Author's Note

I will warn you again if all the stuff mentioned in the title upsets you, I'd suggest skipping to the middle of the story.

Either way, I hope you enjoy my darker more serious DD story, hopefully, Dark Deception will update by the end of this.

And this is uncharted territory for me so wish me luck!

An evil soul never plays fairly

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Thomas Edison

Life… is suffering…

That is all Spike knows… he has gone through a lot in his life.

But let’s recap.

He grew up in an orphanage, never knowing who his family was, where he was singled out and hurt multiple times.

He ran away at twelve.

He can’t hold down a job due to lack of funds to buy a car or gas and the fact that his background makes it harder for him to get one in the first place.

He’s been in and out of places to stay, having to sleep on the sidewalk or alleys sometimes.

He remembers sleeping in a dumpster once.

And who’d want to be with someone with nothing to their name?... so loves an issue as well…

And now here he is… sitting in a cardboard box, in an alleyway, taking shelter from the rain…. It isn’t comfy but it’s better than sitting in the rain all night.

He has his trusty knife, the very thing that’s kept him alive… and it’ll be the thing that finally ends his misery.

Now he just has to do it…

“....There’s nothing left for me here… so why can’t I do it?!” Spike asked himself as he held the knife at his wrist he cursed himself for what he cannot do.

He cursed his life… if only he had the money, he could turn everything around.

But what? Is a pile of cash going to fall out of the sky and save him from himself?...

Spike held the knife in his hand and tried so hard to make a cut, but he relented and sat back in his soggy box.

“Why was I even born!?” Spike asked before he sobbed, he wondered what he’ll do, maybe he’ll finish tomorrow… for now… NO, he’s suffered enough, the world won’t help him, so why bother?

“Ok… here we go…” Spike said as he raised the knife… annnd-

STEP STEP STEP SPLASH STEP STEP STEP…

“Huh?...” Spike noticed some footsteps echoing about the alleyway… great… a passerby… well if it isn’t someone who will try to mug a broke man again they’ll probably walk past without dropping a penny for him.

He’d still rather they not witness a suicide, so he’ll wait…

The figure's footsteps got closer and closer and… stopped.

“Hmm?” Spike looked to see a pair of feet standing outside his box the person didn’t move for a whole minute.

“Take a picture and move on, it’ll last longer,” Spike bitterly said.

“Hmm… how unfortunate, a person at the end of their rope, I can help you sir,” The voice of an elderly man said.

“I don’t need pity or your charity, I plan on ending it tonight, so you’ll be wasting your money,” Spike said.

“I can help you get your life back on track sir, please just come out,” The voice said.

“I said go away,” the young man said.

“I am afraid I cannot in good conscience leave until I have helped you,” He said.

“I have a knife, is that incentive enough to leave?” Spike said poking his head out of the box.

“Why are you so resistant to receiving my help?” He asked, now that Spike got a good look at him he saw the man had grey skin and a white mustache, he looked fancy, and he was carrying a suitcase.

“Will you leave if I come out and hear your sales pitch?” Spike asked.

“I am not selling anything, come out,” He said.

“Fine…” Spike sighed and he stepped out into the pouring rain, showing his ratty clothes and dirt.

“My my, a poor soul indeed,” He said.

“DId you call me out of my box to insult me?” Spike asked.

“Nono, just an observation, but more importantly, I have an offer for you-” He said and as he talked Spike rolled his eyes, looks like was trying to sell something…

Until he said….

“And to this end, I will give you all the money in this briefcase,” He said.

“...Wha?” Spike said sounding surprised.

“Yes, you see, I run a money lending job, helping the weary recover from their troubles, and all it takes is you shaking my hand,” He said extending his hand.

“....What?” Spike said.

“Shake my hand,” He repeated.

“I heard that but… you're just giving me free money?... how much is in that suitcase?...” Spike said expecting only a hundred or less as some kind of sick-

“See for yourself,” He opened the suitcase…. And Spike was in shock…

Money, so much, there had to be a lottery’s worth in there!

“....What’s the catch?... There has to be one,” Spike said.

“No catch… except…” He trailed off “I will return in ten or so years expecting it back, with interest,” He said.

“...Interest?” Spike asked warily.

“Yes, part of my job is receiving back the money I loan you, not the exact same bills but I do expect full restitution and then some in ten years, given that this is enough money to help you get back on track, I’d say you should be able to meet the price,” He said with a grin.

“What’s the final price?” Spike asked.

“That is to be revealed on the day of collection, this offer only comes once, if you say no and I leave, you’ll never see it again,” He said.

“...Who are you?” Spike asked.

“Just call me V, now do we have a deal?” V said.

“I-I…I…” Spike was in shock, here he was about to end his life and some stranger came out of nowhere and is handing him the cash he needed…

This has to be a dream…

“Yeees? No?” He asked.

“I don’t know…” Spike was stuttering at this, it was almost too suspicious.

“You are free to turn down my offer, just as I am to leave and find another unfortunate, good day,” V said closing the case and walking away.

“...Wait… WAIT!” Spike ran after him and the man turned around with a smile.

“Oh? Changed our mind have we?” V asked.

“I need that money… it’ll save me, but… why? Why hand me all this just out of the blue?” Spike asked.

“It’s just business, now, do we have a deal or do I keep walking?” V asked extending his hand.

“...” Spike could think of a million ways this is a trap… but… there was something inside, something he’d long lost… a glimmer of hope, that he could turn his life around with this money…

“I-I…. I accept,” Spike said shaking his hand.

“Good choice young chap, here you go,” V said handing him the money case “Pleasure doing business with you, see you in ten years, give or take,” V said tilting his hat before he walked off and vanished around the corner.

Spike stood there, processing this all, he waited to wake up in his soaked cardboard box, penniless and without hope…. But he didn’t… he looked down into the case and saw money in at least the millions.

It really happened… it really did… he got his wish for a new start, and now that he had this money he had to get moving before a mugger or a criminal came for it.

“Thank you…” Spike sobbed gratefully and he ran off with it, as he left the alleyway a foot stepped down in a puddle in the shadows nearby.

“Heheh… you're welcome…” V said as he pulled up a list and crossed off a name.

Ten years later

Life used to be utter turmoil for him, but now, things are all better.

Spike drove home in his new car, things had finally looked up for him.

Once more let’s recap

After getting the money he ran around for awhile and decided on a hot meal for the first time in so long.

Then, he got to work.

He managed to recover his life, bought a house, got a car, and managed to fix all his legal needs, and he still had plenty left over!

He got a job at an office firm, made his money woes vanish, recovered his health, and best yet.

At the office, he met the woman of his dreams, her name was Rarity.

They were married with kids in five years.

Two sons, Lance and a newborn named Blue Scout, but they all just called him Scout for short.

Spike had never been happier, and his life was finally his.

But it’s always when we’re on top of the world… that we fall off…

Spike exited his car and carried several presents, ready for Scout's first birthday.

“Daddy!” Lance ran over to him and hugged him.

“Hey there little guy!” Spike hugged him while trying to not drop the presents.

“Daddy daddy! I lost a tooth today!” He said.

“Oh, you weren’t jumping off of the water heater again were you?” Spike said as he carried the stuff inside.

“Noooo,” Lance said obviously lying.

“Lance I told you not to, you could get hurt,” Spike said.

“Hi honey,” Rarity said as she walked in, carrying Scout.

“Hey there sweetie, and hey there little man,” Spike kissed them both.

“How are the presents coming along?” Rarity asked rocking Scout.

“Wonderful sweetie, I imagine this will be the best birthday ever, isn’t that right little man,” Spike tickled the belly of the baby and he giggled.

“I wanna help make the cake!” Lance exclaimed.

“Ok sweetie, let’s get on that,” Rarity said as she headed back into the living room to set the baby down for his nap.

“And meanwhile I’ll go fetch us some coffees, we’ll need them for this coming party prep,” Spike said.

“Don’t be long!” Rarity said as he made his way to the door and went out into the neighborhood.

Spike made this way down into the nearby shop areas and picked up a couple of coffees, as he made his way out of the shop he bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry sir, I-” Spike froze when he saw who it was…

“Oh! Fancy meeting you here young man, I do apologize for being late, but it’s ten years on the dot,” V said with a smile.

“Y-you,” Spike said taking a step back.

“What? Did you forget our deal?” V asked.

“N-no, I just didn’t think we’d meet again today… um, hey, can we do this tomorrow? It’s my son's birthday today and-”

“I’m afraid not, the time is up, where is my money?” V asked.

“L-look, you gave me alot of money, it’s going to take a little longer to-”

“That wasn’t the deal, I said I would return in ten years for the money you owe me, so hand it over,” V said.

“O-ok! Let me just check my bank account,” Spike said as he pulled out his phone and went to his account.

He had a couple thousand thanks to his job and some of the money from the loan V gave him.

“Ok, how much is it?” Spike asked just wanting this interaction to be over with.

“Let’s see,” V said pulling out a clipboard out of nowhere and checking some things.

“Huh?” Spike said noticing this.

“Hmmm…. It says here you owe me… one quadrillion dollars,” V said.

“.......What?” Spike said stepping back in shock at the number he just heard.

“One quadrillion dollars,” V repeated.

“N-no, I-I can’t possibly repay that much! How did it get that high?!” Spike said in horror.

“Your amount raised every now and then since the agreement, I did say there would be interest, but I am willing to let there be a couple more days to get me the money,” V said with a chuckle.

“You- you snake you tricked me!” Spike said.

“Technically I said no lies, sure I omitted a little but I said everything that was said truthfully,” V said.

“I don’t have that money!” Spike said.

“Figure it out, you have two days,” V said as he walked away and vanished into the crowd.

“No…” Spike said looking like his world was crashing down.

As the party was going on Spike continued looking like he was wracking his brain trying to figure out how he can amass such money in two days.

“Honey? Is everything alright?” Rarity asked him.

“Y-yeah, I um… need some time,” Spike said as he left for his room.

“What is going on with him?” Rarity asked herself.

“I have to find another way, and I can’t let Rarity be burdened with this,” Spike said as he sat down on the bed.

As he continued thinking he decided the only way forward was taking out another loan from someone else.

How else was he going to get this loan shark off his back… for now, the birthday…

Two days later

Spike made his way down to the coffee shop from the other day and he looked around, he was carrying a briefcase full of the loan money he got from a friend at work, he’ll have to work himself to the bone for the rest of his life to pay it all off, but at least his family’ll be safe.

It’s not all of it, but it’s close enough that he hopes he can weasel out of the last hundred thousand or two.

“V? I’m here!” Spike called and immediately his eyes landed on the businessman standing near an alleyway, gesturing him to follow him.

Spike gulped, knowing this could be bad news but he had no choice, he followed him in and he paused in the middle of the alley… but V wasn’t there?

“Huh?” Spike said before it was revealed he was behind him.

“Hello again,” V said and Spike spun.

“H-how did-”

“Never mind that, where’s my money?” V asked.

“R-right here,” Spike said handing it over and partially hoping he doesn’t count it.

“Alright,” V opened it up and began doing just that.

Spike shifted uncomfortably as he counted and when he reached the end he looked up at Spike with a frown.

“You're short,” V said.

“L-look that was all I could get! If I have more time I can give you more-”

‘Ten years, that was the deal, and you’ve failed to keep your end,” V said with a growl chucking the money at his feet.

“W-what are you going to do?” Spike asked nervously as he reached into his jacket, expecting him to shoot him.

Instead, he pulled out a pen and paper and read off a part of it.

“Spike, failed to keep his promise despite my generous donation,” V drew another line on his name forming an X.

“Please! I need more time!” Spike said.

“You should have saved up,” V said.

“I didn’t know it would be that expensive!” Spike cried.

“That is the lesson here, always, expect the worst,” V said before snapping his finger and the list burnt before suddenly the alleyways were blanketed in darkness.

“H-Huh?! What’s going on?!” Spike asked.

“Your penalty, you made a deal with a demon and now, hell awaits,” V said.

“Wh-what? A demon?” Spike asked sounding scared.

“That’s right, now that we’re not playing nice anymore I may as well tell you my whole name, Verak, at your service,” Verak said with a mock bow.

“N-no way, demons are real?!” Spike backed away fearfully.

“Afraid so boy, now how do you want to die?” Verak asked.

“N-no please! I have a family now!” Spike begged.

“Why should I care?” Verak asked with a sickening smile.

“I’ll do anything! Just let me go!” Spike begged.

Suddenly he paused.

“Huh?” Spike said.

“Anything, you say?” Verak asked.

“Yes,” Spike said.

“Hmmm maybe… it could take some of the workload off of me, mortal, I am willing to grant you a reprieve,” Verak said.

“Y-you are?” Spike asked.

“On the grounds that you perform, a favor for me,” V said.

“Anything,” Spike said.

“Heheh, follow me,” Verak approached a wall and drew a symbol on it, opening a portal and when Spike hesitated he waved him in.

“Ok ok,” Spike said as he entered.

Suddenly the alleyway returned to normal and the symbol vanished.

Spike stumbled into what looked like a dusty but big office and looked around.

He saw a doghouse in the corner and a desk where Verak was sitting in.

“Welcome to my office,” Verak said.

“...Where the hell am I?” Spike asked.

“As you just said, hell, a very specific part of it too, now, here’s the deal mortal,” Verak pointed to a chair and Spike sat down.

“I have quite the workload lately and haven’t had a chance to pursue more of my human deals or relax, therefore I am sending you on some errands for me,” Verak said.

“Like?” Spike asked.

“Retrieving my contracts from the demons who owe me as you do,” Verak said.

“Demons?” Spike repeated.

“Yes, I deal not only with humans but demons as well, but where as humans will rely on dirty tactics to avoid having to pay up when the time arrives, demons seem to think they're above it and will refuse outright to pay me back, I was going to go and tear them limb from limb but I find this prospect more entertaining, I want you to go fetch the contracts I made with these other demons, do so, and I’ll call your debt settled,” Verak said.

“Contracts? But I didn’t get a contract,” Spike said.

“Yes, but that is because you mortals aren’t troublesome enough to require it, these particular demons are, if it isn’t written on paper it’s not valid, that’s the law here,” Verak said.

“Alright… how do I find these-”

“Let me worry about that, for now just get me those contracts, if you fail I’ll raise the stakes on your punishment for wasting my time,” Verak said.

“How?” Spike asked nervously.

“You’ll give me your children,” Verak said.

“What?...” Spike said looking horrified.

“My hounds are in need of new chew toys anyways,” Verak gestured to the doghouse holding a pair of bloodthirsty-looking dogs who were growling hungrily.

“N-no! You can’t that’s horrible!” Spike exclaimed.

“Then don’t fail me,” Verak said “I’m setting my watch for two days, clocks ticking,” Verak said.

“You sadistic-” Spike said wanting to hit him but Verak grinned.

“If you want to fight me, you’ll find that’s a lose-only situation, think carefully,” Verak said.

Spike sighed and stood up “Fine… where do I start?” Spike asked.