Timelined the day after Army of Two
<@Venom> "CASSIE!!!!" Eddie all but screamed, jumping awake with his hand out, reaching towards the celling as if grasping for a hand only he could see. He shuddered, drawing in a breath as he realized where he was.
<@Venom> His hand fell to his lap, as did his eyes, darkened and bloodshot as if he hadn't slept for weeks. Black tendrils rose up beneath his skin, winding up across his cheek and neck. He sat in silence, quaking gently as a few tears welled up in his eyes.
<Hope> The scream had woken Hope, causing her to sit up quickly and stare at Eddie. As he calmed to silence, Hope moved to him, sliding an arm around him wordlessly.
<@Venom> Eddie's hands covered his face as he leaned into Hope, sniffling a little bit; "S-she keeps...I-I keep seeing her. I keep seeing her, she won't....s-she wants me to....s-she wants me to kill him and...." he shook his head, "....s-she's there! S-she's there, she's real...s-she's real..."
<Hope> Hope just held him, staying silent. It was useless to point out that Cassie was dead, despite the fact that her body seemed to be missing from the morgue. She didn't want to get his hopes up at all. She just rocked him a bit, holding onto him. "Shhh...." she told him soothingly.
<@Venom> "Y-you have to...y-y'have to believe me, Hope..." he turned, hands on her shoulders, "S-she keeps....in my dreams, I keep seeing her. It's like she's right here, she's right here..." he shook her a little, "...y-you believe me, right!?"
<Hope> "I... uh..." Hope stared at him. It was impossible to tell him no with that face. He looked so pitiful and lonely, like everyone in the world had abandoned him. "Yes," she heard herself say. "I believe you."
<@Venom> Finally giving in to the tears, Eddie held her closer, sobbing into her shoulder, "Everyone thinks I'm crazy! Everyone! B-but this is right! It IS! I KNOW IT'S RIGHT! S-she's real! She is!" he choked up a few more sobs, shaking his head, "T-this is right! I HAVE TO DO THIS!"
<Hope> Hope's heart broke for him. She stroked his hair gently, trying to be comforting. "Yeah... they all do. They all think the two of us are, really. But you aren't crazy," she assured him. "They don't care... the X-men don't care, Eddie. That's what Teagan told me, in that hell hole."
<@Venom> Eddie nodded, "T-they don't....nobody understands..." he sniffed, "I-I was wrong, I was...I thought it could be like the comics but it isn't, is it? It isn't....s-she's gone..."
<Hope> "No... no it's not like the comics. In the comics, the hero always comes home." Hope spoke softly, sighing. "They always come home...."
<@Venom> "I-I have to do this....I have to kill him..." Eddie affirmed, backing away to look at her, dark veins dancing beneath his skin in places, "Y-you...you'll help, right? Y-you won't get in the way, y-you trust me?"
<Hope> "The opposite. If I can help in anyway, I will. But you get to kill him. I will handle anyone else stupid enough to get in our way."
<@Venom> Smiling a little, Eddie managed a little laugh, "T-thank you. Thank you, Hope, thank you so, so much..." he hugged her again. laughing some more, "I-I knew it...knew you would understand, I knew..."
<Hope> Unsure of what that said about her, Hope just smiled. "Yeah... kind of have a lot invested in this."
<@Venom> "We're gonna find him, we will....we'll find Johnny, and we'll kill all of the bastards who hurt him." Eddie nodded, "S-she wanted that. She told me....she told me..."
<Hope> "I know we'll find him... I just hope we aren't too late. It's been so long already..."
<@Venom> Eddie shook his head frivolously, "It's not. It's not too late, it's not..." he stroked her face, smiling a little, "It's not, Hope. It isn't, I know it isn't."
<Hope> "I haven't given up yet.. but how can you be so positive?" She looked up at him, trying to calm her own fears. They had enough to deal with without her breaking down too.
<@Venom> "She told me I can save them. Johnny and Jamie. I-in my dream, Cassie told me." he smiled at her, as if sure he'd seen an angel, "S-she told me. So it's gonna be alright." he laughed a little, "S-she...she told me...."
<Hope> Hope bit back the comment about Cassie not being a fucking psychic. Eddie was nuts enough as it was. "I guess we'll see, won't we?"
<@Venom> With a short laugh, Eddie nodded, "You'll see." he affirmed, as if absolutely sure, "You'll see. We'll save 'em. We'll save them both and then....I'll avenge her." he gulped, "...she'll...s-she'll be able to rest after that, I know it."
<Hope> "Shit I hope so." She also hoped that the haunting stayed with Eddie and weren't contagious. "Yeah... yeah I guess so." Hope sighed a bit. She just wanted this nightmare to be over.
<@Venom> Sitting up on his own, Eddie stretched, wiping his eyes and face, "Ok...we need to get out there, then. Start working on some kind of plan. We should monitor police chatter, keep an eye on their movements and note anything of interest." he tapped his nose, "I can get in there, steal us the equipment we need if I have to...."
<Hope> "Yeah, that all sounds great. I've spun out my tires searching the way I have, so I'm ready to try something new. Anything at this point really." Hope tucked her hair back behind her ear, laying back down. "Anything different..."
<@Venom> "Alright..." Eddie nodded, lying back also and letting out a sigh, "...are you...alright?"
<Hope> "If alright is code for really really not alright... then yeah, I'm alright. You alright?"
<@Venom> Letting out a weak laugh, Eddie turned to her, "I guess I'm alright too then, huh?" he exhaled softly, resting a hand beside her, "No rest for the wicked, eh?"
<Hope> Hope laughed a bit too, shifting a bit to rest her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, something like that." She paused a bit, glancing up at him again. "If all this had to happen... then I'm glad I can at least have a great friend like you here. And drinks are on me after this is done."
<@Venom> "I'm holdin' you to that." Eddie rested his head onto hers too, "Here's to us then, huh?" he sighed, "Wanna order breakfast?"
<Hope> "I want donuts..." Hope laughed, smiling just a bit. "With sprinkles."
<@Venom> Eddie hummed in agreement, "I think the universe can afford us an unhealthy breakfast." he sat up again, sliding off of the bed, "Shall I do a run? I move faster alone." he turned to her, leaning over and patting her stomach, "You're gettin' a little fat anyway." he grinned.
<Hope> Hope reached around to smack the everloving shit out of him. "Jackass!"
<@Venom> Blocking her hands, Eddie laughed, pushing her back onto the bed, "Hey, hey! No doughnuts for you if you can't take a joke!" he grinned at her, "Now say you're sorry or I'ma leave you tied to the bed - and not even in a kinky way..." he mocked a stern look.
<Hope> "You should be the one apologizing." She reminded him, shoving him back a bit. "Jerk. And don't forget the sprinkles. Us fat people need them."
<@Venom> "Yeah, sure, sure." Eddie smirked, letting her go and sending a whiplash of tendrils to lift his coat into his hands, throwing it on, "I'll be as quick as possible. And don't worry - I'm taking the bike: not gonna use my powers to get around."
<Hope> "Sounds good." Hope glanced at the bathroom. "See you in a bit."
