I was really excited for when I could do this post. My original idea was to do like, a whole ass drawing and maybe simple animation for it. But then the move happened and I can't find any of my files and I'm too busy to do that. So maybe I'll come back to that someday and do it when I have more time. Cause I think Lulu Flint in this thread is just really cool.

When Lulu took the book, she would find the pages stiff and solid, as if the whole thing were made of a solid object. But it was still paper, still a book. The open pages danced with childish scribbles, the scene of a dark forest moving on the pages. There were six figures, what could assume were two parents and four children, ranging in ages from teenagers to a baby. If Lulu took note, she might find one of the kids looked strikingly like the Underboss. Only, as if a child had drawn him while he was a child.

Then it spoke to her, a whispered story in a young boy's voice, the pages moving to reflect the action.

Once upon a time there was a family
a mom
a dad
an older sister
the good twin
the bad twin
and a precious baby sister

They lived by a forest where people went missing
the baby sister was too young to know such things
and she went into the forest
and she never came back

Everyone searched and searched and searched
but they never found her
and soon everyone gave up on her
except for the bad twin

He promised he would never give up on her
and one day a man heard his story
the man said he knew where the sister was
told him where to go in the forest

The bad twin went and waited
but the man was really a monster
and o̷̹͋̚ḥ̸̽g̷̰͉͗o̸̧͕͠d̵̪́ͅd̴̬̮̆̀o̶̢̠͋͘n̸̮͒'̶̨̫͗͠t̸̙̻̆m̷̝̦͛a̸͚̅͝k̵̖̯̀̒e̵͕͗̚m̸̺͛̎é̷̗t̵̰̀h̶̺͘i̸̜̘͛̈́n̷̨̳̂́k̵̫̾a̵͖̣̔b̷͚̳̈́͛ỏ̵̰̪u̵̢̲̽t̸͔̽͝i̶̜͊̎t̶͖̚l̵̗̩͆û̷̗̗̀l̴̤̰͂u̸͕̿p̷̡̹̀̌ḷ̸̾e̶̞͚͗͠â̷̯̿s̴͕͍͗e̶̖͇̚

the bad twin came home
but he wasn't the same

he wasn't the same

he wasn't the same

he wasn't the same

he wasn't the same

h̵͖̋e̴̱͋͌ ̸͇̳̾̏w̴̻̤͋̉à̵͚̆͜s̷͎̿̀n̵̢͎̓͂'̸̙̒̚t̸͈̂̒ ̵̺̃̇t̶̲͇͒h̵̘͂ȩ̶̄̊ ̴̞͇͘s̵̗̲͠ä̴͈́m̸͇̞͒̕ȇ̷͈̤

From behind, something grasps for Lulu.

A monster. Black with big blue eyes that looms over her. For wrists or whatever purchase it can hold.

This is not a safe space.

Cracks form under them, light seeping through. The tentacles writhe, shifting, as if trying to force their way in.

Lulu Flint draws to shadow.

In the waking world, Chu-e's body opens it's eyes.

But it is not Choi that wakes up.

Much like Cillian Quinn had before, Lulu meets the monster. Crystal crackles over his skin and he reaches. For her. For Darkrai? Either will do. It's so hungry.

Before Lulu is ripped from the dream, she would feel it.

The all consuming pressure of something other pressing on the back of her mind. Was that what Chu-e had to deal with constantly? Forceful, pervasive, as if it was trying to snap her mind in two, take her over. It was little wonder he wasn't more insane than he already was.

The eyes that look on Lulu now are empty and lifeless.

Something crackled like crystal snapping. Choi's neck snapped to the side and his whole body jerked to the side, limbs twisting. Black crystal flexed like scales over his face, his body, his eyes- surrounding him. It pulled itself to it's feet, more dragging real steps.

It looked between Darkrai and Lulu Flint.

It opened Choi's mouth to use his throat. It was garbled and rough; something not used to human form using Choi like a puppet.

"S̸̨̛͉̜̜͉̩͎̬̪̣̖̫̱̖͚̻͎̮̺͐ ̴̢̛̠̯̗̬̤̹̮͇͖͕̻̲͔̻̹̲̗͚̞̮͉̋̄̈͆̌͂̃͋̈́̃̀͊̀̑̌͆̓́̈́̈́͌͛̉̐̕͝ţ̸̢̖͎̜͎̭̤̣̯͍̠͐̈̈́̃̅̑̐͒̀̀̐̽̽͒̄̑̈́̓̃̏̐̀̂͘̕̕͜͝ ̸̧̰̪̠̝̹̙̝̟̮̟̥̲͂̏̇̀̆̋̎̄̓̊͒͝͠a̴̡̨̢͚̩̤̠̙̝̯͓̰͔̟͎͇͕̗̗̋͐̽͐̌̀̈́͌̾̈́̇͘͝ͅ ̴̨̨̧͙͈̰̟͕̭̗̜̹̲̼̯͚̮͇̦͈̠̰̩͎̳̲̦̂̒̄͌̽̇͐̋̃͂̎͘͝ͅr̵̛̰͎̮̝̫̹̀̓̆͆̈̇̆̎̔̿̈́̇͂͌̎̀̆̄̕͜͝ ̶̜̦̰̖͓̝͈̩̙̯̳̠̥͈̿͛̓̃͒́͋͠ṿ̴̛̺̻̰͇̹͖̙̫̒͂̃̓̓̉̂̅̒̓́̚̕͜͜͠͝ ̸̨͓͈̝̬̻̞̪̲͔̥̹̤̥̤̩̲̱͙͙͚̜̈́̌͘̕͜i̴̟̝̜͍͚̭̲͙̟̺͇̮̗͓̲̽̌̒̓̑͆͆̂̇̏̓̈́͛͋̽̉̈́̑͆̔̅͘̚̚ ̶̛̛̻̺͓͉̫̹̄̊̾̍̍̉̓̔̃̈́̒̓͗̇̉̆̐͑͘̕͘͜͠ͅn̸̡̝̣̦̞̱̣͔̦̻͇͓̖̯̥̩͕̜̳̻͍̝̑́̽́̈́ͅͅ ̸̧̺̝͓̩̦̮͍͍͙̬̥̪͕͌́͐͠͝ģ̷̛̺̗̗̪̳̝̦̞̹̞̞͍̥͎̳͑̋̓̅̾̀̽̍̀̀̓̎̍͋͂͒̒͗̕͘̕͜"

A shaking step forward as it reached outward; shaking like a newborn deer learning to use legs.

It froze.

Chu-e dropped.

Then he groaned and blinked, pushing himself up again. Like normal. His nose was bleeding; the blood crystallized into hard shapes as it dripped down his lip.

"What... Lulu? Where...?"

Coming back to himself never felt great.

Chu-e still has to push the last of sleep away. His head hurts. He's confused as to why he's on the floor.

Chu-e looks up at Lulu Flint with confusion before he glances away, almost ashamed. He smears the crystallizing blood on the back of his hand as he tries to fully get back up.

"It came out, didn't it?"

"I'm surprised Gavin didn't tell you." Chu-e groaned, regaining himself and trying to pull himself back up into the bed. Easier said than done. "That's the thing that put him in the hospital." Since this was set just after that.

A hand down his face as he sighed.

"No." He chewed on the word. Physically? No worse than usual, given his condition. Mentally? Terrible. "It wants me to eat you. I can feel it trying to crack open my brain constantly."

He snarled, not at Lulu Flint but at his luck of the draw.

"I was hoping you might find something out about it."

"He speaks highly of you." It's not a lie. At this point in time, Chu-e has no idea that Cillian Quinn and Lulu Flint are related. That's not till after, till they meet in Gavin's office and try to patch up pieces in the aftermath.

But that's for later.

But, it's Chu-e's turn to be startled. Or at least a bit confused.

"I thought I warned you the night I told you to kill me." Was his memory failing him? Even now it felt like months had passed. It frustrated him. What use was he as any type of informant, at collecting information, if he couldn't remember something so simple? Would he start losing names? Would he come home one day and forget who Eris Halla was?

It scared him. Losing himself.

He was reminded of before all this parasite stuff happened. Before Chu-e was invited back into Rocket, took up Underboss; sitting with Gavin and admitting to the other man that the thing that scared him the most was his future. When he had that final seizure and he didn't come back. Not being Chu-e anymore, but a husk of a person laying in a hospital bed until he faded away. A death before death.

This creature inside of him was the same shit in a different form.

Maybe that's why it didn't scare him as much as it should have.

"... I should have explained myself better. I thought you knew." He will concede that. Chu-e likes Lulu, possibly more than she likes him. She's not a fucking idiot like a lot of other people.

Chu-e tried to remember more. If there was any more. He was still too shaken from his own experience.

He didn't like to show it and wanted people to know even less. But... he likes Lulu Flint.

"Physically? Uh... nauseous. Hungry. Kind of fatigued."

He thinks, if Lulu hadn't offered her own small 'I'm sorry', he might not have told her.

"Mentally? Not... great." He lifted an arm. He pushed, pushed, tried to force him mind to focus...

A shimmer of black crystal blossomed on his skin. It rippled over his arm and hand like crystallized ooze before sinking back into the skin. That small act seemed to take a great effort. Later, much later, he would be able to do it at will. The thing eating him alive would have sunk further into his mind.

"I feel like a bomb." He groaned and pushed himself to his feet, standing again. Just the slightest of wobble. "At some point this thing is going to go off. I just don't want you or anyone else to get caught in the blast."