The tragedies of a past

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The Bermuda Triangle. It's a place that not many dare to venture, with dark clouds that obscure the sun at all times and constant violent storms, those who chose to test their luck and brave the unsailable waters almost never come out alive. If they do not fall victim to the raging rapids, powerful squalls, or ferocious beasts, an even worse fate awaits them. Transylvania. A cursed island that only brings misfortune to all who walk it's haunted grounds. In reality it is not an island, but a massive magical ship that took decades to construct but that is not the only thing. There is another project in the making. Anyone who dies on Transylvanian soil will be risen from their grave and forced to join the royal families undead army with little to no memories of their past, only undying loyalty to the Vondergeists and yet this is only a fraction of the horrific secrets Transylvania hides.

It was four years ago when Transylvania attacked Ogygia. An island that both threatened it's territory and promised a great harvest. The small unsuspecting island stood no chance against such a powerhouse. As Transylvania unleashed it's army the island was swept and cleared in a matter of moments. The residents, from the people to the animals, being knocked out and thrown into coffins without hesitation. Their lives only spared because they had to die in Transylvania in order to be resurrected. Once the coffins were brought over the killing began and in all of the chaos birthed opportunity. Select individuals awoke from their forced slumber earlier than expected and they emerged from their coffins and ran free, creating a night hunt of sorts.

None of them lasted that long, except one. It seemed that she had some control over spiders and with as many as there were on Transylvania, she had an army that rivaled the islands own. She was such a threat that the royal family needed to be informed of this invasion which had already gotten beyond out of control.

--

Spectra and her father were dining together, as they did every night, each sitting on separate ends of the long dining table in the beautifully creepy dining hall. That was until Spectra's father, Harkon, heard of the news. One of their undead butlers whispered into his ear, something inaudible to Spectra. She never payed attention to those silly adult things until it began to involve her. "Spectra, get to your room at once." He sounded very serious as if something was wrong, but Spectra didn't notice and she didn't want to go to her room either. "No!" She shouted, getting up from her chair. "You don't have a choice." And with those words various zombies came from the shadows, grabbing Spectra, dragging the screaming and crying girl into her room and locking her inside.

Running to her balcony she looked over the island, seeing the army leave the barracks she wondered if something had happened and decided she would see for herself! Laying on her bed she had an out of body experience, her spirit left her body and flew into the night sky. It seemed that the army moved fast and by the time she caught up only a few slackers remained behind and they were shocked to see the princess! "Uhhh, Princess Spectra! You shouldn't be out of your chambers!" One of the zombie soldiers exclaimed and she hastily responded, "Cut the crap and tell me what's happening!" She was feisty for a twelve year old, which scared them enough to force a response. "Some spider lady is attacking! We've gotta go." The trio then ran off in a hurry and Spectra began her search for the spider lady!

WC: 624
TWC: 624/3,500

---

It was a normal day on the once beautiful shores of Ogygia, Ariadne was in her home, playing with some of the house arachnids that seemed to always be moving around in the house and following her along with helping the simple tasks she was assigned to such as folding blankets, fixing clothes, collecting fruits. Everything was how it should be and that was okay with Ariadne, even though some of the school boys had called her names and often drove by to shout crude things but as her grandma always told her; You can't let those insults dig into your darker side, so she never did! Instead Ariadne just continued her simple day to day tasks. There had been rumor of a giant island that was not too far from Ogygia something she hadn't heard the name of but it was said the family that lived there were a family of true monsters, they had a ghost for a daughter and apparently they had zombies that lived there too! Rumors were always meant to hurt someone as Ariadne had learned so she decided to just ignore these silly accusations of what was probably just a neighboring island of normal people, or so she thought..

It was a fateful day when the soldiers came in, they carried dangerous weapons that threatened to kill anyone that resisted, it seemed that Ariadne's beautiful island was outnumbered, as some of the mages of the village tried to fend off the attackers! As she looked around, all she saw was more and more of the people of the island getting taken onto the ships that docked on ogygia. The boys that once ridiculed her now fought beside her, as they used their magic to try and defend the place they called home but it was no use, they were outnumbered by quite a lot and if she continued to fight alongside these men then she too would be taken. Ariadne didn't know where her parents were due to her being down by the trees collecting fruits. Soon, Ariadne realized what her fate would be if she didn't surrender so they took her in chains, holding her on the boat tightly so she couldn't move her arms and try to use magic! I mean how rude, at least buy a girl dinner first before you take her on a romantic boat ride. What Ariadne saw though instead of prisoners, were people being thrown into coffins as some were dropped in the sea while others carried to the island.. Why would they need to carry them to the island? Why not end their lives right on the island they were born in. Ariadne didn't know much but when she got to the island, she was taken along with some of the soldiers but lucky for her one of the soldiers had left the cuffs back on the boat while the other one held her tightly, making sure she didn't go anywhere.

She would use this moment to her advantage, not knowing much about this island but she did know that where there was doom and gloom, there was spiders! Ariadne started singing a song of hatred and anger, her voice growing louder and louder as the guard continued telling her to be quiet, but as he said that, he could fell something crawling into his pant legs and shirt, hordes of spiders and as he screamed they invaded his mouth, biting the insides as well as spitting venom, his face slowly dissolving from the corrosive poison. "I will NEVER be silenced by a disgusting man." The other soldier came back soon after, but Ariadne was gone and the soldier that was once holding her lay dead? The other man looked around, confused on what happened.. That was until a large strand of white spider silk came down from the tree above him, quickly encasing him in a cocoon. After a few minutes in the tree, the cocoon opened up to reveal just half a body, the lower half had been eaten away. Ariadne had to be stealthy, if she was caught again her magic may not be effective! So she continued going through the forest in secret, using her pale skin and black dress to blend into the shadows.

WC: 715/3,500
TWC: 715/3,500

---

Normally, Spectra wouldn't have cared about something like this. She would have just let her father or her zombies tend to the problem at hand, but it was that word that inspired her. No. Suffering from a severe problem with authority she just couldn't learn to accept it. Even if listening to her father meant what was best for her, she felt otherwise! No one could control her, she was in charge after all! It was her life, not his. That's why she found herself in the dead forest, aimlessly wondering around in an attempt to find this spider woman that had caused so much trouble.

Really Spectra didn't see what the big deal was. Zombies couldn't die and she seriously doubted someone from a backwoods island like the one they attacked was worth anything when compared to her family so why the fuss? But, she didn't have time for thinking and she honestly didn't care. No matter how strong spider girl was, Spectra was sure that she, herself, was stronger. Especially since her real body had been left behind and she was impervious to all attacks. This opened a lot of doors for her, and allowed her to quickly scout the area, as she didn't have to worry about running into things.

And then she hard it, a song and not the one the zombies sang sometimes! This one was different, and she could only guess that it was the doing of this intruder. Looking around she saw a few spiders crawling towards the music and Spectra realized the true threat. Losing all of the spider zombies! Transylvania had a lot of them, and if this thief could charm one of the stronger ones they might actually be in trouble. Of course, Spectra would never admit this. She was far too arrogant, even when she was so young and new to magic.

Following the trail of spiders it wasn't long before she saw a pale shadowy figure in an elegant spider themed black dress standing in an opening of the dead forest. She was facing the other way, still singing that annoying song. Spectra saw it as the perfect opportunity to attack. Holding out her palms she released a multitude of mini ghosts that would fly at the woman and try to latch onto her, but Spectra would wait to set these off.

"Any last words! Aside from your singing of course, it's not cute!" The twelve year old Spectra said, flipping one of her pink ringlets behind her. She was dressed very oddly for a twelve year old, with a giant crown on her head and gothic clothes. It was the style she loved and it matched the island she was going to rule over some day perfectly. Maybe if she was older she could have been intimidating, but at her age she was far from it, despite even her best efforts.

WC: 484
TWC: 1,110/3,500

---

Ariadne spotted a ghostly figure flying not too far from her, it seems it was that daughter she had heard so many rumors about. After interrogating some of the zombies, she had found out that the girls name was spectra! Weird name but strangely fitting for a woman who could float around like a ghost.. Either way Ariadne didn't have time for this and when the girl spotted her, she asked her for any final words and told her the song she was singing wasn't cute? How would she know what was cute! Ariadne was reminded of one of those circus freak show clowns when she saw the young girl. "Frankly, I don't believe I need to say anything! I'm a queen and you're a princess.. I think we know who stands at the top."  

Ariadne launched herself into the air, her threads propelling her as she sent out a giant web shot at the woman! Though as the web shot was launched, Ariadne could only look on in confusion and anger as the attack simply moved through the woman's body? "What the fuck are you.." She had heard about the ghost girl but it was almost as if this woman was a literal ghost. Of course the girl looked no older than twelve and in that case it probably meant she didn't have as much experience with her magic while Ariadne had been training since she saw her first spider! Of course this was only an assumption based on looks and it could easily be proven wrong. "You can't be a real ghost or else there's no way your parents could've birthed you.. Unless this is some sort of your magic? Ariadne thought back to when she took out that guard, her children hadn't eaten in days and honestly they probably got full from the lower half of his body.

Spiders weren't usually keen on eating human flesh but when they're magical and being controlled by their queen then it really doesn't matter, they just had to finish him off so he couldn't attack her. Ariadne would have to be swift and smart if she wanted to bypass this girls intangibility. There had to be a weakness as all magics normally had, spectra was a formidable foe but she wasn't going to be beat so easily. For now, the girl would simply wait to see what her opponent did. Could she figure out the weakness in time before she attacked? No. Yet she would eventually figure it out as Ariadne tapped the side of her dress lightly, sending out an army of small spiders to go search the area for anything strange, including some of the zombie spiders for more.. Stealth reasons. For now, she'd have to stall until she figured out how to get away from this psycho chick! Spectra was actually very pretty for her age, not like many of the pimple faced flat chested betty's that lined her school, they were all obsessed with this stupid boy band named 'Three Direction' which Ariadne had to admit that Touis Lomlinson was pretty damn hot, mm she wanted to weave a web on his naked body real bad. Moving back to the fight ahead of her, Ariadne started weaving a web to sit in, if she was going to fight she wanted to get comfortable and she lined the web with the deceased bodies of the two soldiers that were sent to restrain her. "Mm, they were delicious! My children loved them."  

Which she didn't really know what human flesh tasted like because she's not a zombie nor does she ever want to know how it tastes! The spiders on the other hand seemed like they would eat anything for her because disobeying their queen was impossible! She truly did make an empathetic bond with them and regularly gave them regular spider food such as different bugs and they did help the bug issue she had back at home, I mean not the whole spider issue because she enjoyed having the spiders in her home but the flies that constantly hung around her smelly ass mother! The spiders usually wove webs to catch and eat them, therefore solving that problem. Though it didn't fix the fact that her mother smelled like a pile of horseshit and sweaty ass crack mixed together into one. Ariadne didn't usually get along with her mother but when she did, she'd have to wear a rag over her face so she didn't smell the whiff of middle aged moldy ass.

WC: 765/3,500
TWC: 1,480/3,500

---

"You mean self-proclaimed queen." Spectra said snarkily, crossing her arms. She would have snapped her fingers right then and there and watched the magic happen right before her eyes but she wanted this woman to witness her true power first and soon enough, it happened! The spider lady shot a web right at her, a normal person would have tried to dodge but Spectra just blew a raspberry. "Hahahahaha" Her laugh was obnoxious and high pitched, a dead giveaway to her status as a princess but befitting of her status as royalty. It took some people a lot longer to figure it out than others, the woman standing before her was an exception. She had guessed spot on, which shocked Spectra. "How did you know that!! Are you cheating?!?" Spectra questioned, it was very hypocritical given that Spectra herself was in some way doing the very thing she just accused the stranger of.

"YOU STOP ATTACKING MY ARMY RIGHT NOW!!!" Spectra screamed, like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Snapping eight times, she watched as each and every ghost attached to her enemy exploded. "Take that and that and that and that. Hmph." Spectra turned away and at the hmph. She was certain that would have finished her opponent off, but there was no telling really. After seeing only a few of her moves, she could tell why this was such a big deal. The spiders were eating the zombies! It was cannibalism.

By this time, one of the army branches had heard all the commotion and managed to fight off the spiders in order to reach the area. it was led by the army general, an undead man who appeared to be around six feet tall. He wore light clothing that resembled a samurai's and carried with him two katanas. He was upset to see Spectra on the field of battle but quickly realized it was only in spirit. "You humble us with your presence." The general said, kneeling down to the ghost princess. "Whatever, just get her!" Spectra cried out, pointing toward the woman who had caused so much trouble. So the general, standing proudly with an army of zombies behind him pointed one of his blades at the woman who miraculously survived Spectra's attack. "Come with us and you shall live, or die by my blade." The general was very serious and Spectra watched with joy, her hands on her hips. She had won and she knew it.

WC: 410
TWC: 1,520/3,500

---

In all honesty, Ariadne wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this mess! It was a strange occurrence that she would ever have to fight someone other than the occasional sparring partner after school. Though fighting a ghost woman? Not the easiest thing to do and while Ariadne was lost in thought, she felt heat emit from her body, feeling something latched onto her and realizing it was an explosion used this to her advantage, having it carry her into the air before she shot multiple strands of webbing among the tree tops to form a net, spider silk has as much tensile strength as steel so it makes the perfect net. Though Ariadne tasted the raw metallic feeling of blood in her mouth.. What was this? It seems the attack had damaged her more than she thought and when the woman recovered from the little explosions she noticed a horde of zombies had arrived, with the general muttering some nonsense to the ghost girl who's name she had recently found out was spectra!

Perfect name for a ghost girl she assumed, Ariadne wouldn't be beat this easily and quickly heard the words 'Get her' leave spectra's mouth as she knew the general was going to say some nonsense about how if she gave up now then he would go easy on her but honestly did that ever really work? I guess the got rid of the zombies brains when they were made.. Either way, Ariadne had started to develop her own little plan, if she could use a mental trick to distract the young brat then she would be able to finish the general off, but killing him would do no good, he'd just come back to life as she had seen some of the other zombies do! This island sure was weird as hell yet for some reason she felt like she belonged here? This was a place for the freaks and those with magic that others would find disgusting and horrific just like Ariadne's spider queen magic and well spider silk magic. It was overall a beautiful way of weaving a web too so she didn't see why anyone would be disgusted by anything she did with these spiders.

However, if she did do the attack she was thinking of then she would need to be careful in doing so, the last time she tried to perform this spell it back fired on her and ended up hurting her instead of the enemy! She did NOT need that happening again because you can only handle so many failures before you end up a farmers daughter controlling straw and crying about how your father is too religious.. She didn't want to end up like that, nobody would want that kind of life and if she ever met someone like that then she would take pity on them. Moving back to the fight, there was no way she could do this if she charged right in so she would have to distract spectra and immobilize the general so that he couldn't command his little army and while she had her own army, they would only be able to take out so many. Spectra's magic truly was impressive, explosive ghosts were not something to mess with either, if one of the bigger ones hit her then she might just be done for! Maybe she could strike a deal with whoever led this island? She was pretty good at quite a few things but she wasn't sure what a rich family would need from her.

Ariadne looked toward the general and the floating ghost girl. "I will not surrender, nobody should have to fight for the freedom to be who they are, I figured you among anyone would know that, spectra. If you grew up where I was then you would be ridiculed for being different everyday but I've learned to block out what others say about me." Her speech was hot as a fat woman frying in a tanning bed but it wouldn't be enough to sway spectra and her little army of stitched zombies, how the hell did the family even get these? It was truly a sight to see, a horrific one at that though. With an open hand, Ariadne whispered an incantation, a rare summoning spell she still needs to work on but let's just hope it works this time! "Worker spider, I summon you." Was the final word in this little incantation.

After a few seconds, only a cold wind could be heard as silence on the battlefield ensued and truly she didn't know if it worked or not! That was until she felt the earth rumble and under her a giant spider with horrendous fangs and spiked legs burrowed its way out of the ground, starting to weave a viscous web of its own spider silk. This was amazing! Ariadne had finally got the spell right, though she never hoped it would be in the middle of a fight with the enemy but you win some you lose some. Either way, soon the spider was done and its attack had been finished.. It was Illusion Weaver! Spectra was most likely looking in Ariadne's general direction out of anger and this meant that she would be trapped in an illusion of her greatest fear, though it would only affect her since it is a singular attack. Ariadne's attack was not finished yet! She leapt into action while spectra was distracted and clashed with the general. He might have been strong but she was agile, swinging his sword he barely managed to cut one of her sleeves of the dress and a little cut on her arm! How rude, this dress cost a lot of money! She had to save up her job money for at least two weeks to afford this and now she'd have to repair it herself which wouldn't cost any money yet would be a hassle to do!

The two continued to battle, though Ariadne was quick and agile so she was able to somewhat fend her own against the generals attacks, with one hand outstretched she managed to fire a web into his eyes and blind him! This was her chance. She landed a kick into his face, not doing much damage but making him swing around blinding, accidentally cutting some of his own teammates in the process, what a fool! Ariadne then quickly summoned her spiders to take care of some of the army ahead of her, as they bit and fed on some of the zombies, Ariadne had managed to wrap the general to a cocoon around a tree, truly a heroic feat but her magic power was dwindling and her body had been put through a lot of physical exercise and she NEVER exercised yet she did manage to stay in shape so she could attract cute boys, maybe it was the spiders that made them run away screaming? Yeah, let's just say it was the spiders. The worker spider though, was occupied as he kept spectra in the illusion.
WC: 1,188/3,500
TWC: 2,598/3,500

---

How annoying! The woman tried to relate to Spectra in order to what? Gain her sympathy. It wasn't happening. Really Spectra didn't even understand what was being said. "Blah blah BLAH!" She teased, obviously not caring about the consequences it might have later and even when Ariadne threatened to summon her own spider, Spectra didn't see it as a threat, until it was too late.

A giant spider sprung from the earth, it's powerful legs lifted it's giant body. Immediately after it's conjuration it put it's spinneret to use and spectra couldn't help but watch the process. It spun an intricate web beautifully, and it's great speed did not seem to affect the quality. Only when it was already over did she realize it was a trick, the spider was weaving an illusion! She tried to resist, to look away, but her spirit had eyes and was still prone to attacks of the mind, there was no escape.

What she saw in that spiders wicked web? Her worst nightmare come to life. The crown once rested comfortably on her felt heavy, as if it was only bringing her down, she couldn't even move. She could only sit in a throne, staring blankly through a window. Outside the zombie soldiers were rebelling against the family, it seemed they all recovered their memories and were not happy with what they found in the deepest archives of their mind. Her father had somehow managed to be defeated and it was just her. Poor little Spectra watching over a kingdom turned against her.

Yet, she could do nothing to defend it herself. She could not move, she could not walk, she could not use magic. The doors of the castle had been breached, the zombies roaming through the halls searching for any trace of Spectra, the so called ghost princess whose family had wronged them. They believed that killing her would restore their lives and it wasn't long before they saw her, sitting on her throne. It angered them and one of the zombie generals aimed their rifle at her head, firing but the bullet never hit, no, something happened. The illusion faded.

Looking into the sky she saw her father, Harkon, an abnormally large man with very distinct, devil-like features. Two horns protruded from the sides of his forehead and stitches ran vertically from the top of his face and down his neck, which was rather long and thick in comparison to his body. His ears and teeth were both pointed, while his lower body appeared relatively fat and stubby in comparison. His hair was a vibrant red and his skin a pale blue, matching his lips, armbands and the edges of his gloves. His coat and gloves were black, while his pants were bright orange with pale window shapes imprinted on them. He wore a fishnet shirt underneath a cravat, a necklace, and a blue crucifix-like ornament with claw-like appendages sprouting out from three of the cross's points. When he spoke he had a thick accent with a strange voice that matched his equally strange appearance.

Image of Harkon:

"Spectra, go." Harkon didn't have to say anymore, Spectra's problem with authority wasn't this extreme and she didn't like what she saw in that web. "You." Harkon said, staring at her "You trespass in my kingdom, claiming to be a queen! Learn your a role, a bug to be CRUSHED! Muahahaha!" He raised his arms and hundreds of thousands of giant shadowy hands appeared beneath his feat, each doing a different task. Destroying the illusion web, squeezing the life from her summoned spider, and more important, a cupped hand trapped Ariadne in a realm of darkness before being spirited away. Taken to the throne room.

When she could finally see again she would see Harkon on a devilishly haunting throne and Spectra sitting in his lap holding some sort of stuffed teddy bear to comfort her. Zombies would surround her on all sides and there was no chance of escape. "Well, beg for your life." Harkon said, a wicked grin forming on his mouth as he licked his lips. He had no greater pleasure in life than other peoples suffering. meanwhile Spectra applauded her father, she loved it!

throne room:

WC: 702
TWC: 2,222/3,500

---

The way spectra's eyes just glazed over was very strange, it was of course due to the spell Ariadne had just cast but she sometimes did wonder what the people would see when they looked into the web, curious to many things that might be troubling them. Ariadne only had a few fears but the ones she did have weren't normal like others such as spiders, she never feared them and she probably never will but arachnophobia is a really common one. Her choices were a reflection of herself, making the wrong choice could cause the whole web she has made to fall and if that happened then she doesn't know what she'll do. Ariadne's magic power was thinning and after all this physical activity she wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep this little charade up. After all this, Ariadne's defense put up mental walls that were made to last, if she didn't let others in then they couldn't hurt her.

This was a strange moment to reflect on her past considering she was literally probably about to die, maybe she'd become a well known dead mage! Probably not but she had learned throughout the years that dying while fighting for freedom could be full of honor. If Valhalla was a real place then let's hope she makes it there, in reality Ariadne was not very religious as she had seen how it can break apart families and destroy countries. The man who ran this place has the blood of innocents on his hands and one day Ariadne vows to murder him in a slow and painful way, killing others for your own personal benefit is not something that has ever crossed her mind but this experience might have changed that.

Her fighting spirit may have been strong but physically and magically she was growing even more weak than before, if she didn't come up with another strategy then it would be a for sure death for her! Her training was never that extensive, Ariadne's parents didn't practice magic and saw it as something useless unless it helped them in different ways which Ariadne found for her magic to help the family such as repairing damaged clothing, keeping creatures out of the garden. It was past the point of talking this out and most likely the two girls were drained, though Ariadne had no other allies on this island besides the spiders and right not they wouldn't be of much use, considering you know that she has little magic power and while the spiders already develop a mental link with her, they'd be weaker due to not being powered by her magic power. If she could just muster some then maybe she could escape though try as she might, there was only a spark of magic power before she fell back down.

A large man with devilish like attributes flew ahead, who could that be? Another zombie? No.. The man moved more fluidly to be a zombie and she hadn't seen any with certain special abilities such as flight but the more she looked she noticed he was on something black, was it a zombie? His shadow? How strange, a man that can control his own shadow seems like a very strong foe but nothing she can't handle! One of the boys back on the island had used a magic similar to his except that boy could only make fists out of shadows and half the time he ended up punching himself. The best way to survive is all alone, that was the philosophy of so many people but if you die with nobody to remember you then your soul would never live on so she didn't understand how spectra could surround herself with the undead, ignoring the fact that when she dies the only person who will truly remember her are the spirits of the people her father has killed, vengeful spirits aren't exactly known for their forgiving nature either so she was somewhat worried about the girl for when she did die.

The power of love would protect her! Said nobody ever, the only thing that can protect you in this world is power and when you don't have power then you are weak. Being weak is never a good thing, no matter how you look at it! If you are weak then you stand at the bottom like a bug.. Ariadne's past would be shaped by this experience and she would never be stepped on because of her differences like a spider. As she was about to muster an attack, even though she most likely couldn't with the little amount of magic power she had, the devil horned man let out a wicked laugh and send a pair of pure black hands, most likely made of shadows, they intertwined into each other almost like they were holding hands, as the hands gathered together it made a shadowy prison that she couldn't escape from! The ball of shadows grew wings and flew upwards towards the throne room with spectra and who she could only assume was her father? Ariadne hadn't caught his name but it was probably some edgy ass name like Moriah or Blake because Blake sounds like black.. Which to be a theme of this family. It's like they don't know any other color except the one that they see when they close their eyes. Though Ariadne couldn't judge too much considering her pale skin and black attire! Her family told her that wearing black was sinful but she told her mom to stop chugging down bottles of three dollar wine and sit back down on the throne of lines.

Her fate was most likely sealed, when the darkness had subsided all she saw was a sick beast sitting on a throne with a baby doll daughter and her army of zombies at her side, imagine having to make your own friends because the older girls wouldn't let you play hopscotch! Ariadne also couldn't talk on that since the girls usually threw eggs at her but she got revenge by putting embryotic spider sacks in their hair, anyways. The man had said something she couldn't hear at first as she was too tired, until she heard that laugh and the applause of some meaty handed woman? Oh it was just spectra! Who knew sausage fingers ran in the family. It seemed that Harkon Vondergiest was telling her to beg for her life. Ha! Ariadne only begged for one thing and that was death, her whole life had been one big pile of shit and if she truly was going to die then it would be most useful to die at the hands of a stronger enemy, dying to someone who's stronger you is honorable because it means you got battle scars to prove your worth so with her eyes opened, the glowing blue webbing symbol in her eyes, she looked towards him and simply said, "No." That was her reply and she was going to stick with it no matter what happened, begging for her life? how Cliché! I mean if you're going to do something evil then set a baby on fire or something but making a random spider girl from a village beg for her life? She's been there, done that.

WC: 1,223/3,500
TWC: 3,821/3,500

---

That one single word infuriated him. Was she not terrified? Temping in his presence? Weakened as she faced death himself. Harkon was not used to this treatment. Having a kingdom of his own meant being waited on hand and foot, no was not a word he heard often, if at all. Hearing it was like a trigger and it angered him beyond belief. Someone who wanted to rule the underworld could not be told denied and those who dare defy would suffer the consequences. A shadowy hand grabbed Spectra, placing her on the ground, away from the spider woman and her father.

Harkon got up from his throne, his heavy footsteps echoing through the throne room as he made his way over to his newfound enemy. He towered over her, being around eight feet tall, he only stared at her. His eyes seeming to pierce through her soul, a look of hatred that nothing on this earth could protect her from. "Then witness what happens when kids get full of themselves." Holding out a hand he gathered shadows from all across Transylvania. Darkness filled the room as various stolen shadows danced around Harkon before flying into his palm and forming a giant scythe that could only be described as the Grimm Reapers himself.

Bringing the scythe above his head he looked down at his enemy who appeared so small and weak. The very one who had mustered the courage to say no to his face, but look where that brought her. Face to face with death. Swinging the scythe the crowd of zombies cheered as if it was some sort of arena, but this was no competition for the winner had been determined the minute Ariadne rebelled. The blade of the scythe, however, did not end her life. It instead landed right behind her. A wicked grin flashed across Harkon's face. He did not intend to kill her, that was never the goal.

From behind, she could feel her shadow leaving her body. She had cut it from her, and it was his. "I am the ruler of shadows and now yours is mine!" But what did this mean for Ariadne? Well, there are some things worse than death. Her shadow was now Harkon's puppet, and possessed everything she had. Her magic, her personality, her voice, it only lacked a body but nonetheless, it was a powerful tool and a dangerous weapon.

Spectra was entertained! She was happy that this spider lady was going to learn her lesson, but this side of Harkon also scared her in some way. Her father was merciless and cruel, a tyrant. She aspired to be like him and yet a tiny voice in the back of her mind still whispered when things were right or wrong. Being so young and innocent her conscious remained and she knew that she would have to stop this before it went any further but for now she could not intervene. She only hugged her stuffed teddy bear and watched it all unfold.

WC: 504
TWC: 2,726/3,500

---

Ariadne could see the look of anger and confusion on the disgusting man's face, this was a face she'd seen in a lot of men. They were too full of pride and their power warped their senses and mind. She wondered what turned him into the monster he is today and how he could even think to bring a child into this environment. Spectra was younger than Ariadne by a few years but it was obvious she hadn't been raised with the values of morals and basic human rights! "You can take what you want from me, though my faith remains unshaken." Her words didn't come off as bitter or full of rage, it was simply calm and normal. The man held inside too much rage and one day in the future that would be his downfall, if he didn't let things go then he wouldn't be able to grow, his soul would be torn between the past and the future and his mind will split.

Hate's synonymous with the lesser, those that are weaker than you are seen as wrong and inferior while in reality, it was the opposite. Ariadne didn't have as much as the man swinging his vpice around before her but she has more soul than he ever will, the scales of justice will turn one day and Harkon will face his crimes, karma is real in Ariadne's eyes and if you spectra isn't careful, she too will be on the side of evil with her father. To see a young girl become corrupt truly was a sad sight to see, hate wasn't born, it was taught and Ariadne could tell that Harkon was holding his family hostage with the amount of hate he has within him. Ariadne herself was no Gondi but she fought for what she believed in while Harkon? He didn't believe in anything, not even his family. It was in his eyes, the soulless shadow of a former man, his insanity is rising and the blood of millions of innocents lay on his hands and he uses their blood to bathe the infertile land of this terrible place.

She didn't know what would happen as she lost her clairvoyant abilities at age seven, therefore she did not know what her future was. This was obviously a joke, she tends to make light of terrible and deadly situations considering what else can you do before you die? Why not make someone smile one last time before you hit the bucket. She sort of wondered what would happen when she went up to that giant spider web in the sky.. She wasn't really that much of a bad person but she wasn't a saint either, maybe this would be a redemption arc! A way to show that she herself isn't a terrible evil person like the ones before her, though she still prayed for spectra, that she would see the light and escape here even if it took Ariadne's death for her to see that. "Guide her path, narrow road, let her see the truth unfold." Were the words that came out of Ariadne's mouth, soon other words followed. "Troubles vary but with my guide, I will not linger to the darkest side. Save this girl from ancient evil, break her chains and make her free." With that, Ariadne bowed her head and awaited her fate.

WC: 566/3,500
TWC: 4,387/3,500

---

When both Spectra and Harkon heard Ariadne's pathetic and futile attempts at prayers the mood was completely lightened and they both laughed. And laughed. And Laughed. After a good minute or so of just laughing, Harkon leaned over, scythe behind his back with his face near Ariadne's. "Oh I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to ruin your life." Ariadne's stolen shadow tried to escape Harkon's grasp, struggling with all it's might but it was useless. He was in control. "If you step foot in the light without a shadow, you will turn to dust." He explained, Spectra hopping up from the throne and skipping over to join the fun. "So you're gonna be forced to roam the Bermuda Triangle for as long as you live!"

Their words were true. Many had suffered this fate, one far worse than death. To live a meaningless, empty, and boring life sailing the cursed wasteland. With no place to go and nowhere to turn too. But, this was not Ariadne's only option. Harkon smiled, that smile that said he had already won long before this began. A smile that was enough to make anyone absolutely despise him. "Or, you can swear your allegiance to Spectra and join my Mysterious Four. A group that serves Transylvania on it's conquest for..." He paused so that his daughter could join him. "WORLD DOMINATION!" They said in perfect unison as thunder struck at just the right time.

The Mysterious Four was in the making, and it really was just a concept at the moment but Harkon knew talent when he saw it and killing this girl would be a waste when she could be one of his marionettes. Spectra was also happy about the idea of someone joining the group, well someone besides a zombie! Well, if she chose to join. Though really it wasn't a choice, who would rather sail in a sea of nothing but pain that join an up and coming group of evil? No one.

Even this woman, who was desperately trying to hide her shame with powerful words and emotionless gestures would not be able to turn down such a one sided offer. It didn't matter how brave she was or how much courage she had, death was one thing to accept, but the bermuda triangle was another and yet Ariadne still tried to fight back. To resist. It had to be stopped. "There's a reason Transylvania is called hell on earth." Spectra said, clearly teasing her former opponent. "So, self-proclaimed spider queen. Bow to your ghost princess." Spectra said, holding out a hand as a strange white orb emitted from her palm, from the orb flew four ghosts, each dancing around Ariadne chanting, "Negative! Negative! Negative! Negative!" Over and over before diving into her body.

"Hollow out her spirit!" Immediately Ariadne would begin to feel as if all hope had been lost, as if her life had no meaning, like she had no true purpose on this earth. Whatever pride she once had would leave her body, making her defenseless, she might have been a black widow before but now she was nothing but a cellar spider. Plenty of venom, but unable to bite. It was pathetic really, how easy it was for someone who once stood so tall to be brought to their knees, it was something Spectra found great pleasure in.

Harkon laughed as his daughter attacked. His little prodigy. He had introduced her to the magic just a year or so ago and she had already come so far with her training. She had made great strives and advancements in the magic, and he was very proud of her. Even if he had a harsh and standoffish attitude at times, he did love his daughter and this intruder showed him that. It was part of the reason he had given her the once in a lifetime opportunity to join the Mysterious Four and he truly hoped that she would take it.

And then the words escaped her mouth, she had agreed to be on the team. Whatever hidden motives she might have had for this, Harkon and Spectra didn't see. They were glad that she joined, even if it was by force. She would make quite an addition to the team and Harkon had miraculous plans. But, as for now, she would have to get settled in. Too weak to walk, the zombies instead carried her to her very own room within the castle, where her life with the Vondergeist's would begin. The same place where her life with the Grekos' ended. In just one night the very family that killed her own replaced it... and whether or not she could forgive and forget... well, that was to come later.

WC: 793
TWC: 3,015/3,500