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The madness was ever present. The more he drank, the more the madness seemed to overflow. There was but one cure to purify the ever pressing darkness within the folds of his mind and it came at such a high cost: Death. The less Shamus were to drink the more he could feel at one with himself, but the closer to death he became. There was something constantly nagging at him, telling him that he had to break free, but he could not. In one hand, he embraced the darkness, the madness that consumed his very soul. On the hand, he was afraid of what it would cause him to do. So many times he had barely caught himself before he had managed to do something he would have regretted forever.

Blood. It called for him in a seductive way. Thump. Within the garden he had secluded himself off to, he could hear it. Thump. A human was out walking near, for what reason he did not know. Thump. Shamus was able to rationalize his own thoughts, he did not wish to go hunting, but there was the sweet call. Thump. He tried to drown out the sound, pouring his efforts into thinking of other thoughts, to no avail. No matter how he tried, the call was coming louder, crashing about his skull. Thump. The need to fulfill his darkest desires was pulling him ever closer, he had to drown himself in it. To taste the sweet agony of a harmless soul as it prayed for mercy. Thump.

His eyes opened to reveal to him the garden in its full. Shamus had no idea how Elizabeth could manage to pull of such things, having such an array of colors so vibrant at this time of year. Thump. But there was no time for that. He knew what he must do. Thump. Once more must he don the gear that would be the last thing a life would see. Thump. A quirk of a grin took hold of his features, though it held only to the right side. His mind was beginning to show him visions of what could be, what would be, as he ventured off to change his attire. The night had started out beautiful and would turn even more so as he painted the moon red. Thump.

The clothes he wore now were nothing short of extravagant. Elizabeth had picked out the suit coat in all of its elegance, telling him how it would make him look dashing. Whether it did or did not held no meaning to the man, everything had a purpose, a reason for being. The clothes that Shamus wore were of the very same, each having a their own rhyme to flow with his symphony. The song was a beautiful chorus as it resonated in his mind, almost drumming out the blaring heart beat of the brave soul who still lingered by. That was how he knew it was right. The sweet melody of murder played gently in the background as he exchanged suits to ready himself for the performance that was to come. Still off in the background was the steady rumble... Thump... thump... thump...

A foot moved, one in front of the other. He had no idea where he was going, he was consumed. The taste was setting in, the smell was intoxicating him, and the sound was driving him forward. Thump. He had to have what he knew, what he craved. Despair would dine for two. Shamus was already outside and never realized he had made it this far, his eyes were intent on just making it there. Thump. He saw not what was before him, he only had eyes for one thing. Blood. It stood before him, thrashing about as if it wanted him to come. He would and he would enjoy himself, like he never had before.

Thump. It was ringing so loudly in his ears, he thought he was going to go deaf. He could hardly take it. But he had to be patient, he just had to. Blissful eternity came to those who took it slow and he would give this divine creature an eternal nightmare. Thump. As often practiced, Shamus silently pulled out a knife, ready to get a great look at his partner's eyes. A bright smile painted itself across his features as he pulled what he now saw as a human around before things went wrong. Thump... thump... thump...

Shamus could still hear the blood as a sword went through his stomach. Thump. The smile remained on his face as he looked into those eyes. Hatred. It was a nice look. Thump. For the first time he was able to see that his partner was a male, he knew it was going to be so much fun. Yet before he could make a move the other man was running away. Thump. He made his own movements to try to stop him, but stopped immediately. There was a horrible pain within his abdomen. It was at that moment he actually realized that he had been stabbed. He placed his hand over the wound as the black blood raised slowly up into the air as he just stood there looking down.

A sudden euphoria came crashing over him. It had to be this. This was what Shamus had been looking for. The black blood that was slowly rising skyward was beginning to disappear as if it never existed. It was this moment, he craved, he longed for. There was no other reason. No longer did he feel a need to go on, to destroy what might be, or to consume the very essence of what there was. It made perfect sense. A small smile tugged at him as he watched the gore that was himself. He had at last found it. But there was a nagging in the back of his mind telling him that he was empty.

Something crashed into his mind, invading his own thoughts. His hands batted around the air, trying to clear it, to be at one with his own supposed serenity. It came as quick as it was gone, leaving Shamus unsettled by the entire ordeal. More to add to his current state, he now felt that he was late because of the intrusion. The feeling burrowed deeper and deeper along with the nagging feeling that he was in fact empty. The state of euphoria was slowly tumbling down like a house of cards. Hands were digging into the side of his face and it took him a while to realize that they were his own. He wanted to scream, but something inside held him back telling him that he was not a person who showed such to the outside world.

Immense pain. His body was shaking with it. It took every ounce of his willpower to be able to stand. Shamus didn't know where it was coming from, just that the agony he had felt before, yet this seemed to be worse. His vision was beginning to darken, like the blood itself was covering his eyes. He was lost to the world. All he felt in this world of darkness was the continuous agonizing pain. Time itself held no meaning. What could have been a few seconds could have been decades. All he knew at that moment was he wanted this pain to end.

Slowly his knees began to buckle. Shamus could stand no longer, he was tiring from the ordeal and his willpower was draining, it was the end. As he was about to give in, within his mind there was a speck of light. It gave off a great feeling of warmth and comfort, he was compelled towards it. As he fell to one knee, he reached out towards that ray of light, beseeching its help. It offered no embrace, no way to help him from the darkness, only a simple question.

Within the darkness, the gears in his mind began to turn furiously. He had to know the answer to the question, whatever it meant. He was so lost, so helpless, but it felt that this was his saving grace. The longer his mind thought to find answer and reason to this question, the less he felt the pain. Now it was only a dull ache in his abdomen. This gave Shamus even more to think about. What could cause such a thing, he did not know, but he intended to figure all of this out. He was up and standing on his own two feet once again.

The darkness in his mind was clearing, he was beginning to think more freely. Little things were starting to make more sense, but he still could not grasp the entire picture. At this moment, he realized that Elizabeth had contacted him, but he was not sure for what entirely. It was so infuriating that he could not think or remember what exactly had happened. But even more so was the minor pain at his stomach. A hand crept up to feel what was there and he felt a small hole. Instantly his eyes opened and he could see the world, the light was given back to his eyes. A quirk of a grin touched his features though only to the right side as he turned around and began to walk back. His mind slowly reached out to Elizabeth, "Yes... Though I find myself in a need to change clothes as well. It would seem that the guest did not like them very much..."

The silence was unbearable. What he thought what once would crush him felt like nothing compared to this. A mixture of emotion surged within him as if trying to tear him at the seams. A slow boiling rage and a sense of elation for what will be. It was no righteous retribution on his own behalf, just mindless slaughter. Such feelings were something Shamus could not comprehend.

With certainty, he reached into his suit coat pocket for his pocket watch. Out of all the little quirks that Shamus had, there was one above all that would calm his nerves. An old beat up and dented pocket watch that was broke down beyond all repair. Yet for some reason in his mind, whenever he were to gaze upon it, he thought it worked. If he were to tell the time, after hearing its ticking, he would be within the general area of the time. Yet tonight, the watch did not tick for Shamus. All there was to greet him was silence.

Things started off severe and ended in a torrential downpour of despair. Shamus could feel his link to Elizabeth, but it did not give him any reprieve. The world was upside down. Black was white and white was black. He tried to move, but found himself frozen. His muscles were locked in place. This was going to be the end. Everything he had done before had finally caught up to him. As he began to search for his own inner peace, he felt that familiar tug.

She was standing before him and giving him a kiss before Shamus realized what exactly was going on. Everything before the incident with his pocket watch had seemed to have disappeared from his mind. It was not until she began to scrutinize him so that he followed her eyes and realized he had been stabbed. The emotions began to bubble to the surface, before being drowned out by the fear of his pocket watch. Time for him had stopped.

The way Elizabeth moved about, laughed, and carried on perplexed Shamus more than anything. How could she do such a thing? Even though as he watched her, his spirits did lift, he still knew how dire the situation at hand was. The best he could manage to bring himself to do was to point at the watch. He had done more than enough exciting her it seemed, though. She was off in her own world of clothes, choosing which would be best for the situation. So after working up enough courage, he whispered softly, "It's broke..."

The pressure was immense. The moments that had passed as Elizabeth had stared at Shamus were just as they were, but it was this embrace. It was shattering to his core. Her words were cascading over him, passing through all barriers. Yet nothing managed to fit together just right. How could he give his watch just an embrace for it to work again? He was never good at this kind of thinking. Materials like this was far too complicated, this was her expertise. He was good with people. Bringing them up or down, it didn't matter. To work with people was his gift as machines was hers. A single tick echoed through his mind as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. He knew the answer.

Even though, Shamus knew what he had to do, he still could not relinquish such a thing so easily. The watch was a part of him. To turn loose of it, even if it was to Elizabeth, was a dreadful thought. So for the time being he took comfort in her embrace. A small comfort that would soon be lost as he heard the calling, a calling that had not been heard in a over a year. So subtle it was at first, he did not recognize it. A chill ran down his spine that spread through out his body. Come... As simple as that.

His mind began to open as he tried to connect what was going on. The new events taking place were slowly pushing the worry of the watch out of his mind. The voice being ever persistent in his mind Come... Shamus parted from the embrace with Elizabeth and took her into full view. She was lovely. The very image of his inspiration. He was foolish beyond belief. She would accompany him to the pits of hell if he asked. He knew she could fix the watch and if not... He pushed the thought from his mind with a small shake of his head as he handed her the pocket watch, "First we need ta change... He did not like what I had ta offer so I be one ta show him what he has chosen."

Everything was crystal clear now. He knew what was calling him, he always knew, it was always there. There was always the hope he did not have to go this far, however. This was consuming as much as the darkness. Almost as bad as a vice. Once in, there was no easy way out. Shamus moved with a purpose to the bedroom as he began to look. The black undershirt and black pants were easy to find. It would help him hide in the darkness. But the two things he needed most of all were harder to find. The red over coat to hide the blood and the cowboy hat, because it was necessary. It was screaming for him and he was calling for it with his mind.

A thought occurred to him as he continued his search. What if his search was in the wrong place? He began to laugh a little as he recalled before Elizabeth wearing the hat. She was as divine as ever as she wore such a thing. But for now, Shamus would need it. He moved to look over in her wardrobe for the hat as he looked over at her with a quirk of a grin that held only to the right side, "Tulip, have ya be seein' me red coat? I seem ta not be havin' any luck with it at all." He lost his grin as his thoughts turned straight to that one human, "And tha outfit be ta die for..."

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