New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

11/03/13

Death is Forever
I am in a place I don't recognize. It is dark, but there is light up ahead. I am in a hallway. My eyes adjust to the darkness enough that I can see I am not alone there. Alex Mercer off of Prototype is there with me. I look over at him and see he is looking back at me. I don't know where we are or why we are there, I get the idea he doesn't know, either. I hear voices up ahead. I head to the end of the hall to see who is talking. I peek carefully around the corner and see there are too people in a home office of some kind. It's Dana Mercer and James Heller off of Prototype 2. I wonder why the two of them are together. I listen carefully and I can pick up what they are saying. Heller is saying something about his daughter being kidnapped by Dana's brother. Dana says he is not her brother any longer. I glance over at Alex to see how he is responding. He looks pissed. He shifts form to someone I don't recognize, a blonde man who actually looks quite a bit like Edward Kenway off of Assassin's Creed IV.

I stand there and stare at him briefly before peeking around at Dana and Heller again. Alex is looking around the corner with me, glaring daggers at both of them. I think it's a good thing looks don't kill or they would both be dead right now. Apparently one of us makes a noise that Heller hears because he asks who is there. I figure they will find out we're there sooner or later so I come out into the open and identify myself as Raven Knight. Heller asks who my friend is. Alex doesn't answer, he is still glaring, mostly at Heller. I look over at him and answer the first name that comes to mind… Edward. This is Edward Kenway. Heller stares at both of us for a couple minutes, Dana takes a couple steps towards me. Heller grabs her arm and says not to get to close… we're both infected. When Heller grabs Dana, Alex tells him to get his hands off, practically snarls it. Heller says Alex (calling him Edward) has no business telling him to do anything. Alex says Heller will cooperate if he wants to stay in one piece. I roll my eyes… I see Dana doing the same. Heller wants to know where Alex Mercer is. Alex says Heller had better hope he never finds him. "I… er… he would tear you apart." Dana interrupts and asks me what Edward and I have come here for. Before I can answer Heller is yelling at Alex again, telling him he will destroy Alex Mercer and start out with Edward as a warm-up if he doesn't shut the fuck up. Alex says he should kill Heller right now for just saying that. I take hold of Alex's arm and tell him to calm down. He doesn't seem to be hearing me and pulls his arm away. Heller tells him to go ahead and try it. Alex stops and says no, he won't… that would be too easy. He says he has heard Heller has a daughter.

Heller gets really pissed and says if Edward lays one hand on her he will make him beg for death. Alex says not to worry, he would never hurt the little girl… he's just going to tell her the truth about Heller, about what he has done, about what he has become… before he's done she won't be able to stand the sight of Heller. He says he can't wait to see what Heller's reaction is when Amaya looks him in the eye and tells him he is dead to her. Apparently Alex has forgotten that he is in disguise, he is too busy yelling at Heller and ignoring everyone else around him. He says Heller stole Dana from him so he is going to make sure Amaya never speaks to Heller again. Heller doesn't make the connection. He keeps referring to Alex as Edward and says he won't get anywhere near Amaya, that once he gets her back from that psycho… Dana makes the connection and interrupts, "Alex? Is that you?" Alex stops short, realizing what he said gave him away. Heller continues with his rant. Once he gets Amaya back from that psycho he's going to take her somewhere safe but then he'll hunt Edward down and make him beg for mercy before he kills him. Having blown his cover, Alex shifts back to his normal form, which takes Heller completely by surprise. I say, "Well look at that… Edward can transform…" Heller immediately launches off on a new rant, demanding to know where Amaya is and what Alex has done with her. Alex says he doesn't have Heller's brat. That fucking imposter no doubt has her, and he has no idea where. But as soon as he tracks that piece of shit imposter down… I am waiting to see what Dana's reaction is going to be, so far she has only managed to stand there and look shocked and a bit confused. But before she can react any more the ground starts to shake. Strange vine like tentacles burst up from the floor, ripping through the room and into the ceiling, tearing the ceiling away and revealing the open night sky.

More tendrils tear the walls away, leaving us standing out in the open in the ruins of what had been a house. One of the tendrils had punched a hole in the floor right in front of us and then retreated. Alex Mercer jumps up through that hole and lands in the floor right in front of us. Or at least it's someone who looks like Alex Mercer… he is laughing manically and staring at Heller, not seeming to notice there is an Alex Mercer already present. Dana is looking more confused than ever, looking between the two Alex Mercers quickly. Heller is yelling that he will kill both Alex Mercers… he'll take them both on at the same time. The Alex beside me says no, this piece of shit is his. The other Alex is starting to say something to Heller but he doesn't get anything out beyond Heller's name before the Alex beside me attacks him. A fight breaks out, Alex Mercer vs. Alex Mercer, though one of them clearly has the upper hand. In addition to the usual viral form shifting abilities he is using energy attacks and lightning. He forms his blade and charges it with a bolt of lightning, then attacks the enemy Alex with a sparking blade. There isn't time to continue watching the two Alex Mercers fight, however, there are enemies attacking right there on the ground. Various types of hunters and brawlers…

I'm not entirely sure which are which, but it doesn't matter since they are all attacking. Dana isn't able to fight, so she is just trying to stay back and out of the way. That leaves Heller and me, I'm not entirely sure what to expect out of him. The question of who he will attack is answered for him as two of the enemies jump on him at the same time. I don't have time to watch and see what Heller is doing, I am being attacked by more of the enemies. I form an Alex Mercer blade from my arm and armor from Witchblade and cleanly remove the first enemy's head. The second one dodges and comes at me from behind. Witchblade blocks the attack and I drive the sword backwards into its face. No time to make sure it's dead, two more attack. By the time I finish with those two I see there is one about to grab Dana. I use Battery and call a bolt of lightning to strike it, knocking it back away from Dana and crumbling one of the few remaining wall fragments left of the house. It attacks me now and I finish it off with my blade. I look back over to where Alex and Alex are fighting. I look just in time to see one Alex pin the other to the ground using Megadeth's Crush 'Em as a song spell. The one Alex jumps down to where the other Alex is pinned. He says there can only be one Alex Mercer before he cuts the pinned Alex open and consumes him. All the enemies are gone now, either dead or they have left since the other Alex Mercer is no longer there to control them. Heller is going to attack the remaining Alex. I get between him and Alex to deter that move, I know it will not end well for Heller. Instead of attacking Heller demands again to know where Amaya is. Alex glares over at him for a bit and then grabs something from a broken table. He scribbles on it, wads it up, and throws it at Heller. It is a piece of paper. He says she is there, now go get her before he changes his mind. He chuckles and says the imposter was going to make her queen of the new world… though he has no idea why the idiot would have chosen a kid and a relative of Heller's, meaning she is most likely stupid, too. Heller gets annoyed at that and acts like he might attack Alex after all. I am still between them, I ask Heller if he doesn't think Amaya has waited long enough? She needs her father to be with her instead of playing with Alex. He glares at Alex one more time, then looks over at Dana. Dana says he should go to Amaya, she will be fine… or at least she thinks she will be… She is watching Alex closely. Heller leaves, jumping off into the night. Dana hesitates and then asks if it was the imposter the whole time, doing all those horrible things. Alex says if she had bothered to listen to him he had been trying to tell her there was an imposter on the loose. But she had preferred to give up on him and without even hearing what he had to say. She says now the imposter is gone, though, and things can be like they were. Alex doesn't seem in the mood for that, though. He says the only problem with that is once someone is dead, they don't come back… and don't forget, he is dead to her. He opens a portal and disappears through it. Dana calls to him to wait, but he is gone. She looks at me as if wanting to know what she can do. I just shrug, not knowing what to say, and then I wake up.