Last Continuation ~~~~~~~
Mel floated in the nothingness for an unmeasurable period of time. Due to there being no celestial bodies or other individuals, he could not know how long he was there. The void worked beyond time so it could be ten years, ten seconds or ten eras had passed.
One never knew.
But one thing was known; whether living or dead, mortal or soul, being in the void for too long would drive one insane. Outside of any sense of logic, most minds would break and that was why being cast into the void was one of Death's most brutal punishments.
Nuis could only wonder, as he moved across eternal nothingness, what unfortunate events transpired to make his mother so mad. He knew it involved Lesley but he couldn't understand how it happened. His mother had provided a decent means of protection for his Eldest, and it was a very powerful one.
The balls of light seemed to sigh, as they moved farther into the void. Finding things in the Nothing,as it is also called, was close to impossible. He was a light dot on an infinity mile canvas, looking for another dot. Honestly, someone would have asked how he planned to find someone in the unfathomable expanse of an empty eternity.
The answer was simple; He had to become eternity... or at least as close as he could be.
These balls of light, much like bubbles of multiple colors and stardust, had an ethereal beauty like the shine in a baby's eyes. As soon as they stopped, a sparkling light arose from them. Like the birthing of a star, it grew brighter and brighter, continuously gaining more light. The bubbles began to spin in a solar system like pattern, with the light at its center.
This light was beyond incredible, so majestic in nature, it was like the golden soul of a king gazing upon his kingdom, or a supreme star illuminating a universe by itself. The shine it provided travelled so fast, that it could cover ten universes in the blink of an eye.
However since, Nuis was trying to cover eternity, it took him a while until the light finally, touched upon a single organic piece of existence in the void. As soon as it did, the light covered it, like a blanket and then it disappeared, turning the void back to it's unfathomable state of existence without existence.
Far away, beyond the edge of where Nuis's light touched... an eyebrow came into existence and twitched. But that's all it did, and then it ceased to exist.
...
Death sat on the ground of the cave, with Lesley's body infront of her. His heart was in her right hand, and a dark vapor covered it's surface. Her form had converted back to the ethereal goddess of shadows and death, her blue eyes scrutinized the heart in her hand.
After a few moments, she clenched her fist and crushed Lesley's heart. Blood, leftover in the heart Chambers, dripped across her fingers, but with a single glow from her eyes, the blood started to float up until it formed a red cloud with tints of sparkling green lights.
"Then why isn't he healing?" She asked no one in particular, but her eyes were trained on the hole in Lesley's chest, peering into the darkness there... seeing the three people above the black lake in his soul.
Death ignored Lesley's half non-existent body, fearing she would succumb to something. Her eyes locked onto the other two beings with red hair, both staring into the seemingly far away distance at the green ball. They did not move, not even breath, but stood staring at the ball... waiting.
Death frowned upon looking at them. She knew that although a body was useful for the mortal world, they were like clothes for cold weather. Only in a special place such as the underworld, filled with death could she breath.
Liv and Lich did not have that special place and had used Lesley like a raincoat, but underneath they were naked. One way to fix this feeling of discomfort was to...
No, she frowned, she had other things to worry about. She raised two bony and pale cream fingers.
"Snap!"
In a flurry of light and darkness, two individuals appeared behind her. Nuis stood meek and bashful, his fingers intertwined as he looked down at the floor. The calm and timid nature before this one was in stark contrast of the other.
A blonde teenage boy with bangs, covered in black and red blood, stood tense and rigid. His eyes were black and grey, his face was paler than death, with green lined veins on his temples right next to his eyes. However, despite the bloody and nightmarish look, Mel would not be striking fear into the hearts of anyone.
Why?
Because he was crying.
If Lesley, the Deadpool organization or the human race who lived in fear of zombies, saw this they would be stunned. Zombies had no functioning tear glands, a lot of their organs had shut down. The idea of a zombie crying was just ludicrous. Yet there it was, a teenage zombie, with no pulse and no need for his heart, had two streaks of tears running down his face.
Nuis stole glances, since his mother had not acknowledged them, and he became more confused. He'd never seen one of... them crying before. Maybe when they are bitten or being eaten alive before changing. But after that, the tears just dry up, swallowed by the sun's heat.
"If... you think that I am merciful, you are in for a cold awakening." Death said and the walls of the cave began to rumble.
"Crack! Crack! Rumble! Crack!"
Under the eyes of Nuis and Mel, the cave walls cracked, showing a blackness behind them from which there was no escape. The cracks spread until all the walls were broken, yet strangely enough, not a single candle went out. The pieces of the cave, floated for a while before being realigned and expanding. The cave, which was the size of a house from side to side, now had the space of a large field or meadow. The candles, rose up from the walls and began to float in the air like fairy lights, but still they failed to remove the dark gloom in the place.
Nuis smiled and looked around in wonder, amazed that his mother would starting letting the underworld take it's truer form. Like it's owner, the underworld was also wearing a guise and only Death and Nuis, knew it's true form. But why all the disguises? And secrecy?
"Boom!"
Unfortunately none of that mattered as in the next instant Death, grabbed Mel by the neck and threw him head first, into the cave wall. Nuis did not say a word, and began floating amongst the candles like a little angel.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Booooom!"
It took five more bashes into the ground before Death threw Mel away from her with a look of utter coldness. The zombie, landed two feet away from the red head's body and he was not looking too good.
Several of his ribs had broken and broken out from his body. Sticking out from his chest like the white and bloody teeth of a monster, other bones were shattered beyond recognition and his organs had been flattened by the fifth impact. His skull was mostly exposed and his lower jaw was hanging by thin strips of flesh. Both eyeballs were gone and if one tried, they could see his brain inside the empty sockets... or by the hole on the top of his head. He looked horrid, gruesome and so ghastly it would freeze a baby's heart.
In contrast, the cave walls looked pristine and had no sign of having been bashed by a body.
"Come here." Death said as she sat down next to Lesley again. Mel's carcass lifted itself up on disjointed arms and began to crawl towards them. After a moment he reached them and it took a moment before Death turned her head and looked at him.
New flesh, blood and tendons had begun to grow on the zombie and Death nodded her head as if confirming something. But then her eyes narrowed as she saw something disturbing.
He was still crying.
Truth be told, Mel had been crying since Nuis found him. The light from Nuis or darkness in the void seemed to have done something to him. He'd been in a state of hunger before but inside the void, his hunger became futile and he gained some control of himself. That unfortunately led to him remembering what happened between him and Lesley.
When he saw that look in Lesley's eyes, the blood and the taste in his mouth... he felt like vomiting, something zombies can not do. Unfortunately, or otherwise, vomiting is not an action you can do in the void and so the feeling faded, only to be replaced by an unknown feeling of rage, then confusion, then apathy and finally grief. He didn't know how long he felt those feelings in continuous repeat but it was enough to put him in a state of suffocating sadness.
The feelings felt so strange, so painful and yet so comforting, like a mother's laughter as she chokes her baby.
When he appeared in the cave and saw Lesley, that's when his eyes began to bleed without warning. These were the 'tears' that his undead body could produce. He barely even acknowledged the brutal assault by Death or the fact that his body was maimed.
He felt... he didn't know but if anyone else was to feel it, they would realize it was shame and regret. Something he had not felt since he was alive and he couldn't understand it. He just lay on his stomach, raised by his hands, looking at Lesley with bleeding eyes.
"I told you to help him. Protect him. I ordered you to... now a corpse is all I have. My patience wore thin and now... I am powerless to save him"
"No... He important..." Mel said, his throat was not done regenerating.
"Important? To who?" She asked him," The only thing I care about is his soul and right now, it's dying. I can carve it out and keep it but then I'll have other problems. My only best outcome is burn his body and soul to nothingness or throw it into the void and I'm sure you know the condition there."
"I'm sorry... please help... I'm sorry." Mel turned to her and his eyes were blue again.
"If I had a star for everyone who has begged before me... I'd be queen of all." She said with narrowed eyes and she got to her feet, with a wave of her hand Lesley's body was consumed by black flames.
"No!" Mel moved to the body and tried to put out the flames but they avoided him like the plague and carried on blazing strong.
"I will let you go." Death said softly and Mel turned to her.
"What?" He asked.
"He's dead or dying at least. You have no more use, no more reason to be kept. I will plunge you back to the world of the living, you are not alone, so I will not take the power I gave you. Your mind will break and you'll become the state you were when you killed him. Many will die but maybe... I'll find her then."
"I'm sorry... I -"
"SILENCE!"
A billowing whirlwind flew across the chamber and even Nuis paused to look at the zombie. His eyes held no pity or hatred, only the fleeting interest of a child. He seemed to have forgotten what he found pleasing about this zombie in the first place. So with a turn of his head, he carried on floating amongst the candles, happily smiling at the souls and the light in his eyes glowed brighter.
In contrast, his mother had a cloud of dark miasma around her body, a potent aura she seemed to be holding in check. Her eyes burned with a red light, showing she was on the verge of losing all her temper.
"You are nothing but a monster to that mortal. To me, you are less than nothing, not worth my pity. I have only held back from truly showing true death because of your slight, miniscule use to me. If you would rather die now, speak it." She said in a voice that made candles sway like they were in the wind.
"I... want to die," Mel said and Death raised her hand but what Mel said next made her pause,"Can I... stay with him... his soul?"
"What do you mean? Do you want me to rip your soul out and keep it here? Forever?" Even Nuis paused to look at the zombie again and when it nodded it's head," You are a fool. Or it is just the simple mind of your kind. But so be it."
"Wait Mother!"
Death paused her hand as her son floated down like the messengers from heaven. He looked at the zombie holding Lesley's burning body and tilted his head to the side.
"Nuis, what is it? I know you are fond of these things but this one... will receive no leniency from me." Her voice was cood and absolute, showing she would not hesitate to end Mel if Nuis tried to ask for mercy.
"No, Mother. I thought you might try another way." Nuis said looking down."To help Eldest."
"Which way? Do you mean...?"Death looked at her son with surprise. What she thought he meant, what she KNEW he meant, was something she knew would help, but she would dare not do it. She would not do that to another one of her sons.
"It's alright Mother. I am alright with it. But first, you there , why do want to stay with him?" Nuis turned his shining eyes to Mel and the zombie answered honestly.
But his answer made no sense to either of the two powerful beings there.
"He wanted to bath tomorrow... I was going to take him... to the water." He said slowly, his body looked lethargic and his eyes shut. His body lay flat on the floor, with Lesley's burning corpse on top of his chest.
Death and Nuis were not surprised by the zombie's state. Only the dead could walk the underworld and although Mel was not fully alive, he was not fully dead either. In time, if he was left alone, his body would turn into dust or a new candle.
"Well Mother, can we? Together we all can do it. " Nuis said looking at her. As Death raised her hand to pat Nuis's pure yellow locks.
"You care for your Eldest that much?"She said and Nuis nodded with a smile."Very well. We shall do it."
Nuis smiled and closed his eyes before clasping his hands together.
"Transcend Life and Death." He whispered softly and the whole chamber became still.
Deaths eyes began to glow a bright red and the two bodies on the ground opened their eyes, as if against their will by a higher power. Lesley's eyes glowed a mystical green like fireworks and Mel's eyes had a shimmering silver blue. As the light grew brighter and brighter, Nuis opened his eyes, which were ablaze with pure golden light and a majestic glow went through his body as his veins began to turn red, green and silver blue.
Finally, like a TNT, he exploded in a spectrum of color and light. When the light and color faded, there was only three people in the chamber. Lesley, Mel and Death were the only ones there, and there was no sign of Nuis.
Death, gave a deep breath out, when she saw that Lesley had healed and he looked all right. Although she should be happy, Death turned to the side and sighed.
"Snap!"
Both Mel and Lesley disappeared after a snap from Death's fingers. She could only hope this was the last time they were in such a precarious position...
Actually no.
Death frowned in distaste. That corpse was to sentimental and broken, this situation was bound to repeat itself. If she had known this earlier, she would have chosen another one.
"Don't worry, Mother. I made sure this won't happen again." Nuis's voice echoed across the entire chamber and the odd thing was, it seemed to come from the candles themselves.
"Good boy." Death said softly and then like a shadow exposed to light, she disappeared.
A few moments after she left, a small ball of light, pure white and clear appeared. It was not one of Nuis's and seemed to be the first of many, because soon a large amount of them floated into the room. They all swam above the ground like a swarm of butterflies, beautiful and delicate. Unfortunately they didn't stay long and moved along the passage, going deeper into the tunnels and chambers.
Except for one small, crystal like bubble that stayed a few seconds longer. It floated around until it landed right where Lesley and Mel had been.
"Waiting... I'll be waiting..."
A sweet voice whispered into the air before the bubble vanished and left the chamber.
~|~
{Present-day in Veranda's room}
As Lesley's blood dropped onto Mel's tongue, a small round circle appeared on his chest, above his heart. When his teeth began to sink into Lesley's flesh, the circle glowed a light red and like a single drop containing a tsunami, a potent energy filled Mel's body. His eyes twitched and he paused. Slowly, sanity began to return to his eyes and in a moment they turned back to their morning lake blue.
But Mel didn't get Lesley off him, instead, whilst his mouth was still on the shoulder, he licked up all the blood. It tasted HEAVENLY and the zombie didn't let a single drop go to waste.
Unfortunately for him, Lesley wasn't a complacent idiot who couldn't tell when things shifted. So it was with a brutal left hook that Lesley put some space between them.
"What do you think you are doing!?" Lesley shouted indignantly.
"I was licking the wound."Mel said honestly,"I am sorry I lost control. I am getting really hungry."
"You should go out and eat. If you were feeling hungry, you should have freaking said something."Lesley said with a glare and he touched his shoulder, feeling how warm it was,"I'm glad my body is immune or whatever is stopping me from turning into a zombie."
"I am sorry. " Mel said softly looking into Lesley's eyes and the red head looked back.
"For what exactly?" Lesley asked.
"For biting you. For breaking the door and walls. For making you mad and -"
"Ah,ah,ah, hold it there. First off; I am always mad nowadays, I can't fucking sleep, meaning I'm cranky. Secondly; I was okay with you eating me but not killing me, that's something only I will do and thirdly; I told you to stop saying 'I'm sorry' every hour."
"I'm so-"
"Oh gosh, shut up."Lesley rubbed his hair in frustration,"Also... I can't believe I'm saying this to a zombie. I'm sorry I didn't listen. We should have gone left. Or was it right? Whatever. I was wrong. There, I fucking said it."
"Les-"
Lesley grabbed Mel's hair and pulled it back, tugging it like a wad of strings. When he spoke, his voice was barely contained rage.
"Do not fucking think of saying my name. I apologized because my mom raised me well, do not think it's because I pity, care or am starting to care about you. Listen here zombie, if ever I see you kill someone infront me , I don't care about the hordes or your crazy power to heal... I will slice you to pieces and throw you into an open fire. I doubt you can heal from that. "
With those words, Lesley got off Mel's lap and walked out of the room, whilst putting on his shirt. Mel did not follow him but instead lifted his shirt to look at the source of that strange energy. Unfortunately there was nothing under his shirt but a pale chest with defined abs and a slight line of hair below the navel.
[Monster...]
The voice seemed like the final gasp of a nightmare and when Mel heard it, his eyes turned grey for a moment.
"Monster... mommy's little monster." he said softly and his lips opened to give his gruesome zombie smile, before leaving the room.