haired girl tenderly as she kneels down next to John Doe, as the great cosmic mirror and swirling cosmoses shatter and bleed away, leaving just the dull reality of John Doe's padded cell.
"With elated heart and twisted mind doeth your child endure all that must be suffered to honour thy will, for mother is God to all her children," mutters back John Doe between whimpers.
The girl looks down upon John Doe, eyes glowing with compassion as she lovingly ghosts her hands briefly over his shaking form.
"Blessed child of mine, most loyal and true, your sufferings for my sake do not escape the sight of my loving heart. Glad tidings I bring for the hour of your deliverance from the screams of demons and the hell of darkness is at hand. With this gift returned I set you free from the chaos within." continues the girl as she places a tender kiss upon the trembling man's forehead before teleporting into her hands the source of his serenity and focus… his mask and places it upon his face. The man's breath steadies as the inner chaos of voices calms. He is his whole self once more.
"Now arise, my most faithful servant, restored and made whole, for your master's will must be done, and the hour grows late." Demands the girl, rising back to her feet as the Woodsman kneels in holy reference to her divine splendor.
"Honour to thee, my sacred mother, what is thy will?" inquires the Woodsman.