Love and Hate. ~ A Bossfights Valentines Story! (in comments)

awesome intro go

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YUKUNA MANOR
February 12th, 11:23 PM.

"Is it selfish to want something else when I have so much?"

Eggyhead sat on one of many balconies that lined the exterior of the manor, asking a question to the world that he looked out upon. As if to answer, there was a gust of wind that shook the earth for a brief moment.

As he sat, in all that tranquility, he entered a deep state of thought. He pondered everything he had. From riches, second to only a few, to fame beyond comparison, and of course his friends and family, for whom the line which separated them was so blurry that Eggyhead could not tell who really fit into either category.

Eggyhead pondered everything he had lost. His home. His old life, a chance to live in peace, lost long ago. His father, the man who shaped him into a hero. In a way, he was responsible for all this, his father deserved it more than he ever did. That's what Eggyhead believed. He thought about the people he had lost along the path as well. His closest friends. The ones he loved. Sometimes, he got lucky. He got them back, by some ideal twist of fate. If anything, that just added more blessings to the great list of them he already had.

Despite that, however, he just couldn't help but to want a little bit more. He wanted that little bit that he still didn't have back. He felt wrong. He knew he should be content with all he already had, but there was a feeling he couldn't shake, that the little piece that he still didn't have formed a much larger hole in its absence. He felt childish, for wanting such a thing, but at the same time, he also felt as if his desires were not unwarranted either.

Eggyhead looked up at the sky, and the black-ish blue hue that looked like ink as the moon illuminated the world without a sun to light it. It was late. Eggyhead decided to return to this some other hour, because at the time, his eyelids demanded to be shut, and he felt hysteria creeping into the back of his head.

He stood up, and walked back inside the manor, unaware that fate had one more gift to bestow him.

The wide halls of Yukuna Manor were dim, hidden beneath a shroud of darkness. Moonlight glimmered through stained glass windows, piercing through the dark and allowing for the faintest view of the onstretching halls. Velvety red carpet and paintings depicting some of the Yukuna's great achievements over the centuries were visible only in pieces as the darkness consumed what was not illuminated by the light.

Eggyhead had seen this view before, he passed through the halls like this every night. However, there was a shift in the atmosphere this night. His thoughts from before followed him, lying in the darkness, haunting him as he tried to ignore it. It did not work.

As the Egg walked down the halls, the lack of noise was deafening. Each step in the great hallways echoed like a clap of thunder among the otherwise silent place. Because of such piercing silence, any little and otherwise insignificant sound made its presence known.

And one did.

Eggyhead stood in the darkness between the windows' light, when he heard a soft swishing sound, as if a gentle breeze was blowing through the halls, followed by the faintest pat of feet on carpet. The sound came from the same place Eggyhead had just been. He turned to see the faint glow of orange light, just as it died out and the darkness consumed the space once again. The illuminated areas that lied ahead were obstructed by a tall silhouette. It took soft steps towards the light, becoming more visible with each one.

Radiant orange showed first, followed by shining golden, and finally soft beige. The shapes become clearer, and the figure transformed, becoming more recognizable as it entered the light. The figure was the missing piece. The thing he lost.

Peyton Yukuna stood in the moonlight, and exhaled as she turned to the window she stood before, her eyes shining as the light bounced off them.

Eggyhead gazed from the darkness, thinking deeply as he looked at her. Eggyhead realized that, subconsciously, he had been thinking about her. Eggyhead had never truly moved on from what they had been, what he had lost with her. Despite the fact that she lost the memories they had together, Eggyhead never did.

He thought about that day. The day she forgot. The day she was hurt. He felt his failure culminating in his mind. When he failed to be there to defend her, and how he paid the price. Although she was still physically there, he lost someone he loved that day, and it was all his fault. He didn't deserve her back, just like he didn't deserve any of the innumerable blessings he already had. He should just be thankful, he thought. Thankful that he was anything more than just that little alien freak, all alone on that cold, dead world. He should just go back to rest with the people who he did have and be happy with what he had.

"Is somebody there?"

Peyton was staring directly at Eggyhead. He looked at himself and realized he was standing just barely within the lights grasp. His own eyes opened wide and pierced the darkness, and he forgot to breathe for a moment. He didn't know what to do, but felt as if he didn't have a choice at all.

"U-uhm-" Eggyhead stammered as he began to speak automatically. "H-hey, Peyton!"

"Oh! Eggy. Hi." Peyton said, realizing it was just a friend. "I didn't think you'd be up at this time. What are you doing, if I could ask?"

"Um..." Eggyhead said. He didn't want to lie to her, but he was worried about talking about his thoughts with her. "Just... taking some time to think, is all. I like to l-look at the night sky while I do it."

"That sounds kind of nice, actually. Maybe I'll try it, I was dealing with some heavy thoughts myself." Peyton replied. "Say, what were you thinking about?"

Eggyhead felt like he had a dagger in his stomach. He didn't want to lie, but to tell the truth would be to share his private thoughts with the very person they were about. He wasn't sure if he wanted to share these things with anyone, let alone Peyton herself. He wanted to tell her so badly, but he couldn't bring himself to-

"No." Eggyhead said to himself. "I can't hold this in forever. I need to know."

Eggyhead took a deep breath, and stepped into the light fully.

"I was, uh, thinking about you actually." Eggyhead replied.

"Oh- uh, me?" Peyton said confused. "Why were you thinking about me? Did I do something?"

"No... It was... because of..." Eggyhead trailed off. This was his last chance to back out. But he needed to know. "Because I need to ask you something."

"Hm? Alright, ask away." Peyton said, awaiting his response.

"I want to know if you still care." Eggyhead said. Peyton's eyes widened. "You remember how you hurt your head in that fight a while ago and forgot some stuff because of it, right?"

"Uhm... Sort of, my memory is kind of in pieces of that day because of what happened..." Peyton replied.

"There was... something I wanted to tell you, something you forgot when it happened." Eggyhead said. "Something pretty important."

"What is it?" Peyton said, she looked at Eggyhead with curiosity in her eyes. "What did I forget?"

"We never told you this because we didn't know how you'd react, and you were already dealing with a lot at the time, but..." Eggyhead said, taking a deep breath. "We were in love. Before you lost your memory. I'm sorry for this, I don't want to put the burden on you, but I can't take not knowing. Do you remember it? What... what we were? I need to know if the Peyton I knew is still there."

Peyton stood in place, looking at Eggyhead with wide eyes.

"Oh my god." Peyton said. Eggyhead's heart dropped.

"It's you."

"...what?" Eggyhead said, confused.

"You're that FEELING I've had!" Peyton said, the pieces falling in place in her head. "I've had this burning feeling for MONTHS! It's YOU!"

Peyton laughed as if she just understood the meaning of a joke as everything clicked in her head. It was hysterical to her.

"I don't think I get what you're saying..." Eggyhead said.

"This... is something I haven't really been keen on sharing, but..." Peyton explained. "I've had this strange feeling, like there's a hole in my chest. It's been eating away at me for months. I felt this strange feeling, almost like burning, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was for."

"Wait, so you think..." Eggyhead trailed off as he felt both cautious and hopeful.

"The answer has been sitting in front of me this entire go***mn time and I didn't even notice." Peyton said as she held her head. "How was I too stupid to notice that this entire time... I've spent WEEKS looking for something, ANYTHING to find that thing, and it's you, Eggy."

"You're not stupid..." Eggyhead tried to make her feel better. "We should have had more faith in you and told you. I should have. If I was a better partner you wouldn't have even lost your memory in the first place."

"No, you were right not to. I'd probably have just gotten confused and say something that would have hurt you!" Peyton replied, beating herself up.

"That's not true! I'm the one who should be sorry, and I am!" Eggyhead said. "I hid the truth because I was scared of getting hurt. NONE of this is your fault!"

There was a period where the two said nothing. For a moment, the halls became silent again. It felt eternal and instantaneous simultaneously.

"...you know..." Peyton started. "You're pretty good at making people feel better. I kinda see why I fell in love with you in the first place."

"...you really mean that?" Eggyhead asked. "You actually remember me? Just like that?"

"Yeah. Thank you. I... really needed this." Peyton said with relief. "And I forgive you. For not telling me."

"I... you..." Eggyhead stammered, his voice was shaky.

Eggyhead lunged forwards and hugged Peyton tightly as tears streamed down his face.

"I DON'T DESERVE YOU!" Eggyhead screamed as he held her.

A crackling filled the air as Peyton screamed.

Eggyhead jumped back. He was startled by Peyton's shriek, but immediately returned to Peyton to see what was wrong. She stepped back as he approached.

"Are you okay?!" Eggyhead asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a burn is all..." Peyton said as she healed herself with her magic.

"What... what happened?" Eggyhead asked, bewildered.

"Well... it's complicated..." Peyton replied as she held her arm. "So... you know I'm an unholy sorceress, and the 'lust incarnate' or whatever, right?"

"...yeah?" Eggyhead said curiously.

"Well, uh... I don't exactly get a choice when it comes to being either. There's this thing, I don't know what it is, but it has some kind of hold over me. It gives me my powers, but it uses me for whatever it wants." Peyton explained. "It whispers things to me... reminds me that it controls me. It hurts me if I try to directly fight it... or if something else hurts it. Something holy."

"Wait, so... there's a demon possessing you?" Eggyhead asked.

"Something like that..." Peyton replied. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It wasn't a really big problem before, but recently it's been getting much more... assertive."

"So... if I get close, I hurt you?" Eggy asked.

"...yeah." Peyton answered. "I'm sorry, Eggy. I don't know how I can stop it and-"

"I think I know how." Eggyhead said abruptly.

"You... do?" Peyton said.

"I've got books on how to deal with spirits. A LOT of books." Eggyhead said. "I'll find something. I won't let something hurt you like that again. I promise."

"You... can?" Peyton said, unsure. "...Okay. I... I trust you, Eggy."

There was another moment of silence.

"...well, uh, this conversation been kind of crazy." Eggyhead said.

"...yeah, it has." Peyton said back.

"I... think we should both head to bed." Eggyhead said. "I'll see you in the morning, Peyton."

"Yeah. See you..." Peyton replied.

Eggyhead and Peyton stood for a bit, looking at eachother. Eggyhead took a deep breath, and looked at her one last time before walking away. Peyton stood in place, still processing everything that had just happened. Eventually though, she caved as well, and head off to her room to sleep, holding hope that maybe, just maybe, it could all work out...

The next morning, the air was tense. As Peyton woke up, she felt like she was on an entirely new world after the revelations that occurred the night before. She sat in her bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Eventually, she snapped out of her little trance. She made her way out of bed, and checked the time. 10:14 AM. She was exhausted after the night before. She decided to check on Eggyhead to see if he felt the same as her. She went to his room. He was already up, and the only sign he had been there was a snoring Omeletta with her arms where he should be. She searched the manor for him, but couldn't find him in any of the manor's central locations. During her search she remembered what he had told her the night before, and decided to check the manor's library.

Peyton peeked her head through the cracked open door. She heard the sound of paper on paper as pages were turned, as well as bits of mumbling as someone skimmed through texts. She slowly stepped inside, and closed the door behind her.

"Oh! Who is it?" Eggyhead asked from behind the bookshelves.

"Good morning, Eggy." Peyton replied. "You already working on... that?"

"Yeah..." Eggyhead said. "I need to do this as soon as I can before it potentially gets worse."

Eggyhead shut a book and put it in a pile on his right grabbing a book from another pile on his left and opening it.

"I want to be quick, but there's a lot of books in here about spirits, and there isn't really any digital databases I could find either, so the only thing I can do is search manually." Eggyhead said. "This might take a while... I suggest you just go relax for right now. Spells like this usually work better when the host is well-rested."

"...Okay then." Peyton said. "I'll... just be with Inkmatas in the living room."

"Tell her I said good morning!" Eggyhead said, not looking away from his book.

Hours went by ever slowly. Peyton was anxious but she waited patiently anyways. She decided to do something to kill time. Peyton tried to use a bit of hellfire to cook Eggyhead some food to give him strength whiel he worked. It didn't work very well, but when she gave it to him, he choked it down and thanked her anyways.

The day was almost over now. Eggyhead was still studying. Peyton decided to give what Eggyhead had done a try. She walked out to the same balcony Eggyhead had been at just the night before. She looked at the sky to think, just as he had, and spent hours staring up at the night sky...

She heard things, in the back of her mind. Little whispers, and while they were hard to make out, she knew what it was.

"Idiot..." It said among the incoherent mumbling. "It never stops..."

Peyton shifted and tried to block out the voice, but it was inside her head.

"I own you..." It whispered. "Just a pawn..."

"No... I'm... I'm not..." Peyton said. "I'm... I'm more than just a slave..."

"What?" Eggy asked from behind.

Peyton's eyes snapped open. She had dozed out on the balcony.

"Eggy?!" Peyton exclaimed, startled. "God, you scared me... Did you find a spell?"

"Sort of." Eggyhead answered. "I found a few spells that should work in unison to help get rid of that spirit thingy."

"That's good." Peyton said. "So... how are we gonna do this?"

"Well... there's something I gotta tell you first." Eggy said.

"What is it?" Peyton asked.

"I kinda... had to get Inkmatas on board. One of the necessary spells I found is Inkstone, and she's the best and only Inkstone witch we know, so..." Eggyhead replied as Inkmatas stepped out from behind him.

"Peyton... I wish you told me!" Inkmatas said, worried for her sister.

"Inky! I'm sorry- I-" Peyton was cut off.

"No, no big apologies. I'm not mad about that." Inkmatas said. "We need to deal with this. I'm not waiting and letting my sister get hurt any longer."

"Oh, Inky..." Peyton said. "I'm... glad you understand. So... what now?"

"Well..." Eggyhead began to explain.

Eggyhead stood in front of a portal that led straight to the depths of hell.

"Uh... Eggy, you're SURE this is the best way to do this?" Inkmatas asked as her hands lit ablaze and she prepared to use her magic.

"No. But I'm not waiting for fate to deliver some all-too convenient solution. Not again." Eggyhead replied. "I'm doing this now. I refuse to let her get hurt like that again."

Meanwhile, Peyton sat in the center of a carefully drawn circle made of a mix of Eggyhead's yolk and Peyton's blood. She closed her eyes, breathed in, cleared her mind, and exhaled.

"So, we pull you out in an hour, right?" Inkmatas asked.

"Yep." Eggyhead said.

Eggyhead's eyes turned towards Peyton as he prepared to enter the portal.

"But... I want to do one last quick thing." Eggyhead said.

"I told you Eggy, I can't hold the portal open forever, you can't do a million things before-" Peyton was cut off as she felt a light kiss on her cheek.

The portal flickered and flashed as Peyton's concentration was broken for a moment. She was flustered, but quickly regained her composure and made the portal steady again.

"You're an idiot, Eggy." Peyton said.

"My powers are magic and strength, if you wanted a guy who was smart too, maybe you should have gone to Collector." Eggyhead said with a chuckle and a smile. "Inky, it's time. Hit it."

"Here we go..." Inkmatas said as she cast a bubble over Peyton. "That should stop most of the pain if that thing tries to intervene. Be careful and quick though, Eggy. It limits the sense of pain, but it can't stop direct injuries."

"Got it." Eggyhead said. "Well... see you in an hour."

Eggyhead jumped through the portal, and it closed behind him.

"Welp, no going back now..." Eggyhead said as he gazed at the purple and red dunes that stretched on for miles in front of him. "If we did this right, then somewhere around here there should be..."

Eggyhead turned around and looked up to see a titanic crimson castle behind him. It's walls stretched so far and tall that there was no horizon visible beyond the castle, no matter where he looked.

"Ah. There it is." Eggyhead said. "I've seen bigger, honestly. Here we go!"

The space around Eggyhead crackled with electricity as he squatted down, and when he lept, there was a thunderclap and a cloud of sand left behind. Eggyhead cruised through the sky, towards the castle walls, and just before he reached the wall, stuck his legs straight towards it and blasted straight through. He landed on his feet and hands, and stood inside the castle. He noticed coffins lining the walls, with names and pictures. The previous vessels for the lust incarnate, who gave into it. He knew he couldn't let the same thing happen to Peyton.

"You're not welcome here, Holy knight." A voice said, coming from a throne in the center of the room.

"Yeah, well I don't think you're welcome in people's heads. So get out of hers." Eggyhead replied. "You know who I mean."

"Leave Peyton? Are you mad? She is the perfect vessel! Her beauty allows me to poison the minds of millions!" The voice said.

"All the more reason for me to make you STOP." Eggyhead retorted. "Y'know, usually I try to talk it out, but there's not really a point to it right now. Your only purpose is to poison and destroy, and now you've hurt someone I care about."

"Oh, you think you're so important, like you can ACTUALLY stop me? You're amusing, I'll give you that." The lust incarnate said. "Well, if you think you're really the big hero... PROVE IT TO ME!"

The lust incarnate dashed towards Eggyhead, eager to draw blood. It's face, obstructed by hands of the souls claimed by lust, was directly in front of Eggyhead's with its arm cocked back. Before the lust incarnate could strike however, Eggyhead's fist connected with the lust incarnate's gut. The lust incarnate rocketed back directly into the throne they had come from, leaving a pile of rubble in its place. The lust incarnate, pushed its face of the ground, bewildered.

"Stronger than you look..." It muttered.

"I AM pretty important, actually. Not to toot my own horn, but "big hero" is a pretty good way to describe me. Eggyhead said, already standing in front of it.

"Stay... stay BACK!" The lust incarnate screamed. "If... if you come any closer, I-I'll KILL her! I'll tear her apart and make you WATCH! hahahahahahahah... HAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"Yeah, about that..." Eggyhead said. "Peyton isn't the only one who has a spirit living inside her. Say, have you ever heard of Wormwood?"

"W-what..?" The lust incarnate uttered. "No- you couldn't possibly- Wormwood? YOU'RE the vessel of Wormwood?"

"Yep." Eggyhead replied. "I know if I hurt you, you'll just hurt Peyton. So instead, I used a little spell. I linked our very souls, Peyton's and mine. Even if she died, we'd be connected. You're a part of her, and Wormwood's a part of me, so even if she was gone, I could find you through the connection. Or rather, Wormwood would find you, and well, without Peyton as leverage, how do you think that would end for you?"

There was a moment where nothing was said, where Eggyhead looked deep into the depths of the terrified lust incarnate's soul through their eyes.

"Don't even touch her." Eggyhead said coldly. "If you do, I can't promise that you'll be around to make that mistake a second time. Especially when I'm not even the one in control."

"You're... you're bluffing! You'r-" The lust incarnate was cut off as a deafening roar filled the castle with such a force that pillars were toppled over from it.

"Are you sure about that, child of sin?" Wormwood asked.

The lust incarnate hid what was visible of it's face, burying it in the ground, not daring to utter a single word in the Angel's presence. It sat there, too afraid to even move.

"Well... that worked out." Eggyhead said, docile once more. "Uh... enjoy your damnation, I guess?"

Eggyhead walked out of the castle, leaving the lust incarnate, shaking in fear pathetically on the remains of a crumbled throne.

(ending is here cuz imgflip is stupid imgflip.com/i/ak6egy)

ak6at9.jpg (click to show) (this is the lust incarnate btw)

imgflip.com/i/ak6h1o
The final fight with The Puppetmaster vs Inkmatas and Eggyhead

Inky Pearl: hey she’s not the ONLY Inkstone witch in the family!

Eggy: well uh... no offense, but she's the best at it... and we needed the best we could get in this situation.

IP: what is it cause I'm also part angel?? *teenage pouting face*

...is this saying it's good or bad?

Peak

woohoo

ABSOLUTE CINEMA

yay pookie likes it (/j)