Blackthorne pressed his chin down against his knees as he gazed into the bulbous face of his bathroom buddy. The adorable purple zombie onion splashed about happily in the water. Saelil had assured him that no toxins would rub off into the bath, and they both needed to remove their stench.

"You're a happy little hamburger accessory aren't you?" he asked the onion as it bounced up and down.

"Woosh!" exclaimed Onion as it sent a wave of water rippling toward Blackthorne.

The wanna-be dark knight eyed his opponent carefully then sent a wave of water rippling gently toward his purple foe. Onion was forced back slightly due to the size difference as its overall buoyancy. It cried out happily and bounced around a little.

"You want to play with me?" asked Blackthorne. The little onion hopped up and down rapidly in the water splashing some of it out of the tub.

He smiled slightly at the little thing's antics then sent a wave of water toward it. Onion hopped over the wave and splashed down with enough force to send another wave back toward Blackthorne. Water slapped against his chest, causing him to offer the onion a wry smile. The water fight raged from that point onward, each of the combatants hell-bent on splashing the other.

Eventually, the dread combat scenario came to an end. Blackthorne regarded the lightly floating Onion for a time as he considered his thoughts on the creature's mother.

Images of Saelil's tiny face brought up old scars regarding his little sister. There were several similarities between them despite their racial differences. His little sister was a sweet, and loving, girl. She, like Saelil, often seemed to be more mature than her apparent age.

Blackthorne closed his eyes as tears began to well up along their rims. Even after so many years passed, it was impossible to let those memories fade. He did not want to forget his sister, but he knew it was unhealthy to dwell on her death and how he failed her.

Every relationship he tried to have with a woman was ruined by the hateful sentiments and recriminations that welled up inside his mind. There was a part of him that refused to allow him to accept reality and move on. That part blamed him for what happened. No matter what he tried to tell himself, that part of him always rose up to torment his mind with guilt and sick hallucinations.

One such episode began to creep up inside his head even now. Blackthorne focused on a memory of when he and his sister were playing at their favorite tree. It was a mighty oak with wide boughs that made it the perfect place to sit on the branches and while away the hours. Soon, he began to dose off slightly, not enough to actually fall asleep and return to Earth but enough to lose himself in the memory.

"Yeah, it'd be fun to be a pirate," said young Scott to his little sister. "You can take anything you want and people think you're cool!"

Elizabeth leaned forward, her softly shimmering eyes wide and innocent, "But... Pirates are bad guys! You don't wanna be a bad guy... Do you?"

Little Scott tried to fight back against his sister's wide-eyed look of adoration and hope for a moment then blushed and turned away. "Well, no... I guess I could be like dad instead, Liz..."

"Yes!" exclaimed Liz. She took on an impish expression and offered a warm grin, "You could catch the bad people, and make mommy go to church at night."

Scott laughed loudly and brightly for a moment, "Yeah, when dad catches someone really bad mom does like to pray a lot afterwards."

"I wonder what she says to god, though?" asked Liz, "She's always calling out to god but never says anything else."

"Maybe she's just thinking it inside? You know? She calls out 'Oh God! Oh god!' to get his attention so he can look into her heart like the Pastor says he does," said Scott in a reasoned manner.

Liz laughed cutely then lunged forward and gave her brother a warm hug. She pressed her tiny ear to his chest and listened closely for a moment.

"Hey, what's that for—" began Scott, but she silenced him with a shushing noise.

Eventually Liz pouted and said, "All I hear is a bumping noise."

"Wha—?" asked Scott before he laughed a little. "What did you think you were gonna hear, you goof?"

"The reason..." she said shyly.

"What reason?" asked Scott, curiously.

Liz leaned back and smiled up at him sweetly. "The reason why you let me die."

Scott leaned away from her, his eyes going wide. "What?"

Liz tilted her head to the side and increased the brightness of her smile three-fold. "You let new daddy tied me down with duct tape and rape me to death in the living room."

"No, Liz!" cried Scott, his voice trembling with shock and pain. "I didn't know. I—"

Liz clapped her hands together then leaned forward and stared deeply into her brother's eyes. "It's fine. I didn't mind much, and after the first hour it fell so damn good."

Scott stared at her in absolute horror as his sweet little sister raised her tiny hands to her chest and began to rub her hands up and down. "I mean, I'm just a sexy little whore who got what she deserved after all."

"L-liz..." Scott's little face turned ashen as the color drained away. He lost his ability to speak after that, but his little sister continued to explain herself.

"As first times go, it was hot and kinky..." she said, a wistful tone in her voice, "Oh god, the pain made me think I would be torn apart...." She ran her hands down her sides and twisted her hips a little before she unleashed a high-pitched erotic cry of excitement, "But damn, in the end new daddy made me feel like a real woman!"

Scott could say nothing as his mind began to shut down. This was not his little sister. It was a hateful nightmare wearing her face. It had to be!

Her eyes began to tear up after a brief moment of silence passed. In a half-choked sob she asked, "But... Why didn't you take my first instead, since you love me so much? He hurt me bad. He hurt me 'til I loved it, and laughed while he did it..."

Liz leaned forward until she was a hair's breadth from pressing her lips to Scott's lips. Instead of the tender kiss she seemed to aim for, she spoke another obscene lie. "You would have looked me in the eyes with tenderness, and held me close, while you fucked me. Right, big brother?"

A loud gasp erupted from Blackthorne's throat as he returned to full wakefulness. Shock evident on his face, he gasped and panted for air. Soon, however, his surprise turned to vehement rage. His expression became a tight angry mask as he spat out the words "Liz is nothing like that. Stop filling my head with this obscene shit!"

Who he railed against, no one else would know. However, for Blackthorne he knew no other to blame. Some part of his mind wanted to twist the past and make him feel guilty for everything that happened. Most of the time it was like a broken record. At other times it was like what just happened, the hateful part of him that wanted him to suffer would become created. It distorted innocent memories and trapped his mind in a world of shit.

Blackthorne gripped the rim of the tub and closed his eyes tightly and slapped his hands to the sides of his head. He pressed inward with great forced and heatedly made a demand. "Get out!"

He threw his head back and shouted, "Whatever you are, get the fuck out of my head!"

The thickness of the walls, and the noise of the dining room drowned out his outburst so that those not in the bathing area heard little and cared even less, but the tiny onion sharing a bath with him hopped up and down in agitation. Something was wrong with daddy, and little Onion didn't know what to do.