Chapter Eight - The Jameson Heritage

 After the long night of crying due to her most recent loss, Annabelle finally fell asleep on her bed, asking Tom if he could stay in the room with her like she did after the meteor shower.

 Tom did as she asked, and fell asleep on her couch, which he realized was a lot smaller this time around. Still, he was out within a few minutes.

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 By the time Annabelle had woken up, it was late the next afternoon. Tom was still asleep and she didn't want to wake him, so she quietly left her bedroom and walked through the house to get to the living room, where she planned on watching some television, but when Annabelle finally got there she heard a strange noise, like the faint ringing of a teleportation device from a science fiction film.

 

 Annabelle turned around and saw The Benefactor standing behind her, seemingly out of nowhere. She quickly came to the conclusion that he had teleported inside the house.

 "Hello my dear." 

 "Don't move, this will not hurt a bit. I have no intention to harm you, Miss Kethrin. I just want to take you without a fight. You are going to make me an even richer man." The benefactor took out a device which emitted a wave of energy towards her. Annabelle was so afraid that she didn't even run.

 The energy hit Annabelle...

 ...and a few seconds later she was knocked out. Her last memory before slipping into unconsciousness was the vision of the Benefactor standing above her. 

 "Good night, sweet princess, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." 

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Maria was leaving her place of work when she saw Deacon across the studio's parking lot. "Maria Kethrin, you're looking as beautiful as ever." He said as he walked up to her.

 "And coming from someone as amazing as I am, that is a complement you can take to the bank."

"What do you need Deacon?" Maria asked. "Have you come here to ask my blessing to date Annabelle because I will NOT give it. I don't know why you keep asking." 

"Oh don't worry." Deacon replied. "I am here to ask if you could possibly take me in? As you may have heard, my foster father had a bit of an accident last night and now I am without an adult to wake me up for school or whatever the hell adults do these days. And while I am living at your house, perhaps I could get your blessing to date a certain girl with the initials A.J.K.?"

"I don't know what's worse. Your complete lack of respect for the dead or using his death to further your so-called 'romantic ambition'. You're a little monster."

"Don't worry, Miss Kethrin, I assure you whatever I feel in my heart, it is some sort of respect or whatever."

"Get out of here or I will have you escorted off the lot by studio security."

Deacon smiled and walked away. "Oh well, I guess I will have to go live in my mansion in Hidden Springs with the butlers, maids, and cooks that tend to my every whim. Boo-freaking-hoo. Have a lovely time in Bridgeport, Mari-uh."

 "That little snobby piece of sh-"

Suddenly, Maria's cell phone rang, interrupting her rather vocal thoughts. She looked on the phone to see Annabelle's name but when she answered  it the voice on the other end belonged to someone entirely different. 

"Hello Miss Kethrin." The Benefactor said, "I'm afraid Annabelle is indisposed at the moment." 

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 "NO!" Tom said as he opened his eyes. He didn't know what had happened, but he needed to find out where Annabelle was. 

 He ran upstairs and saw the room was empty. All of the sudden Deacon's laugh was heard.

"Where's Annabelle?" Tom asked.

 "The Benefactor used his lovely device to knock her out and take her away from you, can't say I don't blame him... she deserves better than a weak, miserable little goofball whose parents were killed by a mummy." 

 "DEACON?!"

 "You keep giving me that face and I'll start to take it personally Tommy." Deacon said as he walked over to him.  

"By the way, while I was walking around I noticed Annabelle has a magical book." He said. "You know, I'm into magic myself."

"But I do wonder if you've ever made any jokes pertaining to her being a witch, considering, you know, she's green and all."

"WHAT? How you do know that?" 

"Well, a little bird told me." 

"In any case I'm gonna show you a little magic trick: Hey, ya looking? Watch my hands, okay? I'm gonna do a trick called 'Tom Fallery'. It's just one quick motion of the..."

 "HANDS!" Deacon let loose a massive punch that knocked the already-weakened Tom down the stairs. 

 "Get it? Instead of 'Tom Foolery' it's 'Tom Fallery' HAH HAH HAH!!" Deacon laughed at his own joke, unknown that someone was coming up behind him. 

"I'm as funny as I am awesome! I'm the perfect human specimen! Hah. hah. HAH!"

"You sick evil son of a b-!!!"

John leapt for Deacon, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile Tom had stood up and limped off to his room, defeated. He realized John couldn't take Deacon by himself but also realized that it would be suicide for himself to fight in his weakened condition. 

 Finally in his room, Tom decided to come up with an actual plan to take Deacon down, but for all his ideas he couldn't think of a way to go through with them. All this time Tom could hear John and Deacon as they scuffled in the living room.

"Is that it? Maybe after I kick you to the curb you belong on I can show Scarlett what a real man looks like you little wimp!"

"NEVER!!"

 

Tom then looked over on his end table and saw his true motivation for fighting: 

 This picture was taken a few days before the accident that left Tom and Annabelle injured. Although  he was too weak to fight for himself, Tom realized he had to fight for her, and to find out where the Benefactor had taken her. He had to get the information from Deacon. 

 Just then another item of interest came to Tom. It was a chest that his father had given to him when he was a mere Toddler. He had never been able to open it, but he heard a faint noise from inside it, a noise that sounded like his father's whispering. 

 Tom walked over to the chest and, to his surprise, he was able to open it with ease. When it was opened, he heard his father's voice speak to him and saw a heavenly golden light within. 

"Tom."

"Dad?" 

"Your friends need you Tom." 

"I don't know what to do?"

"Let your heart guide you, my son. Let it be your shepherd. You have the ability to do whatever you want. Remember that, my son."

 "Now, go forth. Take my relics that had been passed down from generation to generation, and wear them proudly, my son."

 A glowing essence surrounded Tom, and he felt great as it covered him.

Suddenly he felt a wave of energy around him, and everything went white.

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 "You." 

 "Fail." 

 "John!" Deacon then delivered a powerful hit that knocked John out. The millionaire then chuckled as his looked up from his battered form.

 "Mess with the best, Johnny, fall the rest. And guess what, I'm best at everything."

"Hey!" 

 Deacon turned and saw something that didn't make sense one bit.

It was Tom, fully healed from both his injury received from Deacon as well as his scars from the explosion.

 "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"