8.

Yeah, the evening of a rather unique Ball ended in chaos. As people scattered out of the building and away from the event that was, a camera was catching the action. It was broadcasting a live report and for a moment focused in on two middle aged ladies who apparently stopped to have themselves quite the conversation.

The camera man had not been to the event itself, only for some of the chaos that followed, though reporter Johanna Appleby had been there for it all. When Darkness began to make his announcement, she made a phone call beckoning her colleague to where she needed him to be. Back in the studio a certain news anchor wasn't having any of the live broadcast Johanna was putting forward.

Satan's arrival, yeah right, and announcing he is about to take over the world, not a chance in hell Jeffrey Flinch would announce live on air, believing himself to be hilariously funny ... and so Johanna's report would be thrown out despite the chaotic scenes being captured of those fleeing the area.

What would be captured of two ladies in conversation would only be seen and not heard and would not be interpreted by anyone for no one knew it might need to be.

Darkness, not having a news anchor dismiss a coming darkness as nothing more than a joke and having the power to be all and know all just like a certain counterpart of his, wanted this Jeffrey Flinch to pay and Darkness was not going to directly do the deeds himself. He'd have Maxene do it or rather have her have those pets of hers do it ... so they did. With the nightly news over, Jeffrey made his way towards his own vehicle and to it he would not completely get. Instead, what he was to get was to be completely devoured by two of Maxene's hellhounds.

***

It is horrible, dark, and chaotic. Even in moments of quiet it is chaotic. It never ends, it never stops. One might think that one like me would relish something like that and for a long time I did but even for me, enough is enough. I thought there was no going back and that even I could not reverse a darkened takeover. It is not for me to alter. I couldn't even if I try, and I have tried. My counterpart is too strong, Darkness himself cannot contain or control her. I change one thing and something she does makes that one time insignificant.

One change in the timeline can have a serious effect on what will be or can be and I know this better than most.

I am ever so careful in every decision I make now. I worry over all decisions as to if it is the right decision to make. My younger self does not worry. She does not contemplate the choices she makes, even warnings from Satan himself she ignores, odd how the Ball to end all Balls gave her such confidence. The decision to come to you now took a long time to make.

Time in all its relevance and irrelevance, taking time to make a decision about time, thing is, the time is now, and you have no time to wait. Your fight, this is and always has been your destiny only now you cannot waste it, time that is, it is as much an entity onto itself as anything can be. Get to it now and fight. You must win; you need to win, not only for time's sake but for the sake of the world. And do not worry, it will so often feel like you are alone but alone you are not. There are many and they will aid you in whatever way possible. Don't let father win, he must never win.

I took a man from time. He must be returned without his abduction being prevented. It is not my place to tell you what you need to know but he, he can warn you like no other can. My younger self must believe he is lost to time. His presence at the Ball and the months following the Ball could be crucial; in fact, his presence in general from mid-2018 onwards had been crucial until he was removed to the point he was not there at all this went quite the distance in ensuring the fact that Darkness has its day. Be mindful of who you trust. Do not trust easy and use what is near to gain perspective.

***

First things first, David Roux, Majella Smith has yet to meet him so she has absolutely no idea as to what he may look like. Prior to a brief visit from David's sister Ruby, Majella didn't even know that this David fellow even exists. Heck, she doesn't know the names of her so-called sisters; at least she hadn't before the Ball, so how could she know of this David fellow?

What has this David fellow got to do with anything? Why is there a need to go see him? Why even listen to any of those sisters, Ruby, Nancy, or older Lexi? Aren't there many reasons not to trust any of them? If Majella is to go against Darkness, take him on then she may as well get on with it. She may as well begin with a visit to this David fellow, see what might come from it.

As for what he may look like, does she know? There was one fellow at the Ball. Majella noticed him a couple of times and on each of those times she noticed him, he was paying particular attention to the girl now known to be named Ruby, she also noticed this fellow speaking to Cassandra White. It is quite possible that he could be the person known as David Roux.

Alright so, go find him and see what may come from it ...

***

The twelfth day of September 2005 was a Monday. Five-year-old Ruby Roux has settled into the school she has been attending for the past week or so or at least David had hoped she had settled. He sure does not need any problems arising there; things are difficult enough for him as it is without there being any problems relating to Ruby's schooling or care.

A workday is done, and nineteen-year-old David is on his way to pick up his five-year-old sister from her after school day care. It has been six years of oddness and hardship for David though he keeps on going never really questioning why any of it is happening. Just three days prior while at work David was sure he could hear his deceased mother's voice speak however he couldn't make out the spoken words.

He couldn't understand how or why this could occur or what it may mean though on returning home that Friday he also experienced a very odd moment with his sister with which he had not seen before. Having opened an apartment window, he unintentionally disturbed a beehive he was unaware existed close-by, giving the bees within it an opportunity to enter the home he had acquired for himself and Ruby. Before he could even begin to do anything about this, he would observe the most peculiar behaviour.

Ruby indeed, only at such a young age, just five years and little more, appeared to have an unusual power, an odd control over those bees, making them move as if on command, instructing them to leave by the wave of a hand and back out that window the bees went. What was David supposed to make of this? He could hardly question it or discuss it at all.

There had been a couple of visits from his deceased father too, including the visit where dear auld dad asked David to take particular care of Ruby. Ruby is his little sister, of course he would look after her, isn't that what big brothers do? There would be no need to be asked by dead dad or anyone else. Bees or no bees, David is hardly going to abandon Ruby no matter even with what is yet to come.

So, on this particular Monday while on his way to pick up Ruby, would it really be all that surprising when mum would somehow make an actual physical appearance of her own? There would be no luxury of being able to go and have his sanity examined. If he were to tell doctors or psychologists that he was having these visits from his dead parents ... well ... he'd surely lose guardianship of his sister, and he couldn't allow that to happen. As with everything else, he would have to accept his mother's appearance for what it is as he would accept most everything else with which he would experience in his lifetime.

He was approaching the day care when he heard her speak before he would physically see her.

'Is she in there ... our ruby?

The question, or rather the sound of an unexpected voice, made him jump. Indeed, he hadn't expected anyone to be so close to him, let alone his mother of all people. He had been walking, still was walking when the question came. The sudden question almost made him miss a step though his balance was kept. It was when he turned to look that he noticed ... it is his mother asking a question and she looks well for a dead person, so much better than how dad looked on the two occasions he had come to visit.

'Well ... is she?' mum continued.

He tried to answer her, but no words came out, and if all this isn't crazy enough mum began to take on somewhat of a transformation. From having looked young and healthy, she aged thirty years in an instant. She took on a look, an age she never actually managed to live to. Back when she had been living, she had aged more than she should have while she was pregnant with Ruby but of course never lived past the day Ruby was born so she never survived long enough to become anything near being an elderly lady.

This older look now, it looked unnatural, almost ... vile. Her skin wrinkled like a prune; her teeth once white turned a horrid yellow. This look also took on a matching discomfort, an irritation, her first question came pleasantly, the second ... a little impatient, and the next to come does come with a vicious anger.

'I asked you a question ... is my daughter in there?'

She moves to take a position that suggests she is about to pounce, about to attack. He flinches, raising both his arms in defense and struggles to remain standing. Nothing happens, an expectation of an attack doesn't come to be. A few seconds pass and David lowers his guard. He can't see her, mum is gone. As quickly as she had appeared ... she was gone.

'Holy friggen shit ... what was that ...?'

Disembodies words would sound out ... you are not good enough ... you will never be good enough ... you'll never be the person my daughter will be. David would be unsure as to if these words were spoken in the moment by someone not there, if she had been there at all, or if they came from memory, words spoken by mum when he had been unwell and pregnant on Ruby.

All that has been happening ... there is only so much one person can take. David Roux at only nineteen can't afford to have a breaking point. He has a five-year-old sister depends upon him ... perhaps there is a heck of a lot more also depending on him ...

To add to all this there is a collision. While in a discombobulated moment either David collided with someone or someone collided with him.

'Forgive me please ...' speaks this other person.

'No, please forgive me, my fault entirely ...'

'That's quite alright ... by the way I'm Chris, grounds caretaker of this day care center ...'