Orso Fiction Chapter 038-The Ocean of the Mind[]
At Piney Run Park, far from the battle between the Primo Agents, Bradley watched his six subordinates walk off with their chosen opponents.
“That’s concerning…”, Bradley murmured. “Especially their Storm…he would be talking a lot more…Something’s seriously wrong here…”
He pulled out his phone, and punched in some commands.
“Aren’t you busy right now?”, Eddie Higgins asked from the base.
“This is more important.”, Bradley said. “I need you to run this phone down to the Ferraro brothers, I need to talk to them.”
“Yeah, no problem.”, Eddie said. Bradley heard him moving around, and then the background noise faded, as Eddie was walking down the hall. “Hey, I gotta ask, why’d you call me, of everyone inside the base?”
“Because of everyone inside the base, you’re the one least likely to be doing actual work.”, Bradley said with a smile.
“I was totally doing-“, Eddie protested, then remembered how incredible a lie he was about to tell. “Yeah, caught me. Hey, here they are.”
Bradley heard the boy telling someone in the background, “Hey, it’s the Commander for you.”
“You needed our help?”, Tammaro’s voice came from the other side. “You can’t be in too bad shape if you’ve got time to chat.”
“My subordinates are keeping the Seven Skulls busy.”, Bradley said. “But something troubles me. The enemy are a group of incredibly talkative boys…but now, they’re silent. They seem almost mechanical. As the nephews of the enemy’s armorer, I thought you might be able to explain that.”
“They…oh, no.”, Tammaro said. There was a crash as he dropped the phone. Various obscenities were audible from the man. “You still there?”
“Yes. Is this…bad?”
“Pardon my language, but it’s the worst fucking case scenario.”, Tammaro said. “Osvaldo had always been curious as to the nature of ‘evil’…Damnit! I had no idea how close he was!”
“Evil?”, Bradley asked.
“Arduino wants to explain it, here, here you go.”, Tammaro said, obviously rattled.
“Commander?”, Arduino asked. “I will explain. Our uncle Osvaldo is, as we have explained before, not a sane man. The research that most divided him and our father is Osvaldo’s fascination with the darkness in man. While our father maintained that only the Dying Will, the willpower of a man should be harnessed; Osvaldo insisted that the use of man’s darkness would enhance the willpower, work alongside it. The problem is that darkness will always fight with Dying Will as the force that drives a man’s actions.”
“What are you driving at?”, Bradley asked.
“Sansone insists that he tell this part. Just as well, he is best at summarization.”, Arduino said, passing the phone.
“Commander, I will be brief.”, Sansone said simply. “Osvaldo seems to have developed a way to suppress the will of a person, using what is likely darkness given physical form. I don’t know the details myself, as I’m going off of what our father told us never to attempt, but if my guess is correct, Osvaldo has administered this treatment to the Seven Skulls. The darkness in their system will suppress their real personality, and remove the restraints their body has set on both physical performance and Dying Will output. This is hardly ideal for those boys. The darkness, especially foreign darkness, from someone else’s soul, will have a corrosive effect on their soul.”
“How do we stop that?”, Bradley asked. “I know that the Seven Skulls aren’t the enemies we want to be facing. They’re being manipulated by Osvaldo somehow.”
“Frediano here.”, the Rain Ferraro Brother’s voice came from the phone. “I have some theories about how to dispel the darkness. You’re not going to like them, though.”
“I’m all ears, man.”, Bradley asked.
“The first is the most basic. Osvaldo likely doesn’t have a perfect formula, so the darkness is incomplete. The Seven Skulls’ bodies are likely already fighting it. Exhaust the darkness operating their body, and it should lose its hold over them.”
“So...we just win?”, Bradley asked. “That makes things very easy.”
“Not easy.”, Narciso countered. “The darkness is their body is only the beginning. Remember that the Seven Skulls possess Darkness Boxes. Those boxes will release their animal directly into their body, resulting in a hybrid. But that hybrid is fueled by darkness. This new darkness drug Osvaldo seems to have developed will push them beyond the limits you’ve seen them reach.”
“Beyond the limits…”, Bradley murmured. “You’re underestimating us. The Primo Varia Officers are the single greatest strike force the Orso has. Zach didn’t pick us for our good looks.”
“Clearly.”, Narciso muttered. “But there’s another way that you should be aware of. In reality, mixing these two methods is the best way to break them free.”
“Hit me.”, Bradley said, ignoring, or more likely, not understanding the insult.
“It’s a bit cliché…But…try to reason with them. The body will fight darkness on its own; my father has proven that with his own research. What Osvaldo has done is an abomination, it aims to suppress human nature. Perhaps I only ask this of you as a proud son, but I want you to prove Osvaldo wrong. As soon as is possible, reason with them. Their own Dying Will should turn on the darkness. This moment of inner conflict is when you must strike.”
“So what I’m getting is…We make them flashback to when they were good again, and then we hit them while they’re distracted.”
“Precisely.”
“Perfect.”, Bradley grinned. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to fight dirty…Wait, hold on a second.”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t there six of you at the base? I only talked to five of you. Usually, when I have a bit like this, and I’m talking to a group, I chat with each one for a little bit…”
“You mean Edmondo? He…left. He murmured something about how ‘that girl has fangs after all’, and ran off. He was smiling. That doesn’t happen very often.”
“Fangs?”, Bradley murmured. “Well, alright…Thanks for your help.”
“Anytime. Now, go. You’ve got a battle to win.”
Bradley linked his phone to the other six so he could speak without them needing to answer.
“Guys, I just talked to the Ferraro. We’re dealing with evil zombies. But they’re in there somewhere. The plan is simple enough. Beat them up. When they’re able to speak, reason with them. Then, when they’re distracted, beat them up some more.”
---
Edmondo dashed toward South Carroll, grinning madly.
“A killing intent so massive I felt it from the base?”, he thought. “This, I must see…”
---
Hayley Madeira, Primo Rain Officer, stood across from Placido, the calmest of the Seven Skulls. Of course, one wouldn’t know this by looking at them now. Placido stood as still and expressionless as the other five. The wind came over the lake, blowing their hair slightly. The sound of the water hitting the land was the only noise.
“I don’t like doing this.”, Hayley murmured, remembering how Placido had bowed to her when they first met. He wasn’t a bad guy, Hayley was sure of that. But something…something was driving him. And, maybe it was just the girl’s imagination, but something about Placido’s eyes was crying for help. She wouldn’t let him down. Even if the way she had to help him was…unorthodox. She ignited her ring with the light blue flames of a Rain-type. “If you can hear me in there, don’t worry. I’m going to save you.”
---
Watching through a crystal back at the abandoned movie theater, Osvaldo smiled.
“Placido first…”, he murmured. “The fool girl is walking to her watery grave…”
---
Hayley pressed her ring into her box, releasing her Rain Jellyfish.
“Somnus, get ready.”, she told the aquatic creature. It, because his creator was a little off in the head, blinked at Hayley with his adorable kiwi-sized eyes and made a strange gurgling chirp to signify that it understood.
Placido, in his first movement beyond walking, raised both hands. From his own ring leaked a mixture of Rain Flames and a black, gelatinous substance. The mixture formed a large dome around them, covering mostly land, but part of the lake.
“Guess we can’t leave this spot until we knock you out, huh?”, Hayley asked, not expecting a reply. “Well, alright. Let’s see what Osvaldo armed you with.”
Placido drew from his pocket a black baton. He closed his eyes to focus, and when it reopened them, they glowed a dark blue. His body burned, for a second, with the Rain Flame and darkness mixture, before the flames flowed into the baton. It gained a bluish tint, and began to extend, changing shape. Placido now held a full-length spear.
---
“Flawless…”, Osvaldo murmured. “Compressed darkness, ready to be shaped into whatever the wielder desires…Oh, my genius almost frightens me…”
---
Placido took a slow step toward the Rain Officer.
“Somnus, let’s start with the usual.”, Hayley said. The little creature squeaked in agreement, and launched himself at Placido by flicking his tentacles. Placido prepared his spear, but Somnus was too fast, and whipped a tentacle at the boy. The usual result was intense pain, as Somnus released his toxins into the body. This time, Placido made no indication he felt anything at all, and grabbed Somnus by the…the word is head?...He jabbed his spear through the jellyfish, not bothering to remove the creature from the weapon. He took another step toward Hayley, who scowled.
“Somnus…”, she murmured sadly, then ignited her ring again, grabbing a second box from her uniform’s inside pocket. “But a Varia Agent isn’t a one trick pony.”
She plunged her ring into the box, releasing a long cane with thin spikes covering the tip.
“The spikes are covered with Somnus’ toxins.”, Hayley said, loud and clear, in hopes it might help Placido break free. “I really don’t like using this myself.”
Placido took a giant leap, driving his spear at her. She parried with the cane, forcing him to spin the lance, to strike her with the dull end. Hayley ducked, and aimed a kick at his side. Upon its delivery, and his complete lack of reaction, she backflipped away from him.
“You really are immune to pain…”, Hayley murmured sadly. Then, for some, sick, twisted reason, she smiled. “That makes it easier.”
---
“That’s a lot of Rain Flames.”, Bradley commented, seeing, from his high ground, each fight with a perfect view. “That’s not one of Hayley’s techniques…No, that’s too big, too flashy.”
He began to reminisce on one of the Primo Varia’s earlier missions, and the chewing out he had gotten from Zach soon after.
---
“So…it ALL exploded?”, Zach asked. “You blew up…ALL…of it?”
“Um…yes.”, Bradley said, a little bit embarrassed. “We got a little tiny bit carried away.”
Zach facepalmed.
“Bradley, do you know what the word ‘stealth’ means?”
“I could swear I’ve heard the term, but I couldn’t use it in a sentence.”
Zach facepalmed again.
“Okay. That was my mistake. That…was, yeah, my mistake. Definitely should have made sure you knew what you were doing before this all happened. Laura, I need you, right now, to teach Bradley exactly what ‘stealth’ means, and how ‘firing wildly’ and ‘kicking everything with super strength’ are exactly not that.”
“Understood.”, Laura said, secretly a little upset she would have to explain this concept, when it was so much more fun to watch him go nuts. She took Bradley by the arm and walked him out.
“And Adrien?”, Zach asked.
“Yes?”, the Cloud Officer asked.
“You…encouraged him, is what I’m hearing?”, Zach asked, unbelieving. “Why would you encourage him to be so…unstealthy, on this mission?”
“It seemed like more fun his way.”, she replied.
“I…wha…that’s not…”, Zach stammered, trying to find a way to combat that logic. “You’re really lucky you’re so cute, otherwise…”
“You would be mad at me?”, Adrien asked. After a moment of malicious thinking, she batted her eyelashes.
“Get out of my office.”, Zach said, trying to squint in anger that would never come. She walked out with the confidence of one who knows she could never possibly be in trouble.
“Matt?”, Zach asked wearily. His cousin, sitting next to him, on the opposite side as the rest of his squad, his feet up on the boss’ desk, turned his head and nodded.
“Totally agree.”, Matt said. “These guys are all completely unprofessional.”
“Each account of the matter is a little bit different, puts a little more blame on everyone else, but the ONE thing that every SINGLE person agrees on is how YOU caused the most damage. EVEN YOU! YOU WROTE THAT YOURSELF!”, Zach shouted. He shrugged.
“You gave me a giant flail.”, he said simply. “Flailers gonna flail.”
“Get the hell out of my office.”, Zach said, and paused a moment as Matt didn’t move. “You’re not going to get up, are you?”
“Not until I need to eat out of your private fridge.”, Matt said, already drinking out of a bottle of pineapple juice Zach had been saving for a special occasion.
“Fine. Megan?”
Megan Etheridge stepped up.
“Yup?”, she asked.
“Megan…you actually caused less unnecessary destruction than your usual average. I should be congratulating you, but those words will physically not come to my mouth.”
Matt offered her a swig of the pineapple juice to celebrate, which she gratefully accepted. She strolled out immediately after, despite Zach not being done. He shook his head.
“Rachel?”, he asked, as Rachel Larkin, who had been standing quietly the whole time, stepped up.
“Rachel, you stayed up past your bedtime the night of the mission.”, Zach said simply. “How are you supposed to grow up big and strong if you don’t let your body get the rest it needs?”
Rachel facepalmed.
“Alright, get outta here, and take this bum with you.”, Zach requested. Rachel lifted Matt, still drinking Zach’s private supply, by the collar and carried him out.
“Anything to yell at me about?”, Hayley asked. Zach smiled.
“Only about how you can’t seem to teach those other knuckleheads how to be professional.”, he grinned. “Even with those six goofing around, you managed to get the hostage back. I don’t know what we’d be doing if not for your skill.”
“Don’t mention it…Okay, no, go on.”, Hayley said cheerfully.
“Matt, Bradley, Megan…they’re all incredibly destructive. Laura and Adrien…they just don’t care enough to prevent disasters. Rachel…don’t tell anyone I said this, but that girl is so over her head keeping Bradley from…literally everything dangerous. She actually had to call me in because he was running with scissors. Not normal scissors. Safety scissors. Like, the kind of scissors that cannot cut anything but paper. He had somehow broken the toilet. The point I’m making, beyond how I need you to help me fix a toilet later tonight, if you don’t mind, is that without you, we just wouldn’t flow properly.”
“Awww….Thanks, Stime.”, Hayley said with a grin. Then her face fell. “You were joking about the toilet, though, right?”
“The shower’s broken too, but that one’s Tatsu’s fault, he already confessed. Creepy little bastard, that thing.”
---
“If I don’t win this, then this mission won’t…flow properly.”, Hayley murmured. “Placido! I’m REALLY sorry if you can feel this! Somnus!”
Placido, as opponents were wont to do, had ignored the adorable jellyfish on the end of his spear, which had slowly crawled around, as a ring to a finger, the weapon, and, as an amorphous blob will tend to do, crawled his way onto the top of Placido’s head.
“Somnus isn’t so simple to hurt, you know. He’s got the neat trick to be able to rearrange the mesoglea in his body at a moment’s notice. For those of you non-biology lovers, that’s the ‘jelly’ in a jellyfish. No organs. No nerves. Somnus didn’t feel a thing. It’s easy for a person to feel Somnus on them.”, Hayley said. “That makes him hard to get into the perfect position. But an enemy who doesn’t feel anything? That’s a perfect target. Do it, Somnus.”
The infernally cute little creature squeaked happily, and jabbed his numerous tentacles all over Placido’s upper body.
“The jellyfish Somnus is based on is known for its poison, but he’s not using that this time. Right now, he’s pumping high purity Rain Flames into your body. And since Rain Flames have the ‘Tranquility’ attribute, they’re slowly, so slowly, paralyzing you completely…I should NOT be allowed to enjoy this as much as I do…”
Somnus, having delivered his payload, leapt back into Hayley’s arms. She smiled and hugged him.
“Mission complete.”, she announced, and Somnus squeaked back. Suddenly, tendrils of a black, gelatinous substance burst from Placido’s skin, forcing the light blue flames Hayley had painstakingly planted out as well. His body moving like a rusted machine, Placido raised an arm and tore at his shirt. The Rain Box implanted in his skin, overtop his heart, stood out, the light blue contrasting with the tone of his skin. His ring, as if by command, ignited into Rain Flames, and it creaked toward his chest.
“Oh. Not yet.”, Hayley said, a little bit disappointed. Then she smiled. “Who am I kidding? I love this job…”
Placido pushed his ring into his chest-mounted box, and his body began glowing with a bright blue light.
---
Osvaldo growled. It was unfortunate that the girl was so skilled. He didn’t want to make a habit of relying on the Hell Holes he had designed for emergencies against every opponent.
“No matter.”, he whispered to herself. “With Placido’s Hell Hole, even this girl couldn’t win. Shame, though…the girl’s skill makes her a natural born assassin…but she didn’t use the poison she could have…But why? Why would she refrain? She’s…too nice, for her job. She needs to abandon her heart, if she wants real power.”
---
Slowly, Placido’s body underwent a transformation. A dorsal fin grew from the back as his skin began to grey, and bladed, fin-like appendages grew from his arms. His face extended, growing outward.
“How sad…”, Hayley murmured, looking at the once handsome figure before her. “I always thought dolphins were adorable. Now…I’m a little horrified. Somnus, we’re ending this now, before he embarrasses himself anymore. Cambio Forma.”
Somnus did a little dance, and began to glow blue. Slowly, he began to change shape, his small, mushy body shifting into a long, slender, metallic form. Hayley held in her hands a trident, a blue gem inlaid where the blades meet the shaft, a Roman numeral “I” in white overtop of it.
“Tre Sogni.”, she said. “This is what we call this form of Somnus. Does your form have a name?”
Placido said nothing. Hayley held Tre Sogni out in front of her, making it very visible.
“This is the symbol of trust my boss has in me. This is the sign of my authority, and my adherence to the Orso Code.”, she said, loudly. “What does that form mean? Why did your boss give you that weapon?”
Placido’s eyes lost focus for a moment, the blue eyes wandered a bit in the black sclera.
“I’m getting to him…”, Hayley thought happily. “Making him fight off that paralysis worked perfectly. The darkness is losing its grip, now!”
---
- Before…*
“Hey.”, the bespectacled boy said softly, looking at the girl, sitting, crying by herself late at night, on the school’s rooftop. “Do you want to talk?”
She looked up quickly, not knowing he had been there.
“S-Stime?”, she asked, trying to hide her face. He sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.
“It’s okay. This is where I come, too. When I feel alone.”, he said. “Fact is, I’m not having an easy time of it myself right now. What do you say we sit here and talk each other into a smile?”
“I…okay.”, the girl said, feeling her frown lighten, if only slightly. Talking would help.
---
“Stime! You were awesome!”, Hayley shouted, hugging him. “You were so good out there!”
“Oh, stop, I was just average.”, Zach protested. “Paige, or Laura, they were the ones who were awesome up onstage.”
“Yeah, but you were awesome too, Zach.”, the girl said, her tongue stuck out. “I’m proud of you, Stimes. You did it. You did what you set out to do, and you didn’t ever let yourself stop.”
Zach took a deep breath and smiled.
“Yeah. Yeah, I did. Thanks, Hay.”
---
“Hayley’s weapon?”, Zach asked, as Emma Larson sat across from him. “Why does everyone keep asking me about these?”
“Just answer the question, Stimes.”, Emma said with a smile. “What exactly does a trident symbolize?”
“Oh, my. You’re going to charm it out of me whether or not I want to tell you, I’m sure…”, Zach muttered. “Fact is…Hayley was probably the first ‘popular’ person I called my friend. She wasn’t stuck up, or mean, or judging, of my tiny nerdy elementary school self. She was genuinely nice to me. That was new to me, to have someone so popular, be willing to pass the time with me. It gave me hope.”
“Stiiiime.”, Emma groaned. “Get to the good part. Your flashbacks are obnoxious…”
Zach rolled his eyes.
“Well, after Hayley and I came to be good friends, I realized that my mind is like an ocean. Some of it is pretty dark, and treacherous. Unsafe sailing, you know? When I talked to Hayley, my mind’s ocean calmed. It was like Poseidon himself emerged, and commanded the sea to be tranquil. She was the element in my life that silenced the storms, and parted the clouds on my lowest days.”
“And Poseidon used a trident.”, Emma said, deadpan. She thought for a moment. “That’s kind of stupid.”
“Emma…You’re kind of stupid.”, Zach said, lost for a comeback.
“Whatever. Hey, where’s your fridge? Your cousin told me you have a nice supply somewhere around here.”
“Out! Out, out, out!”
---
“What…is going on?”, the boy thought to himself. He tried to move his body, but found his movements dulled, sluggish. He looked through the darkness, trying to make out the dim figures before him. “A trident? She has a trident?”
He tried to move his arms as she recounted what made her trident so special. He mustered all of his strength, and looked down, seeing the rubbery skin his Hell Hole granted him. He didn’t remember using a Hell Hole…what was going on?”
- Before…*
“’cido!”, Baldovino shouted. “I need help!”
He sighed, and began the walk over.
“You continue to state what we all already know. What is the problem this time?”, he replied, coolly, but not without affection.
“This book you gave me.”, he said, pushing it at him. “I don’t know what he means.”
“You mean the book you stole from my desk because I was using a Twizzler as a bookmark?”, Placido asked. “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare? Is that the one?”
Baldovino nodded, an innocent look on his face. Placido facepalmed.
“Shakespeare isn’t something you can just pick up and get.”, Placido began to explain. “It takes a lot of practice before one gets to be good at it.”
“…But I want to know what it’s about NOW.”, Baldovino said. “I can’t TEASE you about it, if I don’t know what it IS. And I can’t TEASE you about it, if I’M reading it. It’s not a hard concept, ‘cido.”
“Gaahh…”, Placido groaned, facepalming again. “If you must…Right now, I’m reading ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.”
“Whazzat about?”, Baldovino asked.
“…Fairies.”, Placido said, unable to regret the decision, as it was inevitable.
“’cido’s reading a faaairy book!”, ‘cido’s reading a faaairy book!”, Baldovino sang loudly, skipping out of the room, past an entering Faustino.
“Midsummer Night, huh?”, Faustino asked. Placido, his eyes still closed in annoyance, nodded. “I love that one.”
“Yes…but he wouldn’t tease YOU for it…”, Placido said. “Isn’t your favorite ‘The Taming of the Shrew ?’”
“Yup!”, Faustino said brightly from his wheelchair. “It’s got a TERRIBLE moral, but it’s so funny! I can’t wait to see it someday.”
“You’re in luck, then.”, Placido said slyly, holding up two tickets. “The high school across town is performing it this weekend.”
“’cido!”, Faustino gasped, his mouth wide open in surprise. “You didn’t!”
“Of course I did.”, Placido said, waving away the boy’s surprised face. “Don’t think anything of it. You’ve been so busy lately, with your online classes, I thought it would be good to get you out of that library for a night.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Placido! You’re so cool!”
“Hush. I don’t want the other guys thinking I’ve gotten lax about keeping up their grades. We’re lucky this ‘Mr. B. Ferraro’ guy is paying for our schooling, we can’t let him down, whoever he is.”
“You got it, ‘cido.”, Faustino said, a big smile on his face. “Oh, I just read a good book yesterday. It was really sad though. You might like it.”
“What’s the title?”
“Flowers For Algernon”, Faustino said. “It…made me think. It made me realize I’m lucky.”
“I’ll give it a read.”, Placido said, an easy smile on his face.
---
“Faustino…”, the boy thought. “You didn’t know it then…but I had been…impossibly sad that day…Your smile…like it always was, was what kept me from crying that night…”
The face of his brother flashed through his mind once again. He summoned a reserve of strength that had been suppressed, and whipped his arm out. It was a futile gesture, one that did nothing, but he hoped…he hoped…
---
“It’s working.”, Hayley thought, as the message Placido had tried to send her registered perfectly. “We’re almost there.”
Hayley jumped high into the air, bringing her trident down hard. Placido tried to block with his lance, but between his power being strained by the paralysis from before, and the real Placido’s soul fighting the darkness, the strength of the block was weak, and the lance fell out of his hands easily.
“I won’t stab, promise.”, Hayley said. “I’m just going to keep you from moving anymore.”
She jutted out her trident once, and just before the blades made impact, she drew it back. However, the Rain Flames on the surface of the blade splashed off, making contact with Placido’s skin.
“One.”, she said. The darkness driving Placido, feeling danger, tried to sidestep, but it was too slow, and Hayley drew back a second time, blasting the boy with another wave of Rain Flames.
“Two.”, she said, smiling a little easier. “Last time, promise.”
Placido’s body pushed itself into the lake, where it knew the dolphin body would be strongest. But Hayley leapt after him, and held the trident above the water.
“You know…tridents originated as fishing tools.”, Hayley said. “I didn’t want to spoil it, but…I’m even more deadly in the water.”
She pushed the trident’s tip into the water, and the light blue flames raced over the lake’s surface. Slowly, Placido’s frozen body floated to the surface, slowly losing its dolphin-like features. Hayley got in after him, and pulled him out, as the Rain Flame barrier around them faded.
“I guess…we did win.”, Hayley said. Somnus, who had changed back to his jellyfish form once Placido was out of the water, squeaked happily.
She sighed deeply, finally able to relax…
Placido coughed violently. She quickly turned to him, to check on him, and saw blood dripping from his mouth.
“Oh…no…Oh no no no!”, Hayley frantically whispered. She turned him onto his back, and saw, to her horror, the skin around the box inside his chest begin to pulsate, as if it were pushing it out, violently. She put her fingers to the boy’s chest, and fell back in horror. “I need to call a doctor…”
---
Osvaldo scowled. Placido had proven to be a disgusting failure. He shook his head. Worst yet was the fatal flaw in the Hell Hole. It was a poetic flaw, but a flaw nonetheless. When the body fully rejected the darkness, it would force out the Darkness Box attached to the normal Rain Box on the surface. Because the Box needed to be able to release its contents into the bloodstream, the heart was the optimal place to connect it. If the box were to be rejected…the heart would come with it.
The punishment for using the powers of the Hell Hole incorrectly…was Hell itself.