Gene licked her lips. "I'm not killing anyone, Issac," she said quietly. She looked to Invictus, a tear escaping her. "What happens... if you take off the stone?" she asked him quietly.

Invictus frowned. "He takes my life with it." he answered. "Listen to me, Issac---"
He'll feed you lies! Do not let him cloud--
"If you are innocent she will see! You show your guilt by not letting me speak!"Invictus hissed.
Issac was quiet after that.
"My name was once Issac. My wife killed herself, after drowning our son." He hushed a sob. "I came here, and this...demon gave me a stone. He said he'd give me my wife back if I fed him blood..." Invictus shook his head closing his eyes. "The demon slowly took everything he could...I gave him everything. My name...my soul...everything...I turned into his prisoner, and he always makes me bring people here...strong ones...the ones who don't beg so he can make them slaves too. He uses my story to bring him pity...he set this up don't you see? I'm just a husk...he wanted something fresh....he sets up these cycles that play out and torture me. You look so much like her...Pumpkin always has six babies...like my six children, and she always kills one...like my son..."

Gene looked down, tears dripping to the floor. She couldn't... chose between them but... she believed what Invictus was telling her. She didn't know what to do though. She certainly wasn't a killer. Or a demon slayer. I'm just... nobody, she thought. What... could I ever do to help them?

Pumpkin meowed softly and ran to Invictus, licking the tears from his face.
The orb pulsed.
Touching story, really. Issac said. But, Gene...you already know there's nothing you can do to help. Just succumb, it's alright...I never asked for your help...I just wanted compainionship...
Invictus shook his head. "Destroy the portal...destoy the globe, I can't touch it." He whispered.

Gene closed her eyes tightly for a moment, but the second Issac's tone had changed, she made up her mind. She glanced to Invictus once more, and then Pumpkin. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "If I'm wrong." But she walked to the hearth and grabbed the poker from the rack beside it.
In one quick moment, she spun, bringing the iron poker down violently on the orb with the skull in it.

There was a horrible scream that sounds from the skull, And Invictus closed his eyes and gripped pumpkin tightly. The fort shook violently, and the sounds of crumbling stone echoed through.
"We have to get out of here!" Invictus shouted, getting up. Pumpkin cried for her kittens, knowing they had been put into Gene's care.

Gene ran, seeming to know what Pumpkin wanted, going to the study for the kittens and holding them tightly. She quickly got back to Invictus, barely breathing in her terror.

Invictus ran with her, pulling her out of the front doors just as the ground collapsed.
There was the rumble as the home Invictus knew for hundreds of years, crumbled. Everything was lost...

It was night out, cool, and Invictus lay in the damp grass. Pumpkin collected her kittens and worked to actually nurse them. They were scared and hungry for sure.
Invictus was in shock, and he looked over to Gene, shaking his head slowly. "It's over..."

Gene was crying quietly where she had fallen in the grass. She didn't know what she had just done, but she was afraid. She hugged her arms around herself, shaking.

Invictus frowned and crawled over to her, embracing her tightly, and letting her cry. He didn't know how to...thank her. He didn't know what to do for her...except bring her back home when she was ready.
"I've met you. I know you and I love you." He whispered. "That is the difference."

Gene quickly wrapped her arms around him, squeezing herself as close to him as she could. "Thank you," she sobbed. "I love you."

Invictus had lived past his time...searching for his wife. Serving the demon who stole everything...
He didn't know how he was even going to continue living after this. But he knew that when Gene didn't beg, she was either going to succomb, or conquer.
It was foolish of Issac to pick the strong one.
He licked his lips and settled down, finally falling asleep, and resting peacefully for more then a few hours.

Gene cried herself to sleep in his arms, but she stirred as the sun rose and looked up at Invictus. She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder, checking on Pumpkin and her kittens, then looking to the old fort. But it was... gone. Just gone. She sighed, relieved, and rested her head back down next to Invictus.

Pumpkin mewed softly, finally enjoying the fact that she could take care of her kittens.
Invictus was still, his eyes closed, his chest unmoving. He still held on to her tightly though, a soft smile on his pale face.

Gene studied Invictus and after a while, whispered his name. They were entirely out in the open... what would happen if someone happened by. She put her hand on his side, shaking him just a little. His chest not moving made her nervous.