The Savant's Corruption (An Escape The Night AU)

Chapter 9

Meanwhile, the Cursed God is fighting off the other guests in the park. But it seems that the Cursed God isn't as vigilant as before. Elizabeth charges toward the Cursed God. It seems weaker now, but it plunges a lightsaber through her. Jonny goes next, weakening it. They do battle together, and it lasts for a little while. There was no way the Cursed God could win now, right? Well, the Cursed God kills Jonny instantly. Cleo picks up the Blazing Staff and plunges it right through the Cursed God's heart. Dark energy seeps from the heart and disappears into the air. Jonny takes out the Blazing Staff. Light emits from Joey's body, returning him to normal. "Ugh... Guys?" Joey said as he tried to get a hold of his surroundings. Charles, Oliver, Jael and Ryu run over. "Joey! Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Come on, let's get back to the diner," Jael said. The group nods and starts going back to the diner. Joey is injured, so he limps the way there. At the diner, the group sits around. "Alright, now that we're here, let's take a breather," Jael said, looking around at the group. Everyone was exhausted and shaken up from the battle with the Cursed God. "We need to regroup and figure out what our next move is," Charles added, taking a sip of his drink.  Joey sat quietly, still trying to recover from the effects of the curse. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble," he said, looking down at his hands. "It's not your fault, Joey. None of this is," Cleo reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Well, it technically is, Cleo," Charles told as he takes out his journal and opens it.

"How so?" Oliver asked. "Well, back in 2016, Joey acquired-" Charles gets interrupted by Joey. "Charles, is it okay if I tell the story?" "Oh, of course!" Joey takes a deep breath. "Well, here's how the story goes. Back in 2016... I started having dreams about a house. A house that was built without hands. And then one day I received a letter and it became mine. Life had been breathed into a fantasy. But it wouldn't let me sleep until I invited others. So began the Cursed God's plan. I invited ten of my friends to a 1920s party since the estate was in that theme. It was really fun at first. But it all started with Shane. He was poisoned, and the group failed to save them. That started the spiral of my friends dying. Eventually, I was able to get the deed to my estate. But it came with a darkness that crawled into my soul...

So then, I arrived at The Sorceress's Mansion. It's a grand place. But then, it happened again. My friends started to die again. I tried to take the crown and then... I died..." As Joey was explaining, the diner fell silent. They felt so bad for Joey. But he continued to explain. "I was sent to limbo. Jael and Ryu, who I met for the first time, helped me get back into the living realm." Joey smiles at the duo, and they smile back. "What happened then?" Oliver asked. "Well, then I saved the town with MatPat and Nikita. Then I got a message... So I went to The Collector's Museum. I saw my old friends, I thought I could save them! But I was so wrong. Bretman and Colleen escaped but I... I opened Pandora's Box. Now I'm here, with you all. More of my friends have died, and it's my fault!" Joey starts to cry. "Joey, hey... It's okay..." Charles grabs Joey and pulls him into a hug. Joey hugs back, crying into Charles' shoulder.

Then, Mike walks over. Joey looks up, tears streaming down his face. "..M-Mike?" "Joey, you're okay! You defeated the Cursed God!" Mike chirped. "At the expense of our friends, unfortunately," Cleo stated. Mike sighs. "Yeah, it's a shame... But hey, you guys survived!" "So now what?" "We go home. We'll finally have normal lives, now that the Cursed God is gone," Ryu spoke. Suddenly, a van arrives, with the SAE logo on the side. "Come on, let's go." The group nods, and they pile into the van. Trevor, who is driving waves to the group. He smiles at them. "Ready to go, Jael and Ryu?" "We're ready." The group takes their seats, and Trevor drives off to the SAE HQ.