A/N: To celebrate Afterbirth+, I'll be continuing this ^^~ Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Chapter Two

Black Birds

The old, wooden door in the basement opened with a loud creaking sound. Holding the candle forward, Isaac tried to peer forth into the room ahead, only to find that the large room was too dark to see with just a couple of small lights.

"Well?" The voice of Eve startled the tense boys. Feeling them jump abit, she rolled her eyes and moved took Samson's candle, pushing forward into the room. "Why's this basement so big?"

"I don't know," Isaac replied, following the left wall with Lazarus behind him, while Eve followed the right, Samson close behind. "I never even knew this existed.."

The walls were covered in dust and cobwebs, much to Eve and Lazarus' dismay. While Isaac wasn't too fond of them, he didn't mind, and Samson- Well, he thought it was-

"Cool," Samson commented. Eve looked back at him with a puzzled expression. "...What?" He shrugged with a smirk, then, noticing something in the darkness, pointed past her. "Hey, over there."

Eve turned, noticing a small, red glow at the other side of the room. She looked over to Isaac, who nodded, and the four converged back towards the mysterious glow.

The object was a mysterious, pure-black vase covered in mounds on mounds of dust. From within it, a red glow could be seen glittering out. As their candlelight combined over it, more details could be seen; things that made them extremely worried.

"U-Um..." Lazarus pointed with a shaky finger at the symbol on the front of the vase.

It was a Pentagram. Beside it, were various red markings, that they all quietly assumed was old, dry blood from long ago.

"What's wrong with this place," Eve muttered under her breath, feeling her raven pin between her fingers, a nervous tic of hers.

The sound of thumping and crashing from the room prior reminded them all of the oncoming danger, as yells and grunts of anger echoed through the basement.

"She's coming!" Isaac looked around with his candle, searching desperately for another door. "...Nothing."

"Can we punch our way out?" Samson pressed against the old, wooden wall of the basement.

"And go where? We're underground," Eve told him, then she sighed. "We're done for. It's all over..."

Lazarus was shaking more than usual, fear overwhelming him. While the others searched for a way out, he was staring into the darkness from which they came, hearing the horrifying sounds and grunts emerging from it. Then, they stopped. Lazarus' breath caught in his throat as he gasped quietly.

Eve and Isaac turned, pointing their candles towards the darkness.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"M-Mother?" Isaac gulped after saying the words, seeing the glint of a knife in the darkness.

The large, horrifying figure of his mother could be seen lumbering towards them now, almost upon them.

"ISSSAAAAAAAC!" Her cry of rage echoed out through the basement, making Lazarus fall to his knees, shaking violently in fear.

Samson stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "I'll distract her," he said. "I'm not one to step down to a bully!"

"I don't think you'd last very long," Eve commented, as they all stared down their huge, almost bear-like mother.

"Then what do you suggest huh?" Samson looked to Eve with his arms crossed, tapping his foot, waiting for a response mockingly.

Eve was scared, but didn't want to show it. She knew that her life, as well as the other three boys with her, came down to their actions in the next few moments...

That was when a surprising event occurred.

Lazarus stood, no longer shaking. They looked to him, surprised at his calm demeanor.

"M-Mother," he spoke quietly, looking up at the woman as she grew ever closer. "Stop this."

She merely scowled at this statement, raising the knife in her hand. Isaac, Eve, and Samson all backed away to the wall, while Lazarus stood strong.

"Lazarus!" Isaac reached out to him, but the boy ignored him.

"You will stop, now!" Lazarus held up a hand, which trembled slightly.

"You..." Their mother stopped in her tracks, breathing heavy like a horrifying beast. "You must all be punished!"

She brought the knife down in a flash. The three by the wall panicked. Eve closed her eyes, not wanting to see the horrifying scene-

Lazarus quickly grabbed the mysterious vase, attempting to lift it, only to find that he wasn't strong enough. Taking his lead, Isaac and Samson quickly moved forward, helping him lift it into the air, tossing it straight up at their Mother.

Her knife clashed with the vase, destroying it and sending its dark pieces all across the room in a violent explosion of red light.

"Whaa?" Their Mother took a step back in surprise.

"Come on!" Isaac grabbed Eve by the arm as they readied to run-

But then, everything became Hell.

Suddenly, flames erupted all around the room, blinding everyone within it. Once their eyes had adjusted, the four kids looked up to see their Mother engulfed in flames, screeching out in agony as her skin melted.

"W-What?!" Eve gasped, seeing if the others knew what was going on, but they seemed as dumbfounded as she.

"IsaaAAaacccc-" Their Mothers' cries rang out loudly, the flames suddenly turning blue. The four watched her agony, but then, even more surprisingly, the woman began to laugh. "Ahahahaha.. AHAHAHAHA!" She lifted her arms into the air, now but a charred silhouette among the flames.

The flames began to swirl around the room, creating a blue vortex of heat and smoke. The four kids ducked down, huddling up together, watching in fear as the flames covered and made their mother disappear within them, eventually converging into a singular point-

Then it exploded.

Isaac opened his eyes slowly, still dazed, looking up at the crumbling ceiling of the basement. He sat up slowly, holding his head, seeing that the large room they were in was somehow lit-up despite no lights within it.

"G-Guys...?" He looked around fearfully, seeing Eve being helped up by Samson nearby, but Lazarus was nowhere in-sight.

Instead of the nervous boy, a trail of blood lay nearby, leading to a nearby doorway that wasn't there before. Isaac stood, approaching the doorway, which led into a dark hallway, then into another lit-up room that he couldn't quite make-out.

"What happened...?" Eve looked around groggily. The room, now mysterious lit-up, wasn't much to look at, full of cobwebs and dust. However, they could now see crumbled, old pots seemingly strategically placed around the room. And the door they had come in...

"Locked?" Samson had approached the door from where they had come. It was now covered by a mysterious black door, with a large keyhole that was glowing red, similar to the mysterious vase before. "Man... I must've hit my head hard."

"No, that's real," Eve commented, moving a hand over its cool surface. "Something... Weird happened."

"Uh, guys, we should try to find Lazarus," Isaac commented. They nodded in agreement and walked across the room to join him.

As Eve passed one of the dusty old pots, she decided to peer inside, something seemingly drawing her to it...

And that was when it emerged: A large, white spider with blood dripping down its mouth. Eve yelled out in surprise, falling back to her bum as the creature landed in front of her, making a sort of gurgling noise.

"What the-!" Samson shook away the surprise, grabbing the pot and holding it in the air. "I'll kill it!"

He tossed the pot at the creature, who jumped away with ease to avoid it. It gurgled over at Samson, before turning its eyes back on Eve.

She could see herself within the reflection of its many eyes, seeing her own fearful expression as the creature leaped at her.

"N-No!" Eve held up her hands defensively, closing her eyes. To her surprise, there was a thud, followed by the gurgling noise being heard a little ways away. Opening her eyes slowly, she followed the shocked gaze of Samson and Isaac...

Nearby, the large spider was being attacked by a mysterious crow, one whose wings were broken, but somehow still flew, its appendages flailing loosely. It slammed hard against the spider who had no time to recover, getting constantly crashed into the wall, until it lay still in a bloody puddle.

"A bird...?" Eve reached up towards her pin, surprised to find it gone. She searched the ground frantically, trying to find it.

"That's it," Isaac said. She looked up to him, and he pointed at the bird. "That's your pin."

Eve watched as the bird "flew" over to her. She stood and backed away from it a bit, surprised to find that the bird's eyes were glazed-over and lifeless.

"It's... Dead," she commented. Samson and Isaac came to her, examining it as it flapped around in front of her.

"Weird," Samson said. "...Should we kill it?"

"No!" Eve moved towards the bird defensively, surprised by her own outburst. "Er, it protected me, so... It can't be so bad." She reached out hesitantly and touched the bird along its head. As soon as she did, she was surprised as it suddenly poofed into a cloud of smoke, turning back into the raven pin and falling gently into her hand.

"Where did you get that?" Isaac was amazed as he watched Eve put the pin back into her hair. "That's...!"

"My parents..." Eve shrugged. "But... That's the first time I've seen it do something, like that."

Samson scratched his head, pondering what had happened. It was then that he noticed Eve's bleeding leg. "Hey, you got a scratch."

She held the makeshift robe around herself nervously, then looked down to see a scrape along her leg. "That must've been when I fell back earlier..."

"Hm..." Isaac held a hand up to his chin in thought-

But the three froze in-place as a wailing noise emerged, coming from the other open doorway Isaac had discovered.

"That... can't be good," Samson commented.

They all peered towards the doorway.

"Do we have to?" Eve nervously eyed the dead spider body at the wall.

"We don't have any choice, right? We've got to find a way out, maybe a key to that door," Isaac said, leading the way towards the door. He nodded to the other two, then stepped into the hall...

When they emerged into the new room, their mouths gaped open at the horrors that awaited them.

To Be Continued...

Next Chapter: Basement I