Dead End 2: Deathly Di-Di-Doo Ch.15 (Patreon)

[Faith to Faith]

— Sean Caine —

“Still… worth…”

The words, as if spoken from the deepest of dreams, infiltrated Creation. They drifted from Gabriel into the Dead End, and they faded as quickly as they came. The moment lingered, though, and it wrought reactions galore.

Lucifer froze. He knew that voice, instinctively, even if he didn’t know it personally. The Demiurgic Devil didn’t know what to do when He spoke up from His long, long ‘mostly dead’ rest.

Michael gasped and then, intently, looked everywhere and nowhere for the Source. He didn’t find the one he knew, and he didn’t find the one he didn’t either.

Elaine looked upward, as if at Heaven. “It’s… powerful. God…”

“That is about accurate, yes.” Destruction nodded with a teasing chuckle. “Though, I must admit I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Should we call on Dream to lend a hand here?” Didi asked.

I shook my head. “Of course the Old Man isn’t nearly as dead as He made Himself seem.”

“Father…” Gabriel whispered, heartfelt and yearning but still patient. She would wait, for her Father was not yet ready to return.

“Goodness!” Savage exclaimed. “Well, at least we know for certain that He is a God of Culture!”

“ﾟo。(-ω-人)” Cass put her hands together in ‘prayer’. ‘He just needs a bit of eepy nap time, that’s all! Let the Based God sleep; He earned it with that ship!’

“That was the end of the Great War, then?” Diana asked.

Destruction nodded. “A fitting one. For the ship, indeed.”

“What else can we fight for but opportunities of love for our children?” Talia asked rhetorically. “Truly, it is a worthy battle cry to go out on.”

“I remember the rest of this story, vaguely,” Jason said. “Sean slept for a bit less than a thousand years, and when he woke up, he was right back onto his bullshit in the modern world. I… definitely don’t remember God showing back up, though. That’s new.”

“Gabriel and I got to have that talk, eventually,” I confirmed. “Then, we got married in Heaven. I thought it was a shame He wasn’t there to witness it and give Gabriel away at the time, but I’m starting to think He was after all.”

Gabriel smiled, small but satisfied. “He is always watching over us, even in His resting death.”

“Mostly dead,” Didi corrected. “There’s a big difference there. Mostly dead is still slightly alive.”

“Then…?” Lucifer asked, uncharacteristically hesitant. “There’s… There’s a chance?”

“He would love you, Lucifer,” Gabriel promised him.

Lucifer looked away. “I would prefer Him to… Him, too, I think.”

Michael sighed. “I cannot disagree with that, as unfortunate as it is. Our Father… He is not-…”

“Sounds… like… He’s… a… cunt…”

“Yes, that,” Michael sighed again to punctuate the sleepy voice’s point.

“Alright, Old Man, show your face or beat it!” I shouted jokingly at the not-Heavens, knowing God would hear me through whatever method he was using to still watch over Gabriel.

“… Neh. I’ll… just… Honk-…Shoo-…Mimimimimiiii~…”

“God snores?” Klarion asked, already laughing his head off at the idea.

“Why not?” Harley joined him in laughter. “I bet He dreams of sailing ships, too!”

“Would those dreams make a whole other… Creation? Would it be more or less… real than-?” Ciri mused.

“Too much thinking, too much exy-sten-sy icky-wicky fucky-wucky stuff!” Becca exclaimed. “It’s nova, choom, but waaaa~aaay above our pay grade. Don’t woooorry ‘bout it!”

“Hyup.” Falco nodded in agreement. “I’m already gonna be repressing half of tonight’s story. We don’t need to make things more… fucky-wucky, neh?”

“You never really get used to it,” Barbara deadpanned. “You learn to cope eventually, though. Keep repressing, and you’ll have an unfortunately long career at the Dead End.”

“One of us,” Damian started, flat-toned and sounding serious enough to cut.

“One of us!” Harley immediately picked up the chant.

“One of us! Now you’re stuck!” Alice laughed.

“We’ll… be around,” Ciri sighed. “I already know we will.”

“Good.” Damian nodded. “I would hate to miss out on time we could spend together.”

Ciri blushed, and her edgerunning teammates laughed. Talia preened, watching her son work his magic, and even Ra’s gave a grandfatherly nod of approval.

David commented, “We’ve been looking for a new place to crash after a good gig anyway. The Dead End will certainly be a nova one.”

“You’ll always be welcome at the Dead End, though I can certainly understand not wanting to come around every night. Most people do find themselves needing breaks from Sean. He can be… a lot.” Didi chortled.

“I resemble that remark,” I quipped.

Gabriel smiled to herself. “I like when he’s ‘a lot’. I don’t think I’ll be taking any breaks if I can help it.”

“Here to stay, love?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Until Death does us part again.” Gabriel nodded eagerly. “And she’s already said she won’t!”

With twinkling eyes that looked fondly upon both of us, Didi reconfirmed that statement. “I still stand by that. I hope we’ll get along.”

Gabriel beamed a smile that was as bright as Didi’s was dark. “I know we will!”

Gabriel glomped onto Didi a moment later. With a laugh, Didi returned the hug. I took a step back to enjoy the contrast between the two women in my life-… well, lives. Coincidentally, that step back took me right into Simmy’s arms.

“[… Observation: Adorable.]”

“Aren’t they just?” I agreed, chuckling.

Alice rolled her eyes hard at the scene. “Ugh, how many moms do I even have now?”

“As many as you wish to embrace, Alice. We won’t force you to accept anyone. Whatever you decide, I’ll always be there for you,” Didi told her.

“I’m happy to have you, Alice!” Gabriel chimed. “Caine’s daughter is mine, too, regardless of blood!”

“That-…” Alice grumbled. “Fine.”

“( ˘ω˘ )ｸｸｸ…” Cass assumed an innocent expression. ‘Hey, at least I’m not trying to get on the mom level for ya. I’m fine as Gothboy-Daddy’s favorite side piece.”

“Oi, favorite?!” Harley exclaimed. “Thems is fightin’ words, Bat-Pervert!”

“(ﾉ≧ڡ≦)” Cass met her challenge with enthusiasm. ‘We can settle it in the bedroom, then! Gothboy between Bat and Jester, I challenge thee!’

Alice’s face screwed up in disgust. “Ugh, don’t make this weird, Cass.”

“Cass? Not making things weird? Impossible,” Jason quipped.

Damian nodded, utterly serious. “My condolences, Alice.”

“Relationships are confusing…” Kara muttered to herself. “I certainly don’t feel like a stepmother-…!”

Her muttered musings turned to a vibrant blush. “I-Ignore that! There might even be nothing there-! Well… I doubt that, but I mean-! Sean and I are still figuring things out, and I’m definitely not trying to intrude or jump the queue or-!”

“I value you, too, Kara,” I said. “Maybe slightly ‘less’ than Didi and Gabriel, but they have the advantage of knowing me much longer than you have. There’s no need to judge our relationship on the same scale as my relationships with them. Everyone’s unique. We’ll take things at our own pace.”

“Yeah, that’s for the best,” Barbara sighed. “I like you, Sean, and I like us… We have fun; you infuriate me as much as you inspire me. But I’m way too young to be a mom.”

“… Complicated, choom,” David said, watching the web of relationships around me, Didi, and now Gabriel, too.

“Eh,” Becca waved. “They’re just living their best lives.”

“Indeed. And strangely? You get used to all the intricacies and complexities of a growing harem rather quickly. It… keeps things interesting, to be certain, but there is no problem that cannot be solved through communication and care,” Ra’s said sagely.

“Forsooth!” Savage exclaimed in agreement. “Communication DEFINES Humanity, only second to the use of tools! We must use it, or lose it, YES!”

Lucifer gave an acknowledging nod to the immortals’ points; he also maintained a good bit of teasing smugness directed at Gabriel. “There is truth to that. And Savage’s usual madness. Through communication, most relationships are in fact possible. Though, I’m honestly surprised Gabriel is so accepting of Sean’s sluttery.”

“Blame her ‘verse,” I deadpanned. “Complex relationship dynamics were the rule more than the trend there. Not even Heaven was immune to it. In fact, I have my suspicions that God encouraged it…”

“Harems… make… for… shipping… paradise. OTP… still… wins… though.”

Hearing His voice again, I shouted at the still lingering Presence in the bar. “Show up or shut up, Old Man!” 

“… Neh-mimimimimiii~.”

“… Truly, He is a different Father from the one we know.” Michael shook his head. “Still, if there is a chance… I think I really would like to meet Him.”

Gabriel smiled softly at that. “One day, Other brother; one day.”

“Not tonight, though. By the sounds of it, He’s still hitting snooze,” I said, clapping my hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“Now, I hope you all enjoyed meeting Gabriel and hearing about our romance through the Great War, but I’m feeling rather ‘storied’ out for the night. I’m going to spend the rest of the night by Gabriel’s side and not doing much more than that at all. It’ll be… perfect.” I smirked.

Gabriel blushed. “I-I think I would like that very much, Caine. Just being by your side again, now as the lady of your household… I feel at home here.”

“ಸ‿ಸ” Cass smirked back at me with that callback. ‘Killer line, by the way. It even worked on an Archangel!’

“…” Damian adopted a considering expression before turning to Ciri. “Ciri. I think your murder strikes are perfect.”

“O-Oh?” Ciri blinked, and then blushed.

“Shiii~iiit, that’s some good romance, choom,” Becca whistled.

“(;° ロ°)” Cass’ mouth fell open in horror. ‘Wha-?! No, it has to be about her tits! Her murder-filled tatas, Dami!’

Damian just nodded. “They are also perfect.”

“Good! Be bold and shameless, my protégé, in both love and war!” Savage exclaimed.

Ra’s stilled… “Your protégé?”

Smug as can be, Savage replied, “He called dibs on my mentorship. Dibs that supersede even blood, HAHA!”

I’d almost forgotten about that — Savage trying to steal Damian’s ‘small story’ right out from under Ra’s’ nose. Knowing Savage, though, I’d bet rubbing that victory in his rival’s face was half the reason he’d brought Ra’s along tonight.

Damian, of course, had a contingency in place for his immortal grandfather finding out that his grandson would be learning under his immortal rival. It was just as bold as Savage had declared one should be.

“I am still filial, Grandfather. I only intend to learn under Savage so I may rise and kill him after he has taught me enough to do so.”

To Damian’s surprise, though, Ra’s just sighed at that news, pinching his nose in exasperation. “Oh, Damian… With that, you’ve only made yourself more interesting to the fool-…”

“Good!” Savage declared, laughing. “All students should attempt to surpass their masters! It’s been much, much too long since I’ve had a properly treacherous teaching arrangement! I will raise you well, Damian, and when the time comes that you challenge me, I will meet you man to man!”

Ra’s, still prideful of his bloodline, glared at Savage. “He won’t fail. Already, he is one of my best, second only to his mother.”

“There is no beast nor man that my Dami cannot slay,” Talia proclaimed, just as proud.

“Didi-dammit! No killing!” Barbara interjected.

In the background of that interplay, Simmy kindly offered herself as a backrest. I reclined myself in her arms, and Gabriel and Didi joined me on either side. We sat back and watched that interaction develop, just enjoying the Dead End in its usual chaos.

“Is it normally like this?” Gabriel asked.

“More nights than not,” Didi chuckled.

“Welcome to the Dead End, Gabriel,” I said. “I’m glad you’re finally here.”

“Mmm~…” Gabriel gave a happy little hum, leaning her head on my shoulder. “… Perfect.”

IIIII

As the sun rose on her first day in the ‘verse, I slipped out of Gabriel from behind, gripped like a glove the whole way. Her legs were trembling. Her wings were fluttering. Her quim was dripping with the evidence of our activities.

Content and fucked silly, the Might of God basked in the afterglow. “O-o-O-ohhhh~… I really hope Father isn’t still watching…”

She collapsed face first into the pillow below, hugging it for dear life through the aftershocks. Side to side, her hips swayed their way down until she was lying prone.

“He better not be…” I muttered to myself, glaring at… nothing, thankfully.

Chuckling softly, Didi slid over Gabriel’s back to take up her previous position in front of me. “Nothing a little ‘Death of Voyeuristic Omniscience’ can’t handle, darlings.”

“Mmm~…” Gabriel gave a dazed and satisfied moan. “Good. As much as I do love and miss Him, my marriage bed should be between husband, wife, and whomever we invite.”

Didi molded herself to Gabriel’s back to purr in her ear. “And do I have a standing invitation there?”

Gabriel didn’t hesitate for a moment, reaching blindly for Didi’s hand and interlacing their fingers. Her wings then flapped, and a nimble bit of Light pulled me onto Didi’s back to complete the pile. She reached for my hand with her other, holding onto both of us as I slipped into Didi like she was where I’d always belonged.

“I am Caine’s. Caine is yours. We are his. It is so.”

I plunged balls-deep into Didi on top of Gabriel. The filling thrust made my Death moan, and the double embrace made Gabriel sigh happily beneath us. Her wings wrapped us all up in the Light and love of an Archangel. Didi — the love of Death — glued us together. I bridged the gap, embracing them both. It was-…

“Perfect.”

IIIII

— Black Alice, Daughter of Death and Reincarnation —

Alice desperately needed some air.

The apartment over the Dead End — home — was… currently busy. Dad and New Mom were making up for lost time, or something. Mom alternated between giving them space and joining in. Alice would rather die than stick around a moment longer.

The worst part was that they weren’t even fucking! Not… constantly, at least… There was still some of that that Alice had to block out, but mostly, Dad and New Mom were just way too lovey-dovey!

Alice had seen them holding hands and cooking together and cuddling on the couch and scrolling the same phone as Dad showed New Mom all the memes in the world and-…

New Mom — Gabriel — was way too easy to love, in Alice’s opinion.

It wasn’t like Alice wanted to hate her or anything. Alice knew her family dynamic wasn’t normal at all — what with Mom as Death, Dad as… Dad, and all the other relationships that orbited around them that Alice tried her best to repress from her mind (fucking Cass…) — but she’d already decided she wouldn’t do the ‘normal’ teenage thing of hating change and new stuff just for the spite of it.

She just… She thought there would still be some distance between her and Gabriel as she got used to the second woman in Dad’s life. That expectation immediately fell through. Gabriel was just-… just-! Just so herself!

Kind, gentle, bright, and friendly, she’d accepted Alice without a second thought. Gabriel didn’t try to replace Mom or take over all of Dad’s time or anything. She was just… just an additional piece that slotted into place beside Mom and Dad without any friction at all — she only added to their not-at-all-normal family dynamic.

Alice could very easily see herself coming to love the Archangelic Might of God just a bit less than she loved Endless Death.

But until New Mom and Dad (and Mom) settled into a less lovey-dovey baseline, Alice couldn’t imagine herself sitting around at home as a witness to their… fluff.

“… That’s rough,” Elaine said. “I think, at least…? My family’s a whole different kind of fucked up, so it’s not like I have much reference.”

Alice winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-… I mean, it’s kinda the same family, right? In a way?”

Elaine laughed a little, shaking her head. “None of the relations actually make sense that high up. At the very least, my dad and Gabriel are… siblings? We could be considered cousins, I suppose.”

“Cousins, then.” Alice smiled at her.

She knew Elaine’s situation was actually pretty similar to hers, in fundamentals if not specifics. Elaine had lost her parents — both birth and adopted — to the hands of the mad Angel who’d orchestrated her birth, and Alice had lost her parents to the accident that had awakened her magic. If it weren’t for the higher-level beings in both of their lives, they’d both be alone on the streets.

Aspects of Existence had stepped up when they’d needed them most — Death for Alice and Demiurge for Elaine. They were lucky in that way, even if it put them neck-deep in the fucked up family of Creation. The alternative, though…

Alice remembered those weeks she’d spent on the run from wizards before finding sanctuary in the Dead End. She imagined Elaine had her own stories where she was just as lost and lonely.

Elaine was mostly in Lucifer’s care now, with Michael having to run Heaven and all. Since Dad had placed a portal between the Dead End and Lucifer’s Lux, she could essentially come and go from Gotham as she pleased. Alice was glad for the company, especially since Elaine just… got her.

They shared a sense of style and interests. Elaine listened to British punk music a bit too much for Alice’s liking, but she could still vibe with it.

It was definitely nice to have someone who could hang with her on basically every level, especially complaints about the bullshit Aspects of Existence just accepted as normal.

“If you can’t go back home anytime soon, under risk of fluff, any plans?” Elaine asked.

“Hmm… Ya know, I still haven’t explored Gotham as much as I want to. This place is a gothic paradise!” Alice grinned.

“If you can deal with the locals,” Elaine pointed out.

“Which we can,” Alice shot back, good-naturedly. “C’mon, they won’t even touch us! Dad’ll ban them from the Dead End if they do! Let’s go looking for all the darkest corners in the city!”

“That’ll take way more than a day,” Elaine said.

She was starting to smile too, though. Alice could see she liked the idea.

Was there something better they could be doing? Alice didn’t think so. Fuck-… Alice glanced around automatically, looking for Mom and the inevitable reprimand of ‘language, little one’. F-Frick it, they’d see all that Gotham had to offer. Everything dark and twisted, every gathering of people who could only exist in their wicked city, and certainly every bit of gothic Gotham culture they could find.

Alice would see it all, with her cousin by her side. And if Gotham tried to bite back, she’d break out the magic, and Elaine would break out the angelic power. She grinned.

It’d be a Hell of a way to spend a day and a night while Dad and New Mom got to know each other all over again. ‘Cause Alice… really, really didn’t want to be there when lovey-dovey inevitably escalated to… ugh, lusty-busty or something.

“Maybe we’ll even run into your boytoy somewhere along the way,” Elaine teased.

“Mom, I hope so…” Alice muttered automatically.

Elaine smirked at her, the expression on her face widening with vindication.

“S-Shut up,” Alice shot back. “Or-! Or I’ll go looking for a boytoy to set you up with, cuzzo!”

“Oh, the horror,” Elaine drawled. “However will I cope with a tall, dark, broody, slightly older, more than a little nerdy boy to call my own?”

“Oi!” Alice snapped. “He’s mine! I’ll get you your own, but he’ll be, like-… Huh, I don’t know. What’s your type?”

Frank as can be, Elaine shrugged. “No idea. I bet I’ll know it when I see it, though.”

“Hmm. We’ll work on it, then. For now, let’s get out of here. I think I can hear Mom joining Dad and Gabriel, and-…”

A familiarly angelic voice echoed from the apartment above. “C-Caine?! Didi?! Wha-mmmm~…”

“Quickly, quickly!” Alice hurried herself and Elaine out of the Dead End and into the rest of Gotham.

They set out to be… literally anywhere else.

IIIII

In Alice’s opinion, Gotham during the day was always ever so slightly off. When the sun was out, Gotham felt… incomplete. It needed the shadows, the few stars above, the flickering lights, and so on.

That wasn’t to say it was ever dead, though, even when the sun was high in the sky.

Very quickly, she and Elaine came across something interesting. They stumbled right into a party on the street. It looked like the good times had been raging nonstop for at least a day. The music from it could be heard all across the block. Young people from every walk of life came together in a melting pot of drugs, drinking, and dancing.

But of course, in Gotham, not even a street party could be normal.

“So… wanna join in?” Elaine asked.

Alice’s face screwed up at the idea. “No way. See those idiots on top of the monster truck? Bad news, and I’ve got limits to the number of bad decisions I wanna make for fun today.”

At the center of the street party was the honest-to-Mom monster truck Alice had pointed out. It was easily a story tall, and nowhere near street legal. That didn’t stop its owners from parking it in the middle of the street and blocking all traffic with the help of the party spreading around it.

Said owners were clearly of the not-normal variety, even for Gotham. The masks and cloaks gave it away. As did the plethora of eyes that were set into their costumes.

Alice knew she should’ve avoided the whole scene, but-…

“Still, I am kinda curious,” She said.

“That doesn’t cross your bad decision limit?” Elaine asked, amused.

Alice shrugged. “Eh, it’s as much a quota as it is a limit. Gotta have some fun, right? Dad taught me that much.”

“Most people wouldn’t agree with that.”

“Most people don’t have magic and angel mumbo-jumbo to pull them out if they fuck up.”

“Fair. Let’s go check out the creepy party hosts.”

They began to weave their way through the party on the street. Some partied-out idiots reached for them. Alice barely had to look to swat the hands with a few nerve-shocking spells. Just a jolt; just enough to make them think twice. It… didn’t seem to have the effect she was expecting.

One reaching hand belonged to a stereotypically nerdy teenage boy — glasses, acne, and clothes straight out of an 80s high school movie. He looked like he should’ve been anywhere else but this spiraling, debauched descent in public. When Alice’s spell touched him, he fell moaning and screaming and praising… something.

Alice cringed away from the ecstatically thrashing boy. “Ewww…”

“Yeah, that’s… odd, to say the least,” Elaine agreed.

Paying more attention to her surroundings now, Alice saw that the rest of the party was following the same trend. There was the youthful mingling and intoxication that she might expect from a street party, but beneath it, a darker side started to rise into focus.

Alice saw some idiot purposefully crush glass into a line of cocaine and snort it all up until her nose poured with blood. She saw a couple pressed so closely against each other that she almost missed the freshly bleeding scratches that they were carving into every inch of bared skin. As much as she saw partying, she also saw pain, pain, pain…!

“Cult?” Elaine asked.

“Cult.” Alice nodded in confirmation, not a doubt in her mind. “Fucking Gotham…”

“If there ever was a ‘City of Cults’, it’d be this one,” Elaine commented.

“I’m just hoping it’s not a widespread one.”

“As opposed to…?”

“Ya know, cults that keep to themselves.”

“That’s… not really how cults work, though, is it? They want to spread their beliefs and grow.”

“There have to be some that are content with just doing… whatever cults do, right?”

Even as she said it, Alice knew that might be asking too much of the kinds of idiots who would start or join a cult.

And thinking about it, even if there were cults like that, this one obviously wasn’t. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be holding their freaky-ass pain-party in public. Alice’s eyes narrowed at the now-clear cult leaders on top of the monster truck, watching it all. They absolutely had something more in mind than just a ‘simple’ party in the streets.

“Should we call someone?” Elaine asked. “I know we can handle this — almost certainly. But we aren’t really heroes.”

Alice confidently scoffed. “It’s a pain-party cult! Nothing to it, you’ll see!”

Elaine teased her for her confidence. “Alright, fearless leader. Lead on.”

With something to prove, Alice began to push more directly through the debauchery. She called on Klarion’s magic for the moment, but only partially. He and Dad had taught her that she didn’t need to dive headfirst into borrowed magicks; she could just dip her toe and reap more focused benefits.

The Witch-Boy’s magic was good for many things — all chaotic — but Alice was mostly after his cantrips.

A flailing dancer slipped on suddenly oil-slicked pavement. A brush against the edge of a mosh pit sent those partygoers into fits of hysteria that were greater than any of their drugs could’ve roused; they surged into the center of the pit and cleared the way for Alice and Elaine. A car in the center of the street — stopped and absorbed by the spreading party — slipped into neutral and began to roll as people jostled against it.

Alice stepped onto the rolling car and held out a hand to help Elaine up next to her. More cantrips steered their improvised platform. The partying idiots didn’t rush to get out of the way, but the magically rolling car didn’t much care if they did. Both Alice and Elaine winced at the snapping sound of run-over limbs. The injuries only seemed to add to the insane revelry.

As they neared the center of the party — the monster truck looming over it all — the cult leaders abruptly sprang into action. They didn’t attack, though, taking up instruments instead of weapons.

Like some twisted concert, the cult leaders grabbed everyone’s attention through the reveling fugue.

“EYEAH, EYEAH~!” The lead figure screeched. “Keep it up, monsters! We all die eventually! So why not help Her along?! She’s waiting for you, one and all! Why else would She come to Gotham?! She wants you to die for her; She wants you to go out in a blaze of LIFE! We are the Children of Dionysus, but our god and his chaos have turned to Her message! Die for Her! Live for Her! Death will join us in the end!”

“EYEAH~!” The whole party echoed their cult leader’s insane ramblings. As if fire catching on dry grass, the music exploded to new volumes, the drugs were thrown into the air for all to enjoy, and the pain redoubled with random acts of violence.

So close to the center of the chaos, horror gripped Alice’s heart. They were talking about Mom.

The fact that she maintained a consistent presence in Gotham, at the Dead End with Dad, was well known. Death stayed in Gotham; it was just true. But these-… These-! These idiots had turned their cult’s twisted philosophy into the worst interpretation of Mom’s concept that Alice had ever heard!

“DEATH DOESN’T WANT YOU TO DIE FOR HER!” Alice screamed, magically projecting her voice through the renewed din of debauchery.

The instinctive, emotional effort behind the spell left her tense and likely looking larger than life. She and Elaine were standing on the car, a whole level lower than the monster truck, but still, every eye turned to look at them (including the eyes set into the cult leaders’ costumes).

“EYAHAHAHA~!” The leading Child of Dionysus laughed like mad. “Says you, says you, little darling! And who, who, who-?”

“I am Black Alice, the Daughter of Death, Daughter of Reincarnation, the Heir to Magicks Known.” Cutting him off, Alice declared herself.

Every single word from her lips rang true. They came out without any conscious thought — dramatic but deserved. As she invoked Mom and Dad, Alice felt her intangible presence upon the world surge, magnified by the mere mention of Aspects of Existence. Just saying the words was proof enough, even to the most revelry-brained soul there.

“WHAT A GUEST AT THIS PARTY OF OURS~!” The Child of Dionysus cackled and sketched a bow. “Lacoste, O’ Daughter of Death; ever at your service.”

Alice sneered at him. “You don’t know me. You don’t know Mom. You don’t know Death.”

“AND WOE~!” Lacoste exclaimed. “I do not. We do not. Please, enlighten us — as pain does, as madness does, as chaos does, as death-come-too-soon does.”

“Alice,” Elaine cautioned. “Playing into his hand might not be the best of ideas…”

“I can’t let them believe that about Mom…!” Alice hissed back.

Elaine sighed, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, then.”

Alice turned back to Lacoste and the rest of the cultish party. Everything had fallen eerily silent, from the peak of chaos to uncharacteristically patient order as they waited for her word.

Her word… A thrill ran down Alice’s spine. She couldn’t say she hated the idea or the attention…

“Death doesn’t… She isn’t…” Alice began, searching for a way to put Mom in a framework of mortal understanding.

“You-… You’re thinking of her as some kind of goddess, looking to expand her domain and spread her concept, but she’s not. She is Death. She is already an Aspect of Existence. She simply… is, Endlessly. Death doesn’t wish her concept upon anyone; she doesn’t need to, want to, or push anyone else to do it in her stead. So there’s no need to preach or act or rush or-… There’s no need to do anything on her behalf. She meets everyone and everything in the end.

“And in that end, she doesn’t offer salvation or exaltation or apotheosis for your deeds in life; she’s just… there. As you pass, she’s there as an ear that will listen to your life story, a shoulder for you to lean upon, a friend so you don’t have to take those final steps on your own.”

“If you’re gonna preach anything about Death, preach that side of her.” Alice finished, strongly stating her own belief in Mom.

“WELL, DAMN~!” Lacoste went from loud and proudly mad to thoughtful and soft-spoken; his voice still carried. “… Ain’t that something… real. You could make a religion outta this.”

“-!” Alice jolted at that. “Wait, don’t-!”

IIIII

Alice stared at the phone in her hand, having left the strange scene behind as cultish revelry turned to something new. With a sigh, she dialed the number of doom.

As the phone rang, Elaine watched her with twinkling eyes. Alice knew she was laughing inside.

… She hadn’t said ‘I told you so’ yet, at least.

The call connected. “Alright, Alice?”

“I’m alright, Dad…” Alice said awkwardly. “Mostly. But uh… What should I do if I accidentally made myself a messiah in Mom’s name?”

With a laugh in reply, Dad simply said, “Don’t lead them on a crusade. Those usually don’t end as you intend.”

“That’s… it?”

“Yeah, that’s it. This was bound to happen eventually, so other than that, just have fun and keep me posted. Well, not too posted. Your Mom, Gabriel, and I are-…”

“Ah! I don’t want to know!”

“… We’re making Gabriel a ‘Mage: The Ascension’ character so she can join us on the next TTRPG night, ya perv.”

“Oh…”

“… And maybe roleplaying as we do for a bit of extra fun~.”

“Dad-!”

“Ciao, kiddo!”

The call ended on Dad’s end, leaving Alice in a huff.

“So,” Elaine asked. “Any advice?”

“‘Don’t crusade’,” Alice replied, rolling her eyes. “But whatever. It’s fine. Better, probably. At least they aren’t trying to party themselves to early meetings with Mom anymore. So I’m just gonna ignore the issue until I can’t anymore. It’s not like they’re going to follow us-…”

IIIII

Elaine smirked at her. “You really shouldn’t have tempted it.”

“Don’t you even start,” Alice grumbled.

They’d tried to distance themselves from the… scene Alice had caused. It’d worked, but only for about an hour. Then, the Children of Dionysus — that pain-partying cult — had caught up to them.

Lacoste and his cult leaders were in the lead, with the rest of the party continuing as they trailed behind. The Children of Dionysus had eagerly thrown themselves into becoming the ‘Children of Didi’ with just a few words of truth.

The only silver lining Alice could find was that the party had somewhat died down as the mood shifted.

Instead of trying their hardest to meet Mom, they were more thoughtful, but no less lively, no less insane. Music played through the monster truck’s speakers as it followed along after Alice and Elaine like the world’s biggest, weirdest duckling. It was good music, at least, goth and punk and thrumming with darkness as one might expect from the local scene. That was about where Alice’s praise from their new followers died, though.

“Think we can lose them?” Alice asked.

Elaine snorted. “I think that ship has sailed, Alice. They’re gonna follow you unto death. Like, duh. After the piece of Didi you shared with them, how could they not?”

“Ugh, I just wanted them to not be idiots and pricks about it!” Alice groaned. “How was I supposed to know that a few words from the Daughter of Death would make them essentially convert?!”

“Alice,” Elaine said, knowing and teasing. “C’mon. Be honest, you’re loving this, aren’t you?”

“Maybe!” Alice exclaimed. “But, like, not in a weird way! I like that they’re looking at Mom in the right way now! But I could really do without them following me like I’m their messiah!”

“If they’re actually set on worshipping Didi, you essentially are, though,” Elaine pointed out.

“… Whatever,” Alice grumbled. “We’ll try anyway. There, the cemetery.”

“Wonderful idea,” Elaine drawled; Alice couldn’t help but think she was trying to mimic Lucifer. “Because, yes, the new Cult of Death you’ve created will absolutely hesitate to enter a cemetery after their messiah.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot!”

… It was not, in fact, worth a shot. Alice discovered that rather quickly.

She and Elaine detoured into Gotham Cemetery. It was about everything Alice had been expecting. At any other time, she would’ve enjoyed the ambience — the sheer vibes of a place of Mom in Gotham.

A spooky, almost certainly supernatural low fog clung to the ground, masking the graves. It only appeared in the cemetery; past the gates, Gotham’s dusk was clear. Here and there, monuments and markers and even mausoleums peeked through the curtain of death. Alice felt at home amongst those who’d already met Mom and been walked by her to their eternities.

As she half-expected from Gotham, the cemetery wasn’t empty, even as the sun began to set. There were visitors to the many, many graves and resting places. And there were also less purposeful figures to be found in the fog — the kinds of people who would willingly hang around a place of death in Gotham.

Alice and Elaine ignored the people in the cemetery, trying to put as much distance between themselves and their followers as possible. When Alice glanced back, she saw some of the less purposeful figures in the fog approach the now eerily respectful Children of Dionysus — Children of Didi…

She couldn’t hear the exchanges between the cult and the cemetery vultures, but by the way some of the latter committed to following the former, she could guess at what was said.

“And thus, it grows,” Elaine commented.

“… Frickin’ what-ever!” Alice exclaimed.

Alice was still determined to lose them there. She set a speed-walking pace. Elaine kept up with a bit of flying help. Alice could half-see the feathered wings of Elaine’s nature extending from her back, but it was a ghostly, magical, and angelic thing.

“Lucky,” Alice muttered.

Elaine just rolled her eyes. “I know you could fly if you wanted to, Miss ‘Heir to Magicks Known’.”

Alice blushed slightly and glanced away. “… It just came out.”

“Are you denying it?” Elaine asked, more curious than judgmental.

“Well…” Alice hesitated for only a moment before putting on a show of confidence that would do Dad proud; she smirked. “Nah, that’s me; I’m really her, ya know?”

She proved her point with a flex of magic, borrowing just a bit from Raven to allow herself to fly with ease.

She’d gotten in the habit of sending vague feelings of explanation down the connections her magic forged. While she didn’t have to steal power from those she copied and borrowed from anymore, Dad and Klarion said it was still just polite to inform them of what was happening, especially when it came to friends. From the other side of the magical connection, Alice got a sense of rolled eyes and acceptance from Raven.

Alice lifted off the ground, hovering over the low fog of the cemetery. Elaine matched her with a smile. They heard shouts behind them — the cult likely taking their showcase of power as more proof that she was their messiah — but Alice couldn’t find it in herself to care.

With flight now on their side, the cult was left in their dust. Or at least… they would’ve been, if something else in the cemetery didn’t quickly catch Alice’s attention.

“Gotham is the place! Death is here! She tells us to spread our peace in everlasting death! This city, it shall be the scene of murder unrivaled!”

Alice genuinely couldn’t believe her bad luck. Another cult preaching Mom’s name; this one gathered in the cemetery. They were dressed in gold armor and blood-red cloaks. They circled around a mausoleum, with their leaders standing and preaching from atop it. They carelessly disrespected both the dead and the living with their malicious misinterpretation of Mom.

“The blood shall flow, and death will be the only accepted result!” The main leader exclaimed.

He was a tall and brutally muscled man, with a horned skull helmet merged to his head. Blood poured from his hands as if proof of all he preached. Alice could sense the magic in him — a connection to the Red, animalistic Life and Death and Bloody Predation.

Strangely, she wasn’t the only one to sense it. Through the still open magical connection, Raven took notice. Suddenly, she was insistent. Alice let her in to see the situation.

“Our Demon is dead, but is that not more proof of Her righteous cause as Death?!”

“The Church of Blood…” Raven whispered in horror. “They worshipped Trigon, his strongest agents on Earth. If they’re worshipping Didi now-…”

Alice didn’t need Raven to tell her that much; she shouted her frustration into the night. “Oh, not this shit again! Alright, listen here, you idiots-! DEATH DOESN’T NEED MURDER-!”

IIIII

“… Dad?” Alice nervously spoke into her phone. “It, uh… It happened again. I also might have… killed the cult leader this time…?”

The last bit of information got Dad’s attention in full, but not in the way Alice had been expecting.

She could hear him focus in an instant. “Are you okay, Alice?”

“Me? I mean, physically? Yeah, I guess,” Alice confirmed.

“I know you’re physically fine,” Dad said. “I could tell that much by your tone. I’m asking about your mental. You killed someone, Alice. Are you okay?”

Alice took a moment to think about the question. “… Yeah. Yeah, I am. He was gonna lead his cult in a genocide for Mom. He needed to die. I don’t regret doing the deed.”

Dad audibly relaxed at that. “Alright then. There really isn’t anything more to say, is there?”

“Wha-? Dad, I killed someone…!”

“And you thought it was necessary. I believe you, Alice.”

“What about the law?!”

“You did just say he wanted to spark a genocide in Didi’s name. You were acting in her defense and best interest. That gives you a fair bit of diplomatic immunity. So as long as you’re fine, everything else will be as well.”

“Oh…” Alice fell silent. “N-Nothing to it…?”

“Nothing to it,” Dad agreed. “Except your cult. I can’t imagine it shrank after acting as an agent of Death.”

His amusement was audible, and Alice groaned, “Ugh, don’t remind me! I’ve got a whole different sect of cult-crazies following me as the messiah now!”

“Good job,” Dad praised. “Keep it up. If you want to, of course.”

“Destiny doesn’t seem to be giving me much of a choice…” Alice grumbled.

Dad hummed, “That uncle of yours is overly meddlesome at the best of times.”

“So…” Alice asked hesitantly. “Any more advice now?”

“Nah, kiddo, you’re doing great,” Dad laughed. “You already cut off a crusade at the ankles, after all!”

“Dad!” Alice hissed. I’m-! I’m some for real messiah now! People are looking to me for, like, guidance! How do I even-?! What do I say?!”

“Well, what have you said so far?”

“I-… I don’t know, the truth about Mom?”

She huffed, continuing. “Like, everyone has the dumbest ideas about her! They think she wants them to die! Or that she wants them to murder for her! Mom doesn’t want Death-!”

“She is Death,” Dad agreed. “I know, I know. Your new followers don’t, though. So don’t you think it’s your duty as her daughter to educate and enlighten them? That’s what you say, Alice: nothing but the truth of Death, of Didi.”

“Oh… Oh, yeah.” Alice nodded to herself. “I can do that.”

“And the rest will happen as it happens.” Alice could hear Dad’s shrug through the phone — just… so like him.

She rolled her eyes on her end. “Oh, it’s ‘happening’, that’s for sure…”

Dad laughed. “Well, have fun with all the ‘happening’, kiddo. Your mom and I are-…”

“Ah! I don’t want to know!” Alice cut him off in a hurry and ended the call before he could say anything more.

Listening in from beside her, Elaine asked, “So… We’re committing to all of this?”

Alice could only sigh. “I guess we are. If there’s gonna be a Cult of Mom, I’m gonna make damn sure it’s done right.”

Elaine grinned. “Probably prudent. Where next, then?”

“An abandoned church or something? I mean, if we’re gonna attract cults everywhere we go anyway…” Alice shrugged.

“What’s the worst that can happen? 3xMessiah?” Elaine teased.

Alice shoved her lightly. “Maybe it’ll be your turn, huh? Did you think of that?”

“Nah, I’m blessed, not cursed,” Elaine joked back.

Alice did her very best to ignore the gathering flock behind them as they set out again. She was already feeling better about accidentally becoming Mom’s messiah twice already. Talking to Dad helped, and so did the good company. She was determined not to let the City of Cults ruin their night on the town. 

“… Say, what do you think they’re actually doing-?” Elaine asked.

Alice’s response was as deadpan as it was truthful. “I would literally rather die than know.”

IIIII

[AN: This coming DC ‘verse plotline fought me a bit, but I think I know where I’m going with it now. This should make for a strong start. Alice as Death’s messiah, and all, gathering up all the many, many cults that call Gotham home (or just come for cultish tourism lol) into a wider ‘Cult of Death’. If anyone deserves a cult, it’s Didi. Hell, she deserves an official and proper Church. But then, that’s what Alice will be working towards, and it should lead nicely into a Mythos-type past life story from Sean. Stay tuned :]