"Well, now that the entertainment portion is through, I feel it's only necessary to introduce myself."


The stranger smirked and extended his hand in my direction.


"Greetings and salutations, my name is Dillinger. Dillinger D'Marco. And you are?"


I accepted the offer and allowed my hand to linger within his as I recited an enchantment in my head. A seeing spell.


"Nyx Nephthys."


The stranger. This Dillinger D'Marco had an overwhelming darkness surrounding him. There was also an everlasting fire that burned, deep inside. Something similar that I sensed when I faced the spaceman. Yet, altogether different. Smoldering. Almost primordial. He was not from this world but at the same time, he never existed on another planet. He was born between two similar worlds. This world and one existing parallel to it. Two worlds. Side by side. Like two sides of the same coin. Except this coin, could be spun several times and never wind up on the same world or better suited, dimension... twice. I sensed great power both in ability and birthright. This was no alien but this also wasn't a human or even an advanced human. Before me, stood the son of Ozarath, God of destruction, wrath and ruin. The creator of chaos. Lord of war and bloodshed. The great slaughterer and he who dismembers bodies. His hand is the darkness that crushes the light. I... I was in the presence of an Inter-Dimensional Demi-God! Fear filled me as a gasp escaped my lips. It was all too much to bear. So much turmoil. Pain. Destruction. Death. Murder. Bloodshed. It was all too much to take in and yet, it flowed through my mind like an endless stream. There were screams of terror but this time, they weren't ripped from me. No. Instead, they came from all around and everywhere, closing in and surrounding, consuming my very being. Until there was nothing. Nothing but a cool blank void that washed over my body like a comforting wave. The next thing I felt was actual water pouring on my face. I sat up in shock and seen Dillinger standing over me, with an overturned glass in his hand and a sandwich in the other.


"You okay."


He took a bite out of the sandwich and rested the glass on a nearby dresser. Amusement radiated from his gaze as he offered me a hand up from my floor.


"I think so."


I shook my head and accepted his hand, instantly lifted to a standing position, I felt a wave of dizziness hit me. Unsteady in motion, I was able to maintain a sense of balance. While perfect composure, still seemed to be somewhat of an issue.


"You should be careful when casting a spell to see into someone else's mind, sometimes the sights that you witness, can be overwhelming. In some cases, even deadly. Words to live by. Especially, if you want to go around, playing Sabrina the Teenage Witch."


I steadied myself with the help of my dresser and mustered enough of my bearings, to give me the strength to roll my eyes.


"Why is that always the "go to" representation for ladies that cast spells?"


"Fine. The next time you wanna go around, playing Willow Rosenberg. Better?"


"Not really. Why must there be any sort of comparison at all?"


"Cause it makes it funnier... for me."


"Well as long as you're amused."


I was beside myself with confusion on the hostility that resonated within me and only could chalk it up to, residue from my brief moment of attachment to Dillinger's mind. Even now, I felt a lingering presence, inside. Lurking about like an intruder. It was a violation that I brought upon myself. My need to know, outweighed my judgment and I allowed myself to tread into places, where I should have eased myself into with far more caution. If ever at all.


"I don't know why you're annoyed. You invaded my mind. I can't help that it's a deep, dark, scary place in there. Most of the time, I don't even let myself go there."


I shivered, it suddenly felt very cold. Frigid.


"I'm fairly certain that I couldn't live with myself, if a world of nightmares existed within my skull."


He chuckled and finished the last bit of his sandwich. It was then that it dawned on me that I passed out and he went and made a sandwich before attempting to revive me. I suppose he could have done a lot worse.


"Shit. I don't think I could exist with myself, if I knew that either. That's why I don't let myself get trapped inside my head. I don't think about what might be going on in there and then, whatever is taking place or stirring about inside my skull, doesn't bother me. It's a mutual understanding. Or at least that's how I believe it works. All I know is that I don't get caught up in stuff. A bus load of people could get slaughtered and my main concern would be what I'm going to get for lunch... or if I need a clean set of clothes. Although, who am I kidding, that's usually the case. You can't kill a bus load of people and not need a change of clothes. Usually."


"Usually?"


Dillinger raised his hand and the room became consumed with fire, he lowered it and the flames died off. I was terrified and completely fascinated at the same time. Surrounded by an instant inferno, that dispersed as quickly as it appeared, without any damage taking place. Save for some slight singe marks, I assumed it could have been, much worse. It was a good explanation. Though truthfully, it was also one that didn't exactly fill me with that much peace of mind, when it came to the man that stood in my bedroom. Not at all. Not one bit. Instead it started raising some pretty red flags. Bright shining red flags, with flashing lights and alarms attached to them. Backing up, I felt myself meet the wall and wished, that I could pass through it. Not an actual spell. Not one that I knew of so if that could happen, I wouldn't be breathing. Which I started worrying was a distinct possibility.


"Relax. If I was going to murder you, I would have done it already. You did me a solid though and for that I owe you. One could argue, that I already repaid my debt to you, by granting you a safe passage from the Realm of Madness but I figured, that you might prove to be useful. Enough to keep alive anyway."


"The Realm of Madness?"


"That's where I was imprisoned. Where you found me... or I found you, I guess it sorta works both ways. You had to find The Heart Of Darkness, to give me a slight access to your mind, in order to bring you into the Realm of Madness and grant me the full ability to find you, only for you to find The Heart Of Darkness again, so we could escape. Y'know when you say it out loud. It sounds really fuckin' crazy. If that ever needs to be explained again, you do it, I already get enough slack for occasionally needing to kill people."


"What's the Heart of Darkness."


Dillinger thrust his hand out and instantly the black sword with the crimson jewel appeared in his grasp.


"This is the Heart of Darkness. It lets me rip through dimensions. It sort of part of me or an extension, if you will. Every once and awhile I have to recharge it to make it work."


"Recharge it?"


"Usually... by using it to kill someone or something. Whatever really. It doesn't matter, the Heart of Darkness doesn't discriminate. The bigger the kill and the more power that the kill possesses, the stronger the charge. You're looking at me like you're in fear for your life again."


He wasn't wrong, he was wielding a magical sword, that gained its powers by him using it to take lives, after all and he's spoken casually about murder quite a bit. I might have a few tricks up my sleeve but I still was in no condition to face an Inter-Dimensional Demi-God. Seeming to mind my weary, he swung the sword away from me and it vanished from sight. If he could do that, why did he need my help? Almost like he sensed my obvious question, he replied.


"I was imprisoned in the Realm of Madness. The Heart of Darkness was revoked from me upon imprisonment. Once someone gets put there, they're pretty much trapped. Mostly due to the fact, that things don't really work there, the same way they work anywhere else... and I mean, anywhere else. So for one to navigate their way around and gain somewhat of an understanding, they need to learn the law of the land, so to speak. Which is really fucking difficult because there is no actual "law" except for total entrapment and the place keeps shifting and changing, the longer you're stuck there. Literally. In every and any way possible. It's like living in a constant freefall. You never know what to expect. Eventually there are ways around the metaphorical brick walls though. When you discover that there are beings that you can form alliances with. That's how I located you. I had help from inside. I can't go into too much detail but the easy answer is that the assistance came from a being, that could pass through the Realm of Madness, without any issues. Basically it could come and go as it pleased. An employee, rather than a prisoner. He was a grim reaper of sorts. Not sure why he went along with my request but he did, with one catch, I didn't have any real control over who would be located and summoned to my aid. Not really. I still took a gamble and asked if whoever he found for me, could be someone that knew a thing or two about magic. I lucked out with him finding a witch."


"Who or what, imprisoned you there?"


"My step-mother. Queen Valeska. She likes to mess with me and this time, it was imprisonment in the Realm of Madness. Real nice. I gotta tell you, I've been called crazy, psychotic and even deranged, if you can believe it. That place though, is filled with insanity. Maybe if I had spent more time there, I might have actually lost my mind but thankfully, that didn't happen because you rescued me."


"Right."


He had to be totally bat shit crazy, if he thought that he wasn't messed up and deranged. The man was an admitted murderer, who had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with his own mind. Curious. Was I a little mad if I admitted to that being intriguing?


"So what now? You're back, won't that piss off, Veleska?"


"Most definitely but you don't have to worry about that. At least I'm pretty sure that you don't."


"Great. Now, I might have an angry mother after me and for once, it won't be for sleeping with her son."


"Funny you should say that."


Red flag time again. Sound the alarms.


"Oh crap. Hold the phone there pal. Earlier you mentioned that I might be useful, you don't intend to sleep with me, do you? Maybe with a heavy emphasis on me being a "willing participant" in that matter?"


Dillinger look startled. Taken off guard and maybe, even insulted. Really? He's insulted?


"What? No! I never intended for that to happen."


His expression returned to normal as he shook his head and spoke in a softer tone. A sheepish grin dashing across his face.


"I said that it was funny that you said what you did because... incidentally, I slept with my step mother. I'm not proud of it. I didn't know who she was at the time and it resulted in my father killing me. Obviously, I survived that incident, but it was still a low point in my existence."


That was his low point? This man was definitely like no other.


"First off, gross. Secondly, if that's not why you think I might be useful, then what do you think I can help you with, exactly?"


"I'm not completely sure. I heard mumblings and whispers in the Realm of Madness. From the older, more ancient beings, that were trapped there far longer than I and resulted in them becoming an actual, part of the realm. You could hear their words on the very air. Most of it either didn't pertain to me or was complete gibberish. There were a couple of things that stood out though."


"What... stood out?"


"That I have a half brother, he's on Earth and he's a mechanic. There was a name too but I can't seem to recall what it was. I think it started with a G. Gary. Greggo. Gavin. Gustav."


"Griffin?"


"That's it. Griffin."


I started laughing at this point.


"Unbelievable.I work with a Griffin and he's a mechanic; however, I sense that there's something more to him, than meets the eye."


"Where do you work?"


"The XWF."


"The wrestling company. No shit. I used to work there too."


"Really?"


It was Dillinger's turn to laugh. Amused at our mutual connection.


"I used to be the Intercontinental Champ, till I lost to Bearded War Pig."


"Yeah, that's not a thing anymore, but BWP is still around. I'm actually about to defend the Bombshell Title at Leap of Faith."


"Interesting. Maybe I'll join you for that. If anything, I can gather some information on this Griffin, in order to locate his whereabouts. I'm not sure why I'm supposed to find him, all I know was that it seemed urgent and I figured... hey, family's got to help family, or something like that."


"You aren't going to kill him, right?"


"I can't make any promises but I'm a good 84% sure that won't happen."


I wasn't certain what was going to come of this but I figured, at least I knew what he was planning and in that, I'm already way ahead of the game, in case something bad happens. Like the death of Griffin MacAlister, because I let loose a murder hungry, Inter-Dimensional Demi-God from the Realm of Madness. Crap. I'm a terrible person, aren't I?





"Jessalyn Hart. Once again we find ourselves doing the dance. Spinning and twirling, around and around. Where we'll drop. Only time shall know. I see you're very confident and that's good, being confident is key but I've really got to ask you. Is there something wrong with you? Mentally? You're not talking like someone that's... right in the head. You talk about being glad to have a champion like me around and that you respect me, but then you go on to say, that I'm a nobody and I don't mean shit to you. Those are very conflicting statements Jessalyn. Are you saying that you respect people that you don't give a fuck about? I could never practice that type of mentally bent logic, mostly cause I'm not off my rocker. If someone earned my respect, then they mean something. It means they did something to achieve that respect. They accomplished something in my eyes. Did a worthy task or committed a deed to bring notice to them. You can't respect someone that you don't give a fuck about. Respect is giving a fuck. If you don't give a fuck about them, then how do you grant that person props or respect? Unless, you pass around the word respect like candy. In which case, you're as bad as the people that you point your finger at and call out, for being unworthy or nothing. Your words carry zero weight. You mean nothing. Remember you're own statements brought on these conclusions."


"I'm also not clear on what cutting promos and defending a title has in common. A promo is just a video recording, that someone puts out in order to address another opponent. It has nothing to do with the results of our future combat. It doesn't mean that I'm not going to show up for the fight because I don't address you, in a timely fashion. You're all reared up and ready to go, good for you. You've got spunk. You're driven. Fantastic. I'm ecstatic to defend the title at Leap of Faith. Recorded words, don't affect that but it's obvious, that you truly believe that it does. That doesn't make me furious at you. Even with you throwing insults at me, I'm not angry or upset. I'm puzzled. Confused. It makes me wonder, if you might be off your meds? If that's the case, I suggest you notify someone and see about getting back on them. I'm pretty sure Vinnie Lane doesn't want to start paying money out to innocent bystanders that you might injure on your way to the ring. You might walk through the arena and see gremlins trying to attack you and start beating on them, only for them to wind up being children. I am fairly certain Mr. Lane doesn't want that lawsuit. So since you're all wrapped up and concerned, with how someone might act, perhaps you should take a look at yourself and see, you're the one that's been acting out of place. Seek help, Jessalyn. I implore you."


"As for you, Isabel Mercier. I don't really know much about you but I truly hope, that you can hold your senses in place, far better than Jessalyn. From what I heard about you from her, you have a client, so that must mean that you're a manager of some kind. Right off the bat, that tells me that you can handle yourself. That you're of a stable mind. I could be wrong but I would think that having and maintaining the responsibility of a client, means constant clear thinking. Heh. Please don't let me be wrong. As far as you not having any wrestling experience. I don't judge you on that. I've learned that people can surprise you. In both good and bad ways. However, I'm willing to lay stake on the possibility, that you'll bring the right element that this match needs. A fresh perspective."