A marble structure twisted, overgrown and arrogant, into the sky. It dwarfed the surrounding buildings and despite being nothing but a cylindrical mass with an angular point, it won the hearts of the residents as a stately monument.

The “I have a higher IQ than you” crowd of citizens took a liking to standing in Monument Park and nodding vacantly at the structure, claiming to find meaning in the intricate patterns of cracks at the base that were likely the result of the steel-toothed man’s ravenous appetite.

Nobody, however, understood its purpose and nobody ever would.

“It’s time to take The Man down!” Victor cried, pushing his head through the window frame, beholding the Monument with hateful eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Madeline sat on the musty wooden floorboards, twisting a fourth braid into her spaghetti blonde hair. “Are you talking about Monument Structure?”

“Of course I am talking about Monument Structure,” Victor declared in a booming voice which carried to the streets. “We’re going to grind that cursed structure to the dust!”

“Yes, I know we are,” Madeline said. “We’ve been planning it for a month! Why did you call it ‘The Man’?”

Victor groaned. “Are you some kind of fool? The Man represents the oppressive government which seeks to do nothing but exploit us!”

“Uh-huh?”

“And this - this -” he spat each word with vitriol, “disturbing structure is nothing but a tribute to that exact oppressive power structure! A meaningless eyesore! But this is a structure that so many people love dearly...Which is why it needs to get destroyed.”

Madeline bounced to her feet. “I know you feel that way. We’ve talked about this many times, Victor. I still think it’s just an old relic from centuries ago that has nothing to do with the government and I only agreed to help you because you’re a good boy. Honestly, who are you explaining yourself to?”

“All those people down there,” Victor said, gesturing toward the lush greenery and cotton-ball trees peppering the scene before them. “They need to know who will destroy the one joy they have left in their life.”

“I really don’t think that people care about you destroying that silly thing that much. There aren’t even more than a couple of Watchdogs in the park.”

“Watchdogs? They use those poor animals? Why don’t they just use cameras? Much easier than dissecting the brain of a magical canine to retrieve footage,” Victor exclaimed. “You can’t use magic to solve everything.”

“Cameras…? Well, isn’t that kind of technology illegal?”

“Only for poor people.”

“Ah. That makes sense.”

Madeline drifted to the window and cast her gaze across the landscape. The sight from the abandoned church provided an ideal view of the bustling center of Seer City, Gravelys. Shimmering silver buildings contorted into novelty shapes surrounded Monument Park, offering a sleek contrast to the center foliage.

A toy shop, for example, donned the distinctive shape of a teddy bear suffering from limb deformities, heart-shaped windows lining its eyes and chest. While the office buildings maintained a fascinating rectangular shape, intricate patterns were carved into the buildings’ surfaces. These patterns, however, were only visible if a person were to levitate twenty feet up, five yards away from the building’s top, rendering the artistic installment a fantastic waste of taxpayer dollars.

While the city center was just as Madeline had remembered it, something was wrong.

“Where is everyone?”

Victor, who had been clearing a table in preparation for his spell, looked up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Madeline said, squinting. “There’s just nobody here. It’s like the city center has been purged!”

Victor glared at her. “The Gravelys State does not experience purges, you fool. Especially not the city center. Areas in the slums get purged.”

“I didn’t mean ‘the purge’ like the random destruction of towns and kidnapping of people that the demons use to feed the Parasite,” Madeline explained, “I just mean it like...this place is usually full of people, but there’s no one here now.”

Victor brushed Madeline aside and stared out the window frame once again, as if beholding the scene for the first time, despite bellowing at the streets below moments ago. He shrugged and said, “I guess not. Well, this is not a problem.”

“No?” Madeline said as Victor returned to the spell casting table. “But...You’re supposed to be a supervillain, right?”

Fire blazed in Victor’s eyes. “Does destroying an extremely meaningful and significant monument not count as a villainous act?”

“I mean, it does,” Madeline assured him. “But I thought you wanted to kill some people too when the Monument Structure fell.”

“I did,” Victor said, placing a wooden board riddled with pools of brown splotches on the table. “But I suppose murder will have to be saved for another day! I shall not be defeated by fate’s cruel hand depriving us all of victims! We shall destroy the monument!”

Madeline giggled. “Okay, Victor.”

“That’s ‘Victor the Terrible’ to you!”

“Okay, Victor the Terrible.”

“You have great placating skills, Madeline the Awful.”

Madeline laughed, her syrup voice ringing in Victor’s ears. “You don’t have to give me a weird name like you gave yourself. Why don’t you call me by my real title?”

“‘Practitioner of Kinesthetics’ sounds ridiculous, Madeline.”

“You’re saying my title sucks? What about yours, silly? Does ‘Practitioner of Hell’ sound any better to you? You sound like a character created by an edgy 13-year old who just found out what a demon is!”

“Remind me again where you will set the daemonic crystallics?”

Victor’s Basics of Practitioning Entry

Daemonic Crystallics: crystal-like substances comprised of magical properties. Daemonic crystallics facilitate the usage of black magic.

See Also: iceric crystallics, caloric crystallics, rosearic crystallics, graveric crystallics, ethreallic crystallics

Madeline pulled a sheet of paper featuring the Monument Structure out of her pocket and set it on the table beside Victor. She drew a red circle around four points on the monument floor beside the base, and then she circled the tip.

“How the hell will you put a crystallic at the top?”

Madeline cocked an eyebrow. “Did you forget what the Practitioner of Kinesthetics does? I thought you put me on this mission because you knew what I could do!”

“I put you on this mission because you are the only individual who I can trust.”

“You mean the only person who would go along with your plan?”

“Same difference.”

Madeline shook her head and, with a pout, said, “I use graveric crystallics to enhance my physical abilities! This time, I will use it to jump high enough to put it at the top.”

“What? You can jump that high? What a vile witch you are!”

“Yeah, but doing that burned through an entire crystallic. I usually can’t jump more than ten feet normally.”

“Whatever,” Victor said. “Either way, the five daemonic crystallics you will place on the structure are excellent. I will execute the activation spell that will set off these daemonic crystallics. The Anti-Enerium stored within them --”

“Do you have to say Anti-Enerium?” Madeline laughed. “Just say Black Magic.”

“Do I look like a child? There is no need to use such ridiculous terms like ‘magic’ for scientific tools.”

“I’m pretty sure you said it before.”

“Silence!” Victor squawked. He arranged the black stones in the approximate shape of a triangle.

“This is set up now. Shall you place the stones in the proper locations? There seems to be nobody outside now for some reason, so just be aware of the Watchdogs.”

“Okay! No problem.”

Victor handed Madeline five black stones he pulled from a purple velvet bag. They shimmered in the dim lighting of the attic like pools of ink. Light glittered from every angle, like a thousand fireflies filling a night sky.

“I’m ready to go then!” Madeline said cheerfully as she bounded to the trap door. She lifted the door and dropped down into the church below. The rotting wooden floorboards were caked in dust and sprinkled with the remains of stained glass like spilt stars.

Madeline stowed the black crystallics away into her pocket as she darted across the gravel path surrounding the park. She sprinted through the wire gate, passing the “NO MAGIC” sign strung up on one of the poles. The convoluted playground structures passed by, emptiness infiltrating each metal bar. Once she arrived at the Monument Structure towering above her, she began to second guess her ability to jump to the top.

She began dropping the black stones along the periphery of the monument with quick, subtle fingers. Each motion could be attributed to something else.

Before Madeline could even begin to contemplate how she would place the final stone at the top, a cacophony of low, rumbling growls resounded behind her.

Madeline turned around, eyes wide in surprise. Three black labradors the size of wolves leered at her. They had too many limbs or too many teeth, mouths crowded with deformities it could not contain, skin bulging with overgrown bones. Instead of eyes, opaque glass spheres were embedded in their sockets.

This concerned Madeline. Her crime was not obvious. There was no way for the Watchdogs to understand the gravity of her actions. In fact, they couldn’t have seen her drop the crystallics to begin with. The only clue Madeline had that suggested something was wrong was the lack of people. This place was never empty.

Somehow, this fact did not register in Madeline’s brain as particularly notable.

She still had to complete her mission because that’s what she was told to do.

Madeline took a step closer to the Monument Structure and all three Watchdogs barked hysterically, grinding their razor sharp teeth.

“I’m not doing anything wrong!” Madeline said to the glass orbs. “I’m just looking at the monument! If you don’t back off, I’m going to defend myself.”

This was a rule implemented when Watchdogs gained widespread usage. Due to the inherent risk of utilizing a wild animal in monitoring the general populace, the citizens banded together to implement a rule that the dogs could be put down in the event of a malfunction. If the dogs were murdered, it would be difficult to retrieve the footage anyway from a damaged dog.

Like the one currently in progress.

Madeline had only two choices. She could either abandon the mission or she could put the dogs down and continue her mission.

Madeline reached slowly into her pocket -- the one enchanted by graveric crystallics to expand in capacity. She pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the dogs. Not comprehending technology, the dogs made no response to the weapon.

“Can your magic do this, bitches?” Madeline muttered to herself as she pulled the trigger. At the last moment, she fired the weapon into the sky.

Two of the dogs bolted, whimpering. Perhaps they could not comprehend a cold, metal weapon - but they could comprehend a reverberating shriek. Despite the sound, one of the Watchdogs held their ground. It growled in a deep, guttural way with a noise that sounded halfway between the shriek of a chainsaw and a human moan.

Madeline directed her gun toward the dog.

“Madeline...you don’t have to do this,” Winnie cried, the gun trembling in her fist.

Madeline stared at the girl before her. Winnie was shrouded in a blanket of darkness beside the untamed woods. The wind whispered through the branches, tempting the leaves to dance in the feeble moonlight.

“I’m not doing anything,” Madeline said, stepping toward Winnie. “You’re the one trying to run away.”

“I can’t do this anymore,” Winnie whimpered, lips trembling. “How can you take this? How can you accept what you have to do everyday?”

Madeline crossed her arms behind her back. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. This is where we belong, right? We were created for this purpose.”

“I won’t accept it,” Winnie said. “And I won’t accept it for you either.”

A gust of wind flitted through Madeline’s hair. The cool night soothed the wounds stinging her skin. “You won’t accept it for me?”

“That’s right,” Winnie insisted. “I won’t. You deserve better than this, Madeline. You don’t deserve this any more than I did.”

The tranquil air carrying traces of rain and earthy vegetation distracted Madeline. Turning her face toward the moon, she began searching through the stars unsullied by clouds. “It’s such a nice day outside tonight.”

Winnie cried out in frustration, tears blossoming at the corners of her eyes. “Why can’t you take me seriously, damn it?”

“I don’t care about what you’re saying, dear,” Madeline said, eyebrows creasing in sympathy. “I’m sorry but I don’t really understand anything you’re saying at all.”

“We’re being used. Why are you okay with being used?”

“I am being used for my purpose,” Madeline said. “Please, Winnie. Can we go back home now?”

“I’m not going back. That place isn’t our home. That hell isn’t our home,” Winnie snapped. “I’ll never let them use me again.”

“Then this is goodbye,” Madeline said, turning around.

A strangled sob escaped Winnie’s lips. “You don’t even care!”

Madeline glanced over her shoulder back at Winnie, braids trickling onto her back. “What am I supposed to care about?”

“Me, damn it…” Winnie said, gun still fixed in Madeline’s direction. “You don’t care about me. After everything we’ve been through...You never cared at all.”

Madeline blinked. “You were a really fun partner, Winnie. I liked spending time with you! You were so much fun. But fun things end sometimes, too. So if you want to leave, I won’t stop you.”

“Come with me! You won’t have to be the hand of evil anymore if you just come with me,” Winnie pleaded, the short brown hair snagging the spikes embedded in the shoulder of her jacket. “Come with me or I’ll kill you.”

A gust of wind rustled the grass, spiraling the dry leaves littering the earth.

Madeline tilted her head. “Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

“You actually will kill me if I don’t come with you?”

“I will. I swear on my life.”

“You swear on your life?” Madeline repeated, a pout on her lips. “Well, okay then.”

With one swift motion, Madeline pulled a handgun from her pocket and pointed it at Winnie, unwavering.

A bang punctured the silence. The Watchdog dropped to the floor with a final, strangled yelp. Madeline stared at it for a moment before returning her focus to the Monument Structure. Madeline felt nothing. As always.

“Why on Earth did I remember that now?” she muttered to herself as she pressed a finger against the purple crystallic embedded into a black choker on her neck. “That was so long ago.”

Madeline inhaled, a familiar spark of exhilaration flooding her limbs from the tip of the finger resting against the crystallic. Her body, no longer confined by the burdens of weight, was alive. Could she make the leap to the top of the Monument Structure? Or would the hubris claiming her resolve stifle her victory, granting her an unceremonious trip back to reality? Only time would tell.

In an instant, Madeline cleaved the air. The world blurred around her, smudges of color blotching her eyes. The tip of the Monument came into view. There would be no second attempt. By the time Madeline’s feet returned to the soft grass, the black stone was glittering atop the Monument Structure.

Mission complete. Stumbling over the corpse of the Watchdog, Madeline returned to the church, her movements an imperceptible smudge in the frayed edges of visible light.

Victor did not need Madeline to tell him that the stone tower was complete. A painful, throbbing fatigue consumed his limbs, like a worm with poisonous spikes jutting from its skin crawling through his bones.

“Yes. This will be my legacy,” Victor breathed as he rested his fingers on the black stones set before him.

He closed his eyes. Here came the visualization process.

In his mind’s eye, the first stone burst at the base of the tower, shattering the ancient corner. The black stone to the furthest right vibrated beneath his palm. A round of agony assaulted his veins. As the pain reached its climax, the church trembled as the real Monument Structure lost its first leg. The stone shattered in his hand.

The rest of the detonation process would have to occur immediately following the first stone. Time was of essence. Victor drew a shaky breath, steadying his body to receive the next onslaught of agony. Long distance spells were always more taxing than those cast on subjects nearby.

“I always wonder why humans choose this field of study to pursue.”

Victor glanced over his shoulder, attention momentarily seized by Taro, who floated faintly in the church. Gritting his teeth, Victor tore his eyes back onto the stones. Another stone exploded, a tremendous bang invading the silence as a second leg was stolen from the Monument Structure.

“I mean,” Taro said, approaching Victor. “Is the pain you feel now really worth what you’re doing?”

Another stone was sprinkled into ash. Another bang tearing through the earth.

“Why are you trying to destroy this monument after all?” Taro said. “You are very pathetic. Aimless destruction is only an acceptable cause in movies and books.”

“Shut up,” Victor hissed, voice strained as another stone crumbled into dust. Another trembling boom.

“I want to know what you’re really after, Victor.”

“Shit,” Victor whispered as his knees collapsed beneath him. “Damn it...”

The final two stones remained unchanged. However, a shriek hitched a ride on the air, followed by a final cataclysmic shatter that strained the fibres of the earth.

“What was that?” Taro said as Victor pressed a hand against his lips.

Taro rolled his eyes. “The noise we just heard. Did the entire tower fall over? Your intention was to crumple it into dust, wasn’t it? What a shame.”

“Will you ever shut up?” Victor snapped as he rose to his feet. “Explosions are one of the most difficult types of magic and you know that. If my plan did not work as intended, I am pleased with the fact that I managed to go that far!”

Victor staggered to the window as Madeline sprung from the floor. “Victor, did it work? Did we destroy the tower?”

Victor gazed outside. To his shock, a gaggle of City Guards surrounded the fallen Monument Structure. Their bodies encased in a black, tar-like substance, crystallic projectors (read: magical guns) fixed in their hands.

The impressive stature of the monument no longer seized the sky. It lay flat, the spine shattered into large fragments that stubbornly clung to its original structure. Beneath the fallen structure was a man.