Sera reaches out her hand as a figure does the same back to her. A large white hole starts to suck them both into it, Sera goes flying into a place full of light. "What the, where am I?" Sera asks as she looks around the interdimensional space. Unable to comprehend its vastness. Sera then looks up at God as her eyes widen. "Did I DIE?! DID YOU KILL ME?!" Sera asks, scared. "I need you for something." God himself goes to take a sword from an angel who's carrying it. He then hands it to Sera. "It's for you, you'll need it, I'll let you know when, no using it like an ability though. This comes with a bigger responsibility. Things are different now." Sera looks up at confused as his eyes start to glow. "What exactly is it, is it some kind of special-" Sera finds herself cut off. It's a devil's arm, it'll give you an ability till your real one returns, just, this one will make you well" He pauses before finishing his sentence.
unNatural
Sera looks up with shock. "I, I don't know if I can take it then. Don't they go to Hell? I don't wanna-" Sera is cut off again as fear begins to settle in her heart. Do not be afraid. I'll be with you, I'll be here with you the whole time. Sera looks back as the light portal starts to suck her back into her world. She pauses as she thinks about what to say, yet nothing came out of her mouth. She suddenly wakes up, she looks at Evie who is talking to her. Sera feels sick and decides to rush to her dorm. As she rushes back Sera bumps into her dorm room without realizing where she was going. She opens it frantically and looks in the mirror to see an image that horrifies her. One of her eye's is black, with a red pupil in the center and red veins stretching across it onto her skin. "Sera? Sera?!" Elaine asks in horror.
"No, Elaine can't see me like this!" Sere told herself as she takes a towel and puts it over the right side of her face and bolts for John's dorm.
Later at John's dorm Sera walks through rather panicked. "Crap, what do I do now?" Sera asks rather scared of what she'll have to do to survive from being devoured by the plague that's entered her body. She looks around unable to find her makeup to hide the hideous red scars on her face. Suddenly she finds herself hearing footsteps and freezes. "Oh no, please." She says quietly to herself realizing she's entered the wrong dorm. John notices her inside his rest room and rushes over. "Sera? Sera?" Sera sits on the bathroom floor, scared of what she became, scared of her hunger now.
"Hey, what happened?" John asked as he kneels down to help her. Sera slaps John away from her. "DON'T, come near me, please." John pauses. "Sera, then why are you in my dorm? What's going on?" Sera looks up at John, her face streaming of tears, her right eye glowing red and black. Half her hair glowing black where magnetta is and red where her yellow highlights were. John pauses as he recognizes what she's turned into. "Sera, what happened? Did...." Sera doesn't move or speak. John not knowing how she's turned assumes the worst and builds up a rage. It builds up into a sense of confusion as John is left not sure what to think while Sera sat there panicked. "What's going on?" John asks himself as he grows bitter in rage. John leaves the bathroom to find a man sitting in his bed. "What the, what are you doing here? And what did you do to Sera?!" John yelled as the angel hovered over the bed in place. "Hey, so you found out. Don't worry, everything is under my control." John didn't hesitate to raise his voice. "What the hell did you do to her, is she gonna be alright?!" John asked as he changed his tone from anger to concern. "Do you trust me?"
"What?" John asked. "DO, YOU, TRUST ME?" John hesitates for a moment. "Dude, no offense, but from the couple days we met, I know you a little bit, I like you dude, I wanna keep this going I could really benefit from this, but I feel like we just....." The Lord gets up and puts his hands on John's shoulders. "Listen son I understand this feeling, but you're going to have to trust me, so far it's only led you to good, am I wrong?" John hesitates to answer. "Well, no, but...." John then pauses. "Then don't treat me like how you treat meeting a new person, because I trust you, I made you. So trust me. I know you better than anyone else." John shakes and trembles as his mind flashes back to prior events within his life. "Okay man, I trust you, you know best." John however didn't mean his words but was instead taken back to when Arlo and John first met.
"So, John Doe I presume?" Arlo asks as the sun sets at high noon. "Yeah man, I'm here." John said with a casual smile. "So man, this is him, he's the god tier cripple boy. Interesting." Arlo thought to himself. The two talk about everything under the sun that people talk about to get to know each other. Suddenly Arlo looks at his phone as he feels it buzz. "Shoot I have to go with Elaine, you met her before right?" Arlo asks as he tries to observe whether bringing John would be appropriate or not. "Oh yeah, the healer, yeah she's nice." John says with a rather emphasized tone.
"Yeah, I have to go with her for something, not that I want to but it's not like I have a choice" Arlo emphasizes. "Well, do you?" John asks with a witty tone. Arlo looks at Elaine's contact photo and finds himself getting light headed. "Looks like she's important to you. Or maybe you're just a lewd pervert." John says as he observes Arlo's sudden change in behavior to his lightheadedness. Arlo blushes as John smirks. "Dude, it's fine, you should go, even if you don't like what you're doing. If you care for someone enough, that'll become irrelevant. "Because if you care for someone you'll do anything for them".
As John says those words his mind takes him back to all the people he's hurt for Claire. He pauses as he loses his smile. Arlo responds not noticing John's sudden change in behavior. "Huh, that's pretty wise man, well, I'll see you later then. Be glad I don't kick your ass for calling me a pervo." Arlo walks off with a smile. "So John, that's who you really are, not a dumb naive weakling. You don't just have power, but a mentality to go with it."
"You trusted Arlo enough to reveal yourself. Don't think he wasn't aware of your intentions. No one with your headset would show their cards like that without reason. John nods slightly. "I, I remember." John said softly. John then looks at Sera who starts to kneel on the ground in pain. Her stomach growling in pain. John then looks back at God and finds himself loosening his collar. "I'm taking a leap of faith, don't break it." John says with a rather aggressive look on his face. His heart was open and vulnerable as his outer shell hardened. The two entities shake hands before John leaves the room pulling out a pocket knife from his bag as he talks himself into doing what he's about to do.
"Alright, everything's gonna be okay. It'll hurt me now, but only for a moment." John says this as Sera starts to crawl away from John. He grabs her and holds her tightly. "It's okay. I know what I have to do." Sera shakes her head as she holds tightly onto John. "The world may be a cruel place, but it doesn't matter." John says softly as he pulls away from Sera. "I still love you, and I want nothing but for you guys to live long happy lives." John raises the knife and swings at his shoulder blade, he pierces the blade through his skin. John felt the stab of his bone going through Sera's neck from the time he visited the alternate reality Joker created. The sheer pain of it is enough to make John scream out in pain from the heart ache and stabbing of the knife. As the stabbing of the knife continues to activate John's nerves, he sees a woman approaching him wearing all black trench coat attire.
"Don't worry sweetie, this is for your own sake." The woman says as she opens a case containing a needle with some fluid. "Mom, who's that?" John asks as he finds himself now even further back in the past of his mind. "Meet your cousins!" A blond boy with blue eyes walks in John's house. "Hi John, Hi Auntie!" The boy says. "Hey Uncle and Aunt, oh, is Bl*$E coming too?" John asks as his high squeaky voice pieces through the room. "Yes actually." She replies as a boy with red hair also enters John's house. "HEY B&#&e, HEY #R&O, Hey John. Let's play with Lego's." "Mom, what are you doing, I don't want to get this shot?!" John yells panicked as he finds himself unable to control what he's seeing. "Honey, just let this happen. Goodbye William, I'll always love you." The woman says comfortingly. However John panics as his mother switches back from a kind hearted woman to one of wrath and rage consumed by flames. "MOM STOP IT! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
John stares off at his mirror as Sera sucks the blood out of John's shoulder. She bites in as hard as she can, but John isn't reacting to the pain of his arm, but rather the mind. As Sera finishes up her eye goes away, she starts to cry as her ability retracts. John sheds a tear as his eyes stop glowing. "That was all in my mind." John says as he tries to comprehend what he just saw.
John looks at Sera, he hugs her, rubbing her hair to try and calm her down while he looks strong for her, all while he's breaking down at the truth he just discovered. His friends, his mother, Ember, it all changed with one second of flashbacks. "JOHN, I'M SO SORRY!" Sera yells as a blue tentacle starts to soften and retract back into Sera's arm. The organ was hard seconds ago, acting as some kind of sharp weapon. It softens and turns into a blob of flesh similar to an organ. "I can focus on that later, Sera needs my help now." John says to himself as he strokes Sera's hair. Sera starts to cry when John grabs some more blood and cups it for Sera. "It's okay, here." Sera, who's now repulsed by her newfound abilities gags. "No, please, I don't want to anymore!" John however, knowing how the abilities of the unNatural work refused to back off. "Sera please, TAKE IT ALREADY! I WON'T LET YOU DIE! NOT AS LONG AS I'M ALIVE!" Sera drinks it, she then wraps herself around John, John does so with Sera, the two covered with blood wrap around each other covered in blood sweat and tears.
"I didn't want to John, I didn't want to do it." John nods his head.
John: It's okay. I like it, now will you continue? He lied through his teeth, anything for Sera to act selfishly for her sake. "I understand if you hate me. You don't have to lie" Sera says rather softly. John kisses Sera before she can finish her statement. Stroking her hair while he kept kissing her. He then picked her up and dropped her in the bathroom, he drew her a bath to clean off the blood. Sera takes off John's clothes. "No Sera, you gotta get clean." Sera falls back in the tub. "John, why are you so madly in love with me?" Sera says without thinking. John looks at her confused as she smiles at him as she wipes off the blood from her body. "You've been non-stop simping for me. It's almost kinda scary, to see you put yourself through so much for me. Why?" Sera asks. "Maybe I'm just a caring person. Who see's way beyond those beautiful looks. Why does that have to be labeled as a simp?"
Sera sniffles. "Don't, you're gonna, make me cry." John smiles as he puts a hand on her cheek. "Sera, of course I'm madly in love. Because that's what it means to be in love. To put your pain aside for others." It isn't just romantic, but romantic shouldn't just be about the sexual desires of one's soul. It needs to have substance, this is my substance." Sera pulls John next to her, she takes off his clothes, piece by piece, before she pulls him in the tub with her. The two bathe together for the next hour, awkwardly blushing. Then they get out and put on their clothes. John crawls into bed while Sera makes some late night texts. The room is finally calm as the two collect themselves and asses their situation. "Sorry guys, I had a little panic attack but everything's alright." Sera says texting the others she left behind. "I'm so glad to hear, send us a pic" Evie says responding back.
*Picture, tap to open.*
"Oh thank God, is that John behind you?" Roland asks as Sera hesitates to send a response back. "Haha, yo tell him I said hi" Jake types. "Glad to see you're okay, night everyone" Sheene wrote as she logged off her phone. The rest do the same as Sera takes off her clothes, leaving her with just her undergarments. She crawls on the floor and falls asleep, suddenly she feels someone pick her up and tuck her in. "John, no, I'm too dangerous to...." John wraps his arms around Sera. "What, you think you're too dangerous for me, you're cute when you say stuff like that, you know that? Little eight thinks she can beat a ten here. I'm the Golden Freaking God." He tightens his embrace a little around Sera. "John, I don't wanna eat you" Sera says as she giggles a little. "Can't say I wouldn't eat you, you're kinda looking like a snack yourself. Maybe you're right, I should just lock you in the pantry." Sera blushes madly. "What?" She asks. John then looks at her with a serious face. "One day, if this works out…" John takes Sera's ring finger, the one with no nail. He kisses the empty finger. "I'm gonna make you my wife." Sera's heart skips several beats. "And one day…" She takes his scar from where she bit him and sucks on it lightly, she strokes his hair. "I'm going to make you my husband. I don't care if this sounds dumb, let's make a promise here and now to save ourselves for each other. I only want you John Doe." John smiles rather boyishly. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Let's do it."
Meanwhile in Hell Joker is in the ninth level chilling in a void. Remembering what happened between him and Sera. "Who ratted me out, who could it have been?" He asks in a bitter voice. "Arlo, Isen, Blyke, Meili, Ventus, Elaine, Remi? SERA?! It could be anyone. But it doesn't matter. I can beat their ass." Joker says this as he imagines everyone who's ever crossed him before and after he's ever dealt with them. "It's fine, it doesn't matter, I'm a demon now, I don't have to worry about human matters. After all, I was never human. And neither is John." Joker then looks at Blyke as he finds himself moving across the dimension. He smiles evilly as he puts on a mask. His eyes glow infamously as he grabs Remi and Isen, looking down at Blyke who pleads for mercy. "No stop it Joker, NOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"Aww, what's the point if it's fake. They'll never learn what it's like to be a low tier." Joker looks in the mirror. "One day, it'll be real. I'll crush them all. Every last one."
The next day at school, Remi, Blyke, and Isen are walking together. They overhear people talking about them and their fight, theories on who the lunch bag kid is, and if he's the new king or not. After Blyke yells at some kids for being too loud with their conversation about them, they talk about how to prevent Joker attacks. "So, who would have the most attacks here?" Blyke and Isen look at each other confused.
Meanwhile Zeke is walking in the halls, remembering an encounter he had last night.
"Hello?!" Zeke cried out. "HEEEEELLLLLLLOOOOOOOO?!" Sinister laughter follows as a response. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! "Zeke, how's it been?" A familiar voice asks. "John, hey what the hell?" Zeke asked. "Umm, that's Joker to you." Joker clarifies. Zeke looks at Joker confused. "I was John Doe, NOW IT'S JOKER!!!" He pounds his fists together. "Hey man, what do you want, please don't hurt me, I'm sorry for....." Joker cuts Zeke off. "Aww no worries pal, you actually were my favorite, here, I'm here to make a little deal with you. I can increase your ability from a 4.2 to a 4.4"
Zeke's eyes widen as he smiles devilishly. "Woah, that's two points up, that's a lot. No way he can get it up that high though" Zeke thought to himself. "What else do I get from it?" He asks. "Well, you get to influence with those powers," Joker says. "So, what's the price?" Zeke asks. "Your soul!" Zeke laughs. "Are you kidding me, I can become king, at this rate I could rule Wellston in secret." Zeke extends his hand. "You have a deal!" Zeke says with a smile of confidence. "YOU FOOL, THIS IS PERFECT! YOU'RE AS STUPID AS I EXPECTED!" Joker thought as he shook Zeke's hand. "Now, it's time to see if Gavin is right, which he most likely isn't and I'll be set for life with some personal things."
The next day
Remi walks through the halls of Wellston early the next morning and finds herself stumbling across two students fighting, one is about to beat up another student. Suddenly Remi shoots a small lightning bolt voltage between them as a warning shot.
She rushes to the fake Joker and unmasks him. "Impostor! Don't hide like a coward." Remi unmasks the impostor. Hey, wait a second, you ran into me the other day. The victim yells. Yeah, Accidentally, then you took my homework and ripped it up you jerk! Barked the perpetrator. Oh so you're gonna become a Joker wanna be just because you can't win in a fair fight? I'll show you! Remi interjects. "Hey, that's enough, you see, you hurt him so he came after you!"
"Remi, you can't be taking his side!" The victim yells. "I'm not taking a side, now both of you hurt each other, by attacking him you created an enemy, and you, Joker's identity is nothing to play with! NOW, both of you apologize. The two students stand there shaken up by Remi's raw power. Uhh, sorry. One kid says. Yeah man, my bad. Remi sighs. "Okay, from now on, please treat each other better.
Meanwhile Isen is yelling at a kid for mistaking too, to, and two, when a blue haired kid comes up to Isen with a story. Fake Joker's are running around the school. Isen's eyes widen with horror as he realizes the news is spreading fast of his crew's failure to contain the threat. "Oh crap! He's gonna throw the whole school in a panic! This was supposed to be dealt with" Isen thought to himself.
"Crazy right, I unmasked this prick and he was a total fake!" Isen slams his fist. "NO, NO NO NO NO, That'll only encourage that kinda behavior, we're not doing that here!" Isen yells. "Aww come on Isen, you should let him run it" One kid yells. "Man, it'll redeem the press" another adds. "NOOOOOO! This won't end well, enough! End of story!" Terrance is looking at Isen, a sinister smile crosses his face as an idea blossoms in his head. "Do I make myself very clear?!" Isen yells with authority.
Meanwhile Blyke is strolling around the school when he spots a fake Joker beating someone to a pulp, he fires a laser to the guys side, causing him to slam into the lockers. "Hey, cut it out! Get your hands off of him." Blyke yells as he charges towards the situation. "Y-you better back off, I'm JOKER!" Byke scowls. "Yeah JOKER MY ASS! Wanna bet on it!" The imposter crumbles under the pressure. "Okay, I'm sorry!" Blyke points to a purple haired girl. "You, class?" He asks. "Oh, I have a free period." Blyke nods. "Help a classmate out and take him to the infirmary." The girl nods. "Uhh, sure!" Blyke then looks around at the rest of the student body. "Hey man, what about the fake Joker?!" They ask. "Not here, you'll all just target him. NOW GET MOVING!" Blyke barks as he puts his hand on the guy who was beaten up. "Keep in mind, you were beaten up for a reason. So while you're in the infirmary, think about all the times you pissed someone off. Treat others better, and you'll have less Joker's after you."
Later in a private room
"So yeah, he keeps making me do his homework, and if I don't, he'll beat me up." Blyke nods. "Still, to dress up as Joker, that's serious." The kid looks away shamefully. But, it's usually our only chance to fight back. He insists. "And if he called your bluff, guess who would have been in the infirmary." Blyke insists back. That's not really a big deal, it wouldn't be anything new. Blyke pauses for a moment. "Wh-huh?" Blyke asks in disbelief. "Well then, if anything, and I mean, anything happens, let me, Isen, or Remi know. We'll help you." The kid looks at Blyke in shock. "Wh-really?" He asks. "YES, AS LONG AS YOU QUIT WEARING THIS THING?!" The kid shakes from the sudden harshness of Blyke's annoyance. Uhh, uh, right, yes sir!
Meanwhile Arlo and Sera are walking together talking about pressing issues when Terrance is going around the school posting little articles, exposing the jokers. Terrance turns invisible and spies on Sera and Arlo when he feels a wire pull on his foot. "Terrance, you little rat....." Terrance looks at Cecile, his eyes glowing green as ever. The two power up and get ready for a brawl. "What the hell are you doing? You already lost this fight, I outrank you!" Cecile yells. "Oh now, you may out rank me, but who still has contacts with Ember?" Terrence asks. Ceciles eyes widened. "So, I get you wanting to quit working for us, but don't forget we still have all your information on file and we will kill you if you deviate from us completely." Cecile bows out of submission and fear. "I'm sorry," She says. "That's a good girl, now, stay out of my way, and don't even think about helping that John guy.
Or I'll show you hell.
A fake Joker shows up to jump Sera, but Arlo steps in, causing the phony to run away. Cecile looks away in relief. "Ahh, I already had to deal with that other guy who tried to jump her earlier today. Who knew that he'd still get so much fear even though he lost the fight. Sorry guys." Cecile says to herself. "I wish I could do more."
Meanwhile in the ninth ring of Hell Joker recalls when he tried to call Sera. The number you tried to call is unavailable, please try again later. "DAMMMMNIT! PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE!" He smashes his phone on the ground. "Sera, after everything I've done for you, you still....." Joker starts to sob, realizing that he had a second chance to fix his life, to find love, make friends, fix the world, to become the person he wanted to be. He could even die knowing he would be in heaven, but instead chose to become a demon. He cries in rage as he finally accepts defeat, ready to do as much harm before he dies.
Meanwhile, Isen is roaming the halls when he runs into two mid tiers fighting. "I've had enough of your bullshit!" A girl with short brown hair slams a boy down, holding his mask. A green haired girl speaks up. "Gianna please, keep it down, people are watching!" The girl Gianna looks back. "GOOD!" She yells before she punches the kid down to the ground. "YOU THINK BECAUSE YOUR HIDING BEHIND A MASK YOUR CLEVER, LIKE WE WOULDN'T FIGHT BACK?!" She continues to kick the boy. "Hey, please stop, you'll sink to their level, and then you'll get in trouble." Gianna's friend insists.
"Oh, but Joker doesn't get in any, neither did that paper bag boy for killing him! THAT'S MURDER!" The crowd starts to boo the girl. "BOOOO, PAPER BAG BOY WAS PROTECTING US!" "YEAH, HE ENDED ZEKE'S ABUSE!" Gianna looks around in rage. "NO, SHUT UP! High tiers don't face repercussions, why SHOULD I?! I'll take the damn suspension any day. I won't let these assholes ruin my life!" Isen jumps into the middle of the fight as his eyes glow an orangy ember. "WOAH WAOH, HEY!" Gianna looks at Isen. "I-Isen?" She asks. "Get off of him, he's down!" Gianna doesn't budge. "No, He tried to attack me as Joker, every day he does this shit!" Isen shakes his head. "There's no point in going overboard with this." He pleads. "EXCUSE ME, OVERBOARD?! PAPER BAG BOY MURDERED SOMEONE AND GETS OFF WITHOUT CHARGES, BUT I CAN'T ACT IN SELF DEFENSE?!"
Isen stands there listening to Gianna. Gianna starts to calm down. "Is it because you're afraid of Joker, did he out rank all of you? I just feel like you've been favoring them over us lately. Because the only person who can take him on is someone we can't even identify?" Isen's eyes widened with fear. "Of course I'm afraid of Joker, hell I'm afraid of John, it's like God created a cheat code in real life, they terrify me. They could destroy society if they wanted to." Isen thought to himself. He then confesses. "Of course I'm afraid, who isn't?" This catches Gianna off guard. "I'm just an elite tier, he's, he's a product of something higher than us, and that scares me, because no one has control over it, no one that's "living"." Gianna was left speechless. "But for those who act as Joker, they shouldn't be persecuted, because they were already driven to such extreme measures, fire doesn't fight fire." Gianna bows. "Right, fair point sorry, I just, I just lost control." The crowd starts to disperse.
Isen heads to the press room to find Arlo and Sera waiting for him. "Sorry I'm late. Where's John?" Sera looks around nervously as she tries to come up with an acceptable answer. "He felt uneasy, so I'll just tell him what we find out." The others buy it. "Okay, let's begin." Isen pulls out Terrance's school records as the group begins their crusade.
To be Continued....