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<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; border-bottom: transparent; font-size: 38px; color: #980202; letter-spacing: 1px; text-shadow: 1px 1px #111, -1px 0px #444; text-align: center">Vincent Darke • The Snake</div><div style="text-align: center"><div class="bbImageWrapper lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2F64.media.tumblr.com%2F26c0976402e066afb98b31559fbb1262%2Ftumblr_mpn5xehcuv1r7wrbvo1_400.gif&amp;hash=acdfad42997860db4939864ea75b666f" title="tumblr_mpn5xehcuv1r7wrbvo1_400.gif">
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">LOCATION || <i>Casoria, Italy travelling to Zodiac Island</i><br/>
MENTIONING ||<i> Idris Darke - The Zodiac Force</i></span><br/>
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<i><div style="border: 0px;font-color:transparent;height: 1px;background-image:linear-gradient(to right, transparent, darkred, transparent); margin: 7px 0px 7px 0px"></div></i></b>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">House Darke as it was called was a <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alhke.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F01%2Falhke-renovation-tips.jpg&amp;hash=1b6e2661f0fc2420599aa47fa1736b9c" href="https://www.alhke.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/alhke-renovation-tips.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">large, sprawling estate</a> that housed perhaps the world's finest Dark Elements. Every three years, the grounds were renovated to the Head of House's standards, but since things had gone to shit within the Zodiac Force, Vincent Darke had been a bit behind in his assessments of what needed updating and what would remain as it was. It had been nearly a decade since he'd made his base of operations at home, within House Darke, rather than Zodiac Island where he normally made his base for his dealings. After all, he was a Super. He was The Snake. When trouble of supernatural or otherworldly origins plagued the world, it was the Zodiac Force that swooped in to save the day, putting Vincent Darke directly in the eyesight of the human kind. He'd earned fame, a "hero" status, all of the perks that came along with being a Super, but recently... many of them had gone missing, only to turn up completely and utterly... dead. Pity. <br/>
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While Vincent had made friends with most of them, the darkness within him that he controlled urged him not to care - they were just people and unfortunately, people died all the time. Yet still, shouldn't the man have been more concerned for his well being rather than strutting around his known family home, a clipboard in hand as he let his dark eyes scan the estate in search for more ways to better House Darke? It always boiled down to that, didn't it? House Darke. The House of Dark Elements, as it had once been called, but since Vincent had taken command nearly thirty years ago, it had since been given the moniker of his surname. He knew he could be a conceited man sometimes, but damn it felt good. <br/>
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"Mr. Darke, Ms. Darke has just arrived. Would you like for someone to see her in?" He'd heard the young lad approach before he'd seen him, a boy of fifteen with unruly, curly black hair and startlingly bright blue eyes. For a split second, his heart had stopped, as if it was Auriella Darke's presence the young man was announcing. His ex-wife had divorced him nearly five years prior and while he had signed the papers, he was still plotting to woo her back. His efforts had been fruitless thus far. The boy who'd approached watched him with awestruck eyes, simply honored to have been able to give the Head of House himself the news of his daughter's arrival. Vincent cleared his throat, realizing that it was Idris that the young Element spoke of. For a split second, a sense of dread filled him. If Idris had returned to House Darke after nearly ten years, had she discovered his secret? <br/>
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"Ah, yes. Thank you Sebastian. Best not to escort her, she's a bit... <i>temperamental</i>." Vincent chuckled with a wink, his Italian accent thick, and Sebastian smiled at him as if meeting a superhero in person for the first time. And in a way,  he was. Though, Vincent Darke was not wholly a hero.<br/>
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"Understood, Mr. Darke." Sebastian said, bowing his head before he exited to tend to his other duties and studies. As a Dark Element, Sebastian was slow in coming into power, but he was a Dark Element nonetheless, so he dwelled within House Darke, learning and developing his skills until he met up to the House's standards. If he did not, well.. Needless to say, it would be in his best interest to do so. <br/>
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Sighing as he looked down at the completely blank list of shit that needed to be renovated, Vincent rolled his eyes and threw the clipboard haphazardly onto a coffee table, as he was located in the large family room of the estate. If Idris' car had just pulled up to the entrance, she'd soon be striding into the foyer, where the family room was located through an arched doorway to the right. How long had it been since his darling child, Idris Darke, had visited their family home? When it had been discovered that Idris was an Elemental, she had bounced from House to House, learning what she could about the multitude of abilities swirling within her. He'd resented the fact that she was the Elemental in the beginning, though for selfish reasons. Among the Elements, no one could stand against Idris. She was, in every sense of the meaning, superior to them all, stronger than them all. It had been envy that had filled Vincent when his daughter had manifested affinities for each element, but the look of fear and confusion in her eyes had done the job of chasing his envy away. She was so young, so small, those large brown eyes staring up at him in confusion as if he had all the answers to help her. He missed the times when his daughter looked at him as if he was her world, rather than the cool and uncaring looks she'd given him since reaching maturity. For the most part, he could blame himself. Idris was an intelligent woman and had a way of seeing right past his bullshit, no matter how neat and impenetrable of a front he put up. <br/>
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Suddenly, the sound of heels clicking against the tile floors filled his ears and Vincent felt himself straighten, adjusting his tie. Dressed in an all black suit, black Italian leather shoes, and a deep red tie, he was as suave and put together as ever, yet Idris' presence had a way of unnerving him, of making him feel... inferior. Strange, to have such a reaction from the child you raised. At every turn Vincent was trying his best to impress Idris, to seem collected and unbothered and powerful. And yet, she always looked at him with disdain and an unbridled air of disappointment. He knew it had to do with his treatment of her mother in the last few years of their marriage, but after the divorce, he'd expected things to go back to normal. He was wrong. Idris suddenly appeared in the doorway, his beautiful daughter now in her early thirties and every bit as mesmerizing as her mother. <br/>
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"Idris Darke, the famed Elemental. To what does your humble father owe the pleasure?" </span><br/>
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