Black Strings: Threads of Revenge

Tommy and Ginger walk side by side on their way to Benjamin's. The midday sun overhead in the beautiful blue sky. The streets are a little more crowded than usual.

"Why am I staying with them again"? Ginger asks with books in her arms and a backpack over her shoulder. "I have something to do and-" Tommy began. "Why not with Toby and Rain"? Ginger interrupts. Tommy sighs. "I'll tell you why after I get back." "You better," Ginger says.

With the front door of Benjamin's house now in sight, they stop. "What"? Ginger asks. Tommy takes his reincarnation knife from his pocket and places it in Ginger's hand. She looks down. "Tommy"? She mutters. Tommy doesn't say anything. He just looks at her with a softened smile. "Please don't put yourself in danger." She mutters.

She knew what he meant. She has the pieces to figure out his reason. Accident or purpose, he and Fate only know.

Tommy knocks on the door. Benjamin opens the door to find them there. "Need anything"? Benjamin asks. With a sheepish grin, Tommy asks, "I'm sorry to do this, but can Ginger stay with you guys for a few days? There is something I need to do, and I don't want to risk her getting hurt". Benjamin smiles. "Gladly. In fact, she was here earlier today". "Thank you so much"! Tommy says. He waits for Ginger to head inside before teleporting away.

He ends up in the forest. Tommy exhales. A portal forms in front of him. With a wild mind, he slips through.

He lays his eyes on the black scenery. "I know I have been doing many things Toby, but just know I'm sorry for not saying anything". Tommy mutters.

He wanders for hours, eventually- coming across a town. Tommy puts his hair into a braided bun and steps inside.

An outlier he is. He stands out as being a living going through a town of spirits. A black spirit taller than him stops him.

"Who are you"? She says. Her violet eyes pierce at him. "Tommy Spirit. You"? He responds. "The last name sounds quite familiar". She says to herself. "Kay. My name is Kay".

Kay floats to Tommy. "Who are your parents"? She asks. "Why"? He questions. "Just answer the question". She tells him. "Drew and Kate rit." He tells Kay what she wants. "Your grandparents. Mother's side". Kay says. Tommy looks from side to side. No one is paying attention to them. "My grandma is..." he begins. Remember Tommy! Remember! "Mallory Black". He says as calmly as he can muster up.

Kay puts her hands in her pockets. "Black". She muttered to herself a few times. The people passing the two in the center street began to stare. Whispers arose, and floating stopped. She looks at Tommy. "You should meet your elder ancestor, Maxi Black," Kay says to him. Tommy cocks his head to the side. Kay disappears, teleporting away.

Tommy grips his backpack strap. What was that? Who is Maxi Black? Kay said he is my ancestor, but how does she know that? Why did she ask for the names of my family members? What does she know? Those were the questions added to his mental list. One of the bigger questions on his mind was "Who even is Kay?".

Black spirits start to surround him. They said things like, "Kay is quite powerful and doesn't talk to just anyone" and "What's your spirit class? It must be pretty important". They also asked questions about what it's like to be alive and human. Things like "What does walking feel like?" and "What is it like to eat and taste food?" The questions and attention was too overwhelming for him. It was too much. He teleported away. He had to.

Tommy ends up at the end of town. He gasps for air. He didn't even realize he was holding his breath. His ears began to ring. They rang for about thirty seconds before abruptly stopping. Why did that happen? Why do they ring at random? He sighs. "Better keep walking. I'm sure I have much farther to go". He mutters to himself.

That's what he does. He hums to himself old lullabies and pretty songs. He reads the books in his backpack. Sewing and walking as he recites stories, myths, and legends to himself aloud. This is what Tommy Spirit does for the next few hours.

Around him is complete silence. He is the only thing making a sound for many miles. The rumbling of the earth underneath alerts him. Vines wrap around his foot and ankle mid-step. He stops. More vines rip the earth apart and grab and wrap around his limbs and torso. A black spirit with a white star on his nose and dark green, vine-like markings on his arms comes into view.

Tommy squirms and struggles. The vines were tightly wrapped around him. That didn't stop him from trying to free himself and escape the situation. "Stop trying to escape". The unique black spirit told him. "I got you trapped in place. I think I have a good chance to kill you". Tommy stops. He tries to summon his reincarnation knife but fails.

Shit! I forgot I let Ginger borrow my knife. "You're another member of the Star Guard. Why are you alone"? Tommy stalls.

The spirit comes closer. Tommy looks them in the eye with determination. With his hand gripping the vine, his on-the-spot plan has been set in motion.

The vine sparks aflame. The small flame travels around to other vines. Soon enough, around him was ash. He throws his fists up before surrounding them in fire. The star guard member looks at Tommy in disbelief.

"You're a living! You can't lay a finger on me". The spirit says, unphased by Tommy's fire. Another vine springs up from the ground to grab Tommy. On high alert, he moves out of the way and burns it from a distance. He kicks the soil into the air. It turns into a rock that he kicks in the direction of the black spirit.

I can't fight right now. I have somewhere to be. My decision to make is to evade or continue to fight. An attack lands in the middle of Tommy's forehead. A second one hits him in the center of his chest, making a small amount of blood and essence shoot out of his mouth.

Tommy lays on the ground. Breathe! Breathe through the pain! Don't let their attacks get to you. A shadow blast hits the front of his calf. "Are you gonna get up and fight or are you going to make it easy to kill you and just lie there"? Tommy is asked. Silence fills the air as Tommy thinks to decide his answer.

Fight! Leave! Kill them before they kill you! Evade! This is your chance to escape! Fight!

Tommy's head was filled with the voices from days ago. He teleports behind the black spirit and grabs them. He puts his hand on their mouth. Fumes seep out of Tommy's skin putting the spirit to sleep. Reaching into their chest, he rips their soul out of them. Tommy lets go and sets the spirit on the ground. Teleporting away he leaves the area.

In the middle of the forest, Tommy lies flat on his back. A different black spirit appears in front of him. The spirit didn't have a white star like other members of the Star Guard. The spirit's star was sunflower yellow, like Fate's eyes.

"Who are you"? Tommy asks. The black spirit responds, "I'm Fate's messenger. I'm one of Fate's personal staff members". Tommy nods.

The both of them didn't say anything for a few minutes. The messenger opened his mouth and said to Tommy, "your sister has gone missing". Tommy rapidly gets up and grabs him by the shoulders. Shaking the messenger, he asks, "she's missing"? The messenger nods. Letting go, he backs away.

The Fate's messenger opens a portal for Tommy and he goes through.