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"And what do you think?" I asked excitedly as I opened the door leading to one former doctor's office.
From what I found out, a dietitian worked there for many years, but in her old age, she could not find a replacement worthy of this place. After her death, the building was put up for sale, but no one could make up their mind because she scared off potential buyers. Fortunately, our coordinator, despite appearances, was quite a good diplomat, and thanks to this he managed to acquire this facility so that it could be used as Sebastian's office. Former 904 medium looked around for a moment and nodded contentedly.
Sebastian hesitantly stepped over the threshold and began pacing the room. He opened the door leading to the actual office since the part we were in was the waiting room. I regretted not having one. However, I was glad that the young one immediately got something good and spacious. The boy looked at me uncertainly, as if he did not understand why I brought him here.
"This is your office from now on," I said politely and tossed him the keys, which he barely managed to grab. "Of course, I'll help you freshen up and furnish this place a bit, but you won't start working until you're ready. I won't force you to do anything."
"And then will we stop seeing each other?" he asked with clear sadness in his voice.
"I'm sure there won't be any need for me to come over as often, but if you want, we can visit each other," I said. "Yeah, one more surprise actually. You're coming with me on a two-week shift at the library next week, and you're going to get sick of me there. Then we'll get to work on this place. What do you think?"
"I guess that suits me," Sebastian replied, sitting down on the floor and suddenly starting to cry.
I sat down next to him and tried to calm him down by rubbing circles on his back with my hand. I wasn't sure what it could be, but I preferred to wait to see if he would eventually tell me before drawing any conclusions. After a long moment, his breathing evened out and he looked at me embarrassed.
"Sorry," he muttered, hiding his face in his hands. "Just recently I thought my life was going to be hopeless, and then you came along and suddenly everything seems too good to be true." He smiled, sniffling.
"I'm glad I could help you, and I hope you'll find your way back to it soon," I said. "The life of a medium can be hard sometimes, but it also has its upsides and quite a few cool opportunities."
"I confirm," Sebastian's predecessor interjected. "I know it can be overwhelming at the moment, but with time everything will normalize and you will be able to carry out your plans and dreams for a life with peace of mind."
"I was just going to tell you from the coordinator so you wouldn't think he would get you a cleaner for the place." I cleared my throat, trying to speak a little lower and in the way, our supervisor used to do. As if he was tired, but impatient at the same time. "You have to take care of this place because it is not only your reputation on the line but also mine. Besides, you can use this place to study, as long as you don't bring me, girls, here."
Suddenly all three of us burst out laughing, and ex-904 congratulated me on a pretty good coordinator imitation. I was calmer seeing my student laugh, I wanted to believe that the whole vision of the good life we presented to him was really waiting for him. I clenched my fists I had to believe that. I started to see it that way myself just recently, but still, he deserved it from the beginning. I thought of Tristan as I did this, and felt a pang in my heart along with remorse for lying to him. I decided that I would tell him everything after the renovation was finished, and Sebastian would slowly cope with his duties on his own.
"So what, we will measure everything and during the trip, we will design and look for furniture?" I called, trying to focus my mind on something other than the lie I had gone a little too far with. |
I never thought I would become so attached to the role of a mentor. First of all, it was a nice feeling when someone saw you as a role model. Despite initial skepticism and reluctance to work, Sebastian gradually became convinced. I'd been going to him weekly for two months now, and I didn't even mind cover for his shifts. I just didn't bring myself to tell Tristan, I had a feeling he wouldn't like the idea and would be furious that I made the decision without consulting him. He was possessive at times, and I tried to temper it a bit. However, I didn't want to argue with him for a while.
During meetings with Sebastian, we usually went to eat something and I explained to him what our job was all about. I told him, what he can do as a medium and how to keep ghosts from getting on his head. I analyzed NWLORBGAM point by point with him so that he would be aware that he was free to use it to scare those too-annoying ones. And that he can blacklist them without fear that someone will take revenge on him, which apparently often tormented the young media. Me too, but I was lucky that there were kind spirits around me who helped me find my way quickly.
The young one began to look excitedly into the future, he already had a steady job and income. He couldn't believe that he had already received his first paycheck when I gave him the information and the card to the account where he received money from the Association. The coordinator should take care of it, but since he was officially assigning me to look after Sebastian, he only sent me papers and helped remotely. The boy didn't even call him, he just talked to me.
I was waiting in front of the building and saw that my ward was accompanied by a group of friends of a similar age. The young man was holding something behind his back. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and asked ex-904 to check incognito what was going on. I had a surprise for Sebastian, so I asked another medium for company and opinion. Ghost of 904 returned after a while with an amused and worried expression.
"So what's the fuss about?"
"Well, apparently your frequent visits and constant telephone contact with my successor have caused some rumors. And part of this company doubts the existence of some mysterious woman whom the new addition to the Association meets every week," he replied, looking at me as if wondering what I was going to do. "The young one also has something for you and he is a bit nervous if you take it, well, the rest of them make fun of it too."
"Oh yeah." I smiled maliciously.
I waited for them to approach me, Sebastian was blushing all over, some of the group accompanying him were laughing under their breath, and others were pushing him with their elbows maliciously encouraging him to act. Still, others stared at me as if they had seen a ghost. I walked over to the kid with the meanest expression on his face and without warning, I flicked his nose.
"Do you still need proof that it exists?" I asked, straightening my back. "I heard you doubt it."
"Not at all," said the one I attacked, rubbing his nose. "We were just curious how he convinced you, or how much he paid you to do it for him. He recently got himself a new phone, so he had an injection of cash from somewhere."
"Pay me?" I laughed. "I am the one who pays him. I'm a secret agent of a government organization. I waved my ID in front of them. And Sebastian is my new charge. He may be hesitant because you're his friends, but I won't mind and I'll send my agents after you if I find out you're teasing him again. Here, partner." I tossed his own ID card at the young man and turned around. I knew it would catch up with me after a while.
"Cami, you didn't have to," the young man said.
"I don't mind, it's important that they leave you alone," I said. "Besides, I've always wanted to do that with my ID. And I have a surprise for you."
"What about my ID?"
"You knew you'd get it, it's such a middling surprise." I shrugged and hurry him.
"Wait, I have something for you too," Sebastian said, blushing even more. I turned to see him standing in front of me with a rose in his outstretched hands. I accepted it with a smile.
"Thank you, that's nice of you." I smiled. "You are cute, if you treat your future girlfriend like that, she will be a really lucky girl."
First, he beamed, then he got sad for a moment, but he quickly returned to a happy version, asking what I had prepared for him. |
On the way back I had the impression that something was wrong, but it was difficult for me to pinpoint the specific reason. Sebastian was silent, looking at me from time to time with reproach and anger. So I excused myself from calling our coordinator and went out into the hallway for a while. I stared at the curtains of fabric on the compartment windows, wondering where I had gone wrong. Maybe I should admit to myself that I screwed up and face the consequences. I sighed heavily and then something caught my eye. I saw Sebastian's blond hair as he accidentally opened the curtain a little, and I had the impression that he did it by jostling with someone.
"What the hell?" I muttered under my breath and immediately stepped back into the compartment. "I've only been gone for a while..." was all I had time to say before I gasped loudly and caught the attention of my student and boyfriend.
I didn't want to know what Tristan was doing there, or why he was bound with a special ghost rope and had fear in his eyes. I shifted my gaze to a breathless Sebastian, holding his phone in his hand, and to my horror, I recognized the blacklist screen. Did he want to put my beloved on it? I couldn't let that happen, then I wouldn't be able to see him, we couldn't question other medium's decisions about the list, that was the unwritten rule in the Association.
"Sebastian..."
"Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?!" he shouted at me. His voice was full of rage and sadness at the same time, making me cringe. "Why do you prefer him over me, I love you! I am a living man and he is only a ghost!"
"We were together before Camilla met you," Tristan replied, trying to free himself.
"Do not move! Otherwise, you'll be on the list."
"Sebastian, please don't do this," I whispered, moving slightly toward him, focused on somehow knocking the phone out of his hand.
I didn't know what to do, what to say to appease the teen's anger, or how to break his heart so he wouldn't hate me. My eyes were focused on this cursed device. Sebastian, despite his emotions, saw it and understood what I was planning.
"You love him, don't you?" he asked in a desperate voice, and I nodded. "Would you be sad if I did? You would hate me... "
"Sebastian..."
Suddenly, he dropped the phone from his hand and fell heavily onto the seat, weeping and covering his face with his hands. I walked over to him, hoping he wouldn't push me away, and hugged him tightly.
"Why even, you don't want me?"
"It's not like that," I whispered, starting to cry myself. "I'm sorry I can't return your feelings, at least not in the way you expect me to now. All I can offer you is to be and love you like an annoying big sister. Hopefully, this will be enough over time. I'm sure you'll meet a girl more appropriate for your age someday." I sniffled. "I didn't want to tell you about this, lest I look like a hypocrite when I told you it shouldn't be done. Also, I didn't tell Tristan about you either, he'd be very jealous of you." I laughed.
"Really?" Sebastian was surprised.
"Very jealous," Tristan muttered. "You seem like a decent boy, if you were a few years older I'd be mad with anxiety that you would take her away from me." |
Before Ronald took Judy on a spiritual journey of their life, I spent a few days with her after the funeral, tidying up her belongings. We have determined which of them can be thrown out and which would be of use to others. I was also thinking about something and wanted to talk to my older friend about it.
"Judy?"
"Yes, honey?" She turned to me with a broad smile.
"I would have a request for you," I replied, a bit anxious. "I know you signed the apartment over to me, but I would prefer to arrange it with you anyway. Zoey has been complaining a bit about the dorm apartment lately, and I was wondering if you would mind if I asked her to occupy your room. It would always be a little brighter here, especially when you disappear for a while."
"I like her a lot, she's a nice girl," said Judy. "Besides, you are friends and as you noticed, the apartment is already yours. As long as you don't have too many parties here." She winked at me.
"Thanks," I breathed a relieved sigh as I returned to cleaning. I pulled out a basket of colorful yarns. "What about this?"
"There should still be wires there." Judy showed me another box. "And here are the socks started. Rip them open, there's always going to be a bit more material, and I'll be grateful if you bring these to the club. The girls will definitely make good use of it."
I nodded and added it to my to-do list for the near future. Zoey agreed to my offer and a week later she moved in without fear of being haunted in her sleep. Though she said for the first few days that she hadn't been able to sleep well, we had replaced the bed in Judy's old room. I was surprised that I was quiet for a long time and that my life was too carefree. I didn't know if it was a question of Tristan making sure that no other ghost disturbed me outside of working hours, or if it was just like that. However, I felt something was going to happen.
It started with the phone call from my coordinator, I picked him up at the same time curious about what could be going on, and on the other hand, it made me a bit anxious.
"What is it about?" I asked right after greeting.
"I'd have a big plea to you," the man on the other side of the phone replied with a sigh.
"Go on," I chased him away.
"We have a young medium, a fifteen-year-old boy. According to my information, the fullness of his skills appeared in him quite recently," began the coordinator, I was wondering what this might have to do with me. "He is an orphan with a difficult, rebellious character, and returns from each foster family after a short time. Thought you could take him under your wing, he is 2.0 like you, so you should understand him better."
"Who did he come after?" I asked first.
"After medium 904," he replied sadly.
"I am sorry," I muttered. "His jokes were lame, but I liked him. Coordinator, why did you choose me?"
"Well, he's only an hour away from you."
I raised an eyebrow in surprise and thought. It didn't work on the principle that if one medium died, another was born. This was about ten years earlier to keep any succession going smoothly. There weren't many of us, so we were usually really distant, so the boy had to be born elsewhere, maybe even in a different country. It is possible that he eventually showed up here without his will. I looked in the mirror and remembered how hard it was at the beginning of my journey.
"Okay, I'll do it," I said. |
On-shift day, Sebastian wasn't feeling well, so I let him stay in bed. 913 was on duty first, then 931 took over, and finally me. My now kind of rival left right after her shift, while our peacemaker went to take a nap and joined me for a while somewhere in the middle of my shift. He placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of me.
"Thanks," I replied, surprised when I noticed that he had prepared a drink for himself as well and sat down next to him. "I thought you weren't staying any longer than necessary."
"I still have a few hours until the train," replied 931 with a smile. "I thought we'd talk in the meantime."
Some of the ghosts pretended not to be interested in eavesdropping at all, so we both glared at them. They went back, as it were, to reading and looking through the titles we had collected.
"I hope you are aware that the boy is staring at you like a picture. Kids this age have a silly tendency to have crushes on their teachers. I know from experience, so I'm just asking you to be careful," the man announced suddenly, sipping his coffee as if it were nothing.
"Stop it," I muttered. "Sebastian definitely doesn't have a crush on me."
"What if so? Think about it and just in case also about how to break his heart in the most delicate way," 931 replied and pointed to the spirit, which evidently demanded my attention and help.
A week later, however, the senior medium's words haunted me. Sebastian asked if he could carry out our last shift himself. I agreed, I had no reason to say no. Instead of packing, I lay on my bed wondering if I had made the same mistake again. I hadn't noticed that Tristan had feelings for me until Zoey had to let me know.
I grabbed my phone and looked at the wallpaper, sometimes I missed trivial things like being able to set my boyfriend's picture as the display. I missed him and wanted him to be next to me, despite the more and more remorse that tormented me. I closed my eyes and remembered his face and the mischievous smile that had annoyed me at first and now I adored it.
"I felt you were thinking of me, that's why I came even though you asked me not to," he said suddenly appearing next to me.
I covered my eyes with my hand and smiled sadly, Tristan tried to take it away but I wouldn't let him. He sat down on the bed next to him and asked sadly if something was wrong.
"I don't deserve you," I whispered. "I've been lying to you for a long time."
"I know," he replied. "At first I was angry, but then I got over it. I was just afraid you were seeing someone else. Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?"
"You would have advised me against it because you knew it would involve more work."
"You are right," he agreed with me. "But that would ultimately be your decision anyway. I would try to understand your arguments and support you as much as I could."
I got up abruptly and threw myself into his arms crying, apologizing, and trying to explain how I felt during this time, and how I didn't want to look like a hypocrite afterward. How I was afraid of what would happen when it all came out, that I didn't want to hurt anyone in the end, but to take the easy way out with a lie. I felt a little better as I finally let it all out loud.
"Nobody's perfect," he said, stroking my head. "But don't lie to me evermore," he added, then disappeared abruptly when he heard a loud knock on the door. |
The following day was a scorching one, as one would expect from the harsh desert. Located on the northernmost outskirts of Ushiro was a small, humble melon farm. Despite its size, business was always booming. After all, who could resist the temptation of a cool, refreshing melon on a typical boiling hot day? Today's produce, however, was wholly reserved for Bandito.
Hiro, drenched in sweat, carried several melons with both arms. As he was nearing their white delivery truck, he was met with Johnny's shoulder colliding against him.
"Watch it." Without even looking at him, Johnny kept walking forward and dumped his melons in the truck. He often kept an aggressive tone with Hiro, but today, he spoke to him with a low voice.
"What's the hold up over there?" Kin shouted while cupping his hands.
He was sitting by the porch of Johnny's home together with Chiho, enjoying their cups of ice cold melon juice. There were two houses in the farm—a two-story one belonging to Johnny and his mother, and a single story home for Miles, where Hiro was also staying.
"You're distracting them," Chiho said. "I know the boss put you in charge, but you don't have to be a prick about it."
"Oh, please." He kicked his feet up on the railing. "Fujio can only keep his spot for so long. Eventually, I'll have my time in the big leagues."
"Not if you keep throwing the boss's name around like that."
"Nah! Fujio and I are besties! He's been grooming me to take his place, I'm sure of it! That's why he gave me a job of such high importance as being the big man in charge here."
"You mean babysitting, right?"
"Oh, shut up."
The front door opened, and, using a wooden cane, an old lady in a pink patched-up dress stepped out. She had long silver hair and a ruby necklace similar to Hiro's, though hers had a ruby pendant surrounded by a golden frame.
Jay—or Granny Jay, as she insisted Hiro call her—was the proud owner of the farm. Being Miles' sister, as well as Johnny's mother, it was no surprise that she was known as a caring, yet stern woman.
"Are you two finished? Would you like a refill?" Granny Jay asked.
"Nah, I'm good," Kin said. "Oh, well, lookie here. Looks like your boys are done."
Hiro and Johnny, both panting in exhaustion, walked over to them.
"We're done," Johnny said. "Filled up the truck. What's next?"
Chiho stood up. "The next order of business is delivering all this to our base."
"Which one of you stinkers can drive?" Kin asked.
"We'd all be dead if we let
him
drive." Johnny pointed at Hiro with his thumb.
Granny Jay clasped her hands together. "Actually! It's almost noon, and I prepared a lovely meal for our guests. Maybe you'd like to take a break first?"
"Oooh! Lunch!" Kin rubbed his belly.
"Excellent!" Granny Jay opened the door for them. "The meal is already at the table. Help yourselves. And if it's alright with you, I have a request."
"Spit it out," Chiho said.
"As you know, last night was really hectic. So many things happened, and they all happened so fast, and..." She looked down at the floor. "I'd like to visit my brother's grave while you eat. I'd like to take the boys with me too."
Kin pointed his rifle at her. "
Ohhh
no, you don't. You're trying to pull a fast one on us, aren't you? Fujio told us to watch your every damn move, and I plan on doing exactly that."
"Oh, please. Stop being an asshole," Chiho said as she entered the house. "They're not gonna run away; we have the detonators. We can just explode them at any time. I'm sure they'll behave. Right, boys?" She winked at Hiro and Johnny.
"Of course." Johnny politely bowed. "We'll make sure of it."
"Fine, fine." Kin followed Chiho inside. "But just remember; your lives are in our hands."
"Thank you very much," Granny Jay said as they closed the door. She then turned to the boys and smiled. "Let's go, shall we?"
Miles' grave was just a short walk outside the farm. Hiro and Johnny spent the entire night building him a coffin out of spare planks and burying him, in accordance to Bandito's desire to have the whole thing dealt with as quickly as possible. They haven't slept since the day prior, which in a way, they were grateful for. The labor and fatigue distracted them from an otherwise painful episode of grief and shock.
Despite all the work they went through, the most difficult part was telling Granny Jay the news. Apart from Johnny, Miles was her only family left, after all. Still, due to the presence of Kin and Chiho, she had to remain calm and hospitable to their new supervisors. How she managed to not lose her composure, Hiro didn't know. Her resilience had always been one of her best traits.
Which was why it hurt him deeply to see her rest her head against her cane and let out an ear-piercing wail.
"Mom..." Johnny placed his arms around her shoulder and joined her in tears.
Hiro stood some distance away from them. There was a hounding guilt that kept pricking into his conscience. In one fell swoop, the loving family that took him in was now under a state of mourning and suffering. He tried his best to hold back his tears. He didn't deserve to cry, he decided; he knew this was all his fault. Miles' real killer was none other than him.
"Hiro," Granny Jay managed to say through her quivering lips. "Come closer and pay your respects."
For the first time since the sun had risen, Hiro spoke. "I'm sorry. I can't."
"Why? It's Miles. You think sulking there would make him happy?"
With great hesitation, he slowly walked towards the grave. It was a makeshift one, made of two spare planks hammered together. On it, an epitaph was carved, though its handwriting was only somewhat legible. Its message was simple:
Miles Gowell.
A Good Friend.
Immediately, Hiro broke down into tears. Sand flew into the air as he fell to his knees. With trembling hands, he caressed the top of the grave. "It's not fair. It should've been me, not you."
Johnny clicked his tongue. "Yeah, it should've."
"Johnny!" Granny Jay snapped her head towards him. "Don't start a fight. Not in front of Miles."
He shrugged. "I'm not starting anything. I'm just telling the truth. Am I wrong, Hiro?"
Hiro stayed silent as he kept his head low.
Granny Jay placed her hand on Hiro's shoulder. "Listen. I know it hasn't been that long, but Miles and I still love you very much. There is nothing to blame you for."
"Really, Mom?" Johnny scoffed. "Nothing? Absolutely nothing?"
"Joh—"
"Uncle is
dead
, Mom! He's dead! And you know what?" He kicked sand onto Hiro's cloak. "If
he
didn't do anything. Like, literally, if he just did nothing, Uncle would still be alive. Are you
sure
there's nothing to blame him for?"
She pounded her cane against the ground. "That is enough!"
"It's okay, Granny," Hiro said. "He's not wrong. This is all my fault."
Johnny clenched his fists. "Why?... Why did you have to go and screw everything up? I told Uncle when he first saw you that taking you in was a bad idea. He still did it anyway. He was so nice to you, to all of us, so... Why the hell did he have to die?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Sorry won't cut it!"
Hiro quickly stood up. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?! I don't know what to do! I don't know what I
can
do! What do you want from me?"
Johnny spat at the ground. "You were a mistake."
He was turning around to leave when Granny Jay struck his leg with her cane. "Boys! Do you think this is what Miles wants to see? Now both of you, listen up."
Begrudgingly, Hiro and Johnny set aside their vexation and paid attention.
"When Miles, my husband, and I were young," she continued, "we dreamed of living here in the Orin Kingdom. We always talked about the amazing technology here—how people traveled without horses and spoke to others in far off places without the use of messengers. We were rebellious little teens back then. Criminal even, since we snuck in here by ship."
"I still don't believe that," Johnny said. "You don't have a criminal bone in you at all."
She chuckled to herself. If anyone looked at her face now, they would've never thought she was crying just moments before. "You'd be surprised what Miles and Harold were capable of making me do. Looking back now, we were just naive kids. Farming was all we were ever taught. We knew nothing about starting businesses and stocks and all that. In just a few months, Harold and Miles lost all our money, and we had to leave Zenpo City. We had no way of going back home, since Orin security was much tighter."
"And that's how you ended up here," Hiro said.
"Correct. If there was anyone who complained about Bandito the most, it would be Miles. He kept saying their taxes were way too heavy, but his constant protests always led him to trouble. He learned that submission to authority was the way to a peaceful and happy life, and I know that's all he wants for you. I'm sure he, of all people, understands how unfair it is. And it's why I know he doesn't blame anyone for what happened. But if you want to live here peacefully and quietly, you
must
stand down and submit."
Hiro covered his watery eyes. They were no longer tears of mourning, or even that of anger. They were tears of hopelessness. Hiding or leaving the village were no longer options. Standing up for himself would only lead to more pain for him, Granny Jay, and—though he couldn't care less—Johnny. He was standing in front of a dead end.
There was no escape.
"Oh dear, look at the time." Granny Jay checked her watch. "They'll be suspicious if we don't return now."
"Good. I needed a distraction." Johnny began walking back to their home. "And for the record, I don't forgive him. Never will."
Granny Jay rubbed Hiro's back. "Please understand him. Harold died when he was just a young boy. Miles was the closest thing he had to a father. Johnny's probably taking it the worst out of all of us."
The way her hand trembled made him think otherwise.
"Thanks, Granny. I mean it. It's... gonna take me a while to adjust, but I'll do my best. Now, let's go back. Wouldn't wanna cause any more trouble, right?"
"That's the spirit, Hiro."
With that, the three headed back to the farm. They found Kin taking a nap by the couch, so they took the time to have a quick lunch of their own. When he woke up, it was back to work. Johnny was tasked to deliver the melons to various Bandito stations.
Meanwhile, Hiro was given the task of cleaning every single room, while Granny Jay served Kin and Chiho with snacks, refreshments, and whatever else they might need. Somehow, after just one day, Kin managed to get the house dirtier than it had been all year, especially the guest room and its corresponding bathroom. Still, Hiro didn't mind all the work; he was glad to have something to keep him busy. By sunset, he finally finished.
"Well, hot damn, this place looks spotless!" Kin ruffled Hiro's hair as he looked around the living room. "You know, I didn't really like you, kid, but I can always appreciate a hard worker."
"You could learn a thing or two from him," Chiho said from the couch.
"Oh, shut it, will ya? Oh yeah, did you see the boss's message?"
"The one about the meeting? We're not even going to that one."
"YEAH! I KNOW!" He threw his hands up. "Can you believe he didn't invite me to such an important meeting?"
"Yes, I can. What do you want me to do about it?"
"Man, I don't know. That put me in such a bad mood. Say, Chiho, I might head out to the bar right now. Heard they got some crazy arm wrestling event. We could win it big with our bets. Wanna come with?"
She raised an eyebrow. "A date with you? No thanks. We were told to stay 'cause we have a job to do, dingus."
"Aw, come on. You're such a party pooper. Look at how well behaved they are! A quick trip outside can't possibly be a bad decision.
Buuut
, since you're being a real killjoy right now, I'm taking him instead!" He draped his arm over Hiro's shoulder. "Then I'll be doing my job. Does that sound good to you?"
"Whatever, man. I don't get paid enough to give a damn."
"Sweet!" He faced the kitchen where Granny Jay was. "Hey, grandma! Can you come over here real quick?"
"Oh, alright." She limped towards him. "What can I do for you, young man?"
"Your boy and I are gonna head to the bar tonight. No funny business while I'm gone, you hear?"
She bowed her head. "Loud and clear."
Kin bent down and looked at her more closely. "Hm... That's a mighty fine necklace you have there. I could use an ace in the hole when I get to betting later. Do you mind if I... you know, borrow it for tonight?"
"Hold on!" Hiro stood between them. "You can't just take that. That should be too low, even for you."
"You'd be surprised," Chiho said.
"I see you got some spunk, kid. I'll respect that." Kin flashed his detonator at Hiro. "But I think I've made it clear who's the real boss in this farm."
"Hiro, calm down," Granny Jay said with a stern voice.
Hiro responded with a nervous nod. He watched as Kin returned the detonator to his right pocket.
"Here." Granny Jay took off her ruby necklace and placed it in Kin's hand.
"Now that's what I wanna see! Don't you worry, I'm a gambling genius! I'll have this back in your hands tonight while I swim in tons of fresh winnings. Now, then..." He smacked Hiro's back several times. "Let's get outta here. I'll show you how to have a good time. You gotta treat yourself after a hard day's work, after all."
Hiro forced a smile. "R-Right."
The two made their way to the village square. The journey was a quiet one—for Hiro, that is. He spent half an hour just nodding at everything Kin said. The whole time, he wondered how a man could keep running his mouth without getting tired. Sunset faded away to moonlight as Ken pointed at the street to their left.
"You see that place, kid? My favorite bar in the whole village."
The street that led to the bar was filthy and poorly lit. At the end, however, the bar was lit up with bright neon lights. At the top of its roof was a hologram of beer mugs clashing. Loud cheering and music could be heard all the way from where Hiro stood.
Kin wiped away the drool from his mouth. "Never too early to start a good night of drinking! Let's get a move on."
As they trekked further inside the street, they heard a crash coming from a nearby alleyway. They would've kept moving forward, thinking it was just a bunch of rats. However, a peculiarly pale object on the ground caught Kin's eye. He came closer to check, but immediately yelped and took a step back. Tripping on his own foot, he fell flat on his behind.
It was a severed hand, extremely thin and pale.
Mere seconds later, they could hear footsteps approaching. Suddenly, a red whip-like tentacle shot out from deeper inside the alleyway. It quickly wrapped itself around Kin's mouth before he could even say a word. When he tried to reach for his gun, another tentacle wrapped his hands together. He was lifted up into the air.
Kin looked at Hiro, screaming at him with his muffled voice. Hiro froze; he didn't know what to do. Looking further ahead, he noticed the silhouette of a girl with long-flowing hair. Her voice was low and cold.
"Enemy spotted." |
The full moon shed its light over the mysterious girl. Her footsteps echoed throughout the alleyway. As she drew closer to Hiro, he noticed her skin to be eerily pale—a sharp contrast to her pink hair and light blue eyes. Despite the temperature drastically falling at night, she only wore a white crop top and black jeans. Golden bracelets decorated each of her wrists.
"Mm! Mm!" Kin kicked his feet around in a frenzy, but his efforts to break free from the tentacles were all in vain. His look of rage and desperation as he continued to scream at Hiro was harrowing.
Knowing full well that staying around would only put him in danger, Hiro clambered to his feet. However, as he was about to turn around and make a run for it, a thought crossed his mind. Clenching his fist, he sprinted towards Kin.
Kin's countenance quickly changed from teary-eyed contempt to that of a wide beaming smile of hope. That, however, soon faded to a look of shock and betrayal as he watched Hiro reach for his right pocket and take out the detonator. Kin, with all the power he could muster from his lungs, let out an agonizingly long shriek.
As soon as he grabbed the detonator, Hiro sprinted away as fast as he could. He didn't slow down or turn back—even when Kin's voice suddenly stopped. Before he could exit to the street, a red blob was tossed ahead of him. It expanded into a giant web that blocked his path. He touched it with his finger; it was sticky and had a peculiar smell, like that of metal.
"Don't shout, or I'll kill you," the girl said with a monotone voice.
Kin, who was vibrant and high-spirited not too long ago, was now a husk of his former self. His body shriveled up into a thin, unmoving corpse; his skin turned deathly pale. Haphazardly, the pink-haired girl tossed his body into the dumpster beside her. The tentacles retracted back into her wrists, and a red blade manifested in her hand. With the other, she formed another red blob. She turned her cold gaze to Hiro.
Hiro looked around frantically; there was no one nearby. Seeing no other option, he threw his hands up. "I won't make a noise. I promise."
"Good." Without warning, she hurled the blob at him. It dispersed into several needles as it traversed the air.
With his eyes glowing a lustrous green, Hiro leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding them. He had no time to rest, however, as the girl sent out a whip from her wrist. He zigzagged his way around her attack and closed the gap between them. She swung her blade at him, but with ease, as thought he saw it coming, he ducked down. Grabbing her arm with both hands, he threw her against the wall and bolted further inside the alley.
His only chance to escape now was to rush to the other side. Asking for help—even if it meant begging Bandito—was of utmost importance. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth wide.
"Hel—"
A red spear flew just above his head. The girl was catching up faster than he expected. For now, getting out of her sight was the top priority.
After hopping over a wooden fence, he could finally see the other end of the alleyway. As he ran towards it, a foul smell penetrated his nose. Further down, he noticed a dumpster overflowing with black plastic bags. He had no time to stop and observe them, however. A thud from behind led him to turn around; the girl had already jumped over the fence.
Holding his breath, he grabbed one of the bags and tossed it her way. With a single slash of her blade, she tore the bag in half. Severed limbs and internal organs were spewed out, scattering along the ground. The stench of rotten flesh permeated the air. One good whiff led Hiro to hunch forward and gag. The girl lunged at him, but he still managed to evade her attack by the skin of his teeth.
"You're fast. How annoying." She aimed her palm at him.
A crimson whip flew just above Hiro's head as he ducked down. In quick judgment, he reached for a nearby lump of flesh and threw it at her face. As she recoiled backward, he sprinted towards the street. The girl had shot out another whip. Hiro jumped over it, but it followed him midair and wrapped itself around his leg. He was lifted off the ground, dangling upside down. She brought him closer to her.
"Wait! Stop right now!" Hiro's voice cracked as he displayed the detonator in his hand. His whole body quaked. "There's a bomb on my leg. Put me down right now, or we both blow up."
She stared at his leg. "You—"
"I said NOW, damn it!"
Without warning, she dropped him face-first onto the pavement. Afraid she might take the opportunity and strike while he's down, Hiro hurriedly scrambled to his feet. He clutched the detonator tight and took a few steps back.
"N-Now here's what's gonna happen." He pointed at her. "I step back, you step back, and we both never cross paths again. Okay?"
The girl placed her hand on her chin and scanned him.
"Didn't you hear me?! I'm
going
to blow us up! Listen to what I'm telling you!"
"Your clothes..." Her voice was calm. "You're not the same as them."
"...What? Same as who?"
"Same as them." She pointed at a brown hat lying on the ground.
Hiro's gaze darted back and forth between the hat and the girl. He then glanced at the rest of the body parts scattered around. His mouth opened as he slowly came to a realization. "Are they...
all
from Bandito?"
She nodded. "Are you one of them?"
"Hell no!" he immediately yelled. He paused to regain his composure. "Why are you killing them?"
"Secret."
"You don't exactly have a choice. I can press this button any time, you know?"
"You're shaking. You won't do it."
"D-Don't push your luck. Just answer my question."
She paused to think. "Can I ask you a question first?"
"Wh—" He sighed. "Okay, fine. What is it?"
"I'm looking for someone." Her hand hovered over her chest. "She's short. Do you know her?"
Hiro had a perplexed look on his face. "How am I supposed to know?! Do you know how many short people—" His eyebrows shot up. "Does she have red hair?"
Her eyes widened—the first show of emotion he saw from her. "Yes."
"Is her name Maki?"
She pointed her blade at him. "Why do you know her name?"
"Whoa whoa! Chill! She told me her name herself!"
"Why were you with her?"
"Look, if you promise not to kill me, I can trade information with you."
After a moment of silence, she lowered her blade. Although he felt a rush of relief, Hiro still did his best to maintain composure. "Okay, I'll start. Who are you and Maki?"
"Secret."
"Okay... What's your name?"
"Secret."
"Why did you come here?"
"Secret."
"Are you gonna tell me anything?"
"Secr— No. You tell me what I want."
"And if I don't? You'll kill me?"
"Yes."
"You'll lose the only person who knows about Maki."
"..."
A cheeky smile painted Hiro's face. For once, he actually had the upper hand over someone. "How about we make a deal? I'll help you find Maki. I got some unfinished business with her anyway. In return, I need your help. I don't know who—or what—you are, but you're strong. Really strong. You see, Bandito has us all in a choke hold. Right now, he's making me and my... family work like slaves. If you can, you know..."
"You want me to kill them all?" she asked.
"I mean, looks like you were already hunting them down, right? Then my request shouldn't be that unreasonable."
"...Understood."
Though her face remained expressionless, he could tell by the subtle change in tone that she was losing patience.
"Now, where's Maki?" she demanded.
Hiro looked away. "I, uh... I don't know."
"You said she was with you."
"
Was
. She ran off somewhere, and I have no idea where she is right now. But I can still help! Two people are better than one, right? And she knows who I am, so we can even split up!"
"We won't split up."
"Okay, that's fair. Um
...
I do know my way around Ushiro. Finding her should be a cinch."
He lied; he barely went outside of the farm, let alone the village.
"Understood," she said. "Where do we go first?"
"Um, uh..." While contemplating on their next destination, he heard faint sounds of cheers and laughter. "Wait, that's it! Come with me!"
She followed him back to the other side of the alleyway. The sticky web that had previously blocked the exit was now reduced to a pool of red liquid. Hiro pinched his nose as he took a quick glance at Kin's withered body. Good riddance and well deserved, he thought. When he was about to enter the street, the girl stomped her foot.
"Stop," she said. "Are you trying to escape?"
"No, no! Take a look." Hiro poked his head out of the corner and pointed at the bar down the street. "Over there. Looks lively. Maybe we can ask some people if they've seen Maki."
She took a step back. "No. I can't show my face."
"And I don't suppose you could let me go by myself?"
"No."
He let out an exasperated sigh and tossed her his cloak. "Here. You're so difficult. Is that good enough?"
She put it on. "It's sweaty."
"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't expect someone to
wear my clothes
. You ready to go, or not?"
She gave a single nod and followed his lead. Boisterous cheering and the occasional crashing of plates could be heard. When Hiro opened the doors, they were met with a roaring crowd gathered in a large circle. Everyone was yelling out bets and chugging down their drinks.
A loud slam came from the center of the crowd. A tall, bald man with a goatee stood up from his seat. "This is stupid! She's cheating!" he yelled.
"We've checked her several times. She's not carrying anything," said the bartender from his station.
As opposed to the lively crowd, the bartender was calmly wiping his shaker with a white cloth. He wore a beige vest and a matching bow tie; his mustache was well-trimmed. Were it not for his gray hair, many would've mistaken him for a young man. Behind him was a shelf that contained an assortment of liquor bottles and other ingredients neatly arranged in rows.
The bald man banged on the table. "There's no way I would lose to a little girl! We're going again!"
"Hey, who are you callin' 'little', asshole?"
Hiro immediately recognized that voice. "M—"
"It's her," the girl whispered as she ran forward. Hiro followed, and the two jostled their way through the thick crowd.
At the center of the bar, Maki was slouching against a table. With one hand, she held a massive mug of beer, and with the other, she was arm-wrestling with the bald man. Beads of sweat trickled down the man's face; his whole arm trembled. Meanwhile, Maki didn't seem tired at all. She opened her mouth wide, pretending to yawn. Within seconds, she slammed his hand against the wooden table. The whole bar erupted into cheers.
Maki jumped on top of the table and raised her fist in the air. "Another pussy down! Buncha weaklin's! Don't ever call me lil' again!"
"And another victim falls before our undefeated champion of the night!" the bartender announced. "To those who placed their bets on 'less than ten seconds', claim your winnings right here! Or, you can go double or nothing for the next one! If you do, I'll give you a shot of our finest blend, on the house!"
A horde of people lined up in front of the bartender. Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl stormed over to Maki. Two guards stepped in front of her, blocking her way. They both wore tank tops and loose cargo pants; their heads were completely shaven.
"Whoa there! Where do you think you're going?" one of them asked.
"You wanna challenge the champ, you gotta get in line!" the other said. "Hmm, then again, you got a pretty face. Maybe we can talk it over a few drinks?"
"No," she said.
"Hey, hey!" Maki pushed between the two men and held the girl's hands. "I've been lookin' for you for ages! Where did you go?"
"You were the one who disappeared," the girl said. "And you dropped your phone."
"Oh, I did? I was lookin' all over for it!"
"And where's my cloak? You took mine by accident."
"Oh... Yeah, I lost that ages ago."
"Why did you even leave? I told you to wait."
"You were in the bathroom for ages! And it was startin' to stink up, so—"
The girl clasped her hand over Maki's mouth and glared daggers at her. If looks could kill, any normal person would've been dead—but not Maki. She pulled the girl's hand away from her mouth and stuck her tongue out. It was then that she noticed Hiro standing nearby.
"Oh, hey! It's you! You're uh... the hobo!"
Hiro scowled at her. "
This
is where you went? After ditching us back there? We went through hell 'cause of you!"
"...Hiro! I remember now!" She lifted her finger up. "Hey, why didn't you follow me? You left a poor defenseless girl all by her lonesome."
"You didn't even wait! You just knocked them out and dipped!"
"Well, duh! It was an urgent matter! It's your fault for not going with the flow."
"
My
fault?!" Hiro raised his voice. "Because of you—"
"Okay, what seems to be the hold up here?" one of the guards asked.
She turned to him and extended her hand forward. "Alright, I'm headin' out. Mind givin' me my bag back?"
The guards looked at each other, then back at her. "No can do," the other said. "You agreed to be here all night."
"Okay, yeah, but I changed my mind!"
"You can't just do that!"
"Why not? Actually, askin' you bozos is a waste of time." Cupping her hands over her mouth, she called over to the bartender. "Hey! Big man! I'm cashin' out! Where's my stuff?"
"Huh?!" After calming the crowd down and calling a ten-minute break, he rushed over to Maki. "What do you mean 'cashing out'?"
"It means I'm done. Finito. Leavin'." She pointed at Hiro and the girl. "As you can see, my entourage has come to pick me up!"
"We can't have that! You see all these people? Look at all the potential earnings!
"Eh, money's for sissies. I just wanted to see the look on these guys' faces when they get absolutely destroyed by a girl. Heh."
"We already made a deal! We'll hand over your stuff once you're done."
"Oh, playin' that way, are we?" Maki took the chair behind her and hopped on top. She yelled at the top of her lungs. "Attention, everybody!"
All eyes were on her.
"You see that guy?" She pointed at the bald man she had just defeated sitting at the corner of the room. "Look at his ass!"
Emerging from his behind, a machine resembling a hornet flew into the air. The bald man stood up and tried to swat it away, but quickly plummeted to his knees. Foam frothed in his mouth before he vomited on the floor. He mumbled out words, but no one could understand his slurred speech. With eyes rolled back, he fell unconscious, his face landing on his own pool of filth.
The hornet landed on Maki's finger. "These lil' things have been druggin' my competitors!"
"
What
are you doing?!" The bartender's voice cracked.
"I'm baffled. Disgraced, even. I thought I was winnin' fair and square, but
nooo
! I just found out that
these
guys were cheatin' to get
your
money!" She gestured towards the bartender and the guards.
"What's she saying, old man?" someone from the crowd asked.
"You think you could play us for fools, huh?!" yelled another.
The bartender was sweating. "Now, now. Calm down. This is all a misunder—"
"Give me my money back, you scam!"
The crowd stampeded towards him. Hiro and the girls escaped in time, but the bartender and his crew were not as fortunate. They were driven back against the wall. In desperation, they tried to fight back, but they were easily overwhelmed. The furious mob dragged them down to the floor and pummeled them repeatedly.
Hiro turned his face away. "You found your friend. Can we leave? Like, now?"
"Hold on." Maki let the hornet fly out of her hand. "Alright, my baby! Lead me to my stuff!"
It flew underneath the bartender's counter. Maki hopped over it and retrieved a black cloak and a large metal bag. Despite it being about double her size, she was able to lift the bag up with a single hand. Taking one last look at the chaos that she'd just caused, she stuck her tongue out.
"Alright, let's get outta here!" She sprinted out of the door, with Hiro and the girl following closely behind. |
Cold wind brushed past Hiro as soon as he opened the door. He and Haruka stepped out, but Maki immediately zoomed ahead. After a mere few seconds, her feet staggered to a halt. Shuddering, she wrapped her arms around herself.
"H-How d-did it g-get so cold?! It w-wasn't that b-bad earlier!" Her teeth rattled.
"Welcome to the desert." Hiro walked past her, his hands snug inside his pockets. "Don't be too loud. The others might hear us."
"Of course. They'll only get in the way," Haruka said as she sauntered behind him, stopping for only a brief moment to pat Maki on the head. She seemed unbothered by the cold temperature.
Maki looked like she was moved to tears. "Haruka, you're s-so nice to me." She jumped to embrace her, but quickly withdrew herself. "
Urgh!
Why does your skin h-have to be so c-cold?"
They snuck to the entrance of the farm, where the delivery truck was parked. Maki peered through the driver seat's window. "Yo! This your ride? Can we take it to their base?" she whispered aloud.
"No can do," Hiro said.
"What? Why
nooot
?"
"I don't have the keys with me. They're in the other house."
"Oh, is that it? Leave it to me, then!"
Two of her hornets flew from her bag. With their stingers, they picked the door's lock. Gleefully humming, Maki entered the truck and took out the compartment under the steering wheel. Several cords were in display; she connected two of them together. The truck started in no time.
She gave him a thumbs up. "All done!"
"I... You actually did it."
"No duh. I can't be a criminal and
not
know these basic things. Now then!" She clasped her hands together. "You can drive this thing, right?"
"Of course I can!"
That was a blatant lie. Hiro only drove it two times before, the second resulting in a disaster that made Miles ban him from using the truck. Still, he wanted to prove himself at least somewhat useful to the girls.
He was about to get inside when a voice thundered from the other house. "HEY! Who's that in the truck! Get out of there!" One by one, the lights in the home were turned on.
"Get in now!" Hiro yelled at the girls.
Maki and Haruka both entered the truck. Hiro stepped on the gas, pushing it down the whole way. While dashing away, he saw Johnny and Granny Jay coming out of the front door through his rear view mirror.
"Wooo!" Maki stood up and spread her arms wide. "Now,
this
is speed!"
"Maki, you're going to fall." Haruka held her knees together as she sat down.
"Haha! No way! Hiro's got this!" She bent down and peeked inside the rear window. "Right?"
Hiro was frozen, gripping on to the steering wheel with all his might. His teeth chattered; he didn't blink. His foot slammed against the accelerator. The truck's speed continued to rise until they were about halfway from the village square.
Maki fell on her behind. "Dumbass! Slow it down! Turn right!"
Hiro turned the steering wheel all the way to the right, but did not let his foot go. The truck was hurling itself straight into a tree. Haruka formed a whip and used it to pull Hiro's foot off the gas. She slammed on the brakes; the truck skidded to a halt.
Maki hopped out and opened the door to Hiro's seat. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer. "You IDIOT! Why didn't you tell me your stupid ass can't drive?!"
"I-I'm sorry! I'm still new!"
"New? NEW?! Literal babies can drive better than you!"
"I panicked! We were going too fast!"
"Then pull your damn foot off the gas!"
"I-I couldn't move it!"
"Alright, step aside!" Maki shoved him away and sat in the driver's seat. "I'll show you how the pros do it."
"Wha— Wait, I... I can still drive." Hiro placed his hand on the steering wheel. His hand still hasn't recovered from the shaking.
"Absolutely not! You're gonna get us killed!"
"But... Can
you
drive?"
"You are the last person in the world qualified to ask me that."
"But you're... you know..." He raised his hand just above his waist.
"What? Too short?"
"Too young."
He heard a giggle from behind him. Haruka kept her usual disinterested look, but her hand covered her mouth.
"I already told you, asshole! I'm a full-fledged adult!" Maki yelled.
"Then do you have a license?" Hiro asked.
"...No."
"See?"
"We're criminals, you twat! Why would we ever want the government to have our personal records?"
"Ah."
"We don't got all night! Hop on and tell me where their base is."
The three got inside; Maki started the truck. With Hiro's directions, they passed through the village square. At his request, they stopped by the alleyway where he and Haruka met. He went to Kin's body and took out the ruby necklace that belonged to Granny Jay. On its back were the inscribed words:
To my beloved Jay:
My love. My joy. My life.
—Harold Walker.
They then drove a few miles outside Ushiro. He pointed at a large metal warehouse sitting on top of a small hill. A driveway connected it to the hill's bottom. The whole compound was surrounded by a tall barbed-wire fence. Danger signs were scattered throughout it, warning people of the electric shock they would receive should they attempt to climb. When they got close, she slowed down and parked behind one of the bushes.
"We're goin' the rest of the way by foot," she said.
The three of them snuck up to the electric fence. They stooped down and walked along the perimeter until they made it to the entrance gate. Two Bandito members were stationed there, browsing their phones idly.
Maki made several hand signals to Haruka. "Execute order beta, beta, charlie."
Haruka chopped her on the head. "Speak English."
"Ow..." Maki rubbed her head and chuckled.
"These two can't seriously be criminals," Hiro muttered to himself.
Maki pointed at the guards with a wide grin on her face. "Go kill 'em. Make it nice and quiet."
"Understood." Haruka formed two red knives in her hand. She gracefully threw them at the guards, making no sound whatsoever as they traveled through the air. They pierced their temples and lodged themselves firmly within their skulls. The men plummeted to the ground.
Hiro gawked as Haruka approached them. Summoning needles from her wrists, she knelt down and stabbed their necks. Their bodies quickly deflated, leaving behind a thin, shriveled mess.
Covering his mouth, Hiro looked away. Maki came over and smacked his back several times. "Sorry 'bout that, hobo. It takes a while to get used to lookin' at Haruka drink them."
"D-Drink... them?"
"Stop." Haruka glared at them.
"Oh, whoops! Forget I said anything. Now, movin' on to what's really important, let's talk about our game plan." Maki pointed at Hiro's face, bringing her finger right in front of his nose. "If you thought your role was over, you're dead wrong. You're comin' with us!"
"Wait, wh—" Hiro stopped himself before he could speak any louder. "I'm what now?" he whispered.
She picked up a pistol from one of the corpses' holsters and chucked it at him. "Here. You're gonna need this."
He couldn't keep his eyes off it. "This... This is a gun."
"
Wooow.
What a surprise. Yes, idiot! It's a gun. Consider this your first test. Try not to die out there."
"Test?! Wait, I'm not ready! I've never killed— I mean, what do I do? I thought I was just supposed to bring you here and—"
She snapped her finger in front of his face. "Relax, you pussy! What kind of revenge would it be if you never did the dirty work yourself!"
"But I-I've never used a gun before."
Her countenance changed into that of utter disappointment. She pulled the gun away from his hands and undid the safety. "There. Just pull the trigger. Can't believe I'm dealin' with such a child."
"Look who's talking."
"The adult, that's who. Hmph!" She pouted at him. "Anyways, you said those bozos' boss killed your friend, right? I'm leavin' you in charge of him, then."
"What?! You want me to kill their boss?"
Maki jerked her head back and looked at him with disgust. "Please, you're too much of a sissy to even kill a fly, which makes you perfect for the job. We need him alive for questionin'. Just... I dunno, shoot him in the leg or somethin'. We'll handle the rest."
He could feel his own heart rate rising. "Are you sure I have to do this? What if I mess up? I wasn't prepared for this."
She nodded slowly and tapped on his arm. "You're either comin' with us, or we kill you right here, right now. Can't jeopardize the mission, after all."
"Okay, okay!" He stepped away from her hand. "I'll... try to do something about it. What about the nanobarrier you showed me earlier? Can I have that too?"
"Nope! I only brought one, and I'm usin' it to save my own ass."
"But I'm not as brave or crazy as you! I don't wanna die!"
"And you won't!" She wrapped her arm around Haruka. "We'll take good care of you. Right, Haruka?"
She sighed. "Fine. So long as he's not too much of a burden."
"Perfect! We're all set, then! Race you there!"
Maki bolted up the hill in excitement. However, it didn't take long for Hiro and Haruka to catch up; by the time they reached her, she was dragging her feet and panting.
Hiro slowed down to her pace. "Should we take a break?"
"Shut... up... We're almost... there..."
"Do you want me to carry you again?" Haruka asked.
She raised her arms. "Yes please."
Her whips wrapped themselves around Maki's waist and lifted her up in the air.
"Hehe! Faster, my loyal servant!"
"Say that one more time, and I'll drop you."
"Hehe."
The three hid behind a large rock several feet away from the warehouse. Two Bandito members were guarding the large metal door. On Maki's demand, Haruka put her down.
"Just two guards? Man, these guys are a load of pushovers!"
"The lights are all on," Hiro said. "Looks like the rest of them are inside."
"Perfect! Time to go ch—"
Maki tried to get up, but Haruka placed her hand on her shoulder, holding her down. "The guards will see us."
"And? We'll be the last thing they see."
"They'll warn the boss, and he'll escape."
"
Tch.
Do you always have to think of everything?"
Haruka stood up. "Give me assistance."
Maki sighed as she opened her bag. "
Okaaay
."
She sent out her hornets to sting the opposing guards. Their mouths foamed as they dropped to the ground. Haruka summoned a spear in her hand and finished them off.
"Guys, guys! Over here!" Maki stood on her toes to peek at the window.
Hiro and Haruka took a look inside. The warehouse was filled with stacks of crates. Together with the dim lighting, it was difficult for them to see what exactly was going on. All they could see were the backs of several Bandito members standing in attention.
Maki cupped her ear against the window. "I can't really hear what they're sayin'. Can we just bust in?"
Haruka lifted her hand and was about to chop her head. "Maki, I told you—"
"Actually," Hiro said, "that doesn't sound like a bad idea."
There was a sparkle in Maki's eyes. "See? Hiro gets me!"
"What do you mean?" Haruka asked him.
"If you bust in, everyone's attention is on you. That'll mean I can sneak up to the boss more easily."
And less Bandito members for him to encounter.
"Haha! Would you look at that?" Maki pointed at herself with her thumb. "I'm a genius!"
Haruka placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready?"
Hiro recoiled back in surprise. Her skin felt frigid. His eyes were glued to her arm as he rubbed his shoulder. "Y-Yeah! I hope so..."
She turned around, hiding her hands from him. "Sorry."
"Nonsense! You'll be fine!" Maki took out several balls that had the appearance of hamsters from her bag. "We're gonna make a big distraction, and your job is to sneak around through one of the windows and intercept their boss. Not too hard, right?"
"I guess," Hiro said.
"Either way, you got ten seconds before I blow the door up. Now step aside and do your job. Capiche?"
He sprinted away as fast as he could and took shelter behind a nearby rock. When he looked back, Haruka had already hidden off somewhere. Maki summoned the nanobarrier in front of her and tossed the hamster-like balls at the door. A grand explosion occurred, tearing it to shreds. Hiro moved over to a nearby window to observe what was happening inside.
Maki laughed hysterically. "
Goooood
evenin', bozos! Remember me?"
In a frenzy, the Bandito members took out their guns.
"Hold your fire!" Their boss, Fujio, was sitting on top of a crate in front of them. He appeared calm—unfazed by Maki's explosive entrance. He opened the palm of his metal arm and aimed it at her. A golden muzzle extended from his wrist. "After all that running around, you decide to show up out of nowhere and cause this huge mess? Why are you here now?"
She snickered. "Oh, I wasn't runnin' around. I was arm wrestlin'!"
"What?"
"Speakin' of which, you guys should probably do the runnin'
riiiiight
about... Now!"
From her bag, she pulled out two submachine guns and opened fire, raining bullets at them. One by one, Bandito members dropped to the floor. The rest were able to pull out their own nanobarriers on time and protect themselves.
"Sneaky brat." The boss fired a bullet from his wrist—only for it to ricochet off her nanobarrier. "Kill her!"
They fired back, unloading their cartridges at her. Both Maki and Bandito were at a standstill; none of their bullets even made a dent in their nanobarriers.
Maki pointed her gun at the ceiling. "Your turn!"
Haruka broke through one of the windows with a large red shield. With her other hand, she created several tentacles with sharpened tips. They maneuvered through the barriers and stabbed whoever they could reach. Those unfortunate enough to get hit crumpled into pale masses of flesh.
They turned their attention to her. While her shield blocked their bullets, she lobbed a thick blob into the air. It exploded, releasing a web of sticky liquid that fell on them. As they tried to get it off, she slipped through and cleanly sliced their heads off one by one.
Bandito's numbers dwindled. In desperation, they circled around Haruka and fired from all sides. She was forced to surround herself with shields. Maki took several hamster bombs and rolled them on the floor; those distracted by Haruka were blown to bits.
"Eugh... Those girls are insane."
Hiro watched on as the mass slaughter continued. At the corner of the window, he could see the tip of a black hat bobbing up and down. Leaning forward to get a better look, he saw Fujio rummaging through a crate near the other side of the warehouse. In his hands was a set of missiles.
"Are those the pierce rockets Maki talked about?"
As much as he hated it, he knew this was his chance to move. With no guards outside, the path to the back of the warehouse was all clear. He peeked through the window; Fujio was all alone, placing the missiles inside a rocket launcher.
Hiro gripped his gun tightly. Sweat formed along his brow. It was now or never.
Closing his eyes, he exhaled. When he opened them again, they were a glistening green—completely focused on the window. He took a few steps back and placed his arms in front of his face.
"Here goes..."
CRASH! |
"Maki! Are you o—"
Hiro and Haruka froze in place, speechless at the scene unfolding before them. There Maki was; her head was sticking out of the broken window. She vehemently stomped on the floor and banged her fists against the clay wall. Eventually, she gave up and let out an ear-piercing shriek.
"Hello?! You guys there?
Heeelloooo!
I need a lil' help!"
Taking a deep sigh, Haruka slowly marched toward her. "Maki."
"Yes?"
"You're an idiot."
Maki was on the verge of tears. "But I wanted to do it..."
"Why?"
"I got curious! I wanted to know if my head would fit! You know me; I can't stand not knowin' things."
"You do a lot of stupid things for someone who knows a lot."
"Shut up, okay? I get it! I goofed up! Now if I try to pull my head out, I'm gonna get cut, and I don't like that!"
Haruka turned around. "We should just leave you there. Learn your lesson."
"
Nooooo!
" Her voice cracked. "I'm sorry! Get me out, please! I won't do it again, I promise!"
"...Fine."
Haruka stretched out her hand; a small red needle flew from her wrist. It zoomed through the glass window, shattering it to pieces. Now set free, Maki leaped in celebration, gleefully flinging her arms into the air and cheering loudly.
"WOOHOO! I'm out, baby!"
Haruka turned to Hiro. "Sorry. I broke your window."
"Nah, don't be sorry," he said. "You did nothing wrong, but
someone
definitely did."
They both looked at Maki.
"What? I'm sorry, okay? The deed has been done. I already apologized, so I have nothin' more to say.
Hmph!
" She crossed her arms, refusing to look them in the eyes.
As ridiculous as the situation was, Hiro had already grown accustomed to the absurd events that have transpired in the last few days. He sighed it off and started walking back to the kitchen. "Alright, alright. Whatever. Let's just eat."
"Hell yeah! Dinner!" Maki dashed to her seat.
A sweet, savory aroma pervaded the air as Hiro and Haruka returned from the kitchen with the bowls of stew. He set them on the table and sat across from the two girls. Unable to control herself, Maki lifted up her bowl and gorged down her food.
"Amazing!" she said while chewing. "Hey, you're pretty good, Hiro!"
"Thanks. The recipe belonged to my friend."
"That so? Get 'em to pass some recipes over!" Maki wiped her face with her sleeve. "I'm no cook myself, but we got a big one in our team! Literally!"
Haruka elbowed her shoulder.
"Huh? What did I do this time?"
"It's the friend I was with yesterday before you ran off on us," Hiro explained.
"
Ohhh
, the guy who... Oh. Rest in peace to that guy." She slurped down the remainder of her bowl.
Hiro clicked his tongue, but didn't say a word. Getting on their bad side would ruin any chance of asking for their help.
Haruka, in sharp contrast to her red-haired companion, calmly enjoyed a spoonful of the stew. "Maki, stop stalling. Why are you interested in this person?"
Maki's eyebrows shot up. "That's right! I forgot about why we're here. Let's get down to business. Hiro, I'm gonna keep everythin' one hundred with you, so I want you to do the same. Clear?"
He let out a quick titter. "Still don't trust me?"
"If you give a reason to trust you, I will." The serious tone in her voice caught him off guard.
"Got it. Go on."
"I'mma keep it nice and brief. I know for a fact that I saw your eyes light up yesterday. How do they work? Why do they glow?"
Hiro looked down at his bowl, taking his time before responding. He then faced her. "Uh... I mean... I guess it
is
kinda peculiar, huh? Apparently, I got it from my mom. Her eyes turned green every time she focused. So, it's just a genetic thing."
Maki glared at him for a few seconds. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, I guess." He laughed nervously.
She put her hands together, resting her chin on them. Hiro cut his laugh short when he saw her unamused look. "You're lying to me. You said I could trust you," she said.
"Wh-What do you m—"
"I guess it was my fault. Maybe I asked the wrong question, so let me try again. Are you one of the Eyes?"
Hiro suddenly leaned back against his chair. "I— How— What are t-talking about? E-Eyes...?"
A self-satisfied smirk spread across her face. "Bingo," she said, raising the inflection of her voice.
The Eyes—a phenomenon well-known throughout the four kingdoms. They consisted of several individuals endowed with glowing eyes that gave them varying abilities and skills. As for who would be born with them and how it all started, nobody knew, but the Eyes have persisted for centuries upon centuries.
"So it's true?" Haruka asked. "Is he an Eye?"
"Of course he is! I'm never wrong!" Maki crossed her arms and proudly nodded.
"I think I saw a green light from his eyes when I was chasing him. So that's what it was."
"Really? You saw them too? Wait, you were chasin' him and he
lived
?! There's no better proof than that."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT!" Hiro shouted. "I'm not an Eye!"
"Psh!" Maki waved her hand dismissively. "As if we'd believe that now."
"I swear! I'm really not!"
"Calm down. You're panickin'. Now, moving on to my next question." She tapped on the table repeatedly. "I wanna know what kinda cool abilities you have."
"There's none! There's really none!" Blood rushed to his head. His breaths were getting shorter.
"You're still keepin' this up? Jig's up, man. We know what you are."
"No, I..."
"Just answer the ques—"
"LET ME TALK, DAMN IT!"
His thundering voice echoed throughout the room. The girls fell silent, and Hiro stood up from his seat, trembling.
"I am NOT an Eye! I'm NOT! Okay?!"
Maki let out a low, prolonged whistle in surprise. She stared at the ceiling for several seconds, deep in thought. Finally, she turned to him. "Alright, you know what? I'll play your lil' game. You'll crack eventually."
"There's nothing to crack." His voice had gotten hoarse.
"We'll see. So, let's say you're not who I thought you were. Why should we keep you alive?"
"I-I still know where their base is!"
"So? We can kill you and find someone else to threaten. It's not that hard."
"I... Um..."
Haruka got up from her seat. "Simple. We don't spare him."
Hiro hid his head under his arms. "P-Please!"
"At ease, you two," Maki said. "It seems using force won't work, so let's come to an agreement. I'm layin' all my cards on the table. Hiro, you're a crappy liar and I have no idea why you insist on doing so."
He scowled. "I'm n—"
"Whoa there, let me finish, hot shot. Like I said, I'll play your game, so I'll let you take the lead for once. You were negotiatin' with Haruka not too long ago, right? Whaddya want? Tell me."
He paused and took a deep breath. "I need your help. It's not exactly a big secret that Bandito rules Ushiro. It's been that way for years. People who try to escape the village get marked as missing and are hunted by the police. I don't know how, but Bandito somehow got on their good side."
"You can spare the details. I already have a good idea who those bozos are. What I wanna know is what
you
want us to do about it."
His lips quivered. "I'm sick and tired of it all. They killed my friend. They make us work like slaves. They put a damn bomb on my leg! I want them gone! All gone!"
She burst out laughing. "Are you askin' two cute, adorable girls to kill all those bozos?"
"Don't worry. I know it's impossible, but maybe there are people you know outside who can help? Or maybe we can get the government involved, or somehow make the police change their minds. We'll find a way to pay you, I promise."
"No. That wasn't what I asked."
"...Huh?"
She leaned forward, getting closer to him. "I was asking a serious question. Do you want us to kill them or not?"
He took a long, slow gulp. "Can you?"
"Of course! It'd be a cinch! You want that sweet taste of revenge? We could get rid of those bozos entirely. Every. Single. Last. One of 'em."
Hiro was dumbfounded. Revenge wasn't an option he thought was even possible. Up until this point, it seemed like submission was the only solution. Suddenly, that was no longer the case. Hope welled up inside him—hope for a better future for him and Granny Jay. Even stronger than that, though, was the enticing thought of Bandito getting exactly what they deserved.
"Y-Yeah, that would be great. That would be really great." His voice rose in pitch. "I can lead you to their base right now!"
"Hold it, hobo." Maki put her palm forward. "This is mass genocide we're talkin' about. I hope you don't think a nice meal and some directions are gonna cut it. But don't worry; I got an offer you can't refuse."
"What do you want, then?"
"Wanna be a criminal?"
"Maki!" Haruka uncharacteristically yelled, jerking her head towards her. "What are you doing?"
"I think it's obvious what I'm doin', is it not?"
"Why?"
"I told y'all! I'm interested in him."
"That's the same thing you said when you recruited the loud one."
"And?!" Maki raised her arms in disbelief. "I was right for bein' interested. She's great!"
"No. You just do whatever you want." Haruka crossed her arms. "You're ruining our mission. We're supposed to be a secret."
"And we'll
stay
a secret once he joins us! Besides, you got a better plan? Let me guess: murder every single person you see like you always do."
"..."
"I-I'm sorry." Hiro rubbed his temples. "Can we start over? I'm confused."
Haruka shook her head. "Maki, the boss doesn't like you inviting people without permission."
"Just leave the boss to me!" Maki held her hand to her chest. "I'll just do him his usual favors so he won't get mad."
She sighed. "Fine. But I'm watching him if he tries anything funny."
"Haha! I win!" Maki faced Hiro. "Okay, listen up! You see, Haruka and I are part of Lionheart, a criminal organization! We're still kinda small right now, but trust me, we got big, big plans."
Hiro recoiled his head after hearing her words. He scanned Maki from head to toe. She looked like a regular young girl; a criminal was the last thing he thought of her to be. He paused for a few seconds.
"Criminals... You two are criminals."
"Yes!"
"Then you're no different from Bandito."
She grimaced and held her hand over her neck, pretending to gag. "Rude. Take that back! I don't want some hobo comparin' us to a group of hairy ball sacks."
"S-Sorry..."
"Those guys are just low ranks, takin' advantage of the weak for easy pickin'. Takin' them out is no issue, but even if we do, who's to say another pack of criminals won't just waltz in and do the same thing? It's not like the government's just gonna change their minds and help you."
"Then what can you do?"
Maki formed an x with her arms. "Absolutely nothin'! At least, for the villagers here. You, however, have a once in a lifetime opportunity! Lionheart may be full of criminals, but that's only 'cause we hate the system! We hate what the other criminals are doing too, of course! So, we choose to fight crime with crime!"
He stared at his unfinished bowl. "And that just automatically makes you guys better? 'Cause you're against everyone?"
She guffawed. "Oh, Hiro! You silly goose! It's not about who's better. It's about what we get done in the end! And we don't plan on stoppin' at Orin either. Once we get rid of the Blue King, we're goin' after the rest of the World Regime! Soon, the age of kings will be as good as over!"
He covered his face with his hands, stunned by the gravity of her words. "I... I don't know. This is a lot to take in."
"
Yeahhh
, well, you better take it in fast, 'cause it's either you say yes, or..." She pointed at Haruka with her thumb before sliding it across her neck.
"So it's join you or die. I mean, when you put it that way..."
"Exactly!" Maki extended her hand forward. "We have a deal, I assume?"
"I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"You always have a choice! Death just happens to be one of 'em."
"Alright... Deal."
As he reached forward to shake her hand, she instead handed him her bowl. "Deal! Thanks for the meal, by the way! It was
scrrrumptious
!"
He sighed. "No problem..."
Haruka bowed. "I apologize for her."
He took her bowl as well and set them on the kitchen sink. "Don't be. I'm not in any position to complain. Actually, what brought you two to Ushiro in the first place?"
Maki gasped and swiftly turned to Haruka. "Can we tell him?"
Haruka looked down at her with disdain. "Whatever. He agreed to join anyway."
Maki galloped to her bag and pulled out a gadget shaped like a hexagon. She tossed it up, and it stayed suspended in the air. An orange, translucent barrier manifested around it. She gave it a quick punch; a high-pitched sound echoed throughout the room, but the barrier itself remained unshaken.
"This thing here's called a nanobarrier! Normal bullets and explosives can't even scratch it. The newest models are even immune to lasers! Ain't that cool?"
Hiro touched the nanobarrier with his finger. It was rock solid. "I've never seen this before."
"They're a must-have for defense! Pretty common usage among the military and most criminal groups. I'm sure those Bandito chumps got a few lyin' around, though I doubt they use them a lot. However! There's a new weapon out there that totally obliterates this thing, and I heard those bozos have been smugglin' 'em around and sellin' 'em for mad cheap. Apparently, the police get a cut of the profits."
"No wonder they're so tight with them. And this 'new weapon' is what you've been looking for?"
"Yep! It's called the pierce rocket, and I want it! I only need one, though. I can just reverse engineer it to make more." She brushed her hair aside, having a proud look on her face.
"Right. And how do you even know all this? Ushiro is pretty far from the main cities."
"Oh, that's a—"
"Secret," Haruka finished. "Don't tell him any more."
"Of course! Of course!" Maki slung her bag over her shoulder and rushed to the door. "Alright, we're wastin' too much time. Off to their base!"
"Hold on," Hiro said. "Let me get something first."
He entered Miles' bedroom, which was just to the right of the dining table. Sitting on top of the study table was a black jacket Miles gave to him. Hiro held it in his hands.
"Miles... They'll pay. I promise."
He put the jacket on and came out of the room, giving off a more serious aura around him. For a short moment, his eyes were sparkling green. He stretched his arm around and balled his hand into a fist. A base armed to the teeth with Bandito members—he knew very well the danger he was about to get into. Still, he felt calm. Somehow, after a single evening with these girls, he'd grown to trust their strength.
Haruka and Maki both gawked at him as he marched to the door. He gripped the handle firmly and faced them.
"You girls ready?" |
They would just be quick, Miles said. Just restocking some tools, Miles said. After that, it would be a normal day on the farm, Miles said. Hiro was told all these things at around eight in the morning.
It was now noon.
Ushiro Village's shopping district had never been busier. Competition was fierce; everyone vied for the lowest prices. Merchants had to pull all the stops—bright neon signs, party flags all around, megaphones to announce their wares. Some even invested in life-sized holograms. This was no time to hold themselves back. After all, the village's founding day only comes once a year.
The blazing desert sun didn't deter the robed villagers from filling the streets. Hiro jostled through the heavy crowd, carrying several plastic bags in both arms. He was panting; his head was spinning. Music blasted from all directions. People shouted as they negotiated for lower prices. Even a farm worker with an athletic build like him had his limits. He slowly dragged his feet along the hot sand.
Trudging beside him was his coworker and senior, Johnny. He was far more rotund and had hair all over his body, except for the top of his head. His green shirt and blue overalls were drenched in sweat.
"Ugh! I'm so tired. Here, take this." Johnny tried handing Hiro one of the two plastic bags he was carrying.
"You can't be serious." Hiro stepped to the side. "You're literally only holding two!"
"Cut me some slack, man. We both know I'm the one doing all the heavy duty work on the farm. Do me a favor for once."
"That's a load of crap! You should do yourself a favor and take some of mine. You could use the exercise."
"You calling me fat, asshole?"
"Come on, boys! Don't tell me you've run out of gas already!" said Miles, Hiro's boss and housemate. If there was anyone who didn't want to miss out on the huge discounts and rock bottom prices, it was him.
Despite his old age, Miles was nothing short of energetic. His vibrant lavender shirt and yellow cargo shorts matched his demeanor. He had a cheerful smile that made everyone feel welcome. Hiro knew it all too well, as it was used to fool him into coming along. What was supposedly a quick trip for cheap supplies ended up being an all day shopping spree.
"Slow down, Uncle," Johnny said. "Haven't you had enough?"
"Enough?! We have half the day left!" Miles yelled. "Now stop dilly-dallying and get a move on!"
"You bought so much already!"
"For myself, sure! There's still so many gifts I gotta buy for people!"
"Can we take a break, at least?" Hiro asked. "I'm exhausted."
"Nonsense! You're still young! And—" Miles gasped as he swiftly turned his head around to the store beside them. Several jackets were displayed by the window. "Seventy, eighty... They have ninety percent discounts! Boys, we're going jacket shopping."
"What?" Hiro raised his eyebrow. "We're in a desert. No one needs jackets here. Why do you think they're so cheap?"
"Oh, psh! Even jackets have to be an upgrade for you! Aren't you tired of looking like... this?" Miles gestured at Hiro's plain white shirt, ripped jeans, and tattered cloak. The only thing that wasn't as drab was a green necklace that he got as a birthday gift.
"What's wrong with my clothes?"
"You wear the same thing every day! We can at least find a replacement for your robe. Maybe a light jacket with a hood?"
"A light jacket with a hood, you say?" a man in a red uniform said from the shop's door. He had a bionic eye and a monocle for his other one. "Step right in! We have exactly what you're looking for."
"Well, don't mind if I do!" Miles followed him inside.
Johnny sat beside the store's wall and dropped his bag. "I ain't going in there. Wake me up when he's done." It didn't take long for him to start snoring.
And thus, in the midst of a giant crowd, Hiro was left alone. He dumped his bags beside Johnny and looked around for a bench. Almost all of them were taken except for one on the other block. Excited to finally get some rest, Hiro briskly walked towards it. Just as he was about to sit, however, a pair of hands slammed against the bench. They belonged to a short girl with a crimson ponytail, wearing a red jacket underneath her black cloak.
"Mine!" she yelled with a shrill voice. Sticking her tongue out at him, she plopped herself onto the seat.
Hiro rolled his eyes. "Kids are so rude," he mumbled.
He was in the middle of turning around when she tugged his cloak.
"Hey! I heard that, you hobo! First off, I'm not a kid. Full grown adult here."
Hiro jerked his head backward. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Secondly, you look like a not-so-busy guy. I got— I mean, my
friend
got lost, and I need help findin' her."
He shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm tired. Can you ask someone else?"
"I've been askin' around and nobody wants to help. You're all I got, man."
"Then go home. Ask someone in your house for help."
"Can't. Ain't from here."
An outsider. Ushiro was an isolated village, surrounded by sandy hills all around. Apart from delivery truck drivers, Hiro hasn't heard of one since he himself entered the village two years ago.
Hiro pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Look, just head to one of the stores here. They're bound to be way more useful than me."
"You really ain't gonna help a cute girl like me?"
"I just wanna take a nap. Trust me, you're better off asking someone else."
"Tch. You selfish little..."
Her voice trailed off as she fixed her eyes behind Hiro. He traced her gaze to an armed man with a brown hat and black vest. He had purple hair, his hands decorated with rings of various colors.
The district was filled with guards like him patrolling the area. Unlike the big cities further inside the kingdom of Orin, Ushiro didn't have any police or governing body. A group called Bandito called the shots, and have taken it upon themselves to rule the village. From the stories Hiro had heard, those who messed with their affairs either publicly apologized after getting beaten up, or disappeared entirely.
"Oh! I can just ask him instead!" She skipped her way towards the purple-haired man.
At last, Hiro sat on the bench and found his respite. He had a brief thought of warning the girl of Bandito, but quickly put it aside. Miles could be coming out any time soon; he had to get as much rest as he could before returning to being a pack mule. Still, he couldn't find it in himself to sleep, so he decided to keep observing her.
With hands on her hips, the girl stood before the purple-haired man. "Hello there!"
The man took a quick glance at her before turning away.
Cupping her hands over her mouth, she yelled with all her might. "Listen to me, will ya?!"
Everyone around shifted their attention to her. Hiro shook his head in disbelief.
The man approached the girl, towering well above her. "What do you want? Get lost."
"Whoa, whoa!" the girl said. "No need to be so aggressive! See, my friend's lost, and I—"
"I'm not repeating myself. "
As he turned around to walk away, the girl jumped and grabbed his arm. He tried to shake her off aggressively, but she held on, sinking her nails into his skin. It was a bitter struggle. In the end, a strike to her cheek with the back of his rifle caused her to let go. He kicked her in the stomach and sent her to the ground.
"This stupid brat." The man looked at the wounds on his arm. "You're lucky that's all you're getting. Now get the hell outta here before I change my mind."
The girl groaned as she held her hand over her stomach. Brushing the sand off her cloak, she scrambled to her feet. "You bastard!"
He cocked his gun. "What? You wanna try that again?"
"Hey, hey, hey! Kin, what's going on? Who is this?" a curly-haired woman in the same Bandito uniform asked him.
"The hell should I know, Chiho? Just some kid," he said.
Chiho leaned closer and whispered in his ear. After a while, Kin turned to the girl.
"Change of plans. You're coming with us," he said. "We got some questions to ask you."
"Huh? Who? Me?" The red-haired girl pointed at herself. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I asked first."
"You don't get a choice here." Chiho walked up to the girl's side. "Come with us. Don't make this hard on yourself."
"Hmph! Oh yeah? Well... Oh!" The girl quickly spun her head to Hiro and waved at him. "Hey! Big bro! Over here!"
"Big... bro?"
Hiro glanced around in surprise. At first, he thought that she might've been talking to someone else. Alas, the longer he waited, the more reality sunk in. He stood up and tried to blend into the crowd, but it was too late. All eyes were on him.
"Hey, you! Get over here." Kin gestured for him to come.
Hiro didn't move. His mind raced.
"Don't make me ask twice."
Reluctantly, he walked up to them.
"You her family?" Chiho asked him.
Hiro waved his hands. "N-No! Of c—"
The girl clung to his arm, gripping it tight. "Hey! What took you so long!"
"What are you doing?" Hiro whispered to her in a snappy tone.
"What do you mean,
brother
? You told me you'd wait for me there, and you did!" She had a wide grin across her face.
"Huh. Well, if that's the case, you're coming with us too," Kin said.
Hiro shook his head violently. "No, no, no! This is a big misunderstanding! I've never met her before in my life! She's just spitting nonsense!"
"What? Are you calling me a liar?" The girl looked up at him with large, beady eyes.
He had never been this close to punching a girl before in his life.
"I don't know what the hell's going on, but screw it." Kin pointed his gun at Hiro. "You're
both
coming with us. Now."
Hiro instinctively took a small step backward, but stopped himself from moving any further. "Wh-Where are we going?"
"That ain't your concern."
"How long are you gonna keep us? I have family waiting, and—"
"Are you saying no to me?"
"N-No, of course not!" A drop of sweat trickled down Hiro's face as he tittered. "I was just asking."
"Then stop asking. Follow me."
Kin's voice faded into echoed noises. All those stories Hiro heard about Bandito came rushing to his head. He started gasping for air. His fingers felt numb. He began to see double. His mind was blanking.
He was afraid.
"Hello? Did you hear me?"
Kin reached for his arm. Suddenly, a flash of light shone from Hiro's eyes, illuminating them into a bright, glistening green. With his voice cracking, he let out a high-pitched scream and slapped his hand away. In response, Kin tried to lift his rifle up, but Hiro grabbed it and aimed down. A bullet fired into the ground. Chaos erupted from the crowd.
Chiho took out her pistol. Before she could fire, however, Hiro kicked Kin towards her, sending them both crashing to the ground. He turned around to run away, but the girl was still clinging to his arm.
"Let go of me!" he yelled at her.
"No way! Not after that!" She had a look of excitement on her face. "That was so cool! What happened to your eyes? They're glowing!"
Hiro shook his head. The green light faded back into his usual jet black eyes. "What're you talking about? Do I have something in my eyes?"
"Wh— They're gone."
"Must be your imagination. Now let go already!"
"Nope! I decided I'm comin' with you!"
"Urgh!"
He could hear the Bandito members' groans as they struggled to stand up. With no time to lose, he picked the girl up and carried her under his arm. He sprinted away with her into the panicked crowd. Mere moments later, a gunshot could be heard from where they came from.
The girl struggled to break free from Hiro's hold. "Hey! I didn't say you could grab me! Let go, you creep!"
"Are you nuts? They're gonna kill us!"
"Help! I do not consent to this!" she yelled, ignoring his words.
"Shut up! I'm trying to help you here!"
While he was running, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Hiro?"
He jerked his head to the side to see Miles standing in front of the jacket store. He was carrying a plastic bag in his hand.
"Hiro, what's going on?" Miles walked to him. "And who's this girl?"
More shots could be heard. Hiro looked behind to find the Bandito members running toward them, using their guns to scare away the crowd.
"I'm sorry, Miles. I have to go," he said.
"Go?" Miles' lips quivered. "That's Bandito, isn't it? What did you do?!"
"No time to explain!"
"No! Stay here! You have to apologize!"
"Sorry! Don't follow me!"
"Hiro!"
Hiro bolted away into the crowd, the red-haired girl still flailing about in his arms. |
Guarding his arms in front of his face like a battering ram, Hiro charged through the window. Shards of glass flew into the air as he landed right on top of the unaware Fujio. He kicked away the rocket launcher from his hands.
Fujio made a wide swing with his metal arm, but Hiro leaped backwards just in time. "Who the hell are— No way. You?
You
of all people?"
Hiro pointed his pistol at him. His hands trembled. "D-Don't move!"
Letting out a mighty guffaw, Fujio got back to his feet. "Don't tell me you actually staged this whole attack? Where's the thanks I get for letting you bury your old man? Hell, for sparing your life?"
"I-I said don't move!"
"I even gave you a job. Why in the world would you waste such a golden opportunity?"
Hiro shook his head. "Being someone's slave isn't a job, scumbag."
The boss whistled. "Ohoho! Sharp words. You here to get revenge for your daddy, then?"
"Shut it!"
"You even brought these girls with you—if you can even call them that. What are they, monsters?"
"I said shut up! Or I'll shoot!"
A muzzle extended out from Fujio's metal wrist; he aimed it at Hiro. "Please, look at you. You look like a mess. Have you even held a gun before? Do yourself a favor and just surrender. You're not fit for this kind of life."
Hiro only responded with a cold glare from his glowing eyes. Every breath that came out of his lungs felt heavy.
"Heh. What's wrong? Scared? You should be. I'd shoot you right here and now, but you actually did me a great favor by bringing those girls in. If you can convince them to stop their attack, I'll consider sparing you a second time."
Hiro took a step back and aimed at the boss's legs.
"Oh? Gonna shoot? You don't have the balls." Fujio shot at the ceiling, causing Hiro to flinch backwards. "Three seconds. Drop that gun and raise your hands. Three..."
He couldn't see straight. It felt as though the very air was choking him.
"Two..."
His quaking finger hovered over the trigger.
"One..."
Hiro couldn't find the strength to shoot. He jumped behind a nearby crate.
Fujio had a hearty laugh. "Looks like I don't even have to fire. You're already pissing your pants!"
"Damn it! It's just one shot. Why can't I do it?" Hiro tucked the gun inside his pocket. "Screw it! I don't need this—"
BANG!
A bullet tore through the crate, leaving a gaping hole at its center. It was much stronger and louder than the other Banditos' guns. Hiro ducked below the shot, but it left the top of his hair singed.
"Hiding's useless!" Fujio yelled.
Hiro crawled behind the crate beside him. That too was destroyed by a single fire. The crates were destroyed one by one as he tried to weave around them. On the ground, he spotted a loose, charred plank. He picked it up and lobbed it at Fujio's face. It was easily swatted away with one hand.
The boss snickered. "Are you getting desper— GAH!"
Hiro had lobbed his pistol straight into Fujio's nose. Those few seconds of distraction were all he needed to run up and ram his fist straight into the jaw. Despite the direct blow, Fujio stood his ground and responded with his own fist jabbing into his foe's stomach. Hiro keeled over, falling to the ground.
Fujio took aim and shot. As Hiro rolled to the side to dodge, a piece of debris grazed his chin. Blood splashed into his right eye. The boss took aim once more and fired. Hiro quickly scrambled to his feet. The bullet barely scraped his cheek, but it left a searing pain.
He didn't have time to catch his breath, however. A golden opportunity presented itself; Fujio had to reload. Hiro hurriedly picked up his pistol from the ground and charged at him. With his full weight, he tackled him to the ground.
Hiro struggled to keep his gun steady. "Don't move."
"Tsk.
It's a miracle that I haven't blown your guts to bits yet. Just how lucky are you? Heh, even so, I bet you still can't shoot."
He couldn't stop his hands from shaking. In an act of desperation, he smacked Fujio's cheek with the side of his gun.
The boss spat out blood and smirked. "See? What did I tell you?"
Hiro struck him with his pistol several more times. Beads of his sweat dripped down onto the boss's bruised face.
"Pathetic. You came all this way just to chicken out in the end." The boss grabbed on to Hiro's sleeve.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Hiro impetuously plucked his hand away and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew into the air and pierced through one of the windows.
Fujio burst into laughter. "Nice shot! That was point blank too!"
Hiro aimed the pistol at him once again. "I said DON'T MOVE, damn it!"
"Enough with the empty threats!" He grabbed the gun and pointed it away from himself. With overwhelming power, he uppercutted his opponent's chin with his metal fist. Hiro flew into the air and dropped his weapon.
Fujio regained his footing. He tried raising his robotic arm, but it fell back down. "
Tch.
One of the bolts came loose." He lifted the arm up with his other hand and directed its muzzle at his opponent.
Suddenly, a red blade spun towards him. It cleanly sliced his metal arm off. The blade fell on the floor and soon melted into a puddle of red liquid. Hiro looked at where it came from; Haruka gave him a quick thumbs up. He nodded in response.
"Getting help from your friends?" Fujio cupped his hand over the remainder of his arm. "Fight me one on one, coward! Then maybe you can have half the balls your old man did!"
Hiro snapped. "Keep Miles out of your damn mouth!" With all the strength he could muster from his legs, he sprinted towards him.
The boss haphazardly threw a punch at him. Hiro ducked down and followed up with a low, sweeping kick. Fujio tumbled down to his rear. Giving him no chance to recover, Hiro pounced on him.
Fujio caught his fist. "Oho? Did I strike a nerve?"
"Shut up!" With his other hand, Hiro grabbed the boss's hair and smashed the back of his head against the floor. He mercilessly repeated it until cracks began to form on the concrete's surface. Fujio grasped his arm, but failed to pry it off. His grip loosened with every blow.
As Hiro was about to slam his opponent's head once more, he felt something wrap around his hand. Haruka had summoned a whip to stop him.
He snapped his head towards her. "What do you want?!" he yelled with a hoarse voice.
"Don't kill the target."
"A— Ah..." He took another look at the boss. Blood oozed out from the back of his head. His eyes were rolled back; he desperately gasped for air. "S-Sorry, I... I got carried away, and..."
She let go of his hand and knelt beside the boss. "I don't think he can speak anymore."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's okay. I saved another one. Just in case."
He glanced at his dying foe and clenched his fists so tightly, they turned pale. "If so, can I ask you to leave? I want to... finish the job."
"Don't do it."
With raging eyes, he slowly cocked his head to her. "Huh? What did you say?"
"Don't kill him. It's not worth it."
"You're telling me that now?! When you let me tag along in the first place?! It's not like he can give you any info anymore! Let me have this!"
"You don't know what it's like to kill someone. It changes you."
"Shut up! You know
nothing
about me!"
She shook her head. "I don't. But killing is never worth it."
"Then why do
you
do it, huh?!" He looked behind him. Piles of withered remains filled the warehouse. "I don't wanna hear that from someone like
you
."
"You're only going to hurt yourself."
He grabbed Fujio's collar. "If there's anyone who's done the hurting, it's
him
. He deserves way more than what I did to him."
She reached forward to touch him, but immediately drew back. When she saw that he didn't budge, she slowly held his quaking hand with her cold, blood-stained ones. "Once you kill, you can never go back."
He shook her hand away and got off Fujio. "I don't know. It's just that it... It felt good. Like,
really
good. I was finally getting back at him for everything he's done."
"I was watching you earlier. You can't even shoot a gun. Killing isn't for you."
"But..."
"Let me kill him. I'm already used to it."
He stared down at the ground silent for a full minute. Finally, when his breathing calmed down, he spat at Fujio's face. "Fine. I'm tired of seeing his ugly mug anyway. Do what you wanna do."
Haruka knelt down beside Fujio and stabbed his neck with a needle that protruded from her wrist. Much like his subordinates, all that was left of him was a pile of withered skin and bones.
Hiro looked at her in disgust. It didn't make sense to him that someone who committed these vile, abominable acts for a living would tell him not to kill. To him, her actions were fake, contradictory—those of a hypocrite.
His thoughts were interrupted by Maki's boisterous voice.
"
WOOOO!
Look at all this stuff!" Wallets and jewelry were all stuffed inside her bag as she joyfully strolled from corpse to corpse. She picked up Fujio's metal arm from the ground, but quickly dropped it and stuck her tongue out. "Ew. You tore through the joints. This thing's garbage now."
Haruka stood up and licked off the blood on her finger. "I'm not sorry."
"I'm sure you weren't." Maki waltzed towards Hiro. "So, how was the— WHAT?" She gasped loudly when she saw Fujio's corpse. "What happened to the plan, guys?! He's dead!"
Hiro rubbed the back of his head and looked down. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself."
"Whoa! You killed that bozo?"
"It was me," Haruka said. "Do you even care that he's dead?"
She shrugged. "Meh. I got my own mission. Speakin' of which, where are my pierce rockets?"
Hiro pointed at the crates behind him with his thumb. "I saw their boss messing with one of them over there."
"YES! I'm comin'!"
While Maki darted away from them, Hiro noticed Haruka walking back to the entrance of the warehouse. He decided to follow her. Splattered against the wall, was a large pile of red slime. Stuck in the middle of it was a member of Bandito, whose mouth was shut tight by the same red substance.
"What's going on here?" Hiro asked.
"Our real mission. Stand back." Haruka sent out a whip that tore off the sticky liquid from his mouth. Immediately, he began yelling in desperation.
"H-Help! Is anyone still out there? Get me the hell away from these monsters!"
"Quiet," she said.
"What do you want from me? I already told you I give up! Let me go!"
"You have a new client. Who is he?"
The man glared at her. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"No more lies. Tell me now."
He refused to open his mouth.
The tip of her whip sharpened into a blade. It slithered in the air and hovered right under his chin."Talk," Haruka said.
"L-Look! I have no idea! I just carry stuff around and help with deliveries."
She nudged her blade against his neck. "Stop stalling."
His eyes shied away from her cold, expressionless gaze. "I'm not! I'm serious!"
"Are you sure?"
"Y-Yes! I don't know anything!"
She stabbed him in the arm. It grew incredibly thin; its color was swiftly drained. Before the paleness could reach his neck, she drew her blade back.
He took long, heavy pants. His teeth couldn't stop chattering. "M-My arm... What d-did you do?!"
Haruka gestured at the bodies around them. "Make your choice."
"Okay, okay! Just s-stop! Look, I really d-don't know anything, but there's a name that's been floatin' around here the p-past few weeks: Shimazaki."
She cocked her head to the side. "The governor?"
"Man, I got no clue. That's all I got, I swear! Please, just let me—"
Her blade pierced through the center of his neck. Before blood could even spill out, his body withered like the rest of the corpses.
"Hey, you two done over there?" Maki lumbered towards them, carrying as much loot as she could in her arms, with one of the pierce rockets sitting above the pile. "Can you help me out here?"
Instead of lending her a hand, Haruka chopped her on the head. Everything she was holding scattered on the floor.
Maki stomped her foot. "HEY! What was that for?"
"Leave them behind. We don't need dead weight."
"Speak for yourself! We could be rich!"
"I thought you didn't care about money."
"Yeah, but this is
free
money! There's a difference!"
As the girls continued to squabble, Hiro faced the field of corpses that lay before him. In a twist of fate, fleeing away and cowering in fear were no longer his only two options. He now had a third choice: to fight. And if he was going to fight, he knew the decision he had to make. Digging his hand inside his pocket, he took out the ruby necklace and clutched it in his hands.
"I'm sorry, Granny Jay," he whispered to himself. "I can't stay here anymore. I have to get stronger. Much stronger."
"Hey, who're you talkin' to over there?" Maki asked while cupping her hands over her mouth. "The dead ain't gonna speak, just sayin'!"
"Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about things." Hiro stuffed the necklace inside his jacket's pocket and joined the girls.
"
Ooooh!
Like what? How cool we were? How sweet revenge was? How fun bein' a criminal is?"
"Um... Sure. Yeah. Let's go with that."
"Hell yeah!" She threw her arms up in celebration.
Hiro took a deep sigh. "I'm still not sure how I feel about you guys being criminals, but... I mean, even the police are taking the side of whoever pays more. If that's the case, you're either a criminal or a victim."
"
Exaaactly!
You either get tossed around or do the tossin'. For me, that's an easy choice. For you... Well, if you don't, we'll kill you, so..."
He looked around at the lifeless warehouse before locking eyes again with Maki—this time, with newfound determination. "I was forced to come with you and fight the boss, yes. But from here on out, I'm going to make my own decisions. And that includes joining your gang. I'm tired of being weak. If the world wants to push me around, I'll push them first."
"Ohoho! You just became ten times more interestin'! Lionheart's gonna be a lot more fun with you around."
"Can we go now?" Haruka asked. "I don't want someone to see us here."
"Psh! We're in the middle of nowhere! Those folk in the village are too pussy to check this place on their own. It'll take forever before they find the bodies."
"Doesn't matter. I'm not taking chances."
"Fine, fine." She stretched her arms all the way up and yawned. "I'm pooped! We're crashin' at your place, Hiro. Lead the way!"
After scanning the area, he started walking down the hill. "We parked the truck over there, right?"
"Oh, wait! Hold up! Just one last thing."
He stopped. "Hm?"
She grabbed his hand with both of hers and shook it violently. "Welcome to Lionheart, Hiro!" |
"Miles?!" Saliva flew out of Hiro's mouth as he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Miles! Why are you here?!"
"Isn't it obvious, asshole?" Johnny said. "We're here 'cause of you! Now, what I wanna know is what the
hell
you did to—"
A gunshot interrupted him. The sound came from Bandito's boss, who had raised his metal hand in the air. A golden muzzle protruded from his wrist. With heavy steps, he walked over to his subordinates. "Who the hell are these two?"
Kin stepped forward. "Well, funny enough, while we were looking for those two troublemakers, they came to us. Apparently, they work with that guy over there at the melon farm on the other side of the village." He pointed at Hiro.
"And what about the girl?"
"They don't know her."
The boss aimed his wrist at Johnny. "Are you sure you don't know her?"
Almost immediately, Johnny threw his arms up. "I don't! I really don't! I swear, man! Never seen her before in my life!"
The boss turned to Miles. "And you?"
Miles shook his head. "I already told your men. This is some big misunderstanding. I'm just here for Hiro. We don't know the girl."
"Then why..." Kneeling down, he rubbed his muzzle against Hiro's cheek. "...are you with her?"
"It wasn't my choice," Hiro said with a trembling voice. "She lied, said I was her brother when I knew nothing about her, made me look like an enemy, and now here I am. That's everything. I promise."
"Is that so? Then why did you try to escape?"
Hiro froze. He ran away due to fear, but he knew saying that would just make him look all the more suspicious. Any excuse he thought of would've only led to worsen the situation. He was starting to give up.
A sudden giggle diverted everyone's attention from him. Maki snorted as she attempted to stop herself from laughing, but to no avail.
"Sorry, sorry," she said. "It's just... Hiro?
That's
your name? I don't know what's worse: that or Bandito!"
Hiro shook his head. "You gotta be kidding me..."
The boss clicked his tongue and stormed to her. "Enough games. Who are you?"
"You really think I'd tell you?" she scoffed.
"Do you
want
to die?"
"Why? You gonna end me? Lose your one and only lead to your killer?"
"Tch. Let's see how long you can hold that smug face of yours."
"U-Um, excuse me?" Miles bowed his head. "Pardon my intrusion, but if there's anything Hiro did wrong, I apologize. Is there any way for us to settle this in a more peaceful manner?"
Kin took his gun out. "Shut it, old man. Can't you see they're busy?"
"No, no! He might have a point," the boss said. "Let him go."
At his command, Miles was released. Before he could fully stand up, the boss draped his metal arm over his shoulder.
"So, as you know, we have a bit of a problem here," the boss told him. "I know these two aren't telling me the complete truth. You seem reasonable, right? If you can convince them to cooperate, maybe things won't look so bad for the three of you."
"It would be my pleasure. If I may, I'd like to speak with him."
The boss nodded. Miles knelt down beside Hiro and whispered to him loudly, "What the
heck
did you do?"
"It wasn't my fault," Hiro whispered back. "Everything happened so fast. I panicked."
"Who is she? How did you get involved?"
"Like I said, she just roped me into this."
"And you
let
her?" Miles lowered the tone of his voice. "Do you...
like
her?"
"What?! No!"
"Hiro, she's a child!"
"
Apparently
, she's not!"
"Alright!" Maki yelled out. "You bozos are useless! Now that I know my friend's still out there, I'll go find her myself. I think it's about time to go. Don't you think so,
Hiro
?" She snickered at him.
"What are you on about?" the boss asked. "Are you finally g— guh..."
All of a sudden, the boss and his subordinates dropped to the ground one after the other. They began to convulse rapidly, letting go of their weapons. Foam frothed in their mouths; their eyes rolled back. After a few seconds, tiny machines that resembled hornets flew out of their clothing. They gathered underneath Maki's robe as she got back to her feet.
Hiro stared in awe, utterly speechless.
"Phew!" Maki stood up and casually stretched her arms. "Sorry that took so long. Didn't expect more of 'em to show up. We only got a few minutes before those paralyzers run out. They're lucky I forgot to bring anythin' lethal."
Hiro scratched his head. "Um... What in the world...?"
"No time to lose! Let's get outta here!" As fast as her short legs could carry her, she darted down the street, waving her arms in victory.
Hiro got to his feet, baffled and shocked from what had just occurred. A decision lay before him. Should he run after the girl? Should he stay and reason with Bandito? Can they even be reasoned with in the first place? He was stumped. Turning to Miles, he knelt down and tugged on his shorts.
"What should we do?" he asked. "They're gonna wake up soon."
Miles placed his arms around him in a tight embrace. "Leave her be. Why put yourself in a worse situation? For now, the best we can do is bow our heads and beg for forgiveness."
Tears started to form in Hiro's eyes. "It's too late, isn't it? There's no way they'd only take an apology now."
"We don't have any other choice. Just... Just play nice. You
have
to. That's how we've survived here all these years. And it's a truth you have to accept. Bandito's above us; they
are
our law. So be a law-abiding citizen."
"Yeah, right." Johnny, who had been struggling this whole time to stand up, pointed at the Bandito members lying on the ground. "Look at this! Are you seeing this? Our lives are over. They're dead!"
"Relax!" Miles yelled. "They're still breathing. The girl herself said this was only temporary."
Johnny placed his hands on his temples. "We're screwed! They're gonna kill us! Why the hell did you even bring that guy to our farm?"
"Enough! Whether you like it or not, Hiro is part of our family. We're not abandoning him."
"Speak for yourself. If I have to, I'm throwing him under the bus."
"It won't be necessary. They'll understand if we just cooperate."
"A little... too late for that... you sneaky bastard," said a raspy voice.
It came from Bandito's boss. He gasped for air as he wiped the foam off his mouth. Placing his hand over his knee for support, he struggled to his feet. One after another, his men followed suit, wheezing and coughing as they did so.
"Eek!" Johnny dropped to his knees, keeping his face close to the ground. "I'm not with that asshole, I promise! Spare me, please!"
Miles groveled before the boss. "Please. I know this is asking for a lot, but I'm begging you. We don't know anything about the girl."
Hiro stared blankly at the men surrounding them. Panic settled in. He turned around; Maki was already long gone.
"Get down!" Miles looked sternly at Hiro. "Before this gets any worse!"
Escape no longer seemed like an option. Hiro listened to Miles' orders and got down on his knees. While his head was bowed, the boss walked up to him and kicked him in the cheek, sending him flat on his back. Not giving him any room to breathe, the boss stepped on his stomach.
"No! Please!" Miles cried. "Have mercy on him! He knows nothing! I swear!"
Johnny hugged him tight, not letting him get any closer. "Don't! You'll get hurt!"
"That's twice in a row that someone managed to escape me. I'm not letting it happen a third time." The boss continued to stomp on him repeatedly, leading him to spit out a mixture of saliva and vomit. "I'm gonna beat the crap out of you until you tell me every damn thing you know."
Hiro grit his teeth and scowled. With great effort, he grabbed the boss's ankle with both hands and tried to push it back. The two were at a standstill. Miles desperately cried for him to not fight back, but Hiro couldn't let go. He knew that if he did, a powerful blow to his stomach awaited him. To his surprise, however, the boss lifted his foot away and stepped back.
"Wanna fight back, I see," the boss said. "I can respect a man who has guts. Why don't you get up and show us what you can do?"
Hiro struggled to stand, still recovering from the pain. Impatient, the boss grabbed his collar, lifted him up to his feet, and pushed him back.
"Go on. You wanna fight, right?"
The crowd of Bandito members burst into cheers, excitedly awaiting a bloody fight. Their voices drowned out Miles', who was begging for him to stand down. To surrender or fight back—Hiro couldn't decide. In the end, all he could do was stand still.
The boss strutted to him, pointing at his own face. "Free shot."
Hiro's chest felt tight; he didn't have the courage to lift up his arms.
"Hmph. Disappointing."
With a mighty swing, the boss rammed his metal fist into Hiro's jaw. Blood splattered all over the boss's arm as Hiro crashed back onto the road. It felt as though the whole ground shook. A sharp, high-pitched sound rang in his ear.
Hiro's vision began to fade. His body felt numb. He tilted his head towards Miles, mouthing the words "I'm sorry" through his bruised lips. A towering figure, whom he could only make out to be Bandito's boss, approached him.
"Uncle! Stop!" he heard Johnny shout.
All of a sudden, a lavender silhouette leaped onto the figure. Blurred images of the two were all he could see; muffled screams were all he could hear—at least, for a few short-lived seconds.
BANG!
Hiro snapped back to his senses; his heart rate skyrocketed. His mind slowly pieced things together as he watched Miles plummet to the ground. A pool of blood began to form. Standing before him was the boss, disheveled; smoke rose out of his golden muzzle.
"MILES!"
Mustering up what little strength he had left, he forced himself to stand on his feet. With quaking legs, he stumbled towards Miles. At the center of his abdomen was a large, gaping hole.
"Miles? Can you hear me?"
"UNCLE MILES!" Johnny shoved Hiro aside and leaned close to Miles. "Uncle! Are you okay?"
Miles wasn't responding.
"Doesn't look like he'll make it," the boss said.
"No..." Johnny covered his face and bawled aloud.
"You..." Blood rushed to Hiro's head. "BASTARD!"
He was about to jump at the boss when another bullet was fired into the air.
"Stand down. Or I'll shoot him again."
Hiro had no choice but to obey.
Villagers poked their heads out to get a closer look. Whispers scattered about, getting louder over time. The boss turned to them and raised his metal hand.
"This is a warning to
all
of you. We play nice, but if you play around for too long, things can end up dirty. And others can get caught in the crossfire, like him." He pointed at Miles with his thumb.
"This asshole..." Hiro mumbled to himself.
The boss turned to him. "No one's ever survived my shots; probably won't last 'til the evening. It's unfortunate, really. I liked the old man. He knew his place, unlike you. For his sake, I'll let you bury him."
Hiro glared at him with disdain.
"Heh, I like that look. I'm impressed, actually. Either you really do know nothing, or you have the will of a champion. Still, if you think I'm going to let your actions slide, you're sorely mistaken. You and your farm are going to serve Bandito, and you're going to serve
me
."
The boss then turned to his subordinates. "Men! Attach the explosives to these two. The girl took us by surprise; we're not letting it happen again."
"Yes, sir!" Keeping their guns pointed at Hiro and Johnny, they attached black metal bands to their ankles. A red light lit up on their sides.
"You two!" The boss tossed two remote devices at Kin and Chiho. "I'm putting you in charge of them. I'll leave the logistics to you, but I want a good portion of their farm's produce. Make sure to watch their every move, just in case. Am I clear?"
Kin lifted his arms up. "Aw, boss. You're putting me on babysitting duty?"
"Got a problem with that?"
"No sir!" Chiho elbowed Kin's side. "It would be an honor.
Right
, Kin?"
He saluted. "O-Of course!"
"Good," their boss said. "Alright, men. Tomorrow, we're having a meeting regarding the missing girls. Rally all the troops. We're heading out."
He went on his way; his subordinates followed him down the road, except for Kin and Chiho. After they've left for a while, people soon emerged from their hiding places. They gathered around, but none dared to step close to them.
Amid the commotion, they heard a quavering voice. "Johnny... Hiro..."
"Miles! You're alive!" Unsure of what to do, Johnny shook him violently in the hopes of keeping him awake. "Wake up! Don't fall back asleep!"
Hiro turned to the bystanders. "Please, someone! He needs help! I need to take him to the clinic!"
He was met with terrified looks from all around; no one answered his plea. Hospitals were only accessible in the larger cities, so an ambulance was also out of the question.
"Really?! Someone? Anyone! Miles is dying! Please!"
"You heard the boss," Chiho said. "He told you to bury the old man. He has no chance of surviving."
Hiro glared at her. "I don't wanna hear that from
you
."
"Tsk, tsk!" Kin gently rubbed his finger over the red button of his remote device. "You don't wanna go kaboom, do you?"
"Please..." Johnny said as he sniffed. "Just shut up already. You've done enough, Hiro."
Miles lifted up his hand. "Hi...ro? Is he... here?"
"Miles!" Hiro hurriedly knelt down and held his hand. It felt so frail, as though one false move could snap it in two. Miles gently caressed Hiro's skin, but let go when he had a coughing fit. Blood spilled from his mouth.
"Are... you two... alright?" Miles asked between deep, heavy breaths.
"I should be asking you that." Johnny sniveled, his lips quivering as he gave his best effort to stop his tears.
Hiro looked away, unable to face him. "Why did you do it?"
Miles forced a smile. "You think I... could just... leave you alone?"
Hiro didn't smile back. "That's not fair. You told me to stand down. Why couldn't you?"
"It's okay. You're... safe. That's all that... matters." Miles gripped Hiro's hand. "Boys, I don't... think I'll make it."
"No! We'll get you help!" Hiro placed his hands under Miles' back, but underestimated how heavy carrying dead weight was.
Johnny pushed him away. "What are you trying to do, kill him?! Keep your hands off!"
Still keeping his classic comforting smile, Miles pointed at the plastic bag lying on the ground just a few feet from them. "Hiro... That's for you. Open... it."
Grabbing the bag, Hiro pulled out a black jacket with a green hood. It was wrinkled and dusted with sand. The price tag still dangled from its collar. He clutched it firmly, holding it to his chest.
"What did I tell you about jackets in the desert?" Hiro chuckled softly.
"Haha... That's good. Smile more." Blood welled up in Miles' mouth, causing him to cough once again.
"I don't even like the color green." Tears streamed down Hiro's cheeks.
"Take it or... leave it."
Hiro's eyes fell downcast as he stared at the jacket. "You didn't deserve this, Miles. You did nothing."
"Tch. I know who
does
deserve it," Hiro heard Johnny mumble.
"Boys." Miles' voice grew softer with every word. "You
have
to submit. It's the only way... to be hap..."
Miles couldn't finish. Hiro let go of his hand when he realized it was no longer moving.
"...Miles? Miles?! Miles!"
Hiro and Johnny leaned on his chest and wept bitterly.
Miles had breathed his last. |
Hiro and the girls trudged their way back to the truck. With the adrenaline waning, the cold desert winds were having a much greater effect on him. The crunching of their feet against the sand echoed in the eerily quiet night—at least, it felt that way to Hiro. Images of the heap of pale corpses in the warehouse haunted his brain, though he made sure not to let it be obvious to the girls.
Maki struggled to keep up with them. She dragged her feet as she carried her fully-stuffed bag of loot. "G-Guys!" Her teeth chattered as she spoke. "S-S-Slow down, w-will ya?"
"No. You hurry up." Haruka turned back and tossed a cold glare at her. "I'm tired. I want sleep."
"Hey! I'm t-tired too!"
"Then run."
"F-Fine!" With one final burst of strength, Maki scurried ahead of them and made it to the truck first. Wheezing heavily, she clutched her knees tightly.
Hiro opened the door to the driver's seat, but, despite her exhaustion, Maki still found the energy to slap his hand away.
"Oh n-no, you d-don't, mister! S-Stay off the w-wheel!" She hopped inside the truck and hot-wired it. The engine hummed to life, its sound rough and uneven, as if struggling to wake up from a deep slumber.
The ride back to the farm was rather uneventful. Even Maki was too tired to speak much, though she would ask some pointless questions every now and then to stir up conversation. Hiro and Haruka never entertained them. Finally, they found themselves back in Hiro's home.
Maki rushed inside and tossed her belongings on the floor. After taking her shoes off, she dropped to the couch. "Ah, what a long ass day!" She stretched her arms and legs as far as she could. "I'm hungry! You got anythin' to eat?"
"How are you hungry after all that?" Hiro asked.
"How are you not? Clearin' out those bozos was a huge workout."
He sighed. "Alright. There should be some snacks in the fridge. Help yourselves to whatever."
"Sweet! Already on it!" She dashed straight to the kitchen.
Haruka turned to Hiro and gave a quick bow. "Goodnight."
"Oh, actually..." He pointed at one of the doors behind him with his thumb. "That room's vacant. You two can sleep over there."
She shook her head and sat down on the couch. "We'll stay here in case of an emergency."
"If you say so. I'm gonna head out for a bit. I just gotta take care of something real quick."
"Where are you going?"
"Oh, I..." He placed his hand inside his jacket pocket. "I just need to take one last look at the truck. Gotta make sure nothing's broken, right?"
"Don't try anything funny." She yawned. Her eyes began to droop down.
"No clue. You don't have to wait for me. Just make sure Maki doesn't break anything."
"Believe me, I won't. I'm already too far into this to turn my back on you guys. I won't take too long, I promise."
"Understood." Before long, she hung her head low and fell asleep.
Hiro stepped outside. He inched towards Granny Jay's house, his steps hesitant and unsure. His hand gripped the necklace in his pocket tightly. He wasn't sure of what to tell her, but he knew in his heart that leaving her in the dark was wrong. Doubts seeped into his mind. Would she end up hating him? Would she even believe his words?
Before he could think of an answer to any of these questions, he found himself standing in front of their door. He stared at the handle for several minutes, motionless. Finally, he held his chest and took a deep breath.
"Here goes..."
No one responded when he knocked on the door.
"Maybe I should come back in the morning."
He shook his head vigorously and slapped himself on both cheeks.
"No. It should be now. I might not get another chance."
He knocked again. Nothing but silence answered him. After a few more attempts, he decided to take his leave. It was then, however, that he heard a gruff voice yell from inside.
"Hey! Who was that?! Somebody out there?"
Hiro pinched his forehead. "Did it
have
to be him?"
Footsteps thundered closer and closer. The door knob turned. Johnny burst through the door with bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair. Drool dribbled down his curly beard. The instant he saw Hiro, he clicked his tongue loudly.
"You?! Do you have any idea what time it is? It's three in the morning! Where the hell is my truck? And where are Kin and Chiho?"
Hiro put his hands forward. "W-Wait, one by one."
Johnny rubbed his temples, trying to calm himself down. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Go on, then. Explain yourself. What the hell were you doing?"
"Look, we can go to Granny Jay, and I can explain everything to you both. Okay?"
"Oh, hell no!" Johnny shoved him back. "I ain't letting you anywhere near her until you tell me what is going on!"
Explaining everything to him was the last thing Hiro wanted to do. No matter what he'd say, he knew Johnny wouldn't trust him. Seeing that any further talk was pointless, he sighed and reached for his pocket.
"It's... a long story. I'll just wait 'til she wakes up. Here, at least give her this." Hiro took out her necklace.
Johnny snatched it from his hands. "Hey, this is Mom's! Didn't Kin take this?"
"Well, yeah—"
"Then where is he?!"
"Like I said, long story."
"No! Don't give me that crap! There's no way he'd just hand it away, so why in the world is it now with
you
?" Spit flew out of Johnny's mouth.
Hiro wiped his face with his sleeve. "I know you don't trust me, but there's nothing to worry about anymore. I promise."
"You're right. How am I supposed to trust you when all you do is lie anyway?"
A sharp crack echoed as Hiro stomped on the floor. A small piece of the porch gave way under the weight of his foot. "Then why should I even tell you anything? It's not like you'll believe anything I'll tell you."
Johnny jabbed his chest with his finger. "Stop being an annoying piece of crap and tell me the truth. Now!"
Hiro swatted his hand away. "Okay. You want the truth? Bandito's dead! All of them!" He was so impressed with his own courage to say those words that he ended up snickering.
"
Ohhh
, so that's how it is, huh? This is all just some joke to you? Some sick game you think we're all playing?"
"Hey, man. I've said what I wanted to say." Hiro shrugged. "You choose whatever you wanna believe."
"Alright, that's it!" Johnny grabbed him by the collar. "Stop messing with me for once, asshole! Haven't you had enough? Is Uncle Miles being DEAD not enough of a wake up call?!"
Hiro clutched his hands. "Maybe
you
need to wake up. You're too afraid to put the blame on the real problem, so you pin them all on me. Who's the asshole now?!"
"YOU! It's
always
been you!" Tears rolled down Johnny's cheeks. "I don't know what got into Uncle's brain when he wanted to take some homeless bum in, but I told him you were trouble from the start!"
Tightening his grip, Hiro tore Johnny's hands from his collar. A sly grin etched the corner of his mouth. "Oh, I get it now. You're such a child."
"What're you talking about? Don't change the subject."
"You're jealous, aren't you?"
"What? Are you cr—"
"No, no, no. This all makes sense now. You didn't wanna share Miles with anyone! Especially not some random 'homeless bum'. You're pathetic."
Johnny clenched his jaw. "Take that back. You don't know what you're talking about."
"Or maybe you just don't wanna admit it." Hiro pointed at his face.
"Stop. I'm serious." He lowered his tone. "You wouldn't understand. He treated me like his own son."
"He treated me like that too. Hell, he was super nice to everyone. What's your point? You're not that special."
"Shut up! How
dare
you say that when
you
were the one who got Miles killed in the first place!"
"It wasn't my fault! And you know it!"
"I said SHUT UP!" In a fit of rage, Johnny thrust his fist straight into Hiro's nose.
For a split second, everything was dark. Though it was a rather clumsy punch, it still packed a lot of weight to it. Hiro dropped down on one knee. Blood poured down from his nose. Slightly dazed from the sudden blow, he got back up to his feet.
"Tch
.
That's what you get." Johnny wiped his fist with his shirt. "I swear, if Bandito makes our lives even more of a living hell 'cause of you—"
"I already told you! They're DEAD!" Hiro rushed at him haphazardly. In his recklessness, his foot caught on the loose piece of the porch he had made earlier, causing him to lurch forward and almost lose his balance. Before he could recover, Johnny flung his foot upwards, smashing it into his groin.
It felt as though the air in Hiro's lungs was forced out of him. "That... hit was cheap, you jerk."
Hiro grabbed Johnny's leg and tried to lift him up, but it was too heavy. His grip loosened after his opponent stomped on the ground repeatedly. With his full weight, Johnny tackled him to the ground. There was an attempt to grab Johnny's sweaty arms, but alas, they were too slippery to hold on to. In desperation, Hiro headbutted him.
"
Ow!
Look who's cheap now!" Johnny rolled off to the side and rubbed his forehead.
Hiro's vision blurred for a few seconds. "Just stop it already. As much as I hate you, I don't wanna hurt you."
Johnny hobbled back to his feet, wheezing heavily. With a deafening scream, he charged forward at full speed. A flash of green light shone from Hiro's eyes before jumping to the side to dodge. He jutted his foot forward, causing Johnny to trip and lose balance. Johnny flailed his arms in an attempt to steady himself, but it was to no avail. He tumbled down with a loud thud, falling flat on his face.
Hiro stood over him. He'd oftentimes thought of getting back at Johnny, but now, seeing him on the ground gave him no satisfaction. A profound emptiness settled in his heart, leaving him questioning if all this was even worth it.
Johnny slammed his fist against the ground. "You ungrateful scum! All you do is ruin everything! Don't you feel guilty? We were better off never meeting trash like you!"
Hiro spat in his face. "Don't lump yourself in with Miles and Granny Jay. I don't give a
damn
about you, Johnny!"
"You got Uncle Miles killed, asshole! You don't give a damn about him either!"
Hiro lifted his foot up to stomp on him. "I told you! It's all Bandito!"
Johnny blocked him with his arm, leaving a bruise. "We lived in peace before you came! You think this is all a coincidence? None of this would've happened if you just stayed out of our business!"
"I was right. Damn, you really are just a jealous kid. You're really that pissed off I stole your daddy's attention away from you?"
"My real father is dead. Can you blame me?"
"Wow. Now it's two dead dads. Boo hoo, poor you."
The door slammed open. A frail, yet stern voice called out to them. "Boys!"
The two turned their heads in unison. Granny Jay slowly limped towards them. Her hair was disheveled, and her face distraught. As she drew closer, Hiro took the necklace that was in Johnny's pocket and stepped away from him.
"Boys, what are you doing?!" she asked.
"Granny Jay! You're awake!" Just the sight of her brightened both Hiro's mood and expression. He ran up to her.
"Anyone would be after hearing all that noise. Now, what are you two doing in the dead of the night?" She pointed at Hiro. "And
you
, young man, was that you in the truck? I was worried sick!"
"Here." He placed the necklace in her hand. "I was able to get this back."
She stared at the inscription on the back of the pendant. "This is my... but how?"
"Everything's okay now. You don't need to worry about a thing anymore."
"Don't listen to him, Mom!" With great effort, Johnny stood up, holding his knee for support. "He made trouble with Bandito again!"
"I did not!"
Granny Jay looked up at him. "Hiro, is this true?"
His lips quivered. "N-No... I mean, yes, but..."
"Hiro! We just lost Miles! What are you doing?"
"But everything's alright now! Just look at their—"
He suddenly remembered the large pile of corpses that littered Bandito's hideout. Even if what he said was true, would they accept what happened? Would they condone mass murder all for the sake of their freedom? What about the girls, and his decision to join a group of criminals? Doubts crept in, and he hesitated to finish his sentence.
She held on to his hand firmly. "Look at their what?"
He froze in silence.
Johnny pushed him away. "See, Mom? He's just a troublemaker! What do you see in him?"
She ignored him. "Hiro, what happened? You can tell me."
He took a few steps back. "I-It's okay. It's really late. Can we just go back and settle this tomorrow?"
"As if!" Johnny yelled. "You've been stalling this whole night! Explain yourself right now!"
Granny Jay jabbed his toe with her cane. "Johnny, no. Look at you both, all bloodied up. Get yourselves cleaned, and we can talk tomorrow. Okay?"
"Mom, we can't just let him leave!" He seized Hiro's shoulder. "He's just screwed us all over
again
! You can't let him get away with it twice!"
At that moment, something snapped within Hiro. Whatever composure he managed to maintain was now completely shattered. He swung his fist straight into his jaw. The bone-crunching impact sent shivers down his arm. "SHUT THE HELL UP, JOHNNY!"
Johnny stumbled backwards and collided against Granny Jay. The two plummeted down to the ground. Amidst the chaos, her cane snapped in half. She howled in agony as she grasped her knee.
Hiro could do nothing but stare in shock.
Johnny hopped back to his feet and grabbed Hiro's jacket. A mixture of drool and blood trickled down his mouth. He took deep and heavy breaths as he scowled at him. "What the hell, man?! Look what you did to Mom!"
Tears dropped down Hiro's cheeks. "I... I'm s-s—"
A sudden thought occurred to him. Very soon, he would be leaving the village with criminals, and as a criminal himself. Staying attached to Granny Jay would only make things more difficult. If he was to pursue his new goal, he would have to cut ties.
"I'm done with you," Hiro muttered under his lips.
"...Huh?"
Without warning, Hiro drove his forehead into his face and shattered his nose. Johnny was knocked out cold.
Granny Jay fixed her eyes on him. Terror was etched onto her face. "Hiro..."
He turned away, unable to face her. A myriad of sentences popped in his mind, but none of them felt like the right thing to say. Finally, he decided to walk away without uttering a word. Her frail voice called out his name over and over again, but still, he walked on.
He entered his home and immediately locked the door. A heavy cloud of guilt settled over him, and yet, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief, as though a great burden had just fallen off his back. A loud, guttural snore interrupted his brief moment of introspection. To his right, Haruka and Maki were sleeping on the couch. Maki's arms and legs were all over the place, her mouth wide open. Haruka was curled up into a ball, completely still.
Dragging his feet to his room, he found that the drawer of his table had been opened. Two picture frames rested on top of his bed.
"Damn it, Maki. Did you look through my stuff?"
One of the frames was lying face down. He picked it up. It was a family photo of a young boy and girl with their parents.
CRASH!
The instant he saw the photo, he flung it toward the wall. Shattered glass scattered around the floor.
Hiro's breaths came in quick, unsteady gasps. His fingers trembled with numbness as he turned to the second picture frame. It was an image of Miles and Hiro standing side by side, with Miles' arm wrapped tightly around Hiro's shoulder. His smile remained a source of comfort, even after death.
He picked up the frame and collapsed onto his bed. A swirl of emotions overwhelmed him. He tried to hold back his tears by biting his lip, but it didn't help. The floodgates opened, and he bawled uncontrollably.
"Miles... Granny Jay... I'm so sorry."
He cried himself to sleep. |
"...ey! Hey! W... up!"
Hiro felt his body being shaken around violently.
"Hey!
Hellooooo?
"
He fluttered his eyes open. The rising sun's rays passed through the small gap in his curtains, hitting him directly in his face. When he looked up, he saw a blurry mix of blue and red right above him.
"Wake up already!"
Without warning, Hiro was jolted awake by a searing pain in his right cheek. He gasped and struggled to open his eyes, squinting against the bright light. As his vision slowly cleared, he saw Maki straddling him with her hand still poised in the air after delivering a sharp slap to his face.
"Okay, okay!" he yelled. "I'm awa—"
She slapped him across the other cheek, leaving behind a large, red imprint of her hand. "You awake now? Or do you need another one?"
"YES!"
"Yes to what? Another slap?"
Hiro flinched in fear as Maki raised her hand, ready to strike.
"No! Stop!" he said.
"You
suuuure
?"
"...You just wanna slap me again, don't you?"
"Was I too obvious?"
In one swift movement, Hiro sat up on his bed, causing Maki to lose her balance and tumble backwards. Her head struck the hard floor with a heavy thud.
"Ouch! What'd you do that for?!"
"
Ugh,
my head..." He let out a huge, prolonged yawn as he rubbed his temple. "What do you want, Maki?"
"Oh YEAH! We gotta leave! Like, now!"
"Wait, what?!"
"There are police cars outside!"
"...WHAT?"
They both hurried to the living room. There, Haruka was slowly and meticulously drying her hair with a towel, attending to every nook and cranny. She seemed unbothered by the red and blue lights flashing outside.
She turned to Hiro and Maki. "Morning. Sorry. Used your shower."
Hiro stopped in his tracks. "Oh,
uh
... Don't worry about it."
Maki slung her bag over her shoulder. "You done yet, Haruka? Can't you see the police outside?
"They came before I could finish."
"Why'd you even take a shower anyway? That's your fault. Couldn't you just do that back at the base?"
"I don't want to be stinky like you."
Maki pouted. "Hmph! How dare you!"
Haruka stuck out her tongue in response.
"Wait..." Maki pointed at Haruka's face. "I know why! It's 'cause we're bringin' a boy with us!"
Haruka turned away. "No."
"Ha! I knew it!"
Hiro stifled a laugh by covering his mouth with his hand, but the gravity of the situation quickly sobered him up. He cautiously walked towards the window, sticking his head out just enough to look outside. His heart sank as he saw two police cars parked in front of Granny Jay's house. A uniformed officer sat on one of the cars' hoods, speaking into his radio receiver.
"They're right outside," he said. "What do we do?"
"Hmm..." Maki rubbed her chin. "We have to get to the main entrance of the village somehow. That's where I parked my baby."
"Wait, you had a car?! This whole time?!"
"Yeah! It's hard to explain, but it's kinda hard to bring around. Plus, it was way more fun zoomin' around through your retro truck! So long as you're not drivin', of course."
"Okay, but by the village gate? Someone's bound to have found it by now."
"Nah, nah! They can search a million years. They'll never find it! All we gotta do is get there."
"What? Are you serious? Alright, well, even if that's the case, we still need to somehow get past the police outside."
As they were talking, the phone rang in the kitchen. Hiro was dumbfounded; hardly anyone ever called their home, and if they did, it was usually to speak with Miles. But Miles was no longer around, and no one had called since. He walked to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello?" Sweat gathered along his brow.
An old, feeble voice responded. "Hiro! Hiro, is that you?"
"Granny Jay?!"
"Hiro! Thank goodness! I'm glad you're safe! Are you alright?"
"Y-Yes, but—"
"There's policemen at our door! They're asking about a massacre. Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm alr—"
"The killers are still on the loose! Stay here with the police."
"Mom, who are you talking to?" Hiro heard Johnny say from the phone.
Rapid footsteps could be heard getting louder and louder. It was clear that more than one person was fast approaching.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?" Granny Jay yelled. "Give it back!"
"We can't let you do that, ma'am," a different voice said. It was a slightly higher pitch than Johnny's. "Now, come with us, we have some ques—"
The call was cut off.
Maki placed her hands on her hips. "So? Who was it?"
Hiro's forehead furrowed, and his mouth opened slightly with a hint of horror. His fingers curled into a fist around the phone. As if bracing for impact, he tensed his body. "Guys... They found out about Bandito. We need to go. Now."
"What?! I thought it'd at least take a day or two. How'd they know so fast?"
Haruka took a step back, distancing herself from Hiro. "Was it you? Did you tell them?"
"No, no! Of course not!" He raised his hands up. "You still think I'd set you up like that? Why would I be here talking to you if I could just turn you in right now?"
She paused for a few seconds. "Fine, but I'm watching you."
"Stop gettin' on each other's throats already. This is an emergency." Maki took a peek at the police cars. "If we wanna make a beeline for my lil' baby, then our best bet is to steal their car."
"You wanna steal a police car?!" Hiro was wide-eyed in shock.
"Duh. We're criminals, silly."
"Yeah, but... I mean... What about being secretive? They're gonna know who we are. They're gonna know what we look like. We won't be safe anywhere!"
"Calm down! You're startin' to piss me off! It's a lil' too late for you to back down, so get your act together! Unless you wanna stay here. Have fun in jail, I guess."
He felt stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"No." Haruka aimed her palm at him. "If he stays, we have to kill him."
A point of no return, rather.
"Okay, okay! I get it," Hiro said. "Still, there has to be a better way than just barging in and taking their car. What's the point of hiding in the shadows if you were just gonna cause ruckus anyway?"
Maki waved her hand dismissively. "You don't have to worry a damn thing! Leave it to us, as usual!" She opened her bag and took out a handful of her hornets. They silently flew up, passing through the hole in one of the windows that she got stuck in previously. Without alarming the police, they made their way to the cars. Completely focused, Maki wore her goggles and turned them on.
Haruka waited in front of the door. "Just tell me when."
"Gimme a sec... Alright! I disabled the dashboard camera. Hiro, give her your cloak!"
"Huh? Why?" he asked.
"'Cause mine reeks of booze! Though, I mean, I don't mind her showin' her face to the people outside. If you
want
her to kill the witness in the other house, that is."
He tossed his cloak to Haruka.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Go wild, girl!"
Haruka wrapped the cloak around her whole head and went outside. Like an elegant dance, she swiftly decapitated the two policemen outside. She then entered Granny Jay's house. Almost immediately, Johnny's ear-deafening squeal reverberated in the air. In a short amount of time, Haruka returned with two more headless police. She tossed them into a pile with the other corpses, and, creating a long red javelin, she stabbed them all at once. Even though he'd seen it several times the night before, the sight of withering bodies was still just as harrowing.
"That's our cue!" Maki readied her bag. "Anythin' you wanna take before we go?"
"It's too late to pack clothes now, huh?"
"Meh, all I saw in your room were borin' white shirts anyway. I'm sure we got some clothes that'll fit you in our base."
"Oh yeah. You were snooping around my room."
"Of course I was. I was bored. Anyways, you ready or nah?"
He took one last look around the living room. "Yeah. I'm ready."
"Then let's get outta here!"
The three entered one of the cars. With Maki in the driver's seat, they sped down the road, headed for the village square.
Hiro leaned over to Haruka, who was sitting at the front passenger's seat. "Say, there was an old lady and a hairy guy living in that other house. Did you happen to see them?"
"Yes."
"D-Did you do anything to them, or...?"
"I told them that if they left the house, I'd kill them."
He breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's good. She's safe."
When they were almost at their destination, they heard a crackling noise coming from the radio transceiver. Soon after, a female voice spoke.
"Officers over at the Walker residence, can we get an update on the situation? Over."
The three were dead quiet.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" After roughly five minutes of utter silence, she spoke again. "We're sending another unit your way. They'll be there in approximately thirty minutes. Standby for further instructions. Over."
The crackling sound ended.
Maki slammed on the brakes. The car came to a screeching halt. "Alright, change of plans. We can't be seen in this car. We're walkin' the rest of the way. Man, how'd they find out so fast? I'm pretty sure we killed everyone."
Hiro looked down. He recalled everything he had told Johnny the night before, including the wiping of Bandito.
"Well, whatever. Hiccups like these can happen any time. Let's get movin' before they find our mess at the farm."
The three continued the rest of their trek on foot. Not long after, a police car with blaring sirens was fast approaching. They hid behind a large rock until it zoomed well past them. When they were nearing the village proper, Maki scanned the area with her goggles.
"Gosh, they have a whole squadron along the perimeter," she said. "Sneakin' around would be impossible. Unless..." She turned to Hiro.
"Hm?"
"They don't know what Haruka and I look like, so we can't show our faces. But
technically
, you can show your face as much as you want. They already have pictures of you lyin' around. Plus, your friends are probably gonna rat you out anyway, so... You can be our distraction!"
"Are you telling me to turn myself in?" Hiro asked. "You're insane!"
"Hey, whatever works, right? We'll come to your rescue once we get to my baby!"
"Or you could just run off and get me arrested after using me as bait!"
"
Yeesh
, don't be such a damsel in distress!" She tapped his shoulder. "You still don't trust us? After all we've been through?"
"Haruka still doesn't trust me either. It's only fair."
"True, true. But ignore her for a second and focus on me. You got my precious guarantee; if things go south, we got your back. Okay?"
"I-I still don't know..."
"Frankly, I don't care. We don't got time. Here, take these. I managed to take some from those bozos last night." Maki took out a few nanobarriers from her bag, as well as a handful of hamster-shaped bombs. She placed them in his hand. "Get as near as you can to the gate. Then, use the bombs to get everyone's attention. We want as huge of an explosion as we can get!"
Hiro shook his head vehemently. "That's a suicide mission!"
"No, no! This is a hundred percent full-proof! The nanobarrier's immune to explosions and bullets anyway. You'll be
fiiine
! Once the coast is clear, Haruka and I will sneak around with my baby and come get you."
"I don't know if I can do this," he said between rapid, shallow breaths.
"Think about it this way: if you don't, we're leavin' you alone, and you're endin' up either dead or in prison. So man up, or give up. Either way, we're movin' head. Best of luck!"
With that, she grabbed Haruka's arm and hurried over to one of the nearby alleyways. Hiro stared at the bombs and nanobarriers in his hand. These lightweight objects now became the difference between life and death for him. As heavy as the situation was, he didn't have time to just stand around and loiter. With a stinging slap to his own face, he snuck towards the village square through a different path.
He snuck around from alley to alley, being extra careful to avoid any policemen he could see. With how cramped Ushiro was, it wasn't too difficult for him to get near his destination without getting seen. Standing between him and the gate, however, was a large, open road packed with police cars. He placed his hood over his head and briskly strided towards the gate.
"Hey, you there!" he heard one of the policemen say. "Where are you going? We can't let people leave Ushiro yet. There's an investigation going on."
All of a sudden, Hiro sprinted forward as fast as he could. As much as he hated creating such a large cloud of suspicion over him, he didn't want to harm any of the police officers with the bombs.
"Hey! Where are you going?" The policeman gave chase, but was no match for Hiro's speed. "Come back here!"
Nearby officers joined in. "Stop right there!"
He ignored them and, his eyes now blazing green, continued to run.
They took their guns out. "Freeze! Or we'll shoot!"
When he heard their threat, Hiro set up the nanobarriers all around himself and crouched down. As they approached him, he tossed the hamster bombs at the street, causing a fiery explosion. Not long after, sirens came from all directions. The smoke cleared; he was surrounded by the police left and right.
"Men! Fire!"
Hiro shut his eyes tight, gritting his teeth as the sound of ricocheting bullets pounded against his ears. Soon, the gunfire stopped, and he slowly peeled his eyes open. As he surveyed his surroundings, he was relieved to find neither he nor the nanobarriers had suffered any harm.
One of them spoke through a megaphone. "This is the police! We have you surrounded! Put your hands in the air and surrender!"
"I-I have more bombs!" Hiro yelled out. "Don't come any closer!"
"We don't want this to be any uglier than it has to be! Lower your shields and put your hands up!"
"How will I know you won't shoot? I can blow all of you up right now! Don't get any funny thoughts in your head!"
The police looked at each other. For a while, no one said a word. It seemed acting like a lunatic worked well in making them keep distance. Eventually, a striking figure appeared—a robust man with a full head of gray hair and a long goatee. He took the megaphone and leaned against a police car.
"Men, point your guns down." The gray-haired man spoke in a casual manner, but the tone of his voice was one imbued with authority.
The officers did as they were told.
"This is Officer Eichi, chief of police," he continued. "We want to solve things as peacefully and humanely as possible. Now, the rest is up to you. Do you want to do things the easy way, or the hard way?"
"How can I trust you?" Hiro lowered his pitch to try and match Officer Eichi's. "Bandito was here for years and you just ignored them!"
"So you admit to killing them?"
Hiro gulped nervously. "I didn't kill anyone."
"Listen, if you come with us, we can have a nice, long chat. Our investigation team will look into it."
"Only if you let me go after!"
"We'll do our best, but mass murder isn't exactly an easy thing to get out of. If you want even the slightest chance to get out without a scratch, you need to surrender. Now!"
Hiro ran out of things to say.
"Time's running out! We want to help, but you have to let us help you first!"
As he was speaking, another police car arrived. Out came two officers together with Johnny.
"Is this the man?" they asked him.
Johnny pointed at Hiro. "That's him, alright! He's guilty, officers! Guilty!"
"This ugly bastard..." Hiro whispered to himself.
"Hiro? Is he here?" Granny Jay stepped out of the car. In her haste, she stumbled and fell hard onto the pavement. The policemen rushed to her aid and helped her back to her feet. Blood oozed from her knee.
Hiro's eyes were locked on to her.
"Hiro!" she shouted with a raspy voice. "Stop it right now! Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
Officer Eichi motioned for her to stop. "You stay right there, ma'am. We'll handle this." He turned to Hiro. "Listen to her, young man! Take your shields down and raise your hands in the air."
"What're you guys waiting for? Get him already!" Johnny tried to take the megaphone away, but was tackled by three officers.
Suddenly, a pair of red whips emerged from behind the village gate. They stayed suspended beside Hiro. The police were all on their toes and stepped back, raising their weapons.
Hiro stood up and looked at Granny Jay. "I'm sorry. This is Goodbye."
He shut down all of the nanobarriers. Before the police could react, the whips opened up like flowers and fully engulfed him in a cocoon-like structure. All the officers fired at once, but the bullets couldn't penetrate the thick, rubbery membrane. Hiro was dragged into the air and disappeared behind the gate. The policemen hopped into their cars and rushed out of the entrance, sirens blaring. To their surprise, however, there was no sign of Hiro whatsoever.
He had vanished completely without a trace. |
Hiro and the pink-haired girl marched down the street until they got to the village square. Maki trailed behind them, panting heavily. Unlike the rowdy bar, Ushiro was quite peaceful at night. The howling of the cold winds and the hooting of desert owls were the only sounds that filled the otherwise empty streets.
"You guys are... too fast." Maki leaned against a nearby lamppost. "What are y'all in a hurry for?"
"What do you mean? We were getting away from that mess," Hiro said.
"That
you
caused," the girl added.
Maki chuckled. "Hell yeah, I did."
The girl chopped her on the head. "Why were you there in the first place?"
"Haha! You won't believe it!" She tossed her arms up. "See, I found this random guy, and he was challengin' people to some arm wrestlin'. So, bein' the honorable woman that I am, I wanted to show him up. I used my trusty robobees to weaken him so I could beat him down and let him know who's boss!"
"So you cheated."
"Yes. Of course I did. Anyways, then that old guy back at the bar, remember him? He came to me after my glorious win and told me that if I could pull off that same stunt over and over again, we'd earn tons of cash. Now, I don't give a damn about money, but when I saw those big buff dudes waitin' in line to wrestle some arms, I thought to myself: I wanna ruin their fragile manly pride. And uh, here we are! The rest is history!"
Hiro sighed. "Charming story."
She bowed in an elegant fashion. "Thank you, thank you. I always aim to please...
me
. Anyways, Hiro, fancy seein' you with Haruka of all people. Small world, huh?"
He cocked his head to the side. "Haru...ka? Is that her name?"
The girl's eyebrows furled ever so slightly. "Look what you did, Maki."
"What? You never told him?" Maki shrugged. "I mean, I told him mine. It's not like this hobo's gonna figure out who I am. Plus, I didn't tell him my last name."
"We weren't supposed to show ourselves in public in the first place."
"Psh! We'll be
fiiine
! Besides, what's this guy gonna do? Call the nonexistent police? But hey..." She smacked Hiro's back. "It's great to see you again, buddy! Not gonna lie, you seriously pissed me off by not comin' along, but—"
"Don't touch me!" Hiro slapped her hand away. "You don't think I remember that you're the reason I'm in this whole mess in the first place?"
Maki wiggled her finger at him. "Tsk tsk tsk. There you go again pinnin' the blame on me for your problems. I even got you and your friends an easy ticket out. You should be grateful!"
Hiro fell silent. His lips quivered as he muttered, "...Grateful? Grateful?! My friend
died
yesterday. Their boss shot him. I had to bury him this morning."
"Oh..." Maki lowered her head and patted his arm. She then grinned cheerfully. "Oh well! You win some; you lose some! No use cryin' over spilled milk!"
"HUH?!" He pointed his finger at her face. "What the
hell
did you say?!"
She put her arms forward. "Whoa whoa. Chill there, partner."
"No. I'm not standing for this disrespect."
"Okay, that's it!" She stomped her foot. "One:
you
started this mess when you rejected my poor cry for help. Two: I literally gave you the easiest escape ever. Why the hell did y'all not take it? And three: I didn't even kill him! Those bozos did! This is misplaced anger, and I ain't sittin' here and takin' all this crap!"
Hiro covered his face. A short chuckle escaped his lips. "So what? I can't even blame you? What am I supposed to do, then?"
"Blame the bozos, duh."
"And get myself killed! And everyone I know too! Of course! Of course, that's what I should do!"
She shrugged. "I mean, doin' nothin' is an option too."
He fell to his knees. "Haha... You're right. I should've done that..."
Haruka leaned over to Maki. "We're wasting our time here. What do we do now?"
Maki placed her hand on her chin. "Hmm... Did you find anythin' useful while I was gone?"
"No. All the goons I found knew nothing about the client. Today was worse; I only found one, and the other happened to be this guy. If I had my cloak, I could've moved around more freely."
"Hey, I apologized for losing it already."
"No, you didn't."
"Oh."
"What about him?" A red sword appeared in Haruka's hand. She pointed it at Hiro's neck. "Do we get rid of him?"
Hiro squealed as he crawled backwards. "W-Wait! That wasn't the deal!"
"Pfft! You two negotiated somethin'?" Maki asked.
Haruka looked away. "He said he knew you. I didn't have a choice. Still, it doesn't mean I have to keep my promise."
"Hold it, hold it." Maki stepped between them. "I'll admit; this guy's an annoyin' pussy. But I still want him alive."
"What?"
"I know. It's hard to believe, but I got involved with him for a reason. I'd say what it is now, but..." She stopped talking and stood still.
"...But what?"
"Wait for it..."
A loud rumble echoed throughout the street. Maki held her chin up as she proudly patted her stomach.
"As you can see, folks. I'm hungry," she said. "Hiro! You know a good place to eat?"
Hiro seized his opportunity. "M-My home! I-I can make you guys dinner!"
"Splendid! Lead the way!"
Haruka grabbed her arm. "Maki, what are you doing?"
"Gettin' some grub, of course!"
"No witnesses, remember? We can't be too close to him."
"Pfft! Half the village has seen my face. If you really want 'no witnesses', you gotta massacre everybody here."
"I will if I have to."
Maki rolled her eyes. "Okay, Miss Gloomypants. But this guy's worth keeping alive! ...Probably. I'll let you know after we get dinner."
"No." Haruka brought her sword closer to Hiro. "We need to find more of them before morning comes. We're wasting too much time already."
"No, no, no! Wait!" He leaned away from the blade. "You said 'them'! You mean Bandito, right? You can look all night if you want. You're not gonna find any."
"Maki, can I kill him now?"
"Wait, wait! They have a meeting right now! You won't find a single Bandito member in Ushiro. I know where their base is, but you have to spare me!"
"See! We need him alive!" Maki pulled Haruka's hand away from him. "Though, you couldn't have asked those bozos where their base is?"
Haruka looked down. "I didn't think about that..."
Maki rubbed her back. "There, there. Killing really is all that's in your head, huh? I guess not everyone can be an all-knowin' genius like me. Anyways, it's gettin' chilly here. Hiro, lead us to dinner!"
He stood up and brushed the sand away from his pants. Once again, he somehow narrowly escaped death. Still, he had to make sure not to look too relieved in front of the girls. "Okay, follow me."
"Hey, hold on!" Maki jumped back and pointed at his leg. "What the hell is that? Is that a bomb?! Are you tryna kill me?!"
"What? No!" He frantically waved his hands. "Trust me, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't blow myself up!"
"So what? Is this like your fashion sense or somethin'? 'Cause let me tell you, it sucks."
"Wh— Are you an idiot?"
"You just found out now?" Haruka asked.
He rubbed his forehead. "Right... Bandito placed this bomb on me to make sure I can't escape. Luckily, I managed to swipe this remote thingy from one of them earlier."
As soon as he took the detonator out of his pocket, Maki dashed forward and snatched it from his hands.
"Hey! Be careful with that!" he yelled.
"Oh, please. This thing's better in my hands than in yours anyway." She tossed it around in her hand. "Besides, you won't be needin' this soon. Do your work, babies!"
She pressed a button on the side of her bag; several hornets flew out of it. They hovered around the bomb and stabbed it with their stingers. After a mere couple of seconds, the bomb detached itself from Hiro's leg.
Maki dropped the detonator on the ground. "Well, that's that. Crisis averted."
Hiro stared at her with his mouth agape. "Y-You just did that."
"Yep! Now hurry up! I'm starvin'!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
Not wishing to anger his savior, he speedily led them to the melon farm. It was supposed to only be a thirty-minute walk away from the village square, but they had to take several breaks due to Maki's fatigue. To avoid any more delays, Haruka used her whips to carry her the rest of the way.
When they arrived, Hiro crouched behind the white delivery truck. He peeked over and looked at Granny Jay's home. Chiho was sitting by the porch, rifle in hand.
"What's the hold up?" Maki asked.
"Shh!" Hiro gestured for her to be quiet. "If they hear us, it's over. They'll alert the rest of Bandito."
"Hmm, and that'll mean no dinner, huh?" she whispered. "Say, how many guards are over there?"
"Just the one over by the porch. But if we screw up, she can—"
She placed her finger over his mouth. "Say no more. Leave it to the pros!"
Once again, she summoned a hornet from her bag, which stealthily flew towards Chiho. Moments later, she dropped her rifle and stood up, holding her head.
"That's your cue, Haruka," Maki said. "Go do your magic!"
"Understood." Barely making any noise from her footsteps, Haruka sprinted towards the porch. Before her victim could open her mouth, she stabbed her throat with a long spear that protruded from her wrist. Just like Kin, her body quickly withered into a pale, shriveled mass. Haruka hid the corpse underneath a melon patch.
Maki skipped her way to Haruka and lifted her hand up for a high five. "Good job, partner!"
Ignoring her, Haruka turned to Hiro. "Where to next?"
"Hey!"
"Gimme a sec." Covering his nose and mouth, Hiro knelt beside Chiho's body. He reached inside her pockets until he found Johnny's detonator. Carefully, he tiptoed to the porch and gently placed it on the seat.
"Is this your place?" Maki asked. "Looks terrible."
"Thanks, but this isn't mine. Now come with me before someone notices."
Hiro brought them to his home just beside Granny Jay's. It had several holes in the wall that were patched up with wooden planks. To the right of the door was a window with a large hole in its corner; a piece of paper was taped over it. The hole seemed to have caught Maki's attention, as she could not take her eyes off it.
"Well, whaddya know? This one's even more of a dump than the other," she said.
"Gee, you're so kind." Hiro unlocked the door and opened it for them. "Well, I hope you still feel at home."
"Don't mind if I do!" Maki rushed inside.
Haruka nodded at Hiro and followed her. She took off his cloak and placed it on the coat hanger.
Despite its rather shoddy exterior, the inside was clean and well kept. Though there wasn't much room, the checkered floor was spotless and the tables wiped. Magenta flowers bloomed from tiny cacti placed in pots by the window sills. There were two bedrooms; a smaller screen door on the right led to the kitchen.
Maki sat on the floor, extending her legs forward and resting her arms behind her head. She tossed her black cloak on the floor. "Yuck. Some chump spilled his drink on it. The nerve of some people."
"You two stay here. I'll whip up a meal for us," Hiro said.
"Hold on! Just gotta follow protocols." Checking inside her metal bag, she took out a pair of yellow goggles and put them on. By pressing a button on its side, several numbers and graphs appeared on the lenses. "Hm... All good! No traps whatsoever!"
"Still don't trust me, huh?"
"If you were me, would you?"
"Fair point."
"Alright! What're we havin' for dinner?" Maki marched to the kitchen.
"Hold it." Hiro placed his hand on her head, stopping her in place. "You two stay here while I cook. Kitchen's not big enough for the three of us."
She saluted him. "Aye aye!"
He walked to the kitchen, which was a rather cramped room with char-stained walls. From the fridge, he took out several handfuls of assorted vegetables and brought them to the sink. He was washing them thoroughly when he noticed the girls peeking through the door.
"I can see you, you know."
Maki burst through the door. "Oh,
heeeeey
! We were just playin' a lil' game of hide and seek! Didn't expect you to find us so fast."
"Yeah? Or maybe you're just terrible at hiding."
"Wow. Rude."
"Says the creep spying on me."
"If there's any creep in this room, it would be you, hobo."
"Right, right. You two wanna help or what?"
"Oh! Well..." She nudged Haruka forward. "If it's help you want, then Haruka's the perfect one for that! Kitchen's too simple for the likes of me, so I stay as far away from it as possible."
"Maki, I can't cook," Haruka said.
"
Shh!
You'll be fine."
"You're leaving me alone with him?"
"Sorry, but I got a mission to do."
"What mission?"
Maki placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's important. Just trust me, okay? You'll be fine."
"Maki, I don't like that smile."
"
Pleeeaaase?
"
Hiro cleared his throat aloud. "Sorry to bother you, but I'm not sure how I feel about being alone with someone who was about to kill me not too long ago."
"No worries! You're safe with her! For now, at least. You two take care now!" Maki slammed the door shut before running out of the room.
Hiro and Haruka looked at each other.
Not wanting to prolong the awkward silence any longer, Hiro returned to the menial task of chopping vegetables. The sound of his dull knife hitting against the cutting board seemed much louder than it actually was. His gaze shifted back and forth between the vegetables and Haruka, who was standing still behind him.
He decided to break the silence. "Haruka, right? Sorry that Maki blurted out your name like that."
She didn't answer.
"You... alright there? You seem bored."
Again, no reply.
A drop of sweat fell from Hiro's cheek. "Um... you can leave if you want."
"No. I'll help."
"Eh?"
"To make it faster."
"O-Okay..." He pointed at the fridge. "If you open the freezer, there should be some beef on the lower right. Mind bringing it over here so I can defrost it?"
"Understood." She handed him the meat.
"Thanks." Laughing nervously, he placed it inside the microwave. He then turned the stove on and poured water inside. Turning around, he found her staring blankly at his hands. "Um, you don't have to stay, you know. You can wait outside with your friend."
She shook her head.
"So you're just gonna stand there...?"
"Next."
"Huh?"
"What's next?"
"You wanna keep helping?"
She nodded.
He took out a knife from the kitchen drawer and gave it to her. "When the meat's done. I want you to chop it into cubes. Can you do that?"
She nodded once again.
"Perfect. There's a sink over there in the corner. You can wash your hands there."
After the meat had finished defrosting, she struggled to dice them evenly. Seeing that the chunks were too big, Hiro had to step in to help. He then placed them inside the pot. Minutes later, he added the vegetables in, followed by a pale, yellow liquid kept inside an unlabeled glass bottle. Leaning closer to his shoulder, she took a whiff of the stew.
"What is that?" she asked.
"Oh, this?" Hiro took a step away from her and showed her the bottle. "It's a special sauce made by a good friend of mine. It's just a bit of honey, vinegar and random spices here and there."
"Nice smell."
"It's good, huh? My friend—his name was Miles—he used to love messing around with all sorts of random ingredients. Some were really good, like this stew. It was his favorite thing to cook. Others were uh... questionable at best." He placed his hand over his mouth and chuckled.
"'Used to'? What about now?"
His smile quickly faded. "Yeah... He's not around anymore. I briefly mentioned him earlier, but he was killed yesterday by Bandito."
"I see..." She inched closer to take a few more sniffs.
"So what next?"
"N-nothing. We just wait for it to be cooked."
"Okay."
The next hour was a grueling one; Hiro had already run out of things to talk about. After standing in silence the entire time, the stew was finally finished. With a sigh of relief, he poured it into three separate bowls.
"Well, we're finally done. Let's take these over to the other room. Maki must be really impatient right now." He gently slid one of the bowls closer to her and took the other two.
"Understood." Haruka's eyes were glued to her murky reflection in the stew.
They carried the bowls and were headed toward the dining table. Suddenly, they heard loud banging coming from the living room.
"
AAAAAHH!
This piece of— Screw you!" they heard Maki's voice cry.
Hiro almost dropped his bowls. Haruka's red whip saved the stew from spilling.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Might be an attack. Let's go check."
"Got it!"
They placed the bowls down on the countertop and hurried to the living room. |
"Move! Out of the way!"
Hiro shoved bystanders aside as he bolted away as fast as he could. From the increasing number of gunshots behind him, he could tell his group of pursuers was getting larger. It was only a matter of time before they caught up.
The girl in his arms didn't make it any easier for him either.
"This is harassment! Let me go, hobo!"
She let out an ear-piercing shriek. When Hiro tried tuning out of her incessant complaints, she dug her sharp nails into his thighs.
"O-Ow!" He dropped her on the ground and fell on one knee. "What the hell are you doing, kid?!"
"Not a kid! Get your filthy hands off me, hobo." She brushed the sand off her cloak. " Just 'cause I'm interested in you doesn't mean I'm
that
interested in you."
"Whatever. If you wanna stay and die, be my guest. I'm outta here!" Hiro tried to dash away, but she grabbed his hand, stopping him in place.
"Don't run too fast! I got so many questions I wanna ask!"
He tried to pull her away. "They're gonna catch up! Let go of me!"
This time, she gripped his arm with both hands. "No! You're takin' me with you!"
"Urgh! Fine! But we can't stay here!" He sprinted forward, dragging her with him.
The sound of stray bullets grew louder. People cowered inside the stores, leaving less and less cover to hide around. At the end of the road, Hiro could see a barricade of armed Bandito members blocking the path. His legs were getting tired; he was running out of options.
He noticed a tight gap between two buildings. It was quite narrow—barely enough for only one person to pass through at a time. No one used it as a passageway; instead, it had collected a large pile of litter over time.
It seemed like the perfect place to hide.
The girl shook her head violently; she knew what Hiro's plan was. He grabbed her shoulder and covered her mouth with his hand. Taking a deep breath, he dove underneath the trash. After that, it was a long waiting game. Eventually, he heard several footsteps.
"Where the hell are they?" one of them asked.
"There's nobody left in the street," another reported. "We blocked the other side, so the bastards have to still be here."
"Get moving then! We'll have every single building here stripped and searched."
They soon marched away. Hiro breathed a sigh of relief, though the foul stench of garbage led him to cut it short. He almost screamed out loud when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his hand. The girl was fed up and decided to give him a good, hearty bite.
Hiro finally gave in. With his other hand, he struck the top of her head. She immediately loosened her teeth.
"I'm gonna let go of you, and if you make any noise, I'm ditching you. Got it?" he whispered.
She nodded.
He took his hand off. A mixture of blood and saliva trickled down his hand. As he was shaking it off, she pinched her nose and gagged.
"Bleh! Of all the places you coulda chosen, you picked this dump," she said.
"Gee, sorry for helping you out. That was my bad."
"Help? All you did was harass me!"
He shushed her. "Are you
trying
to get us killed? Pipe down."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Psh.
Those
bozos? Kill
me
? A lil' bit of a reach there, buddy."
"Are you nuts?! They'll kill you! Hell, they'll kill
us
!"
"Whoa there, look who's raising their voice now? Besides, I coulda taken 'em on."
Hiro placed his hands on his head and curled up into a ball. "Crap... They really
are
gonna kill us, huh?"
"Um, are you oka—"
"I shouldn't have kicked them down. Why did I do that? They just wanted to ask me questions." Hiro's breathing grew heavier with every second.
"True, that
was
on you."
"I even ran! I got scared and just ran away! Of course that's suspicious!"
"Not to mention carrying me around like a kidnapper. Very suspicious."
"I... I just... panicked. I didn't know what to do. It's 'cause..." Slowly, he turned his head to her. His brows furrowed, and his nostrils flared. "It's 'cause of
you
! Why did you drag me into this mess? I told you to get lost! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Now, now." She patted his shoulder repeatedly. "You're panickin' again. Don't want a heart attack now, do we?"
"Getting a heart attack is the least of my problems right now."
"Relax, will ya? You're actin' like it's the end of the world. They're just a bunch of bozos, you know?"
"Bandito. They're called Bandito."
"Pff! No way!
That's
their name? It's so... perfect! A stupid name for a bunch of stupid folk!"
Hiro couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Here he was, almost in tears. His impulsive acts might've ruined his life in the village—for everyone back at the farm, too. Yet, to this girl, it seemed like a normal walk in the park. Oddly enough, he found her brash confidence to be rather comforting.
He exhaled, taking some time to calm down. "Okay... We can't stay here for long. Luckily, I live on a farm on the outskirts. I can just hide in there until this situation dies out. As for you—"
"Perfect! Take me with you."
"...Excuse me?"
"You're excused! Plus, your farm folk can help me find my friend!"
"I don't know about that, but if we wanna escape, you're gonna have to cooperate. For now, let's get outta here before they find us. We'll try to get to the other street."
After checking to see if the surroundings were clear, Hiro got to his feet and ever so slowly squeezed himself further inside the gap. The girl followed him, covering her face as she did so. The path was littered with bird and rat droppings. Years of uncleaned puddles led to the ground being quite slippery.
"Ugh, distract me from this smell, hobo," the girl said. "Talk to me for a bit."
He rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
"Those uh... Bandito bozos. Why're you so afraid of 'em?"
"I mean, it's kinda simple, isn't it? They have guns; I don't. I'm not risking my life trying to rebel against them. They can have the power."
"And yet, here you are. Funny how that works out."
"And whose fault do you think that is?"
"Hey, your fault for rejectin' my cry for help. I had to go to
them
of all people."
"Help? That's the last thing they're doing," he scoffed. "Once they're done with you, they'll toss you aside like a used condom."
She spat out laughing. "Damn, you really are at the bottom of the food chain, huh? Embarrassin', but to each their own."
"You say that like it's my choice."
"Oh, silly, there's always a choice! Um... What was your name again?
"Shouldn't you tell me yours first before asking?"
"Name's Maki!" She moved faster to match his speed. "But that's all you're gettin'. Now tell me yours!"
He didn't respond.
"H-Hello...?"
"I never said I'd tell you
mine
."
"Hey! That's cheap, asshole! Not fair!"
"Tsk." He started moving faster.
"I wanna know! Come
ooon
! Tell me!" She tugged his arm. "You don't want me callin' you hobo all the time, right?"
Hiro raised his voice. "Get off! Don't act all chummy with me. Not after putting me into all this trouble."
"Oh, boo hoo!" Spit flew out of Maki's mouth. "Who said you
had
to kick 'em down and run away? Definitely not me. You
chose
to do this!"
At this point, the two had already stepped out into the street. They were too engrossed in their fight, however, to realize that they were out in the open. In the heat of the moment, they had completely forgotten what they were doing in the first place.
"If I didn't, who knows what they would've done to you!" Hiro raised his voice.
"They woulda bowed down in respect to the queen, that's what! If anythin',
you
spoiled my fun!" She pointed at him.
He raised his fist at her. "You ungrateful—"
CLANG!
Not keeping his eyes on the road, Hiro collided face-first into what felt like a bulky wall of metal. There was a sharp ringing in his ears as he fell to the ground. He rubbed his nose; there was blood.
He lifted up his head. "Why, watch where..."
After seeing the tall, burly man with black wavy hair stand before him, Hiro was speechless. On the man's left cheek was a burn scar that ran down to his neck. His left arm was prosthetic—made of metal. The word "Bandito" was tattooed in golden letters on his right arm. He wore the same uniform as Bandito, but unlike their brown hats, his was black.
It was their boss.
Hiro crawled back a few steps. Of all the people he could've bumped into, this was the worst encounter. Bandito's boss was silent, but his eyes stared daggers at Hiro. It signaled a calm, yet furious rage. He rarely ever left their base, much less strolled around the village in the middle of the day. So why now, of all times?
Hiro had never seen him before, but Miles would often sing praises of him being a former marine deserving of respect. Instead of respect, however, fear and dread crept in. Beads of sweat ran down his cheeks. As much as it bothered him, he couldn't bring himself to wipe them off.
The boss was accompanied by two of his armed subordinates. One of them kicked sand onto Hiro's face. "Watch where you're going!" he said.
Hiro's eyes watered as he coughed violently. Maki stomped on the ground, sending more sand onto Hiro's clothes.
"You're the ones who bumped into us, you dicks!" she yelled.
"Whoa there!" the subordinate said. "You got any idea who you bumped into?"
"The hell should I know?!"
"It's gonna cost you two," the other said, pinching his fingers together. "If you want us to let you go easy, that is."
"Are you two nuts?!" she yelled. "You were the ones who bumped into us! Therefore,
you
should pay
me
!"
"What the— You got some nerve to talk to us like that, kid."
Maki turned to Hiro. "Hey! Help me out here, man!"
He didn't answer.
She drilled her finger into his cheek. "
Hellooooo
? Earth to stupid! Say somethin'!"
Hiro stared down at the sand. He tried to think of a way out, but nothing came up. Every second felt longer than the last as his breathing grew more and more unsteady. Suddenly, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Maki chopped him on the head.
"Stop spacin' out!" she said. "The hell happened to you?"
"Hey boss, what do we do about these two?" one of the Bandito lackeys asked.
"Leave them be," he said with a gruff voice. "They're not the ones we're looking for."
"But, boss—"
"We're handling urgent matters right now. This is not important. Let's move."
As the boss was turning away, Hiro's eyes widened. It appeared that they weren't informed yet about what happened earlier in the shopping district. If so, this might be his one chance to try and clear things up.
"Um, excuse me!" Hiro raised his hand.
The boss stopped in his tracks. "What?"
"Well, actually... There might've been a bit of a misunderstanding with some other members of Bandito. Actually, we're just here to enjoy Ushiro's founding day, but I think they mistook us for something else."
The boss looked at Maki and surveyed her face. "Hm..."
"Whaddya want?" Maki glared at him.
"Wh-Whoa whoa!" Hiro swiftly covered her mouth, pinching her cheeks together tightly so she wouldn't bite him. "Sorry, she has such a nasty mouth! I keep telling her about it, but she just won't shut up."
She responded with muffled noises.
"...Right. Whatever you have is not my problem. Now get out of my sight. We're in a hurry here."
"Of course." Hiro bowed his head. Even though his problem wasn't completely solved, he still felt relief from the boss taking his leave."
Maki swung her elbow against Hiro's stomach. When his hold loosened, she bit his finger, forcing him to let go. She then pointed at the boss's face. "Hey, you! You said you were searchin' for someone?"
His eyes furrowed. "Yes. What about it?"
"You mentioned hair color. If it ain't mine, what was it?"
"Pink. And significantly taller than you too."
"The last part wasn't necessary.
Aaaaanyways
, why're you lookin' for 'em?"
"Oh? Why do you ask? Do you happen to know her?"
"Her? Oh, so she's a girl. Gotcha, gotcha."
"Answer my question. Do you know who she is?"
"Maybe. None of your business."
The boss leaned forward. His voice took a lower tone. "I believe it is very much my business. Now tell me what you know."
While the two were speaking, Hiro slowly inched away. This was no longer his problem, and he didn't want it to be. When he felt he was at a safe distance to turn around and escape, one of the Bandito members shouted at him.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The subordinate aimed his gun at him.
Hiro raised his arms. "Wait, wait, wait! I thought we could just go now."
"Obviously, there's been a change of plans," the boss said. "You and this girl will tell me everything you know about our runaway killer."
"K-Killer?"
"There was a commotion last night. She killed two of my men and turned them into some kind of... abomination."
"
Pfft
, already?!" Maki yelled. "And after all that crap she went on about lying low, too. Look at her now!"
Hiro shook his head rapidly. "I have no idea who she is, or what you're talking about."
"Oh? Your friend here seems to recognize her."
Hiro jerked his head to Maki, who casually waved at him. "I swear, I don't even know who this girl is. I was just kinda dragged into this mess."
The boss snickered. "Okay, that's an obvious lie. Men, hold them down."
At his command, the two subordinates rushed forward and pinned them down. They held their guns close to their heads. Initially, Hiro thought of resisting and running away again, but this time, he was facing the boss. Being hunted by him was a point of no return in an isolated village like Ushiro.
The boss slowly walked towards Hiro. Each heavy thud of his steps only served to increase Hiro's anxiety all the more. Before he could speak, however, a voice in the distance called out to him.
"Boss! That you?"
They all turned their heads to a group of Bandito members coming their way. At the forefront was Kin waving his hand.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the boss asked. "You're supposed to be on guard at the shopping district."
"I bet they're goofing off," said the man holding Maki at gunpoint.
"I-I didn't expect you here, boss," the purple-haired man said. "See, we got a few hiccups, and now we're looking for a few troublemakers, who uh... managed to sneak away."
The boss stood back up and cracked his neck. "Troublemakers? What did they do?"
"We tried to bring them in for questioning, but they fought back, and—"
"You mean these two?" The boss gestured to Hiro and Maki.
"Well, I'll be..."
Maki gave him a wide smirk. "Missed me?"
"Looks like you already caught the troublemakers, boss. Too bad, we even had some volunteers who were kind enough to lend us a hand."
Hiro looked up. His eyes widened as he saw two Bandito members dragging Miles and Johnny to the front. They shoved them to the ground and pulled their heads up to face Hiro and Maki.
"You know these two?" Chiho asked.
Johnny pointed at Hiro. "YOU! I can't leave you alone for one minute?! What the hell did you do?!"
Hiro ignored him. His eyes were locked at Miles, who was carrying a plastic bag in one hand. Somehow, despite Bandito's rough demeanor against him, he still kept his welcoming smile. When he saw Hiro, his eyes welled up.
"Hiro... I'm so glad you're alright." |
Khan Cable, an old man at the ripe age of ninety-nine, still in great shape and spirit, fumes with rage, trembling with anger. In front of him was a large hologram screen, displaying a death sport, a sport that his son is currently competing in.
He had long since retired from his work as a mechanic, entrusting the now flourishing business to him. So far, his son's performance had been exemplary and incredible, but as a hormone-driven boy, this business was not his priority.
Vroom! Vroom!
Clyde Cable is out in the world chasing "highs," not in the form of dangerous substances, but in stupidly dangerous experiences. Tonight would mark his eighteenth birthday, not only marking him an official adult but the continuation of a birthday tradition he kept-- and much as Khan hated to admit it-- they got better and much more entertaining over the years.
The worst, or best, part of his little tradition, is how he partakes in incredibly stupid situations, just because it was his birthday.
Vroom! Vroom!
"Clyde, you little shitter! If you lose this race, I'll wipe your name off the census myself!" Khan raged with anger and excitement.
For his eighteenth birthday, he embarked as the underdog challenger in the sport known for its highest mortality rate: Drag Racing.
"The challenger is lagging! the competition is pulling away, but he's still in the starting line!"
How could a race be known for the highest mortality rate? well, that's because it only has one rule: There are no rules! The goal of the racers is to reach the finish line first, and aside from that, everything is legal.
At the starting line was a repurposed Calibercharger, a hypercar known for its sleek and aerodynamic design. It was originally based on the Bugatti Chiron and was drastically improved by removing the smooth decoration curves with angular plates, making room for more electronics.
The refined supercar had a black paint job, reflecting a luster of light; and the rear was lifted, heavily modified using four large tires, two on each side, with a quad-exhaust in the middle.
Clyde smirked at the bewildered crowd, all confused as to why he was still stagnant at the starting point of the race.
"3...2...1" He counted down. "Yeah, that's enough of a headstart."
His right foot slammed on the accelerator and his car drove forward at high speed. The meter on his dashboard climbs up from 0 mph to 75 mph. His tires scorch the asphalt road, leaving burn marks and a handful of smoke.
"And he's off! The challenger is off to an explosive start-- what speed!! Zero to seventy-five!"
The Commentator gasped, looking at the starting line's speedometer.
"The speed!"
Looking at his dashboard, Clyde sighed, taking note of the number still rising. "I think three seconds was too easy."
In the distance, he was already approaching the back-most racers, who were busy fighting not to place last
Crash!
The rightmost car was slamming into the other, in hopes of taking off the asphalt road. The other driver was not too keen.
"Die, you bitch!"
"Ugh! The paint! watch the paint! You, fucker!!" The other replied, slamming back.
Clyde smirked to himself. "You really shouldn't be bickering this early on, dumbasses." he huffed, in his helmet.
The challenger accelerates again, to eighty, leaving him directly beside the other two, who were still slamming into each other.
"H-Hey! It's that guy!!"
Casually turning his head to face the left, Clyde smirked underneath his helmet.
"Eat my dust, fucking wankers." he scoffed, rolling down his window, giving them a rude gesture with his right hand.
"T-That fucker!!"
Speedily bringing his hand down to the gearshift, he switched to second gear easily overtaking them. "Well I had fun, see ya' losers later."
The two furious drivers watched as the vehicle positioned itself in front of them. They gasped, putting away their petty difference, and resumed racing.
"Like hell, I'd let you do that!"
Clyde hummed playfully, taking a look at the car's biometrics. "Engine temperature is slowly climbing... everything seems fine-- I wonder how gramps is though?"
The city skyline was high in the air, filled with interconnecting skyways. The building signs were bright and vibrant with neon colors, and the sky was dark, compounding upon the beauty of the city.
Although it seemed like everything was as it should be, crime lurked under every shadow and around every corner. This was just how Neon-York City functioned. Therefore, danger and death were closer to oneself, than their own family.
Khan's ears rang with the harsh bang of the garage door being forcefully opened. "What was that..." he muttered.
CH-AR whirred and booted up, his eyes turning from blue to red.
"Perimeter alarms triggered. Perimeter alarms triggered. I repeat. Perimeter alarms triggered. Engaging Security Measures."
The garage was not a stranger to break-ins, or to being targets in petty crime, but somehow today felt different. Today felt a little more serious than petty crime.
TY-L3 and L1 boot up too, with TY-L3 rushing over to Khan's side and L1 meeting up with CH-AR. CH-AR rushed over to the storage cabinet and opened it, procuring himself an assault rifle and L1 picking up a high-tech ballistic shield.
Khan got up slowly from his seat, feeling somewhat sad all of a sudden. He looked down to TY-L3, who was tugging at his dirty cargo pants. "Master, Master! we need to go to a safe place!"
Khan nodded wordlessly only for his escape to be halted by loud crashing sounds produced by metal being crushed under metal.
Crrrkk...csskhhht.
"Pathetic. Is this your only defensive measure?"
A deep gravelly voice laughed maniacally.
"I'm very disappointed, to say the least."
Khan froze in his steps, too overwhelmed to move.
"So it's time..."
He sighed, depressed. "It seems as though my sins have caught on to me."
Khan knelt down on one knee, grabbing hold of TY-L3. "Listen to me very carefully..."
"Master?" TY-L3 asked, confused.
A few minutes pass in the empty garage, boring the intruder. He tapped his foot irritatedly on the floor.
"Is he ignoring me?"
"Come on out! This instant!!"
He roared, throwing a large steel storage cabinet at the center of the empty warehouse. Suddenly, the lights at the end of the warehouse turned on, revealing Khan armed and prepared.
"It's been a while, Commander." Khan retorted.
"Is this how it's going to be?! You and me, fighting to the death?!"
"I don't see it any other way."
"So be it! I will kill you and reclaim your rank! your traitor!!"
Clyde grins, gripping the wheel with all his might. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Come on!"
Two cars speed by the finish line, making the onlooking crowd scream in surprise. The commentators themselves fell off their chairs.
"I- It's a Photo- finish! Rewind the footage! we need to see the winner! "
Clyde pushes the car door open, clumsily exiting the car with shaking legs. "Mental note: never uses Nitrogen-boosters mid-air, it'll throw you off mid-air."
He huffed after removing his helmet, tossing it inside the car harshly. Looking at the small Integrated Hologram projecting device embedded in his arm, Clyde rolled his eyes.
"[ Come back later, enjoy your 18th birthday. I'll tell ya something important later ]" The message read.
"12:09-- so a minute ago huh? Don't mind if I do gramps, cuz I sure won that race."
Clyde watched the entertaining crowd, all nervously holding in their breaths for the result because a lot of money was placed in bets during the race. The large hologram screens displayed the results, with Clyde winning by an inch.
"What!?! He won!? My money!?!" Clyde mockingly parroted the woes of the crowd. He opened the trunk of his car and pulled out a carbonated drink.
"Happy 18th to me..." He gulped. "Ugh, tastes like shit." Clyde spat, drinking more.
"I'm not sure, but something ain't right. Hope gramps is okay."
Unfortunately for Clyde, today was not only marked for celebration but also mourning. In the destroyed shop, Khan's mutilated body laid bare in the center for onlookers to see.
"Mission Command."
The perpetrator called in.
"Traitor is dead. I repeat, the Traitor is dead." |
"Whoa~"
"You're so strong!"
"Super smart too~"
"Well, that's just the fruit of my hard work." Clyde boasted, lifting his drink to his lips.
"Shit, gold diggers don't know when to give up, there's three now."
Clyde internally grumbled, sinking into the chair, pinned by the courtesans. Two had a hold n both his arms and the other casually sitting on his lap. Finishing the last of the large mug, Clyde sighed. "Sorry ladies, I have to get home now."
"Aw~"
"Can't you play longer?"
"You're no fun~"
Clyde walked over to the bartender lady and tapped his hand on the Biometric scanner. "Im going to pay my tab."
The large burly man nodded, wiping his hand on the waist cloth he had on hand. "Had enough playing with the Joy Toys? You had three of 'em crawling all over ya'."
Clyde scoffed with a smile on his face. "Nah, I just have to get home to check on my old man," he replied, checking his wrist monitor. "Shit, it's 8 am already? Fuck, I really have to go."
"Family huh?" The Bartender nodded, putting his hand on the other side of the Biometric scanner. "You better treasure 'em, cuz at the end of the day, family is all you got."
Clyde nodded at the wise words of the man. "You're not wrong, there."
The biometric scanner then scanned both their hands at the same time.
"Beep! Payment received."
The machine beeped.
"Have a great day, birthday boy." The bartender waved.
Clyde gave him a silent nod before turning away to the exit. "Sure, see ya'."
"Poor kid, he just turned eighteen."
The bartender sighed, tossing the cloth on his shoulder. He opened the lowest drawer hidden underneath the bar counter, which was usually hidden away.
He unlocked the biometric lock and sighed. The bartender opened the bottle, swirling the deep orange liquid before taking a long sip of it. He looked up at the TV and read the red headline.
"Man identified as Khan Cable, one of Neon York's greatest mechanics, was found murdered in his shop.
"
"I should've given him a bottle-- Nah, he'll be back."
Clyde stepped on the accelerator, zooming past the freeway. "Why aren't you picking up, Old man?" he cursed, grumbling at his wrist device.
"He must be asleep-- No, he's always up before the sun even cracks. Why isn't he picking up?"
Clyde turns his attention to the incoming traffic, slamming his brakes as hard as he could, making the car's suspension jerk forward. "Goddamn it, what's the holdup!?" he slammed his fist on the horn.
he rolled down his window and peeked his head outside. Looking up, Clyde was speechless at the sight. An armored convoy of Neon York's City's finest flew overhead in their Armored Aircraft.
Clyde watched the quad-jet aircraft hover overhead, with the City's local Hospital personal troops flying behind them.
Clyde looked at their flight path. "Damn, a whole convoy-- which VIP kick the bucket or get Zero'd?" he asked.
"Well whatever, since I don't have time to wait for this traffic."
Slamming the gearshift on Reverse, Clyde looked back and start to drive backward after turning on his hazard lights. "Damn it, move!"
The tires of his charge squeal and burn with friction from the asphalt roads and his hazardous drift-driving. Clyde felt something grow in his heart, a pit, an object that grew heavier by the second. His mind and body were completely separated, his thoughts full of worry and his body expertly maneuvering the vehicle like it was his body itself.
"c'mon! C'mon gramps! You better be in one piece or I swear to god--"
The speedometer increased and kept rising, but so did his negative emotions. The car drifted around corners, breaking a few traffic laws, and angering a few citizens enough to report it to Neon York's finest.
Clyde's wrist vibrated. "The fuck?" he cursed. "An arrest warrant!? for what? Hazardous driving? Bitch, I turned on the hazard lights! fuckin'-- shit!"
Clyde had arrived after taking the long route, and a whole perimeter was swarming with Neon York's Police force and the Medical Corps. They were securing a perimeter, not letting even the reporter's drones pass through by shooting them down on site.
"What the fuck!?" He slammed his brakes, his tires screeching to a halt. "No, No, No-- the shop!"
Clyde opened the vehicle with great force, making the door fling outward with speed. "Gramps is in there!" he yelled out, running over to the perimeter after locking the car.
"You may not pass. You may not pass."
The android sentries repeated, using their metallic arms to block and push Clyde back.
"M-My, dad! that's his shop right there! Over there!" Clyde desperately pointed. "Is he alright!?"
the two robots looked at each other.
"You got ID?"
the rightmost one asked, his gun lowering.
Clyde tolled up his sleeve to reveal the wrist-mounted Biometric device. "H-here! Scan it, I need to see my dad. Quick!"
The android lowered its head and scanned the device's information, light is projected from its eye.
"Clyde Cable, 18-years old, adopted son of the deceased Khan Cable."
he read out.
Clyde's heart sunk, deep into his stomach, his mouth drying up instantly, and the words he wanted to scream died In his throat. "W-What... Deceased?...as in... dead?" he asked, his voice faint and uneven.
"Unfortunately. You are restricted entry."
The robot replied, and the other also scanned his biometric device.
"As of 8 am-9 am, you have been charged with 33 counts of reckless driving, the breach of 47 traffic laws, and the endangerment of 78 citizens of Neon York City."
the other robot looked at a spiritless Clyde.
"You are under arrest--"
the robots said, before falling over.
But Clyde wasn't having it. Stepping back to dodge the grasp of the robot, Clyde grabs onto the arm and pulled him back. "Damn it, I don't have time for you! My dad's in there somewhere!"
Clyde sprints through the opening caused by the robot falling over, piercing the perimeter.
"Halt! Stop right there! You have breached Article 37, paragraph 3-- Halt! you are interfering with an Imperial Investigation!"
Clyde could hear their warnings and their metal feet stomping on the ground in an attempt to apprehend him, but he ignored him, his ears instinctively tuning out the sound.
"Gramps... I won't believe it! Not until I see it with my own eyes!"
The perimeter turned red, alerting all of the Cyber-enhanced soldiers in the Area.
"Stop right There!" The soldiers that saw Clyde yelled. putting up their guns.
Clyde didn't care about the sheer amount of firepower aimed his way, he only thought about one thing, and that was to see with his own eyes, the demise of his father.
"He's not stopping!!"
"Stun! use Stun rounds!"
Their rifles open fire, projecting bullets crackling with electricity, But Clyde couldn't care less about them, even as they scratch and electrified him. Although his will was strong, his body soon gave in to the pain
"Arghh..." Clyde groaned, falling over, his body convulsing with electricity. His back was riddled with Electic Stun bullets all lodged onto his skin, stopping his advance to the shop.
"Damn it! I'm so close! I'm so close!"
"Target Immobilized."
"Sheesh!" one exclaimed. "We mag' dumped the fucker-- but he wouldn't go down."
"That's gotta be a record or somethin'-- How many bullets was that? A hundred?"
"Get up... Get! Up!"
Clyde seethed, clenching his jaw, forcing his body to move.
"Get...Up! Dad didn't raise a pussy! Get up damn it!"
Somehow, with only his willpower and the memories of his father training him, Clyde took control of his body, his strength returning and his limbs finally obeying him. The soldiers were busy chuckling to themselves to not notice Clyde get back up.
But when they did, they were in total shock. "S-Shit, O-Oi! He got up!"
"What?! What a load of gunk-- holy crap!"
"Reload! Reload!"
While they fumbled with their equipment, struggling to reload their weapons, allowing Clyde the opportunity to limp his way to the shop's open entrance. Deep down, he probably hoped it was all a joke-- a messed up joke-- but he still had to see the truth for himself.
The shop was dilapidated, to say the least, with bullet casings and hold everywhere craters, and electricity crackling was commonplace. The Soldiers and Medical Corps were gathered around the centerpiece of the shitshow.
"...No..." Clyde said, his voice weak. His knees buckled, and he fell on the ground, hopes crushed and depression seeping in. His father's body was placed in the center of the shop, or what was left of it, in a decent pool of blood forming beneath it.
The police officers from earlier had given up on reloading the weapons and decided to tackle Clyde and restrain him manually instead.
"You're under arrest!"
"You have the right to remain silent!"
"Anything you say will be used against you in a court of law!"
They yelled and yelled the law, but Clyde couldn't hear any of it. His gaze fixated on the death of his Father, it was a shame, a tragedy-- but one thing was for sure-- It was a murder. A murder, a debt Clyde will pay back in blood. |
"Where is he!?"
"How can he just disappear like that? In this age?!"
Natasha frowned because her ears and head were throbbing from the excessively raised voices reverberating in the department. Unfortunately for them, a supposed low-ranked criminal escaped-- completely tarnishing their reputation with the other police departments.
Roy, the kind-hearted and laid-back police chief started to act his post-- an incredibly rare and frightening phenomenon, to say the least-- had begun a city-wide manhunt. However, it was fruitless; thus his reputation and standing among the other fifty departments have been significantly damaged.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Be-- clack!
Natasha groans, opening her eyes to see her polished apartment ceiling. Turning her head to the side, the window wall revealed terrible weather, with the clouds dark with saturation and smog.
"That memory again." She groaned, tucking back strands of her unique, beautiful, and natural Navy-Blue hair. "Why did I dream about that?"
Natasha got up from her bed with diligence and discipline, taking the towel and stack of neat change of clothes prepared beforehand and heading immediately to the bath. Turning the knob and allowing the water to flow through, she leaned onto the wall tiles, watching the water trickle down her face in silence she sighed deeply.
Natasha sat in front of her dresser, drying her hair; applying just a little eyeliner to her naturally sharp eyes, and a light layer of red lipstick on her lips-- Natasha removed her bathrobe.
"Today is going to be a long day since it's dad's re-election campaign speech."
She thought, putting on comfortable lingerie and a garter belt.
Her uniform consisted of a white shirt, an NYPD jacket, a blue tie, a stretchable office skirt, black stockings, and boots. Putting on her jacket and her badge, she exited her residence.
Exiting the large, luxury apartment, She opened a large nutritional bar the size of a sandwich and began to chew whilst occasionally drinking her coffee. Taking a look at her work tablet, the screen displayed a notice that immediately soured her mood.
"Damn it," Natasha cursed, turning the car on and driving out of her parking spot and into the street, haphazardly tossing the tablet onto the passenger seat.
In bright red letters, the notification read:
"Report ASAP. According to Informants, Nationally-Wanted Criminal: Runner, is rumored to be in the city."
Barely keeping the traffic laws, the car arrived in record time, with Natasha hurriedly exiting the vehicle with her badge and equipment. The large NYPD logo ran down vertically in a bright blue neon sign, contrasting the clean, whitewashed building.
The automatic doors of the large futuristic window open automatically, with Natasha greeted by the deputy chief and his commander, and secretary.
Natasha fixed her badge on her uniform as she walked over to the two commanding officers. "Deputy Chief, Department Commander--" She greeted with a slight bow. "Reporting for duty."
Roy and Rose nodded back. "Detective, the early bird as usual," Roy smirked.
"That's one of the reasons why she's one of the youngest officers to ever reach Detective, you could learn a thing or two, Roy." Rose quipped, giving the man an elbow to his side.
"Thank you for your praise," Natasha added, nodding again. "Is it true? The Runner is here?"
Roy and Rose sighed, "Come with us, talking over coffee would make things a lot easier." The chief said, turning away.
Following the two, Natasha sat down on one of the three chairs provided around a circular table, with three cups of coffee already provided. Roy took his tablet and set it on the table after plugging his wrist cord into it.
"[ Displaying Information...]"
Rose and Natasha watched as a brief summary of Runner's capabilities is presented. Three short films all recorded from traffic cameras and other sources all displayed the same thing.
"Runner, Driver, Transporter-- He's known by many names, but what he's most well known for, is his driving." Roy briefed. "He's notorious for being able to outrun cops on land, on water, and in the air. His skill with vehicles is unrivaled as per our sources."
Rose watched the video's repeat, still mesmerized by the smooth driving skills displayed by the criminal. "I've read about him in some of the reports, he's a contract-type merc."
"By contract type, you mean, Commissioned?" Natasha asked, drinking from the cup.
Roy shook his head. "Requested. He's the type of driver you request, not commission. He can slip in and out of any situation and any scenario we throw at him-- he's a pro."
"[ End of Information ]"
Roy unplugged himself from the tablet. "17,569 counts of traffic law violations, 970 citizens endangered, 47 counts of injured officers, 100 Successful Heist getaways, 100 successful extraction operations, 99 counts of kidnapping, 68 credited drive-by assassinations-- he has extensive experience coupled with his skill."
Natasha was quiet, speechless in fact, in all honesty, it was a very impressive record; but, putting a stop to such a criminal. "This is..."
"That's not all," Roy coughed, to both the ladies' shock. "He has worked with cartels, mafias, pimps, and dark net brokers."
Rose leaned on her hands, her elbows on the table, "How do we beat this guy?" she muttered. Both of the senior officers notice Natasha raise her hand.
"If I may," Natasha coughed. "He is a skilled driver, correct? Then wouldn't it be wise to obstruct any other vehicle aside my fath-- Ahem!-- the Mayor's and his entourage?"
Rose and Roy look at each other, energy-returning to their eyes and minds. Rose responded by taking out her own tablet and setting it on the desk. The screen lit up projecting a map in the center.
"That's possible." She pointed out. "Here, the mayor's parade will happen on Marine street, which is just a straight line surrounded by 2-4 story buildings. We can blockade the two block entrances with checkpoints, and the two buildings will be covered by snipers and androids-- it's completely possible."
Natasha nodded. "With that, we can still hold the parade in the same venue, stop Runner from even coming close to the Mayor, and his re-election will go smoothly."
"Excelent work ladies." Roy clapped. "If I slack off anymore, you'll take my job from right underneath me. Dismissed."
Natasha and Rose stand from their seats and saluted. "Yes sir!"
Placing her bag down on her cubicle, Natasha sat down on the ergonomic office chair and planted her face in her hands, bracing for the day's troublesome headache. Letting out a deep sigh, she grimaced, as he had predicted-- it was going to be a busy day.
"Mayor! Mayor! What are your thoughts on the city's gradually increasing crime rates!?"
Mayor Radcliffe Snow stroked his long white beard, his face clearly portraying him thinking about his answer. He looked at the crowd before him, clearly, the police had modified the venue, as per the follow-up crowd thrice as big as the paparazzi.
The block had been blocked from both ends, jam-packed with reporters and bystanders alike, all wanting a first-person view of the mayo giving his re-election speech. Cameras, drones, devices, and recorders were all pointed toward the mayor, all awaiting his response to the questions his competitors had stumbled upon.
Radcliffe coughed, to quell the rising murmurings of the crowd. "I will be blunt," He said, looking at the centermost camera. "This city's crime rate has risen exponentially, to the point in which many of you have seen the violence from inside your own homes-- All that! Stops Now!"
The crowd quieted down, his booming voice, full of authority, garnering their full attention. "As many of you know, I have been a police officer, before I took up the mantle of Mayor-- I've seen your streets! Experienced them and the gore! My second term as Mayor will be filled with changes! Changes that some of you may never agree with, but I assure you!--" Radcliffe breathed. "I will bring you results!"
The crowd was silent for a lengthy minute, digesting the bold promise none of the other candidates would ever say. The idea of safer streets was appealing to many of them, considering a new generation is being raised-- a proper environment for their children-- it was what they hoped for.
Soon, whistles and cheering erupted from the crowd, as they jumped to visualize their approval.
"Radcliffe! Radcliffe! Radcliffe!"
They continued even after he had entered his armored convoy. Only then could Natasha breathe in relief, Driver hadn't struck after all. Oh, how wrong was she. |
Radcliffe sat down in his large conference room, with soldiers armed with heavy cybernetics, equipment, and weapons.
"Is this really necessary?" He asked, throwing his hands up in annoyance.
"Yes, it is absolutely necessary."
"Natasha–" Radcliffe frowned, looking at his beautiful, blue-haired daughter. "I'm fifty-five, which is too old to be babied."
The detective frowned. "Yes dad, I know, but I'm doing this not for personal reasons– but professional ones." Natasha said, loading her heavy punisher pistol in her holster.
"We've heard recently from our informants, that the Driver is back in town." She chewed her lips. "And I think he's after your life– according to my gut, anyway."
Radcliffe defeated his arguments upon hearing about her gut feelings. "I see, they're the reason as to why you're one of the youngest detectives. I'll trust you, Nat'."
Natasha's cheeks softened, her ice-like expressions cooling down. "Thank you, dad."
She took a seat across from her father and they began to talk, unaware of the plan set into motion.
Clyde breathed deep and rhythmically, collecting himself and setting his plan into motion. He was wearing his armored racing helmet, his armored knuckle-gloves that reached his wrists, loose cargo pants, comfortable rubber shoes, and a large sweater covering his muscular physique.
"It's time, I'll finally get answers." He said, clutching the phone in his right pocket.
He entered the driver's seat, putting his hands onto the steering wheel and feet on the accelerator.
A car, sleek and aerodynamic, lowered as close as possible onto the smooth asphalt pavement, zoomed through the night without lights, quiet as the ghost mural painted on its body, the same matching mural painted onto Clyde's helmet.
"Radcliffe, you're dead."
Boom! Bo-Boom!
"Protect the mayor!" Natasha jumped up from her seat, interrupting her conversation. Taking the pistol out of her holster, she turned to the four guards in the room.
"Yes ma'am!"
the men replied collectively.
Looking just outside the armored windows, Natasha could see the ball of flames erupting from the sidewalks.
"What?! Are they detonating from beneath the ground?!"
Natasha huffed, peeking through the windows.
She grabbed her radio. "this is detective Snow, requesting immediate backup! VIP and buildings are under attack!"
Natasha rolled to her father, dodging the sight of the windows. She grabbed onto his suit with a tight grip, dragging her father with the strength to the door, and away from a sniper's sightline.
"Keep your head down!" She said as Explosions continued to boom in the distance, as Natasha and the mayor went through the halls, Natasha protected him, placing herself and her gun between him and any attacker.
"Another terrorism attempt." The mayor sighed, unfazed but cooperative with the situation and Natasha's rough handling.
"This is Armored Transport, request for exfil has been granted. Proceed to the backdoor."
"Roger that."
Natasha held her father by his vest, patiently waiting for the evacuation team to arrive.
Peering through the window, Natasha sighed in relief, a small convoy of four heavily armored APCs rolled to the back door of the building. Their doors opened, with a team of four soldiers streaming through each car, all armed with guns capable of fighting off a medium-sized force.
"The State Protection Bureau, that's reassuring," Radcliffe huffed.
Natasha opened the back door to see the sixteen men ready to accept the mayor.
The largest of the group, standing at about two meters nodded respectfully to the mayor and the detective.
"Thank you, Detective Snow, we'll take it from here." he said, lending his hand, "This way."
Natasha nodded to the officer, knowing that this was for her father's safety; but her gut feeling was not subsiding, something was wrong and she was incredibly worried.
Radcliffe looked at his daughter with a knowing look before gently putting his hand on her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be fine, my
снежинка (snowflake)"
he said affectionately in Russian, her late mother's native tongue.
"да (
yes),"
She replied in Russian, but the ill feeling did not subside.
Natasha watched carefully as the SPB soldiers escorted the mayor into one of the vehicles and the team of firefighters in their annoyingly loud red trucks approached.
"There's still work to do."
Natasha sighed, turning back into the building, to the officers under her command, "Listen up–"
Radcliffe sat in one of the armored cars surrounded by SPB soldiers, who were all stoically silent, with their hands on their guns, ready to fight at any given moment.
"You, I've never seen you before." the officer beside Radcliffe said, breaking the silence. The mayor turned to the man he was talking to, who was direct to Radcliffe's left.
The SPB soldier turned to his commanding officer, "I'm new sir!" he said, his voice confident and very soldier-like.
"I guess he's new–"
The officer raised his gun and pointed at the newbie. "We don't do
new things around
here, son. Give me your serial number." He demanded, taking his phone.
Radcliffe turned to the new soldier in question, the other two soldiers pointing their guns at him too. Oddly enough, the soldier did not flinch.
"
Agh,"
the soldier groaned, "Busted."
"What!?" Radcliffe turned to the officer with wide eyes, he jumped from his seat and sought refuge beside the officer.
"Open fire!"
The three legitimate soldiers squeezed the trigger of their rifles.
Click! click! Click!
"J-Jammed!"
"W-what!?"
The officer blinked for a second, before throwing his rifle on the ground, reaching for his sidearm– but an armored boot came from the ground and hit his hand.
"Agh!" The officer cried out, his hand clearly broken.
The imposter looked at the other two soldiers, who were fumbling with their weapons. Taking the sidearm strapped to his side, he shot both men in the head without thought.
Bang-Bang!
The officer drew his service knife, only to be shot too.
"You bastar–"
Bang!
It was way too quick, Radcliffe blinked and three elite soldiers died just like that. The imposter turned to the mayor with the sidearm pointed at his heart.
"W-Who are you?" Radcliffe asked, his brows sweating as the imposter watched him without speaking.
"You'll know soon enough." He replied, his voice deep and bearing hostility.
Radcliffe opened his mouth to talk, but before the words left his mouth, two explosions simultaneously went off, taking care of the cars behind and in front of them.
"Oh my god!" The driver gasped, swerving away from the burning vehicle in front of him. He picked up the radio on his side and turned it on. "this is SPB unit 2-5! Our convoy is under attack!"
Radcliffe turned around to peer through the small windows of the armored car, which revealed the two cars being engulfed in flames. The mayor turned to the imposter, with a fearful, yet relaxed face.
"Who are you?" Radcliffe asked calmly, returning to his seat.
"I said, you'll know soon enough."
Radcliffe watched the imposter take a small rectangular box from a bag he had hidden away in the compartment and plant it directly behind the driver. He turned to Radcliffe with the sidearm and promptly knocked him out.
Natasha sat in her office cubicle, absent-mindedly fiddling with a ring on her necklace.
"What's taking you so long..."
She thought staring at the phone in front of her, the same phone which housed her father's personal number.
"I hope something didn't happen..."
Just as she hoped in silence, her personal phone rang, and she promptly picked it up. "Detective Snow speaking, who is this?"
"Detective!"
Chief Roy's voice gasped,
"Come to my office! This is a matter of state security!"
Natasha got up immediately, hung up the phone, and sprinted to chief Roy's office. He was slouched over his desk, the contents of which were scattered about the room, clearly upset and stressed out about something grievous.
"Sir," Natasha asked gently, waiting for the police chief to look at her.
Roy looked up at her with a tired expression, his eyes clearly shaking. He walked over to Natasha, closing the door behind her.
"T-The State Protection Bureau convoy was attacked... the mayor has been kidnapped." He said.
The color from Natasha's face drained, her skin turning pale as she had just seen a ghost. Her breathing hitched, sucking a large gulp of air through her teeth.
"A-Are you sure sir?" Natasha asked as calmly as possible, looking at her superior with uncertainty.
"Yes, the SPB just sent me the word," Roy said, slouching over his desk again, "We're awaiting any ransom demands, so stand by..."
"Yes sir."
Radcliffe groaned, his head throbbing with pain as he opened his eyes to a dark room, with only a light stand to illuminate himself. He focused his eyes, seeing his kidnapper, still in SPB uniform, playing with the handgun from earlier.
"Where am I!?" he demanded, shaking from his bonds, Radcliffe looked down to see himself strapped to a chair, with his arms attached to a screen with wires. "Who are you!?"
Radcliffe now had ample time to fully observe his kidnapper. The man in question was six feet tall at most, or five-eight at least, he had broad shoulders, a muscular-lean build, and strong legs and arms.
His kidnapper had removed everything, but the helmet on his head, and wore casual clothes, an oversized sweater, and cargo pants.
"That is a fair number of scars,"
he thought, his eyes taking note of the large, fading, gashes on his torso, arms, and legs.
"Why are you so damn jittery, old man?" The man spoke, his voice deep and not affected by his mask. He was definitely mature but the imposter did not seem that old, at least twenty-five to thirty-five.
"What do you want?" Radcliffe breathed, steadying himself.
The man in the helmet turned at the tied mayor, obviously furious as displayed by his extensive arm veins.
He raised the handgun to Radcliffe's head, an SPB standard issue sidearm. "Shut the fuck up, I'll ask the questions here. I've been waiting, planning, scheming– just for! this day. Because today, I'm getting answers!"
The mayor tilted his head, perplexed, as he looked at the young man. "What do you mean?"
The innocent question enraged Radcliffe's captor, making him punch through the solid aluminum table.
"Don't play dumb with me!" the man in the helmet yelled. He reached for a bag on the wall and retrieved an android's head. A head Radcliffe knew all too well.
"Y-You..." He breathed, still shocked as he realized who his captor was. "That's CH— Clyde!? is that you?!"
The gun in his hand shook slightly, and the other reached for his helmet, removing it from his head. Clyde tossed the helmet to the damaged table with laziness but his glare on Radcliffe had not changed.
"Where have you been?" Radcliffe asked, genuinely caring, but Clyde frowned all the more.
"Don't get all mushy on me now, Radcliffe. You owe me answers, and I'm going to get them."
"What do you mean? What answers?"
Clyde reached for the android head, and pressed a button, a button he had not touched in two years. The android's head lit up, Its eyes projecting a hologram recording. It displayed the face of a deceased mechanic, who was looking around warily.
"Is this thing recording?"
Khan asked himself, tinkering with the camera,
"It is... ahem!"
Radcliffe watched the recording curiously, not speaking a word to disrupt the silence. Khan breathed in and out, preparing himself.
"Listen, Clyde, If you're watching this then it means that I've been found. They found me, and they want me dead."
He explained, only to flinch at the sound of metal crashing against cement.
"Khan! Show yourself! You traitor!"
"Listen to me, Clyde. I am an informant of a deadly organization– The Tengu, otherwise known as Demon Swordsmen."
Khan explained,
"Long story short, I gave up that life and sold them out to the government in exchange for protection and a new identity. A new life, a life where I can strive for redemption for the many shitty things I've ever done."
Radcliffe turned to Clyde, who was watching intently, almost lost to the world, before she turned back to the hologram.
"Radcliffe, find him. He and I had a deal. He can explain to you in greater detail as to who I was and what– who — I'm running from."
He said,
"Remember son, I love you, and I'm sorry you had been adopted by scum like me—
Recording End."
Clyde wiped a stray tear from his eye and raised the gun back at Radcliffe. "Now– Answers, now! What deal!? I want everything or I swear to god–"
Boom! |
Radcliffe's ears ring loudly with a perpetual hum, constantly rising and decreasing as he comes to. State Protection Bureau blew in the walls' standard issue, blast charges, and soldiers armed with thick armor and shotguns rappeled into the room.
"Damn it, they found me too quickly!" Clyde cursed as he shoved his helmet onto his head. Turning around, He raised his pistol and fired indiscriminately at the prominent men that streamed into the small cement room.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
To his disappointment, however, the 9mm armor-piercing hollow-point bullets merely chamber.
Cha-chick
"Ah shit," Clyde sighed, bracing himself and covering his torso with his arms. The man in the middle, who was wearing a red berets hat, hoisted his shotgun and pulled back on the pump-- loading a shell into the attempt to defend his organs.
Ba-Ba-Bang!
Clyde leaned to the side, hoping that the shell's load would miss any vital organ or muscle group. His hopes were both granted, except he got hit and it was painful but nothing he couldn't handle
"Augh!" Clyde groaned, stumbling back using his foot. He inspected himself and the officers, both were equally surprised at the unforeseen result. It certainly hurt, that's for sure, but it was a rubber load instead of a steel one. The mercenary couldn't help but chuckle. "Rubber bullets... Big mistake."
Just a few minutes from this, there was a meeting that took place before shots were even fired. Somewhere in the state of Neon York, a hidden and protected black site welcomed three officers closely related to this incident.
"Welcome, Deputy chief, Vice-chief, and Detective."
Natasha nodded at the old man, whose hair was greying and his wrinkles slightly forming. Roy and Rose nodded respectfully at the New York State Protection Bureau General.
After the invasion, The United States reformed but since the government was still in shambles, valiant men and women in the fifty states organized their local governments and kept the state together until the Great Reunion. The man in front of Natasha was the descendant of that great man, General Eisenhower Jr.
Roy approached the man and nodded respectfully as he shook his hand. "General, sir. How is it looking?"
Eisenhower shrugged, "We've located the merc, and his hideout, where He's keeping the Mayor. Logistics also scanned the area and electricity said that out of the seven dud bases around the area– he is hiding right there." he pointed at the screens.
Natasha looked at the room, the solid concrete reinforced platinum alloy room, and it was true to its title the Black Box. "Thank you for finding my father."
"He is a slimy one for sure," Rose sighed, "He's a headache."
Eisenhower huffed, "You got that right, The other generals have been hounding at my heels ever since one of the country's most notorious criminals have been spotted." he grumbled, turning to the wall of screens, all displaying live video from the camera of soldiers. "Now that we've got his location, all we need is to catch the cat and return him to the bag."
In total, there were twelve perspectives displayed on the video wall, with the leaders being marked by a red outline. Eisenhower slowly walked to the long row of computers and placed both his hands on it, his mouth near a microphone.
He turned to the man controlling the communication booth, "Open the channels," he said, to which the man nodded wordlessly executing the command.
Eisenhower turned to the screen, "Team Leader, sit rep."
"Ready General, standing by, awaiting orders." The leader replied, his red box highlighting. "All troops ready, wall charges are set, and ammunition, non-lethal."
Eisenhower turned around to glance at Roy and Rose, who nodded, and he turned to speak to the mic. "Begin."
After the short meeting, the four individuals watching from the comfort of their black box as speechless at how the situation exceeded their expectations the mercenary– identified as Clyde Cable– shrugged off the damage, unfazed by the barrage of explosion-propelled rubber bullets.
"You certainly know how to piss me off," Clyde spat, a small blob of blood and saliva splattered on the floor. "You're going to regret that."
Natasha gaped, looking at Roy and Rose, who were impressed and nervous at the result. "What the fuck..." Roy muttered.
"F-Fire! Keep shooting— agghh!!" The team leader screamed as Clyde sprinted at him for a tackle.
The video feed from his chest camera was destroyed, and the view of the strike team's vice commander took over-- and the sight it displayed made Eisenhower huff.
"Jesus Christ," Eisenhower cursed, looking at the team leader's unconscious body on the ground, with a crater in the solid cement wall where he was thrown. The next few seconds of footage was something seen only in movies and cartoons, bullets deflecting off his body as if they came from a bb-gun, and unfathomable strength born from the bare human genes without assistance from an exoskeleton. The general may have started to feel bad about sending those soldiers to apprehend the suspect, as he had made short work of SPB's finest like they were ragdolls.
One by one the soldier's cameras were crushed, both from being attacked or thrown onto various furniture, or walls if the soldier was particularly unlucky today. Eisenhower scoffed, "So much for the finest." he grumbled, "Officers, with me."
"Phew~" Clyde took a breath, stretching his arms and back to somewhat offset the residual pain from being shot by rubber bullets. "Back to business, Radcliffe,"
The mayor was somewhat concerned for the soldiers, but they knew the risk when they signed up, making them somewhat liable for their situation, "You're certainly Khan's boy."
Clyde turned around, "Pop's didn't raise a bitch, he raised me." he said, offering his hand to the mayor.
"I can see that," Radcliffe received the outstretched hand, pulling himself up with relative ease, and after he settled himself, he enveloped Clyde in a hug, "It's good to see you, son. I'm sorry for what happened."
Clyde's eyes flashed sadness, before a smile overtook his face, "Well that was two years ago, so kinda late, but thank you. I-It means a lot since it's been awfully quiet when I'm by my lonesome."
"I know son," Radcliffe said, reminiscing his wife's smile, "It gets awfully quiet."
Clyde nodded, smiling as he removed his helmet, "Yeah but semantics aside, you owe me an explanation, and I doubt this place will work."
"Care for a drink?" Clyde agreed, "I've got a stash while we talk about what my dad was knee-deep in before I ultimately go on the run again."
The mayor smiled, putting his arm over the grown man's shoulder, "Sure, that's the least I can do– besides! It's been a while since I've had a good drink!"
"Same goes for me, can't drink and drive after all."
About thirty minutes have passed since the failed retrieval mission and a large group of black-dressed SPB agents were swarming the hideout, with only three officers in blue and white standing out.
Natasha stood in the concrete room, her temperance ice-cold even as squads of medics were expertly extracting the wounded and injured from the carnage-filled room. Dressed in disposable scrubs, she slowly maneuvered the room, a compact, high-definition camera on hand, Rose and Roy standing behind her as she pictured the scene.
"How is it, detective?" Rose asked curiously, her voice muffled by the scrubs.
Natasha huffed, shaking her head slightly, "According to the footage, Fath– the Mayor was being held captive for information, about Clyde's deceased father, the question is why?"
"Isn't that self-explanatory?" Eisenhower chimed in, entering the room without scrubs.
The blue-haired detective stood up, putting away the camera in her bag, "Naturally, however, there are plenty of signs that contradict that conclusion."
"Enlighten me."
Natasha nodded obediently, pointing around the room as she walked around, "There are no signs of struggle aside from stray bullets and shells with barely any blood to show for it, both from our suspect and the mayor." She hummed, slowly traversing the room, careful not to move anything accidentally.
"Here, the Mayor's restraints were removed carefully, with something sharp, perhaps a small knife," The detective listed, running her gloved finger through the floor, scooping up dust, "And by the looks of it, they exited quite peacefully."
Roy and Rosel exchanged looks of pride, silently noting how the general's expression slowly softened as her logic slowly made more sense.
The general was impressed at her sharp wit, digesting the information and understanding why she would deduce such a result, "I see, then that begs two questions— Why were they suddenly on good terms? And where could they have been?"
Natasha pushed the only door, opening it to where the convoy of SPB soldiers were sweeping the area, "For the former– coercion, threats, or a deal. The mayor and the mercenary seem to be on good terms, perhaps from a shared past. Or perhaps something mildly related." She scoffed, taking her flashlight, "And for the latter, I believe they escaped through other means, on foot most probably as these corridors and alleyways are too difficult to navigate."
Eisenhower nodded at the detective's explanation, filling in the gaps of the short investigation, "Impressive. Then where do you suppose they escaped if they were on foot? As you said, because of the layout of this ghetto, on foot would be difficult."
"That's right, It would take thirty minutes to navigate, therefore–" The beautiful detective flashed the light onto the wall next to the door, noticing a smear of dirt on the wall and the adjacent block of buildings. "They escaped through the flat rooftops."
The general was very impressed to say the least, even turning to Roy and Rose, who both just smirked proudly at their detective. But before any words could be exchanged, they could hear the sound of a zipper being opened, which was Natasha exiting the protective scrubs.
The three bystanders just watched as she shed her bag, only adding the most important tools to her belt. Natasha jumped atop the railing, jumping for the flat roof's ledge while using the dust mark as a guide– allowing her to pull herself up with relative ease.
She grabbed the walkie-talkie from her belt, "This is Detective Snow, assuming solo pursuit of the suspect identified as Clyde Cable. Nearby units, stay alert for a tall male, with black hair, blue eyes, and a muscular build. He is armed and dangerous." |
Loud metal doors opened with the sound of a siren and the loud clanging of moving parts. A man walked in, a cigarette in his mouth and a smirk on his clean-shaven face.
The man sat down with a loud thud from the chair, signifying muscle underneath his baggy clothing. "Goddamn~ 33 counts of reckless driving, repeated infringement of 47 traffic laws, the endangerment of 78 citizens of the city, and interfering with an Imperial Investigation-- Hot damn! I'm looking at Neon York's resident Speed demon!" he said.
Clyde sat in his chair in silence, completely ignoring the policeman's impressed reaction to his crimes. He had lost track of time, but he had been in this interrogation room for a few hours at least.
The man before him was definitely a high-ranked Police officer. He was wearing a white shirt, and dark-blue cap with golden designs, His coat hung from his shoulders all the way to his feet, and his badge was decorated proudly beside his black neck-tie. Clyde watched the man fiddle with a Hologram device, which made his Bird-shaped badge glimmer.
The man put the device down and it projected the contents of its screen onto the air. The man took out a portable ashtray and smothered it. Taking another from a pack, he lit the cigar with a lighter.
"I'm going to admit, you've got mad skills, Clyde." The man huffed. "Ah shite-- I forgot to introduce myself, my name's Roy Cheiv and I'm the deputy chief of this district." he continued, adjusting the pins on his right wrist collar.
Clyde watched the man extend his hand in silence, ignoring the handshake. "huh, you're one of the tight-lipped ones huh? No matter." Roy sighed.
"Is this what Deputy Chiefs do? No wonder why the streets are littered with crimes."
"Mostly Clyde, but not me. The Corrupt in our system is why the streets are littered with Crimes." Roy corrected.
Clyde shrugged, shaking his handcuffs, which were connected to the table. "My bad." He sighed. "How long?" Clyde asked.
Roy took a long puff of smoke before sighing. "You're gonna go away for about a year and a half to two years, kid." He shook his head. "Usually, for this much-- you'd just have to pay a steep amount of Credits and you're off the hook but because of your last crime--you're going away for two years, kiddo."
Clyde sighed a long sigh, shaking his head. "Honestly I couldn't care less about those two years...There's just something I wanna confirm."
"Well, shoot." Roy chuckled.
"About my old man's case-- how's it looking?"
Roy flinched considerably. "About that..." he sighed. "It's going to be closed as a shop emergency."
Clyde fumed with anger, jumping for his chair and leaning forward towards Roy, only his chains stopping him.
"That's bullshit!!"
He growled, making the whole table rattle; However, Roy was steadfast.
He lowered his gaze, suddenly turning friendlier than he was before, and shook his head. "I know and I'm sorry, my hands are tied on this." Roy apologized. "The order came from way up high and even with my rank, I don't know who it is."
Clyde was shaking with anger, veins on his neck and head protruding underneath the skin, and his hands were bleeding from the cuffs. "...Well shit." he cursed, both from the revelation and the wounds.
"I can't even blame him, since he's confined by his rank."
Clyde thought, sighing for the nth time today. "So, you're just going to ship me off huh?"
"Yeah Kiddo, aside from all that, I'm really sorry." Roy apologized again, bowing his head.
Clyde pursed his lips.
"It seems like he wasn't lying-- he really is worth his badge."
There was a lengthy pause between the two men, both their eyes locked and observant.
"Could I have a smoke? I haven't really tried it before." Clyde resigned himself.
Roy chuckled, taking out the pack. "Yeah sure, because where your goin'- the imperial prisons - a smoke is a luxury."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Clyde received the cigarette while Roy lit it with the lighter. Putting in between his lips, he breathed in once, the smoke entering his lungs, making him cough. "It's good and...sweet? aren't smokes supposed to be bitter?"
Roy smiled. "I got the strawberry-flavored ones." He chuckled. "It's not bad and it's new, but the original is better."
"And they are all terrible for your lungs." A feminine voice interjected, through the speakers. "The low-class criminal transport is ready, prepare the prisoner."
Roy and Clyde looked up at the camera in the southwest corner of the room. "Ah~ Natasha! Perfect timing, I knew I was forgetting something!" Roy exclaimed, taking something from underneath the desk.
Clyde groaned. "Really? an orange prison uniform? You want me to change into that?" he grumbled, receiving it.
"Sorry kiddo, but you gotta change into that, undies and all."
Clyde raised an eyebrow at Roy, figuring out he was serious, and then at the camera. "You gonna enjoy the show too, Natasha?"
"As much as I hate it, I must; therefore, make it quick-- that way it'll be less embarrassing for all of us." She replied through the speakers.
Roy shrugged. "You're a good kid, but the protocol is protocol-- and just so you know, I'm into older women." he clarified, shaking his hands.
Clyde just sighed, loudly this time, watching Roy uncuff him so he could actually change. Without much thought and in front of the two, Clyde stripped off his sweater and begin changing.
"Ooh~ You really are the son of Khan, you've got the bod' to your credit," Roy added, keeping his eyes just on Clyde's face out of courtesy.
"That's cuz' dad didn't raise a wimp, he raised a man." Clyde joked back, earning a laugh from the man. "And for the record snowflake, I'm both a grower and a shower." he winked, making Roy laugh even louder.
"Hurry up and get dressed, and for the record, orange suits you quite well." Natasha retorted, with venom in her voice. "Don't call me a snowflake."
Clyde neatly folded his clothes and left them on the desk. "Deputy Chief, the handcuffs" Natasha spat out.
"On it." The chief said, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Come here, son. We gotta put your cuffs back on or else snowflake will have our heads."
Clyde nodded approaching Roy with both his wrists together. "You're a good man, Roy-- if you met my dad, you could've been drinking buddies."
Roy smiled at the sentiment. "I'd drink you dad under the table."
"I'd argue."
"heh. You're a good kid, you know that? Tell you what, after your sentence, If you ever wanna be a cop, this place could use your driving skills-- the runners keep giving us the slip nowadays."
Clyde nodded. "Tell you what, after my sentence is over, I'll work here. When that happens, I'll drink you under the table."
Roy raised an amused eyebrow. "Wanna shake on it? loser has to pay for the tab."
Clyde and Roys share a wrist handshake before parting ways. "Deal."
"Not to interrupt the moment, but the transport crew is ready." Natasha interrupted. "they're here for pickup."
The doors of the room slide open, and three armed guards enter with their guns slung on their persons. "Clyde Cable? You're coming with us." the foremost man said.
"Sure." Clyde walks over to them and the man grabbed his wrists forcefully. "Have a good one, Deputy Chief, same for you snowflake. See you in two years."
Roy nodded, tipping his hat at Clyde, who slowly walked away following the three guards. He put his hands in his pockets and noticed his right cuff pin was missing. "Really? Did I lose that damn thing again? Shit, Rose is gonna kill me."
"That she will, sir." Natasha concurred.
"You're not helping."
The car ride had been smooth so far, Clyde being restrained by his cuffs and seated in between two of the officers while the leader of the group drove the car. The silence was tangible for the four men, although Clyde did not mind it, he was busy with trying to pick the cuff locks.
"Yo'! do you see that hottie?" the guard to the right of Arthur whistled.
"Nah, I can't see her from my side." The guard to the left of Arthur complained, leaning his head onto the glass, his eyelids falling.
Clyde watches the leader scoff at his subordinates before picking up the radio on his shoulder strap. "Overwatch, we've passed the midway point, about to pass under the overpass," he reported, his communication device fritzing out.
"Copy Over, you keep your eyes on the road, I'm taking a shit."
The man chuckled. "Yes, sir," he reported, before putting on music from the local broadcasting towers.
Unbeknownst to him, Clyde had picked His handcuff with Roy's right cuff pin.
"Nice, perfect timing too. These three are the worst cops I've ever seen, how did they even get in on NYPD's roster?"
Watching the cuffs unclick and fall off his hands, Clyde throws a backhanded fist with both his hands, to hit both the officers beside him in the throat simultaneously. The loud music masked their struggles and their gasps while Clyde made short work of the two officers, knocking them out of commission.
Clyde turns his attention to the Driver, who was preoccupied with singing along to the dubstep, and using the cuffs, he swiftly looped them around his neck. "Urk-- gah! gah-uh...uh..."
"Night, Night." Clyde mocked with a smirk, throwing the unconscious officer off the driver's seat and taking his place.
"Sorry Roy, but I can't still and rot in jail for two years while my dad's killer is out there somewhere. I hope you can forgive me." |
This story was co-written and co-planned by otkrlj.
"When I'm no longer in this world, I ask of you that you look after my daughter. That and the mission I gave her are my two last wishes."
I remembered the Professor saying that like it had been just the day before. But ten years had passed since I left his tutelage and went to study to the capital on my own, and only now was I receiving the news of his passing.
He wasn't even that old, I thought to myself, but his brilliant mind had tried to carry him farther than his frail body would allow.
But taking care of his daughter, eh? I suppose there was nobody else he could ask this of. I would bet all my possessions on him not having told anyone about his child other than me. After all, if he had, she'd undoubtedly become nothing more than a plaything and a lab rat for scientists and the press.
Of course, even if that weren't the case, the fact remained that he'd asked me to look after what he loved most in the world... there was no way I could refuse.
The day after receiving the news of the Professor's death, I had arrived in front of his residence.
Pipes and gears were everywhere, it all felt like the inside of a steam machine. Quite a strange choice, given the falling prices of electricity lately. Also, I always imagined progress would simplify the look of machines, not make them even more unfriendly to the eye. Though knowing the Professor as I did, his odd choices didn't surprise me in the slightest. He always embraced that image of mad scientist he gave off, if only to protect his creations from undesirable eyes.
Regardless, it was not outside his home where I would find what I came for. I knocked on the door.
...
No response. I tried again.
...
And then a third time.
"Ah!"
The door blasted open, revealing the very person I'd come here looking for—petite, fair-skinned, with long black hair and deep brown eyes. She looked to be about eight or nine, maybe, and was dressed in plain indoors clothing.
Or in short, she was a cute but unremarkable little girl, who looked completely ordinary in all but her expression.
A face of sadness and deep-rooted pain, one which looked terribly out of place in a kid her age. It made me shiver for an instant.
"Hello, dear! Are you Lilly?"
"Y-yes. Who are you? I was told only important people knock more than two times."
"I'm an old friend of your father's, his assistant for about three years. He... told me to look after you if something ever happened to him."
"I see... That's not going to be an issue, though. I can take care of myself."
"... Is that so? You do seem like a very mature girl, but please, I'd like you to give me a chance."
On my face was the most genuine smile I could muster. It was normal for her to be sad and not welcoming of strangers, it would have scared me if the opposite were true—but I obviously couldn't leave her on her own.
"Accepted. I'll give you a week to prove that you'll be useful. After that I'll decide if I stay with you or if I remain alone in Master's house."
Master
?
What was it with this weird speech pattern of hers? It definitely didn't sound natural. It sounded... artificial, robotic. Except at the very beginning, when she'd stuttered after hearing me say her name, she had displayed minimal emotion of any kind.
"Come on, don't stand there. Please come in and make yourself at home."
She said, politely inviting me in and showing me to an old guest bedroom in the upper floor—the exact one I'd used throughout my three-year stay with the Professor. The nostalgia felt endless.
"Hey, lady. I found something for you to help with, if you don't mind."
This caught my attention. I'd assumed she would do her best to ignore me and send me back home the earliest she could.
"Of course, I'll do my best. What is it?"
"It's this note... Da—my master left it in his room just before he died."
She handed me a neatly folded piece of paper with a short message inside. I recognized the handwriting immediately—there was no way I'd mistake it.
"By the time you read this, I'll probably have passed away with one task still incomplete. I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, but—please, I need you to look at the other side. Understand who you really are. Unpack... your soul."
...
I reread the message again and again, but no matter how I tried to spin it, this was clearly not meant to be understood by anyone other than Lilly or its author.
...I was at a loss. No clue what to make of this if Lilly herself didn't understand.
Though, be that as it may, I refused to give up on the chance of gaining her trust this early on. The Professor had done far more for me than I could ever repay, and besides, this child didn't deserve to live her life in complete isolation.
"... Okay. Listen up, Lilly. I can help you solve this riddle, but that's all I can do—help. I'm afraid I can't do it without you. Is that okay?"
"Y-Yes, of course. It's something Master wanted me to figure out, after all."
"Perfect. Well then, let's get looking around the house. I need you to pick up everything you think your father considered important and bring it here."
Lilly nodded, her eyes lighting up after being given a clue to work with. She stormed out of the room, barely keeping her balance as she tried to climb the metallic stairs as fast as she could. Who in Heaven would think of installing the kind of stairs you'd see leading to a ship's engine room in one's house? The Professor's taste never ceased to impress me—though that's most certainly not a compliment.
Regardless, Lilly knew her way around the upper part of the house better than I did, but what I still remembered like the back of my hand was the underground floor—the laboratory.
The reason I'd been staying with the Professor for so long. And the reason I eventually had to leave.
After all, in that laboratory he'd created what no other could even conceive of attempting. Something only he and I had ever seen. And when some rumors got out, he convinced me to leave before they could affect me in any way.
...He didn't want me to be the target of all the world's press, asking about the creation of the first artificial human. So he secluded himself with his creation for a decade.
The laboratory itself was pure contrast. On one side, everything was organized to allow the highest efficiency—after all, the Professor was a genius doctor and chemist, and he understood better than anyone the importance of keeping order even amidst his chaotic experiments. But on the other, the atmosphere of the place was oppressive to a fault—a tad too hot due to the steam machine providing energy to all the weird machines, and with an appearance that made the Professor look the mad scientist part he'd so wanted to evade. Once again, his idea of 'futuristic' had made this room a complete hazard.
If I had a shilling for every time either of us had slammed our heads against any of the red-hot metal pipes or tripped with the moving gears embedded on the floor, I'd be richer than half this country.
At some point I'd memorized where every single obstacle was, though, and subsequently learnt to avoid them. The memory seems to have stuck with me since I didn't fall into a single one as I looked through the entire place.
"Oh!"
While inspecting the shelf at the back end of the room, something immediately stood out to me—something its owner would never, ever do.
A stack of papers with drawings detailing the process to creating the artificial human from scratch and their expected growth process were spread on the floor, in a corner of the room. I knew for a fact the Professor would never be this careless with documents as important as these—actually, never mind.
Closer inspection, though not a lot closer, revealed the answer to this apparent mystery.
There were notes and drawings scribbled all over the margins and the backs of the papers—ones clearly done by a very young child.
That explains it.
That explains everything.
Now I have a pretty good idea of what that previously cryptic message meant...
Though the findings in the lab weren't quite finished yet.
Right beside the scattered papers, in the same dark corner of an already poorly illuminated room, there was a small cardboard box. On it was written "Do not open under any circumstance" on thick but recognizable ink strokes.
It really did look like it hadn't been opened at all...
Still, while dusty, it was remarkably less so than the rest of the lab, as if it had been placed there years after the room had received its last thorough cleanup.
...
There wasn't much else to see in the basement floor, so after picking up the box and dusting it off the best I could, I went up to the living room again. I expected to find Lilly waiting there for me already, since I had spent my sweet time in the lab, but I was mistaken—she arrived shortly after I did, precariously going down those steep stairs that weren't and would never be appropriate for a child as she carried another box similar to the one I'd found.
"This is all I could find...", she said, carefully putting the box down in the floor. I did the same with mine.
"I don't know why Master left that message... It's wrong, he must've been wrong..."
Lilly suddenly spoke up. I feigned ignorance, somewhat surprised she'd bring it up like this.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Well... You were Master's assistant, right? You should know that I'm just a copy, made to replace his real daughter..."
...
Now this was a surprise. Poor little girl... She was at the verge of tears as she spoke.
"A-and if I'm just a copy, there's no soul to be unpacked... Maybe he said that because I acted too robotic, because I wasn't a good enough copy..."
"Stop that."
My sudden seriousness and firm tone made her flinch.
"Your father would never want you to talk like that. I was here when he was making you, and I can assure you, you're no fake or copy."
"Liar! You're lying to me, and you know it! I-I'm not dumb...!"
She ran to the box she'd brought from the upper floor and took out its contents—an old-fashioned diary, evidently the Professor's given his aesthetic sensibilities. On the verge of tears again, she shoved it into my hands, motioning for me to read it.
"My daughter remains as splendidly energetic as always... I'm having trouble keeping up with her lately, my old man body has definitely seen better days. Her mother would probably be a better parent than me... Oh, Sophia, what would I be today without you?
"
"I-I found that on Dad's room just a few days after seeing those papers in the basement... You can't lie to me anymore! I'm just a copy of his real daughter, of that Sophia, he made those drawings of how she looked and how I should look! He just... wanted to relive his memories with his real daughter!"
Now there were no doubts in my mind—such an innocent mistake to make, and yet, it must've hurt so much... Her tears had started fiercely flowing down, the young girl no longer being able to contain them. Still, I couldn't help but smile. Out of curiosity, I opened the box I'd brought from the basement and looked inside—
oh.
So, what he had meant by unpacking her soul... it felt like an oddly disappointing riddle once I figured out the answer. When he said 'unpack', he meant it literally.
"Hey, Lilly. You're wrong. You aren't a copy, your dad loved
you
more than anything else in the world."
Hearing this made her sobbing stop. She looked at me with those sad, reddened eyes whose pain I would possibly never fully understand.
"...?"
"Look here. Inside this box..."
She did as I said and looked inside, seemingly having forgotten that box was ever there to begin with.
She started taking out the pictures inside it one by one.
Very well-drawn sketches of Lilly throughout her life, since she was a baby up to the present day. Sometimes these included her father, sometimes only Lilly herself, but they all represented scenes from what I presumed had been their daily life.
I managed to glimpse a few of them—the young girl learning to draw as her father taught her, her playing with some hand-made plushies in her bed, and more.
Before I realized it, I was the one crying now.
...
Dozens of drawings later, the bottom of the box had been reached. Down there, previously covered by all the paper stacked on top, was a neatly folded envelope with only two words written on it.
"To Lilly."
She looked at me, wavering, but I gestured for her to open it.
Inside was one more piece of paper, with a note written on it.
"This is my last gift to you, Lilly. I'm sorry I couldn't do much more, but I hope you'll like it. I only have one thing left to ask of you as a father: please never lose sight of yourself. Love you forever, Dad."
These notes were starting to get old... though this last one didn't fail to make me cry once more.
And for one last gut punch—
In the reverse of the note was one last drawing.
Three people standing right next to each other, all of which I recognized in an instant.
On the left, a middle-aged man with short hair, glasses and an awkward smile—
Clive (Dad).
On the middle, a petite girl with long hair, a handmade plushie in her hand and a beaming smile—
Lilly
.
On the right, a tall young woman dressed with formal clothes and with a calming smile—the Professor had nailed how I'd look ten years later—
Sophia (Mom).
When Lilly saw this, she turned back and looked at my face. She didn't have any more tears left to cry, but as she ran towards me with her arms open, her sobbing didn't stop for a second.
I embraced her tightly, and we remained like that until the sun had set. |
It was a normal night in the Outer Ring of City A, a hardworking mechanic of notable character and integrity was passing by. He was old and well-advanced in years; and in his hulking, muscular arms were parts he purchased fresh from the Junkies.
As he was walking along the most popular street, and by far the most rugged and beaten, he could only squint his tired eyes from the bright neon signs and ignore the calling of frivolously-dressed harlots and escorts.
"Come here handsome~"
Despite all of the light-and-noise-inducing headaches he experienced, a soft wail coming from an alleyway captured his attention.
"waaaa~"
It was a soft and weak wail but strong in piercing through the giant's indomitable facade, successfully tugging on his heart.
He turned the corner and saw a filthy alleyway dumpster, holding discarded life. In the middle of the trash heap, was a baby, all alone and abandoned.
Clang!
The metal he held in his hands was heavy, as they clamored on the ground. The mechanic rushed towards the baby, his head filled with only concern for the child.
"You poor child." He said, holding the baby in his swaddling clothes. "Y-You're not alone anymore... I'm here for you."
The baby was just as heavy as a baby should be, healthy and full of life.
"He must've been discarded quite recently." The man concluded, putting the smelly infant to his chest.
Praying a short prayer inside his heart, to whatever deity could hear him, he wished damnation on the anonymous bastards that threw precious life away.
"Don't worry, little one. I am here for you." He shushed, swaying him in his arms a little. "I will take care of you. Don't you worry...?" he assured the baby, and himself.
The man easily picked up the large order of parts with his free arm, as the baby was on the other. By the time he had reached his destination, his workplace, and his home, he was greeted by his AI employees.
"Good evening to you, Sir Khan." The tallest, and the most human-like, greeted with courtesy.
"Good evening to you too, CH-AR," Khan replied, wiping the disgusting precipitate of water and pollution.
The droid tilted his head curiously. "Sir, do you not have a raincoat for weather like this?" He asked, looking at said coat covering something. "I doubt scrap metal would be much more important than your health." CH-AR shook his head, making his way to his master.
Khan sighed. "You're right, but this child's health is much more important than mine."
The droid faltered in his steps as he approached. "C-Child?" He pseudo-gasped, as good as an AI could anyway. "You have a child?"
Khan removed his coat to reveal the child, who was peacefully sleeping. This piqued CH-AR's interest. He was a decommissioned security droid, standing at head level with the shopkeeper, he stood six tall. He looked down curiously at the small infant life.
"Hmmm..." He hummed, thoughtful. "I believe I must recalibrate our total expenses, as we now have another."
Khan nodded. "That would be smart. Thank you."
"Just doing my job as the accountant, Sir."
"Thank you for your hard work anyway."
"You are welcome."
The conversation attracted the attention of the other two AI employees. A smaller robot approached, about half of the tallest, and came rolling on his large mono-wheel. His arms were long and flexible, with interchangeable hands made for delicate circuitry.
The other was taller and much bulkier than the three combined. His frame was made of thick metal and large cylinder Hydraulics designed for very heavy lifting.
"Whoa! It's so... what even is that?" The smaller one asked, making his way to the child. The biggest just observed in silence, as though he could speak, he chooses not to, unlike his smallest colleague.
"A child, you imbecile," CH-AR replied sternly, making the shorter robot gasp sarcastically.
Khan turned to the offending robot with a smile. "He's... my adopted son, TY-L3'"
The shorter robot paused for a brief moment, processing the information. "A-Ah I see, then he is the young master then?"
"That is right." The mechanic replied, to which TY-L3 just nodded.
"Ah! I almost forgot to report to you! An old friend of yours is stopping by midnight." he reported.
Khan nodded. "Thanks, what about you, L1?"
"Repairs," L1 replied, not elaborating any further.
Khan sighed, sending him away. "Alright, I'll tend to you in a short while."
The employees turned away and back to their tasks, leaving the master alone with the child. Khan looked at the infant in his arms with gentleness in his eyes.
"I promise, I will never abandon you... Davin." Khan whispered, only to be surprised at the sudden name he came up with on the spot. "Davin... Davin Cable... Yes, it's a good name."
"Welcome to the family, Clyde." |
Roy, the Deputy Chief of Neon York's Police Department, pursed his lips in anger. His hands were on the high-tech table, his frame hunched over, his eyes glued and glaring at the monitor playing footage.
"Night, Night," Clyde said, after tossing the other officer to the front passenger seat. Roy watches Clyde hold onto the steering wheel with a disapproving look. "This is one shitty car." he sneered.
Clyde's eyes wander around the dashboard and see the camera, with a smile he laughed. "Oh hello there! Hey Roy, if you are watchin' thanks for the pin-- picking the lock was easy."
Roy frowned, his brow furrowing. Clyde raised his right fist and punched the camera.
"[ End of Salvaged Recording ]"
He read, flashing the screen.
Roy sighed, looking at the man in the chair, Overwatch as he was nicknamed. Without much explanation, Roy pointed at the door. "You're Fired," he said, his voice firm and unwavering. Overwatch could only whimper and sulk as he walked toward the exit.
"Turn your badge in at the concierge, you useless fuck--"
"...yes sir."
Roy inhaled a sharp gust of air and stared at the bottom-right text on the screen. "This recording is five hours old-- damn, that kid moves fast."
Back to five hours ago, Clyde rips the camera out of the dashboard, throwing it out of a rolled-down window. "That's one goodbye done, I still have one more to make- a very important one. What time is it anyway?" He sighed.
"It's 12 pm already? how long was I in that cell?"
Clyde flinched at the sound of snoring, coming from behind him, specifically the officer that was sleepy earlier.
"I- Is this fucker actually sleeping?"
He shook his head, a small chuckle escaping his mouth. "Unbelievable."
Clyde proceeded through the route, carefully dodging cameras and traffic to avoid detection, especially with his bright orange suit. "Shit, I need to ditch this car and escape on foot-- thank god I know the area." Clyde sighed.
"I drove by this area during the drag-race event yesterday, man, it's deserted-- the perfect area to ditch a police car."
"Over here is perfect," Clyde said, taking a left turn into a nearby landfill and junkyard. The tires and terrible suspension mixed with rough terrain made the journey to a safe hiding spot unbearable to Him.
"God, I swear, I'll get my car back-- I can't take this shit bucket."
Pulling over the turning on the handbrake, Clyde turned to the three officers, "Even if they're the lowest ranking coppers, they're pretty decked out." he said.
"Don't mind if I take new ownership of your clothing, no hard feelings. The Iron they're packing is not shabby at all."
Clyde stepped out of the vehicle and, one by one, removed the officers and salvages items of clothing from all three of them, making sure he would blend well into society.
Wearing black cargo pants, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, armored padding hidden underneath his pants, and a thin vest atop his shirt-- Clyde straightens the quick-zip belt and opens the trunk using the keys he found in the leader's pockets.
"Let's see what kind of Iron they have aside from these," he said, carrying the officer's standard-issue rifles slung over his shoulder.
"These guns and armor are probably a cut above street-level iron, but they're not special either."
To his surprise, the trunk had a large synthetic leather trench jacket. "Whoa~ this matches my set perfectly," Clyde said, turning his head to the cops. "At least they had good fashion sense, which is the only redeeming quality they've had combined."
Besides the coat, was a large duffle bag filled with high-end medicine and ammunition with other necessities. "Don't mind if I do." he snickered with glee.
"Ammo, Inhalant boosters, edibles, injectors-- this is worth more than the guns I have on me."
Putting on the jacket and storing the rifles inside the duffle bag, Clyde exited the junkyard armed with supplies to last him a long time.
Back to the present, Roy is sitting in his office, rubbing and massaging his temples.
"Damn it, Clyde! I know you want to get revenge because the law can't avenge Sir Khan-- but if you keep going like this, you'll ruin your life!"
bam!
Roy flinched, caught off guard by the sudden loud noise, snapping him from his deep thoughts. He looked up to see an unimpressed subordinate of his, who is also his secretary and the NYPD's police commander. Her gold blonde hair shimmered because of the bright lights in his office, he bountiful figure emphasized by her snug clothing and her expression cold and terrifying enough to make a man such as himself shiver.
"Chief, what is this I hear about a low-ranked criminal escapee?!" Rose asked, her voice raised, making the officers outside the office tremble. "A low-ranked criminal?! Really!?" she asked, unsure of the information herself.
Roy just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's not just any low-ranked prisoner, Rose, he's Khan's son; He's out for revenge."
Rose sucked in a sharp breath. "T-That Khan? Him?" She muttered, bewildered. "Someone zeroed him?! That's--"
"Unbelievable? Yeah, and to make it worse-- whoever did him in is still out there, and the boy's on the warpath."
"What about the investigation? I heard that the-- Oh shit." Rose cursed. "The boy was trying to see his father but was blocked by the sentries, shot by them, and restrained."
Roy nodded, leaning onto the desk with his head down. "And we sent him on a transport with the same guys who took him down."
"A score and a blood debt, huh?
Rose closed the door behind her and pulled up the spare chare in the room. Clyde put on the jacket's hood and covered his face with a handkerchief.
"Shit."
He cursed. "It takes so long to get to the shop while dodging cameras–" Clyde muttered angrily, dodging the view of a mobile camera; but he remembered what his father would say.
"Slow and steady, careful and smart– Clyde! Are you listening!"
"Even in death, you're still watching my six..." Clyde muttered, watching the camera turn away. Taking his chance, he rushed underneath it and passed through the corner of the block.
"Sorry, I didn't listen enough to you back when you were still alive
.
Turning the corner, Clyde looked in the distance, to where the shop stood. it was closed off, the lights turned off and the surrounding blocks quiet and empty. The remaining distance was easy to cover, with the darkness covering him and the deathly peacefulness, but Clyde proceeded with caution.
He stopped before the large-warehouse building, trespassing through the police tape without touching it. "The cars are still here, some are totaled though, and the place is more or less untouched." Clyde sighed, removing the hood and handkerchief.
"I'm not sure but even though the feds have sweeped this place clean of any trace of evidence-- buy knowing gramps and his hidden caches of alcohol-- there's probably something around here somewhere."
Clyde rummages through the shop, careful not to make noise, and proceeds to scavenge through the large warehouse. Using a pry tool made with some rubber pried off insulating cable and fan blades, Clyde tore open the hinges of the crates, looking for any trace.
"Not here, Not here, Not here-- shit! there should be something!" Clyde angrily growled, ruffling his black hair. "Think, think-- where's the last place I haven't looked?" He impatiently tapped his foot.
"There's one!"
His furrowed brows unknit themselves and Clyde immediately rushed up the stairs and into the second floor, the living space. Bursting through the living room, Arthur noticed a spilled bottle of beer, beside an old sofa his dad refused to throw away or restore, making it stick out like a sore thumb in the decent living space.
Prying apart the cushions, Clyde smirked. "I knew it," he said, looking at a small crate. "This couch was shit but it wasn't totally useless. Opening the lock, Arthur was surprised, to say the least.
"W-Why is TY' stuffed in here?! also, why is it just his head? Where's the rest of it?!" Clyde said picking up the head of the house helper, absolutely perplexed. Turning on the manual restart the screen restarted and blinked on.
"Replaying the Final message-- Replaying the Final message--"
Clyde could only gape and watch n silence as the content of the video played, unaware of the events he caused in the NYPD department, and ultimately the Mayor of Neon York City.
"Sir! Sir!" A secretary huffed and heaved, trying to catch his breath after bursting through the Mayor's office.
"Yes? What is it?" the Mayor asked, his thick gruff voice sounding his curiosity.
The secretary pulled out his touch tablet, turning on a file. "T-The NYPD transport responsible for bringing the Informant's son had been hijacked!"
"What!?"
The mayor jumped from his seat, his hands slamming into the table, cracking the wood.
The secretary gulped, swallowing nonexistent saliva. He offered the tablet in fear for his life. "H-Here are the mission details... sir..."
The mayor received the tablet and his eyes ran down the report, his browns relaxing and his expression no longer scary. "The man left behind one hell of a young man-- picking the cuffs with a cuff pin, driving skills unrivaled even in the dark net-- Clyde, huh?" he muttered, combing his long beard. "Report to me directly everything that occurs with this man."
"Yes sir!" |
"The Divine Court of Immoral Acts is now in session for the retrial of Michael Howard, sentenced guilty of attempted murder in this same court two years ago!"
I stood firmly in place as the judge announced the start of this battle, one I had gone to hell and back just for the chance to fight in. Just to make it happen.
She continued.
"Defense representative Ethan Edwards. It's because of your continuous insistence to this Court that this retrial has come to be in the first place. I hope you are aware of the implications of that."
"Yes, Your Honor."
If I wasn't, I could never have gotten this far.
"What about the consequences? Do you know what will happen if you lose?"
"I will be immediately declared guilty of violating the Divine Moral by trying to help a criminal be wrongly declared innocent, Your Honor."
"That is correct. You can sit down, Mr. Edwards. I hope your... past history with the accused won't affect your performance in court."
Nice way to say I'm biased towards my friends. But of course, the court is never biased in for of anyone, being objective is its pride and joy.
"As for the accusing part... the evidence shall speak for itself and be interpreted objectively by me, the judge of this court."
Just like always, there's no need for a prosecutor. Even if there was one, in a retrial like this, the accused's destiny is sealed since before it even begins.
The case is as follows: two years ago, Michael Howard (male, 22) was accused, tried and found guilty of attempted murder against a woman named Aubrey Williams (24 at the time of the incident) – who, by the way, had refused to come to this retrial, as legally dubious as that might be. The evidence against him was judged to be irrefutably incriminating, with no room left to doubt the man's guilt.
On a Saturday night, Mr. Howard walked through the streets towards his apartment, obviously drunk, when he accidentally tripped over Miss Williams and fell to the floor. Angry and hurt, Mr. Howard had violently attacked Miss Williams with the victim's own knife, and almost killed her. She had managed to fight back just enough to rid herself of his grip and flee the scene as fast as her legs would carry her. That had been the court's official interpretation of facts.
The pieces of evidence presented were an alcohol test performed on Mr. Howard just a few minutes after the incident, medical reports on both the victim and the accused, a small knife with Miss William's fingerprints that was found in Mr. Howard's handbag and Miss William's testimony. Mr. Howard was not allowed to give testimony. For that particular instance, no defense had been present for the accused, as the case was deemed far too clear and obvious for there to be any need for argument.
"Defense, you claim that the conclusion reached in the original trial for this case is erroneous; however no new evidence or testimony has been presented to the court during these two years. What makes you think the result now will be any different from what it was two years ago?"
"This time there's a defense attorney in the stand, Your Honor."
"The judge's interpretation of the evidence is absolute."
"Even so, it's not set in stone."
"... That's correct. Continue."
"I would like to reconstruct the scene as interpreted by Your Honor two years ago, and immediately afterwards, propose my own version of events. Your Honor shall decide which one is correct."
"Permission granted. Show your truth to the court, Mr. Edwards."
***
The young man walked in silence, dizzy from an excess of alcohol in his veins. His path illuminated only by street lights and whatever leaked from the nightclubs that remained open at this hour, Michael Howard only wanted to get back to his apartment as soon as possible and go to sleep.
"Agh!"
But with his mind clouded as it was, he didn't see a woman walking towards him. Accidentally, he stepped on her, making them both trip and fall. A small pocket knife fell from the woman's purse into the floor as its owner grimaced in pain from landing butt-first on the cold pavement.
Howard mumbled angry slurs at the void, still not fully aware of what had happened. He got up and as he did, he saw the woman he had stepped on still on the floor. And besides her he saw the knife. In his angry, drunk state, his mind saw no other course of action. That woman had hurt him. She had made him fall. She deserved a bit of a punishment for that; a bit of toying with the knife would serve as a nice reminder to not get in his way.
Knife on hand, bloodshot eyes and rational thought disabled, Howard mercilessly-
Stab.
Stab, stab, stab.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
The piercing screams of a woman being deprived of her life resonated through the city slums, but nobody came to help her. Even though most of the strikes only came to craze her, the pain was felt all the same.
She fought with all her strength, primal instincts kicking in to turn the once dignified young woman into a ferocious beast, like a prey about to be devoured but who's still refusing to give up until the very last moment. And in the end, against all odds, she succeeded. Pushing the crazed Howard away with all her might, she sent him flying into the opposing wall, a loud thud echoing as his body slammed against the flat surface. The young man, now covered in deep cuts from his struggle against Williams, lay there unmoving.
A few minutes later, the police arrived, and the investigation officially began for Michael Howard's attempted murder case.
***
"Is anything from the previous depiction of events different to what Your Honor concluded was the truth two years ago?"
"No, nothing at all. You have quite a good memory, Mr. Edwards."
"Not really, Your Honor. This case is just special."
"Hm, I would imagine. Now, then please proceed with your new interpretation of events."
"Of course."
***
The young man sat in silence, dizzy and half asleep due to the effects of one too many rounds at the bar a few minutes earlier.
In a barely illuminated back alley, he just sat there, waiting for the alcohol poisoning to subside and let him walk back to his apartment. The next day wasn't a workday, though, so he could be thankful for that.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, he saw someone coming towards him. A woman – though it took him a while to realize. And as he did, he noticed she wasn't just going through the street he was in – rather she was going
directly to him.
His senses momentarily recovered enough perception for his fogged brain to realize, 'something's not right'.
And before he knew it-
Stab.
Stab, stab, stab.
Pain flooded Howard's body.
His senses collapsed.
The sheer pain of a knife cutting through his skin eliminated whatever rational thought was left in him. He tried to fight, but the pain was too strong, and he had little to no energy regardless.
But as slow and weak as his blows were, some managed to land. Chipping away at his attacker – desperately and painfully fighting against his own pain – Howard clamped at the empty air in front of him – until eventually managing to yank the knife out of Williams's hands, throwing it away and trying his best to strike the now defenseless woman back. Though with little success, since the pain kept him from managing anything more than grazing her with the tip of the blade.
...
After a while, Howard felt as if time had stopped moving. From the excessive bleeding, he lost consciousness, just in time to see the woman taking back the knife and putting it inside his handbag.
She didn't just stop there though.
As an unconscious Howard kept losing more and more blood, Williams stood unmoving, flinching from the pain she'd suffered from the couple of landing blows Howard had thrown at her.
The young woman eventually moved away when she convinced herself that her victim was not going to strike back anytime soon, and called the police from an old public phone that was still somehow functioning in this day and age.
A few minutes later, the police arrived, and the investigation officially began for Michael Howard's attempted murder case.
***
"What atrocity is this, Mr. Edwards?! Do you not realize what you have just proposed to this court? That the victim was the perpetrator and the accused was the victim?!"
"That's exactly what I proposed, yes. Does any of the events I've proposed contradict the physical evidence or Your Honor's interpretation of it?"
"... No. It does not."
"So then, what's the issue? I've presented a brand new scenario which proves the innocence of my client is possible, and in fact, it makes more sense now than it did before-"
"Abstain from making such statements. Implying that this Court's judgement is senseless will be punished accordingly. Nobody should be shameless enough to accuse such an upstanding citizen, someone who's donated millions to the ones in need and supported movements for human rights, of a crime as heinous as this!"
Ugh.
"... Yes, Your Honor. As I was saying, this second possibility I've presented is very much real, at least as much as the court's official version of events. So, I believe with this my client can no longer be called guilty without further proof..."
"That's not true, Mr. Edwards. There is one piece of evidence that completely contradicts your version of the events."
"Which is...?"
"Miss William's testimony. She stated that the events had happened in accordance with the court's official version. How can you explain that?"
"She could... just have been lying?"
"Impossible. Unless contradicting testimony is presented and validated, Miss William's testimony shall be treated as factual proof. This is especially true for someone who has always acted for the good of others in the past, no previous offences whatsoever. I'm sorry, defense, but your only way of possibly arguing against the validity of her testimony would be to have the accused himself, Mr. Howard, testify."
"..."
"Is something the matter?"
"Michael Howard is dead. He died from blood loss that Saturday night, mere minutes after the police arrived to the scene of the incident. How am I supposed to get a dead man to testify?!"
"You cannot, Mr. Edwards. This is why this retrial was pointless to begin with. Unless you can find some miraculous way to disprove fact, the truth shall remain unchanged forever."
"... Your Honor."
"Yes?"
"Is the court aware of what was stolen from the deceased Mr. Howard that night?"
There it was. The instant I said that – the judge's expression contorted into one of shock and anguish. This is why... This is the reason this pointless battle had to be fought.
"Apart from his life, one more thing was stolen from the accused that night. And it's right there in the evidence, within his medical report."
"Please enlighten the court with your findings."
For once, I was starting to enjoy her dry replies. She was no longer looking down at me – instead, she was afraid of what I'd say next.
"Michael Howard's pinky finger was missing. The reports said it had been severed off recently, so it can't have been just a coincidence. What does the court think about this?"
"It has no relation to the case. That is all."
"I must ask you to reconsider. There exists definite proof linking this finger to this case, and more specifically, to-"
"The court is ready to announce its verdict. I apologize, Mr. Edwards. Your time is over today."
Tsk. Should have known this would happen. They really didn't want me saying anything about that case, did they. But I can't blame them; after all, if I did say anything, heads would have certainly rolled – not necessarily as a metaphor.
But her reaction was confirmation enough.
That was all I needed, that was the reason I had come to this Divine Court where the devil reigns over every action. I would much rather have cleaned my friend's name but alas – there's some truths one cannot fight against. And there's nothing else I can do.
"The Divine Court of Immoral Acts finds the accused, Michael Howard, guilty of attempted murder! This court is now adjourned."
***
And so the curtain closes on this first case. A rather pointless endeavor, but one that was necessary for what's yet to come. Questions left unanswered, mysteries never to be resolved – that's nothing but routine in this place. Maybe we can do something about that. Or maybe not. |
Eric awoke in a hospital bed, feeling cold and heavy.
Wires and cables were spread across his body, monitoring his vitals, and there was a needle in his arm.
What...happened? We were attacked and...
He remembering seeing his arm glow and the man called Spike, but his memories of what happened after that were hazy.
"Eric!" Sat next to his bed, holding his hand, was Kaida, her eyes red and a weak smile on her face. "Thank goodness you're awake."
"Kaida."
Uneasily, Eric sat himself up and looked down at his body.
All of the cuts and bruises that he had from Spike's attack had all gone.
"The hospital's healer put you to the top of their priority list, so you'll be fine by tomorrow morning."
As Eric's memory of earlier that night came back to him, he felt the blood drain from his face when he remembered who that monster had punched first, and the bone chilling sound of his body breaking against the wall.
"Where's Connor?" Eric asked anxiously.
"He's alive, and he was taken into surgery to stabilize him, but the healer should be with him soon. You guys weren't the only ones attacked tonight, and there are people worse off than you two."
"Worse off..."
Then, the harsh reality of tonight hit Eric hard and fast.
Just hours ago, someone had tried to kill both him and Connor and, had Kaida or the Guardians not been nearby, they would be dead.
The more Eric focused on the events of the evening, the more questions that couldn't be contained surfaced to his mind.
"Kaida, what happened tonight? Who was that man?"
She released his hand and look away from him, her expression twisted in agony.
"His name is Spike, and he's the eighth most powerful necromancer in the world. He came to Imperial tonight to kill both of you."
Eric felt an icy chill race through his body.
It was terrifying enough to imagine that someone had tried to kill him tonight, but it was far scarier that the person who had attacked him had come to the city specifically to kill him and his best friend.
Had Spike been a mindless murderer or terrorist aiming for massive casualties, that would have made Eric feel a little better, telling himself that it had just been bad luck or random chance that it happened.
However, that hadn't been the case.
Spike had come to kill him and Connor, and Eric had no idea why.
"Why?" Eric whispered, his entire body shaking. "Why did he try to kill us?"
"Um, it's hard to explain. It'd be easier to tell you everything when Connor's here."
"Right. Wait, earlier, you said that there were people who got hurt worse than me, right? So, why was I put at the top of the priority list for the healer?"
"That's...something I'll explain when Connor's here."
"...Okay."
Silence fell upon the room.
Eric spent the next few moments of quiet building up his courage to ask Kaida a question which had been biting into him since he awoke.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?".
"...I was scared." Kaida's hands curled together into a ball. "I was scared that you'd be terrified of me and avoid me because of what I can do. Even though I'd resolved myself to tell you guys tonight, I was still scared to do it. In the past, I've hurt people I care about while using my powers, and I didn't want to hurt-"
Eric wrapped his arms around her body and brought her to his chest gently.
"Eric?"
"It's okay, Kaida." He held her firmly. "I can't even begin to imagine how it feels to be scared of what you can do, but I know that you're one of the kindest people I've ever met and that your powers protected us from Spike tonight. That's all that matters."
"But-!"
"Kaida, without you, Connor and I would be dead. Thank you for saving our lives."
Kaida burst into tears and she tightly embraced him back. Eric smiled slightly and gently stroked her hair, waiting for her to stop. Once she had, she pulled away and forced a small smile on her lips.
"Should I give you two a few minutes alone?"
With a jump, Eric and Kaida let go of one another and found Connor standing by the door, a big smirk on his face.
"Well, I imagine Eric wouldn't last that long."
"Connor! You're okay."
"And here I was thinking that I was bleeding out."
"If you can make jokes like that, then you must be fine."
Connor shut the door. "The healer was able to get to me fairly quickly, so I wasn't in surgery for long." He pulled a stool up to the bedside and sat across from Kaida. "I'd appreciate it though if you didn't flirt while I'm dying."
"We weren't flirting!" They both swiftly denied as their cheeks became flushed.
Connor smiled. "If you're strong enough to get that angry, then it seems I was worried for nothing."
The two boys smiled at one another and shared a quick fist bump, which caused any unease left in Eric's heart to fade away if only for a few moments.
"Just so I know, how long have you there?"
"I got here around about when Eric asked about you."
"So-?"
"Yeah. I heard."
The room fell silent again and the unease in Eric's heart returned.
"Um, it might be easier if you guys ask the questions rather than just me trying to explain everything."
"Okay, then let's start with the big one," Connor said, his expression turned deadly serious. "Why were we attacked tonight and how did you know that he had come to kill us specifically?"
"He told us that-" Eric started to say.
"Right, he told
us
. Kaida was in the toilet when he said that. You knew we were going to be attacked tonight, didn't you?"
"I didn't know anyone would attack you, especially not someone as strong as Spike," Kaida said meekly. "I was told that there was a very real possibility of you two being attacked tonight, so I volunteered to protect you both."
"Who told you that?"
"Headmistress Kasmine."
Both boys couldn't contain their shock at hearing something as absurd as that.
Kasmine Aysen was the Headmistress of Ferris Academy and the Supreme Commander of all the Guardians on the planet.
She was both famous, and infamous, for how she led the Guardians and was quite loved by the public, though many politicians hated her.
If people like her and Spike are taking an interest in us, that doesn't bode well,
Eric thought.
"I had hoped that I'd be able to scare away any potential threats just by being there, but then I got freaked out when you guys asked me what university I was going to."
"Why did that-?"
"You thought you'd be enough of a deterrent alone? Because of your powers?" Connor asked.
"Not just because of that. I come from a long and proud lineage of Drakhans and my family's name is well known in Britain as a result."
"Drakhans?"
"Ah, sorry, you'd probably best know them as Dragon Soul Users."
Dragon Soul Users were people born with two souls, one human and one of a dead dragon; they materialised and controlled that second soul to unleash powerful magical attacks. Their strength greatly varied depending on the type of dragon it was, as well as how much potential that the individual had as a mage.
"So that was your dragon's soul back there then?"
"Yes. It's an Inferno Dragon, but I haven't had much real combat experience."
"Are you strong?" Eric asked.
"Somewhat."
"Strong enough to beat Spike?" Connor cut in.
Kaida grimaced. "No. If he had fought a little bit harder right from the start, then he'd have killed us all."
"If that's the case, why didn't he kill us?"
"Because the authorities would have caught him had he stayed any longer. We were lucky that there were Guardians nearby."
Members of the Guardians attended all the events in Imperial, not just as security but also as guests, which made them extremely safe in theory.
"Luck, huh?" Eric mumbled.
"You still haven't explained why he tried to kill us. It has something to do with those scars on our arms, right?"
"Yes," Kaida said. "I'm sure you two don't know this, but, every year, there's an event called the '
Awakening'
where superhumans around the age of eighteen either awaken to their abilities for the first time, or receive a temporary boost to their powers. It depends on whether someone has already awakened to their powers or not. I've been training my entire life to use my powers, so I received a boost to my powers which was one of the reasons I could hold Spike back."
"It's a temporary boost?"
"When Spike showed you your scars, they glowed, didn't they?"
The boys nodded.
"During the Awakening, people our age with special abilities have their bodies glow as magical energy appears around them. The natural magical energy in the air flows into young people's bodies during the night and provides them with more energy from which to draw their magic. For example."
Kaida snapped her fingers and a flaming wing appeared from her shoulder blade, startling the two boys.
"I should be out of mana after fighting Spike," she continued, snapping her fingers again, making the wing evaporate. "However, because tonight was the Awakening, I barely used my own magical energy in the fight."
"Is it common for people to be killed in the Awakening?" Connor asked.
"It's very common. The more energy people release when they awaken to their powers, the higher the chance that they'll be hunted down and killed, sometimes even when there are those willing to protect them."
"So, we were a threat in Spike's mind?"
"Not just to him, but to his Master, too."
As Kaida and Connor continued to talk, Eric had been trying to process everything that Kaida had told them.
About her powers, about how he and one of his best friends were nearly killed, and that they were being targeted by some of the world's strongest people.
In the space of a single night, Eric's world had completely turned upside down and, upon realising that, his fear began to consume him.
"What the hell kind of powers do we have?" Eric whispered, his voice shaking.
"Kaida, you said that Head Mistress Kasmine told you that we'd awaken to these powers, right?" Connor asked. Kaida nodded. "How did she know?"
"The Guardians have access to one of the largest information networks on the planet and many of their information brokers are superhumans," Kaida explained. "The most powerful superhumans can detect people who will awaken to their powers because of the additional magical energy that gathers towards them, and that in turn gives them a good idea of how strong their powers will be. You two both have God Armours which are under the scars in your arms."
"God Armours?"
"I guess you guys haven't heard of them either."
"I've heard of people as powerful as Gods, but not God Armours," Eric said.
"So then, what exactly are God Armours?" Connor asked.
"When a God is killed in their world, their body transforms into a piece of armour which then appears in our world," Kaida continued. "The Armour itself is a manifestation of that God's entire being, their powers and their souls. No matter how weak an Armour is, it is still strong when compared to other people with superhuman abilities."
"...Just how much power do we have?"
Eric, petrified, looked down at the rough, jagged scar. "The power of a God? Kaida, do you have any idea which God Armours we have?"
"I have no idea, unfortunately. The only way to find out is to summon your Armour and, when you use it for the first time, you gain some basic understanding of which God it is and what powers you can use."
"Handy," Connor mused. "So, what happens now?"
Kaida leaped off the bed and placing her hands behind her back. "Now, you guys come with me to Ferris and train to become Guardians."
"Huh?" Connor grunted. "Do we have to? I mean, we'd already chosen what university we wanted to go to."
"Ah, don't worry. Ferris isn't just a training facility for Guardians. It still acts like a regular university with all sorts of courses available to choose from and, if they don't have your course, they'll arrange private lectures and seminars for you to attend on site. The only major difference is that there are combat training sessions every week and the island itself is essentially a small city."
"If we don't, we'll be attacked again, won't we?" Eric slowly asked, swallowing hard.
Kaida nodded weakly.
The two boys glanced at each other, both still struggling to take in everything that Kaida had told them and finding it difficult to accept the new harsh reality of their lives.
With a small sigh, Eric asked, "When do we start?"
Kaida's smile returned. "Next week. I'll explain all of the details later if you guys are unsure of anything."
Connor shrugged his shoulders. "Our dear childhood friend comes back home, drags us into this mess and now to a university for superhumans with her." He smiled. "Well, it'll be nice to all go to university together, right, Eric?"
"Yeah."
Kaida giggled a little. "I'll help make all of the arrangements, then." |
"Where... am I?"
She wakes up in a city of dead hopes, of wandering souls long forgotten by God.
She knows this place. Everyone knows this place. History won't ever let them forget.
But this isn't right, she shouldn't be here anymore.
She doesn't know how she knows, all that she does know is that
they
promised they'd get her out of this place forever. And just as she thinks that, at once angered and hopeless at her cruel fate—
Welcome to Third Eden. Initializing all processes...
All of the scenery around her suddenly morphs.
No longer surrounded by colorless remnants of fallen human homes, now all she can see are the vivid tones of nature. Grass, trees, birds—it's the first time she's seen most of these in her life, outside of books and the Network.
When she was born, the world was already dead, the wonders of life of which the old spoke all erased from existence and, slowly, from the collective memory.
The smell of dried blood is no longer filling her lungs.
The painful, death-filled silence that envelops the ruined city has been replaced by a peaceful and relaxing one.
She looks down at her own clothes. They are unrecognizable. A beautiful white dress with blue accents has replaced her old ragged attire, which used to just barely cover her body enough. By her side, and with an identical color scheme, is an umbrella. Why an umbrella? It isn't raining, and by looking at the sky, it's very clear it's going to stay sunny for a while.
... Actually, she can guess why it is she has an umbrella. It's very simple, really. Almost laughably so.
She has an umbrella—because she's always wanted one.
Ever since she can remember, she's wanted to wear these exact same clothes with that exact same umbrella.
And it's not just that.
She gets up and walks towards a nearby lake, its pristine water clearly reflecting her image on it. And just as she expected, all the wounds are gone. All the scratches, as if they'd never happened. She's also gained weight; she's no longer so extremely underweight that simply looking at her would hurt one's soul.
So this is the promised paradise...
She mutters to herself, in complete awe at seeing all of her dreams and hopes come true at once.
All... except for one.
But she can't be greedy.
She's already received so much.
Asking for anything else would be inconsiderate; no, straight up rude to the gods who have just blessed her with this perfect world.
"Don't think like that. You're a guest to this paradise, and as such, you have the right to ask for whatever it is you desire."
Startled, she looks behind herself to find a tall man with a sweet and welcoming expression. She's met him before, though only once.
"Mister... Oland?"
"I'm glad to meet you again, dear. It makes me so happy that you could get here successfully... You worked very hard, and you've had to suffer a lot, so that's why you can ask for anything and we'll give it to you."
"A-are you sure, mister?"
"Of course I am. I'm the creator of this place, I can grant your every wish."
The girl is overflowing with so much joy.
Even if he'd just said he couldn't do it, even if she'd had to live like this for the rest of her days in this paradise, it was still infinitely better than where she'd just come from. As Doctor Oland had just said—it had been a lot of work. A lot of effort. A lot of pain.
"I... I want my parents."
She knows this is an impossible demand.
She knows they died years ago, just a few years after she was born. And yet, they're who she wants most to be by her side—if at all possible, she'd like for all three of them to experience this paradise together.
"Hmm, I see... I'm sorry, but that could take me a while to arrange. Don't worry, you'll still have them here soon."
She smiles brightly, impatient for her parents' arrival. Doctor Oland goes away and promises to visit her again when he has any news.
"If you ever need me, just shout my name and I'll be right there, all right?"
"Yes, mister! Thank you so much!"
And so their promise is made. Then time passes.
Hours, days.
The girl is more than used to boredom, to endlessly waiting without a hope in sight, but—this time is different.
She now does have something to look forward to, something which she's anxious to see with her own eyes. Something that's keeping her up at night in expectation and that's making time feel so painfully slow.
After a few days, she can't take it.
"Mister Oland! Are you there...?"
Shouting into the void, she almost doesn't expect anything to happen—after all, she knows doctor Oland was probably very busy at the moment, and he probably can't even hear her. She should just keep patiently waiting like she was told to-
"Yes? Did you need anything from me?"
"Ah!"
"Oh, sorry I startled you. You did call for me, right? How can I help you?"
"I... When will my parents be here, doctor Oland? Do you know?"
"I'm afraid it's still going to take some time, dear. I know how much you want to see them, I really do, and I'm doing my very best, but some things just take a long time..."
"... I see..."
"I still haven't forgotten about our promise. Whenever I have any news, I'll tell you, okay?"
"..."
"Are you okay?"
"Doctor Oland...?"
"Yes?"
"Is there no way I can help you bring them here faster?"
"... I wonder."
"Is there anything, doctor? Anything at all? I promise I'll do anything, so please-!"
"Let's see. Yes, there is one method with which you could help me bring your parents faster, as well as other people who aren't them, if you wanted to."
"Really?!"
It's as if she's just been told that any miracle is possible in the this, the third garden of paradise. In fact, for all she knows, that's exactly what she's been told.
"Yes. All you'd have to do is come with me to my laboratory, and I'll tell you how you can help."
"Yay! Thank you, doctor!"
"No, thank you. Without you, all of this paradise wouldn't be possible."
The next day, just as the girl is waking up from sweet dreams of reuniting with her lost family, Oland appears right beside her.
"So, are you ready, dear?"
"Yes, doctor! I am ready for anything!"
"Glad to hear that. Then please, come with me."
They walk for what seems like hours on end, but she doesn't get tired. She's more than used to this kind of effort from her days at the Old City.
As they get farther and farther away from the area where she'd first come into this world, though, she starts to notice some things not even books and the Net had ever taught her existed.
Two-headed birds, flying whales, solid clouds with trees growing out of them and towards the Earth below her feet, lakes that smelled sweet from afar... The list goes on and on. Oland's expression begins to sour as they progressively walk through the fantastical sights of paradise.
"These aberrations you see... Your assistance will help fix these and turn them into a real paradise indistinguishable from the Old World."
The Old World... He probably means the one before the war, where dresses like hers and trees and animals still existed. She thinks this paradise is even better than that, though. There's something new to discover at every step of the way.
At long last, they finally reach a completely square and plain white building. It has no windows, only a single metallic door on the front—or at least she thinks it's metaling, Oland won't let her touch it—and the construction and color is so perfectly uniform that it seems completely unnatural.
"Enter, dear. This is where I live, and from where I control what happens in this Third Eden."
The inside is nearly as impossibly lacking in detail as the outside, save for one exception: a big, soft chain which almost feels like a bed once she sits in it at Oland's request.
"I'll explain to you what we're going to do. I need you to pay attention, okay? I you have any questions, just ask."
"Yes, doctor. I will."
She's completely focused now. There's no way she can afford missing an important detail that will make her commit a mistake and screw everything up.
"Okay, all you need to do is sit on this chair. You can't move, but if your body moves by itself that's fine. You may feel pain, and I apologize in advance, but it's necessary for the process. We can stop whenever you feel like you can't take it anymore though. Just shout my name and it'll stop."
"... Okay. Does something happen if we stop?"
"... Your wish may not be granted successfully."
Now she completely understands. It's crucial that she doesn't stop until the last second. Until she really can't take it anymore.
"Well then... let's go."
Click.
Third Eden Human Subject Evaluation Software: Initialize.
All systems are GO. Subject detected: Number 0279.
Encephalon building start.
"AAAAHHHH!"
She's no longer in the doctor's room, but in the middle of the Old City's ruins.
She hears herself shouting, but she isn't the one who's done it. Why is she even shouting...?
Then she sees it.
Her body—it's that of a grown man. The voice she's just heard wasn't hers, and yet it's familiar. Very familiar.
Her head moves to look straight at her left arm—she has no control over this body.
A bullet wound.
Her left arm is bleeding, a lot. Her body—no, the man's body—stumbles backwards, falling butt-first into the rubble at her feet.
There's somebody in front of her, somebody whose face she cannot see. Somebody who comes close, their face still just a black void, and with a gigantic chainsaw, they tear her right arm apart.
"You filthy scum! I can't believe I ever loved you! You Artum are nothing but a pile of garbage! Murderers, genocidal maniacs, you should all DIE!!!"
The other person stabs the chainsaw through the man's heart. Throughout this whole time, the girl has felt nothing, unable to move a body that reacted completely on its own, but then her sight fades to black.
Then it hits her.
Her left arm, as if a bullet has just pierced her.
Her right arm, as if it's been completely cut off into pieces.
Her torso, as if it's been slaughtered by a chainsaw.
She wants to scream but she can't move.
She wants the pain to end, but she can't do anything.
It goes on and on and on until-
Human Subject Evaluation: complete. Results: satisfactory. Now disengaging test environment.
"..."
"it's over now, dear. You did admirably. Thank you very much for your valiant efforts."
That voice... It's Oland's voice, she tells herself. She instantly knows that the nightmare is over. And yet, the lingering ghost of the pain she's just experienced still remains strongly in her body. She's never experienced anything like it in her whole life.
"it's okay, it's okay. The pain wasn't real. You're just fine, see? Those wounds weren't yours, they were someone else's."
"Y-yeah..."
It had very much felt real to her.
"And look, it worked! Why don't you go outside for a second? I'll leave the door open."
She does as she's told, reluctantly, but when she steps outside she finds a familiar man and woman waiting for her with warm smiles on their face. They're her parents.
...
They spend their life together in paradise for a long time, and the girl forgets about that horrible nightmare. It's as if her parents had never in her life left her side, and she can't have enough of it.
But eventually, the years pass.
Now she's older, and the company of her parents by itself has grown stale. There's nothing new to experience, nothing to shake up her life in Eden.
And so she wishes for a friend.
"Doctor Oland...?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Can I still ask for someone else to come here to paradise?"
"Of course, dear. As many times as you want. And like last time, you can wait, or you can sit down on the chair to make the process faster."
"I'll sit on the chair and make it faster!"
She doesn't remember the nightmare, so she once again sits in the chair. Once again, though to her it looks like the first time, the world around her vanishes-
Third Eden Human Subject Evaluation Software: Initialize. [...]
A monster's gigantic skull is right in front of her. Its bones have long been devoid of any meat on them, it's all been eaten away by the few survivors that hide in the area.
That monster had once been a massive biological weapon of warfare. But now, reduced to this state and hidden away in the middle of a decaying forest, it looked like nothing more than a pitiful reminder that everything will one day meet its end.
Much like will soon happen to the girl whose body she's inhabiting right now.
It's that of a young female, roughly her own age, but one that looked somehow even worse than she had before she was brought to heaven.
She had to move, she had to look for food somewhere or she'd die of starvation.
But she didn't have the energy.
The body wouldn't move.
It wouldn't go anywhere, it was finished.
There was nothing left to do but to wait for death to take her, but it would be slow.
Very slow.
Slow.
...
......
.........
After what seems like an eternity, the forest and the giant half-buried skull fade into black. And then the pain hits her—but unlike last time, it's not all at once.
It's slow, and progressive.
Just like that other girl, starving to death.
She has to keep resisting.
She can't give up now, or her wish won't become true. Her Heaven won't be perfect unless she pulls through.
And she does.
She resists the pain, creeping into her body for so long, never ending, never stopping, never releasing its iron grip. Until, at last, she finally opens her eyes to find herself at the doctor's room again.
"..."
Wordlessly, she goes out of the doctor's room, and there she finds a girl her age, waiting for her with open arms.
Once again, she forgets about the nightmare she's just experienced. Once again, she proceeds with her life like nothing's wrong—because nothing is. She has all she could ever desire, until...
When she becomes a beautiful young woman, she wishes for a lover.
As an adult, she wishes for children.
And as an elderly woman at the end of her life, she wishes for grandchildren.
Every time, the process repeats, and every time, the nightmares only get worse. But it's okay. She'll always forget they ever happened. It's all okay in the end.
As long as she gets to live her happy, perfect life in paradise, she doesn't mind just a little suffering to achieve it.
"Hey, doctor Oland. I think I... My life is probably coming to and end soon, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's probably true. A very long time has passed since you first came here."
"You haven't aged a day yourself, though..."
"..."
"Heh. Maybe someday I'll understand you. For now... goodbye, doctor."
"Goodbye, dear. It's been a pleasure."
"Think you could afford to say my name at least once before I die?"
"... Goodbye, Spica."
As Oland says her name, her eyes close one last time. They would never open again.
Her body slowly vanishes into thin air, with that of a young girl wearing a white dress with blue accents and with a matching umbrella by her side taking its place.
"Welcome, Spica. You're a guest to this paradise, and as such, you have the right to ask for whatever it is you desire. I promise you—I'll grant anything you may wish for."
Third Eden Project: initiating brand-new process tree. Human subject detected, Number 280.
Encephalon building start... |
The Headmistress's office was very old fashioned, especially when compared with the rest of the school.
The walls were decorated with filled bookshelves and display cases, some of which contained ancient tomes, weapons, and other artefacts that were all priceless and irreplaceable.
There were various religious holy books too, many of which seemed to be some of the earliest copies of them in history. The wallpaper was of a golden Fleur de Lis pattern which was quite faded and torn in places. Behind her desk was a table which had, among other things, a one-eyed raven in a silver bird cage and a strange skull that was half machine and half bone.
Resting on her desk was a solid black cat, purring happily next to various documents, pens and even a quill and ink set. Behind her throne-like chair was a golden shield with two long swords behind it, with a crest of an obsidian skull with fangs on the front of the shield. There were two other chairs in front of her desk, but they were far less impressive and newer than her throne.
Eric was nervous, but he was willing to wait patiently for the Headmistress to arrive.
Spike, however, was not.
He was pacing up and down the office, mumbling under his breath and occasionally letting out a heavy sigh.
"Seriously, asking for you immediately and then not turning up herself," Spike muttered.
Then, the doors burst open and in walked the Headmistress.
She was dressed in an elegant purple dress decorated with pearls and other precious gems, a silver tiara wrapped in her hair which was tied up in a bun with some locks running down the side of her head and face. Eric couldn't help but be stunned by her beauty, especially since she wore a charming smile on her lips which enchanted him.
"Sorry for making you wait," the Headmistress said, purposefully pushing past Spike and taking a seat on her throne. "Please, have a seat."
Spike let out a long sigh. "Kas, if you were gonna make us wait, then don't bother callin' the kid out."
"As far as I know, I didn't call for you, Spike."
Spike shrugged and sat in one of the chairs. "The kid had no idea where your damned office was."
The Headmistress let out a small laugh. "Well, I suppose so. Please, have a seat. There's no need to be so formal here."
"Ah, right!" Eric sat down quickly.
"While I'm sure you know me already, I'd like to properly introduce myself. I am Kasmine Aysen, the Head Mistress of Ferris Academy and the Supreme Commander of the Guardians. Also, please call me Kasmine rather than Mrs Aysen or Head Mistress." Kasmine then stood up and gave Eric a slight curtsy. "Once again, allow me to apologise for what Spike did and suddenly throwing you into this situation."
"It's fine, it's not your fault. And if it hadn't been Spike, it would've been someone else eventually, wouldn't it?"
Kasmine smiled and sat back down, satisfied. "Well, that's certainly true. In a way, you're lucky it was Spike."
"Why?"
"Because I happen to be an old friend of this bastard and his master."
Eric turned to face Spike who simply shrugged. "Seriously?"
"Surprising, isn't it?" Spike grunted. "Kas and I were in a team back when we attended Ferris."
"Anyway, enough reminiscing." Kasmine's smile faded. "I called you here because you're an extremely rare case, even for those who awaken to their powers right before coming to Ferris, and I think that you deserve to be briefed personally."
"Because of my Armour, right?"
"Not just that. You aren't just a rare case of someone getting a God Armour, but you're an even rarer situation as you might have one of the, if not the, most powerful Armours on the planet."
"Really?!"
"That's the main reason Spike came all the way to Imperial to kill you after all." Kasmine shot Spike a glare. "I also thought that you would need to be taught a lot about your powers as soon as possible. Eric, how much do you know about the Three Realms?"
"The Three Realms? Um, just that they exist and that the Demon and God Realms have some influence over ours," he answered.
"Hmm, I had hoped you'd know more than that, but I suppose not every school teaches that sort of stuff anymore," Kasmine said. She walked over to one of her bookcases and pulled out a thick tome called '
The Realms of Existence
' by Alistair Wilcox. "When a God dies in their Realm, they are reincarnated into a piece of armour which then appears in our world in a person's flesh, granting that person the powers of the deceased God. No one knows why this happens, but we know that it isn't an instant process after death and it can take seconds or even centuries for Armours to be forged. However, the Armours allow humans to wield the powers of Gods.
"There is, however, a key and very important difference between a living God and a dead God. When a God is alive, their powers are greatly increased based on the number of people who believe in and worship them and, when a God dies, all those who did believe in them slowly stop and the Gods fade into myth and legend."
"The Gods also speak to a few individuals in our world every so often, creating the initial influence in our world," Spike added. "It's why you had people thousands of years ago start founding religions and such. You understood that, right, kid?"
"I think I understand what you're saying," Eric said, still slightly confused. "So, that's why Greek, Egyptian, Norse and other ancient Gods are considered myth then?"
Kasmine smiled. "Correct. However, it isn't only Gods who can become Armours. A few Demons and mortals have."
"Really? How?"
"No one knows. It's simply a natural phenomenon and we can't even begin to theorize why it happens or what the requirements are for becoming Armour. We have a student this year who has the Armour of Genghis Khan and your friend Connor's Armour is the Waste Walker's."
Spike frowned and Eric froze up upon hearing the name of one of the greatest, and most powerful, Demon Kings in history.
"It's scary, isn't it? However, you don't have anything to fear." She smiled brightly at him. "We'll train you and Connor to properly use your powers, so don't worry."
"She might not look it, but she's a good teacher, kid."
"Oi." A dark aura flared around Kasmine, her smile turning into a scowl.
Remind me not to piss her off,
Eric thought. "Head Mis-"
"Kasmine."
"...Kasmine."
She smiled, her aura fading. "What?"
"How exactly do I get stronger and train to use my powers?"
"Hmm, that's a little harder to explain," Kasmine confessed. "Your teachers will explain everything about Mana and Magical Energy, as well as how to control and channel it, and Aria will handle your main combat basics. Like any other power or ability, God Armours become stronger the more they are used, so training daily with your Armour will help increase your power. Physical training as well could help, although it isn't necessary.
"However, there is a far more dangerous, painful and faster way in which you can increase your powers which involves losing those you care for."
"What? Wh-Why would that-?"
"Mana is channelled through a person's thoughts and feelings and, in a state of distress like that, more magical energy would be released," Kasmine began. "That's why my aura appeared after Spike's remark. It's why aura flare around people when they see those they hate, are suspicious off or feel threatened by. When someone is calm and in control of their emotions, then they can better direct the flow of their magic. If they get too emotional, they can run out completely early on in a fight."
"So, how does that force my powers to increase?"
"God Armours are living weapons which evolve as you grow stronger to become better suited for their host. For example, we have a student with the Artemis God Armour, but he has been able to evolve it into something like a mech suit, because he's a gunslinger and that's how he prefers to fight.
"The Armour understands how its user prefers to fight and evolves itself into an Armour suited to its user's style of fighting, and this process can be largely controlled with slow and careful training, hence why Artemis's Armour is now a mech suit. However, when God Armour users have seen the people they care for die before them, great amounts of magical energy are released which forces the Armour to evolve instantly which is why it's dangerous."
"Does the sudden release of energy put a lot of strain on the host's body then?"
"No, the energy itself isn't the problem; it's the forced evolution to a stronger form. Rather than it being a natural and slow process where you get used to the increased power and strain that the Armour puts on your body, the forced evolve can change the Armour to a level that you wouldn't be able to handle, and it could kill you."
"Huh?" Eric felt his throat close and his body begin to shake. "I...I could die..."
Eric had almost been killed a week ago by a man who was now in the same room as him, and now he had to deal with the fact that, if he couldn't properly control his own powers, he could kill himself using them.
I could die if I'm not very careful.
"Don't look so petrified," Kasmine said softly. "You won't be on any missions where you will be in danger for a long time, and you'll no doubt be strong enough by the time you're ever in that situation. You'll be fine."
Eric slowly calmed himself down, reciting Kasmine's words in his head like a mantra. "Thank you."
Kasmine glanced at the clock hanging on her wall and smiled. "I'm afraid that's all for today. While this situation is far from ideal for you, I hope that you will learn a lot about your powers during your time here and that you will enjoy attending Ferris. If you need any other information about God Armours, that book there has quite a lot of details, so please take it with you. However, if there's anything you don't understand, or if you need anything, or just want to talk, feel free to pop in."
"Thank you very much."
"You're very welcome. Spike, please show Eric to the hotel."
"Whatever you say, boss," Spike mumbled, practically dragging Eric out of the room.
***
The hotel on campus was one of the tallest buildings on the grounds and it functioned as an exclusive hotel for Guardian personal most of the year. For the first week of each new school year, it served as the temporary residences for new students.
"Tell the front desk ya name and they'll send you to the right place. I'm off to the staff houses, but I'll drop by at some point tomorrow. Night, kid."
"Um, night, Spike."
Spike left with a lazy wave.
By the time Eric got to his room he was sharing with Connor, it was late at night.
"Welcome."
"Hey." When Eric arrived, Connor was watching a film on the TV. "Did they bring our stuff here?"
"Yep. It was waiting next to our beds before I arrived. Pretty good room service, huh?"
The room was closer to a luxury suite than a regular hotel room.
It had two main sections, a living room and a bedroom with two single beds, and everything in the suite looked like it was from a five-star hotel.
I wonder how expensive it is to keep Ferris up and running.
Eric's stomach rumbled loudly, which made Connor laugh.
"Restaurant's still open if you want to grab something to eat."
"Cool. Hey, could you come down with me?"
"I could."
"...But you won't."
Connor turned to face Eric and, with a blank expression on his face, said, "No."
"Why not?"
"Because I haven't seen this film before and I ate earlier."
Eric couldn't help but sigh at his friend's lack of compassion. "Fine, I'll see you in a bit then."
"See you later."
***
Eric felt a little restless after his meal, so he decided to go for a walk around the grounds.
The pathways were lit up and there were few students out at this time of day, though the guard patrols were still prominent.
With no particular destination in mind, Eric decided to simply see where the path would take him, and he soon found himself facing over a vast lake, lit beautiful by the moonlight and streetlights. The surface of the water reflected the moon and stars on its surface and Eric could just make out the ripples of the fish in the lake.
"This would be a lovely place to read one day."
As Eric looked closer, he thought he saw something.
A deep blue mist slowly rising from the water, taking on the form of a young woman, standing on the lake's surface.
She turned to face him and smiled, before evaporating into mist.
Confused, he blinked and rubbed his eyes; when he looked again, she was gone.
"...There was someone there, right?"
He let out a long yawn and decided to head back to the hotel.
As he walked, he heard someone yelling beyond the trees near the lake.
Concerned, Eric slowly approached the tree line and found someone standing in the middle of a clearing, swinging a spear around.
While the area was well lit, all Eric could make out was that the person had ragged brown hair that went down to their shoulders. They grunted as they thrust and swung their spear, using precise and powerful motions.
After a few minutes, they stopped and let out a satisfied sigh.
They turned around and Eric found himself being stared at by an emerald-eyed boy.
"What are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Eric replied, entering the clearing.
"Hmm? Can't you tell? I'm practicing. I'm Ajax Amory."
"Eric Agrim."
The two shook hands and Ajax picked up a bottle of water which he took a big swig off. He was wearing light workout clothes and was covered in sweat. The only thing that stood out about him as peculiar to Eric was a steel-coloured bracelet engraved with a green stone on Ajax's left arm.
"How long have you been practicing?"
"About an hour, I reckon. I always make sure to train for at least an hour a day."
"An hour a day? Isn't that somewhat excessive?"
"Honestly, I still don't think it's enough." Ajax looked down at his bracelet and clenched his fist. "I've got to put in at least that much effort if I want to keep up with the best."
"How many years have you done this kind of training for?"
"Hmm, I've been doing this since I was about ten, so about eight years."
"Seriously?"
Ajax looked at him, confused. "It isn't that weird, is it?"
"I...I guess you're right."
Eric had no idea what to say back to that.
For him, everything about his situation was weird.
A week ago, Eric couldn't even begin to imagine living his life as a Guardian and now he had met someone who, from a very young age, had trained to be one.
In a strange way, Eric couldn't help but feel a bit envious of Ajax's situation.
"So, are you a normal human like me?"
"Normal?"
"You know, no magic, no enhanced abilities, no tattoos or extra souls, right?"
"Actually, I have a God Armour." Eric rolled up his sleeve and smiled awkwardly. "Although I didn't until a week ago."
"Seriously?" Eric nodded. "An Awakened then?"
"Yeah."
Ajax nodded. "Still, that's pretty amazing, don't you think? It must be nice in a way, to be born with those powers."
"I mean, I think you're more amazing than I am. You've been training your whole life to get here which I think is better in a way." Eric grimaced and grasped his scar. "You got to choose this life, after all."
Noticing what Eric was referring to, Ajax's smile faded and he whispered, "Sorry."
"Anyway," Eric said, breaking the silence. "If you don't have any magic, then are you a spearman or something?"
"Not quite." Ajax held up his bracelet. "This thing contains my mech suit which is where my spear comes from. Watch."
Ajax picked up his discarded spear in his right hand and the stone in his bracelet began to glow.
In the next instant, his spear vanished into thin air and Ajax was covered in a metallic armour which looked like a Greek Hoplite.
"That was awesome."
"Isn't it?" Ajax chuckled. "I designed, built and maintain this suit all by myself as well."
"That's...even more impressive."
"If I didn't do this much-"
"Is there really that much of a power difference between mechs and mages?"
Ajax transformed out of his suit and looked dumfounded. "You're really ignorant about these things, right?"
"I asked something stupid, didn't I?"
Ajax couldn't help but laugh a little. "It's actually a little bit cute. While it depends on the mage and the mech pilot, there's typically a massive gap in power between the two. If mech users don't do as much work as I do, then we won't stand a chance against superhumans."
"Seriously?"
Ajax gazed up longingly at the stars. "It's an unfair world, isn't it?"
Eric couldn't help but think that Ajax looked incredibly sad.
In just a week, Eric had become more powerful than Ajax could ever hope to be, a fact which must have frustrated him.
"Hey Ajax, would you like to be on a team with me?"
"Huh? You're asking me? Seriously?"
"A bit too soon to ask?"
"A little. I mean, we did just meet."
"You don't want to?"
"It's not that, not at all, but...wouldn't you want someone stronger on your team?"
"Honestly, I don't know much about the world that people like us live in, but I do know that you're someone who really wants to become a Guardian, even without being a superhuman, and I think that's amazing. And I think it'd be good to have someone that passionate as a teammate."
After a moment of silence, Ajax snorted. "Sure, why not? From the sounds of it, you need all the help you could get, so I'm looking forward to working with you, Eric."
"Likewise. Anyway, it's getting late, so I think I'll head back for now."
"Right. I'll meet you in the restaurant tomorrow morning, I guess."
"Sounds good. Good night, Ajax."
"Night, Eric."
***
When Eric went back up to his room, he found Connor already asleep.
Quietly, he took a quick shower and slipped into his bed.
But he couldn't sleep.
He was exhausted and it'd been a long day, but his mind was struggling to process everything he'd learnt today.
It's an unfair world, isn't it?
Those words echoed in Eric's head and made his heart ache.
"The world really isn't fair, is it?"
In a week, Eric's entire life had changed forever and he was ignorant about so much. Worse, in that time, he'd already surpassed someone who spent almost a decade hoping to reach a fraction of the power he now possessed.
Although it wasn't his fault, Eric couldn't help but feel terrible.
With an exhausted sigh, Eric tried to push those thoughts out his mind but nothing worked.
Annoyed, Eric decided that he would star gaze for a while until he felt tired again.
Though, when Eric got to the roof of the hotel, he was disappointed that he couldn't see any stars in the sky.
The edges of the rooftop were protected by eight-foot-tall bullet proof glass walls and the lights of Ferris and Imperial drowned out the stars.
Eric's gaze turned to the coast, across the bay to Ferris, and he could see the city still full of life and brightly lit, as if it never slept.
It was a beautiful, yet lonely, view.
"I wonder if I'll ever be able to go home."
It was a stupid, almost naïve, thought, but he couldn't help but think silly things like that.
"Oh, you're up late," a playful voice called.
Confused, Eric turned around and found that there was no one else on the rooftop.
He heard a soft giggle. "Up here, dummy."
Eric turned around and looked to the roof above the stairs he had come up and saw a girl sitting there, her legs dangling off the ledge above the doors.
He couldn't properly see her in the darkness, but he could make out her blood red eyes staring at him. When Eric involuntarily took a step back, the girl laughed.
"Oh, did I make that bad of a first impression?"
"No, it's just...your eyes..."
"Ah. Hmm, I guess they do look brighter at night."
The girl leapt down off the ledge and landed elegantly before Eric. Now that Eric could see her, he couldn't help but admit that the girl was beautiful. She had long black hair and was wearing an all-black outfit which Eric could only describe as a witch's outfit, but even her unnaturally bright eyes made her seem even more alluring when he could see her.
"Why? Are they scary?"
"A little," Eric said instantly.
Her expression became pained. "How cruel! How could you say such a horrible thing to a girl you've just met?" She cried in a mocking way, before giggling. "Just kidding. Although I do think they're pretty myself."
"I never said they weren't."
"You kind of implied that when you said they were scary." She smiled. "So, what brings you up here at this hour?"
"I just wanted to spend some time somewhere quiet to collect myself." He gazed longingly at the cityscape. "It's been a long week."
"You only just got your powers then?"
"Yeah."
Eric put his hand on the glass and found himself staring off towards where his house was. He had spent months away on holiday before, but Eric had never felt this far from his home.
"Hmm, you don't seem to be handling it well."
"Can you blame me?"
"Still, it could've been worse. Someone could have tried to kill you."
"They did."
"Oh." For the first time since they had started speaking, the girl's voice sounded sincere. "Sorry."
"It's fine. It's something that I need to come to terms with and pretending it didn't happen won't change anything."
The girl was silent for a while and Eric didn't turn back to face her. The girl laughed a little and whispered to herself, "You're strong."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing. Oh right, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"
"Eric. Eric Agrim. And you are?"
The girl smiled softly. "Kiara Morrigan. Nice to meet you, Lord Lucifer."
"Lord Lucifer? How did you-?"
"Everyone in your group tried to get a good look at your face back at the gym, so I also had a very close look at your face after you'd transformed back."
Eric's cheeks reddened a bit and he shifted his gaze away from her.
Feeling a familiar sensation of annoyance, Eric got goose bumps upon seeing Kiara smirk.
"Ah, are you embarrassed?" Kiara asked, moving closer to Eric and staring at his face. "Aren't you used to girl's looking at your face when they talk? Or in general? You're quite handsome, you know." Eric's cheeks became a deeper shade of red and he turned away from her. "Huh? Have you never had a girl tell you stuff like this?"
"Of course not!"
"Seriously? Have you never had a girlfriend before? Or do you just suck at talking to women in general?"
"I can talk to them perfectly fine!"
"Hmm." Her smirk grew. "Prove it."
Eric spun around to look at her directly in the eye, but she was less than two inches away from his face, which caused him to turn away from her.
"I thought so. Shame, you're pretty cute."
"Could you please stop doing that? I get embarrassed easily," Eric protested, making Kiara laugh.
"Sorry, but it's just too easy to tease you and your reactions are great. Almost like you were made for it."
It's another Connor!
"I'm leaving."
"Ah, wait, I'll stop, I'll stop." Kiara put on a puppy dog face and pulled on Eric's sleeve. "Please, stay a little longer."
Damn it!
Eric cursed internally.
"Fine," he said and she smiled. "So, what are you doing up here at this hour?"
"I like looking at the stars on nights like these. It's beautiful tonight."
Confused, Eric looked up and found the sky empty of stars. "What stars?"
"Ah, you can't see them then? Well, that makes sense, seeing as humans have poorer eyesight."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Upon realising that she had let it slip, Kiara covered her mouth and took a step away from Eric.
"Wait, what are you then?"
Kiara opened her mouth to say something, stopped and turned away, a distressed look on her face. She collected herself, let out a small sigh, and whispered, "I'm a vampire."
"A vampire?" Eric's eyes widened.
When Eric was younger, he had heard many stories about vampires; some portrayed them as tragic, others said they were bloodthirsty monsters. In history class, Eric had studied the Blood Moon War and the formation of the vampire nation of Lamia, so he understood what vampires were capable of.
Now, Eric found himself face to face with a girl, seemingly his own age, who was one of those legendary people.
"Um, you know what, I'll, um, just go," Kiara said, smiling awkwardly. "It was nice-"
"Why?"
"Huh? What do you mean '
Why
?'"
"What do you mean, '
What do I mean why?'
"
Stunned, Kiara stumbled backwards. "Huh? But I just said that I was a vampire, didn't I?"
"You did."
"Right...So, usually, most people call vampires monsters and run away from them, especially in this country, right?"
"Really? I haven't met many people who hate vampires."
Kiara's face was overcome by shock and she was unable to say anything for a while.
"Um, so, you're not scared of me?" She asked shyly, tapping her fingers together.
"Not really. I mean, you don't seem like a bad person, so does it matter that you're a vampire?"
"...I guess not then...Hehe, thanks, I guess."
Upon seeing how relieved Kiara was, a dreadful thought surfaced in his mind.
"Kiara, are you scared of me?"
"Hmm, mind if I answer honestly?" Kiara asked and he nodded. "I'm not scared of you, but I'm scared of your powers."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's because it's unknown, I suppose," Kiara said, a little unsure of herself. "No one knows what your God Armour can do and given his influence over our world, I imagine Lucifer's Armour is either the strongest in the world or is up there. It's the fact that I don't know what you can do that worries me.
"For me, I know what my eventual limits will be and what to expect as my powers grow, but you and no one else in the world knows. If I'm honest, I'm surprised you haven't been worrying about that."
"I...hadn't given it much thought until just now, to be honest. This is all still so new to me, but I guess I should, huh?"
"Hey, if you ever want someone to talk to about it, I'd be willing to listen."
"Thank you, I'll probably take you up on that offer one day. Also, this might seem kind of rude, but how old-?"
"Eighteen. I only-" Kiara cut herself off. "Don't worry, I'm not secretly three hundred years old or something."
"Ah, that's a relief," Eric laughed awkwardly. "Hey, are you on a team yet?"
"No, why?"
"Well, would you like to be on a team together we me?"
"Sure, but might I ask why? Ah." She grinned. "Is it because of my looks?"
"No, I mean, you're pretty, but that's not why. It's just...I think we'd be good friends and I'd like to get to know you better." Kiara smirked at him, distracting him. Eric loudly cleared his throat and said, "As a friend."
She laughed and climbed back onto the roof above the stairs. "Hmm, seems like the next five years will be a lot of fun if I join your team. Looking forward to working with you, Leader."
"Leader, huh?"
"What? Too soon to start calling you that?"
"A little."
The two laughed together and Eric went towards the door. "I'm going to go back and get some sleep. What about you?"
"Vampires don't have to sleep for more than a few hours a week, so I'll stay up here a bit longer. It's probably going to be a busy day for you tomorrow, so sleep and rest up."
"Will do. Goodnight, Kiara."
"Goodnight, Eric," she replied in a suspiciously sweet voice.
With a strong sense of dread instilled in him, Eric went back to his room but, as the doors to the stairs closed, he could've sworn he heard Kiara giggling to herself.
***
Beside her desk, Kasmine's raven kept cawing endlessly, flapping its wings furiously in its cage.
"Be quiet," Kasmine said and the bird went silent.
With a soft meow, her cat jumped up onto her lap and rested on her legs. Kasmine smiled, bearing her fangs, and petted it gently.
Aside from the night shift workers and guards, the school was practically asleep. Kasmine leant back in her chair, staring out of the open window at the night-time landscape of Ferris, a cool breeze drifting over her which she took a deep breath from.
Someone knocked loudly at her door, to which her raven cawed at and her cat hissed at.
"Spike, huh?" Kasmine hushed the bird. "It's open."
Spike slowly crept into the room, silently closing the door behind him. Upon seeing Spike, the cat arched its back high, but Kasmine tapped it on its head and it stopped, before jumping onto the ground and going to sleep.
Spike walked up to her desk and stared directly at her, visibly annoyed.
"Why didn't you tell the kid everything?"
"I thought it was obvious why. We can't just throw him deeper into the deep end after a week now, can we?"
"He needs to know just how much danger he's truly in."
"I know. However, now's not the time. If Eric's too busy worrying about every single weight that just been put on his shoulders, he'll collapse. None of us want that."
"Kas..."
Kasmine opened the bird cage and the raven hopped onto her desk, perfectly still and silent. She took a rolled-up piece of parchment from her desk and fed it to the bird, who then promptly flew out of the window.
After flying for a few moments, the bird vanished in a cloud of black smoke.
"We've taken lots of steps to ensure Eric's safety," Kasmine continued. "You being here for one, not to mention the army of guards, Guardians and other battle-hardened students on campus. I've asked a few of the teachers to personally tutor him as well, plus the Merchant's keeping a greater eye on the city than ever.
"Lich is also coming to Ferris."
"M-Master is coming to Imperial? But, doesn't that seem...excessive? All this for one kid?"
Kasmine snorted as she smiled. "Why don't you try asking Lich why Eric's so important."
"I mean, it's because of his Armour, right?"
"Partially."
"Partially?"
Kasmine sighed and spun back around in her chair. "If Lich hasn't told you, then I won't either. Just know that if something happens to Eric on your watch, you'll have more than just Lich to answer to."
"H-Hey, don't worry about that. I'll keep him and his friends safe. Kas, when exactly will the right time be to tell Eric everything?"
"Hmm, by the school year's end, I imagine. Depending on how the situation changes however, it could be around the beginning of the tournament instead. Don't tell him anything else without my permission."
"I won't."
Kasmine smiled as she spun back to him. "Good. Now, get some rest and do your best to help Eric form his team."
"Understood," he said, taking his leave.
Once Spike had gotten a good distance away from her office, Kasmine let out a heavy sigh and span back around to the open window.
"All for one kid, huh?" |
The Shinigami dragged his claws along the wall, electing an ear-piercing screech.
"Kalaraja, stop it."
Kalaraja looked at Kavachin, shrugged his shoulders, and then scrapped along the wall again, but with both sets of his claws this time.
This time, Sangili gave him a hard stare and Kalaraja stopped, moving his claws away from the wall. Bored, Kalaraja let out a heavy sigh and hit his skull against the wall, staring up vacantly at the night sky.
"God, Russia is so dull," Kalaraja mumbled. "When's Michael getting here?"
"Soon, so be quiet," Kavachin spat.
"Oh. And if I'm not?"
Kavachin didn't hesitate to throw his metallic fist at Kalaraja, but Kalaraja was fast enough to evade it. He flew into the air on pitch black wings and smiled, his hands crackling with black lightning.
Kalaraja was about to shoot at Kavachin when a white knight landed in the alley between them, right next to Sangili. Kavachin lowered his fist and Kalaraja dispelled his magic, lowering himself back onto the ground.
Michael glanced at both of them, confirming that they had stopped, before looking towards a skyscraper behind him.
"How's the security?"
"Weaker than we expected, but much heavier than a regular office building should at night," Kavachin answered.
"Hmm, that's unusual," Kalaraja hummed. "If they had the Stone, surely they would protect it better than that."
Another dead end then.
The ADAM corporation's, the Advancement and Development of Automated Men, headquarters was right before them, located in one of the tallest skyscrapers in Moscow.
While it was highly unlikely, Michael's agents had heard rumours that the Death Stone was being temporarily housed in the building's vault on the top floor before it would be transported to a more secure location.
After the unfruitful attack on the Cube weeks ago, Michael and Phantom had waited for any new intel to emerge on the Stone's location and this was all that they had heard.
He had considered it to be a trap set by the Guardians at first.
However, the lax security suggested otherwise.
Regardless, Michael had brought with him his strongest warriors, not wanting to take any chances.
Kavachin was wearing a mech suit that looked like a steam-punk iron golem which was ten feet tall and incredibly bulky, containing within an arsenal of weaponry. Kalaraja was a being one could only describe as a Shinigami, a God of Death: a thin, pale white demon with black wings, his face plastered with a seemingly constant and terrifying grin. Sangili was draped in his usual cloak and his eyes were focused solely on Michael.
After what Sangili did at the Cube, Michael knew he would, in the end, only have needed to bring one of them with him. But, if they were all here anyway, then he might as well use them all.
"How do we do this?" Kavachin inquired.
"Sangili, clear the ground floor. Kavachin, take the stairs and slaughter everyone you see."
Kavachin answered with an "Understood", whereas Sangili simply began to slowly walk out of the alley towards the building.
"Kalaraja, cause a big scene somewhere else."
"Gladly!"
***
Sangili moved to the front of the building.
Two long chains slowly fell from his cloak's sleeves, emitting a blood red aura. He threw them out to the side and cracked them like a whip towards the building. The chains extended for hundreds of metres and cut through the walls of the ground floor, slicing everything in their path in two.
The building dropped down a floor and threatened to collapse, but that was irrelevant to Sangili, even with hundreds of glass shards raining down on him.
"My turn," Kavachin said, marching past Sangili.
He smashed through the rubble of the ground floor and ran into the staircase, his arm transforming into a Gatling gun.
Dozens of heavily armed guards were defending the staircase and opened fired upon seeing Kavachin. Their bullets crumpled like paper against his armour. He laughed and opened fire with his gun, tearing them to shreds in seconds.
Kavachin ran up the stairs, constantly firing and constantly killing everyone that he saw, leaving a river of blood pouring down the stairs. He charged through the door to the top floor and, much to his surprise, didn't find anyone lying in wait for him.
The corridors on the top floor were littered with bodies, a red ocean seeping into the carpet.
"As expected of the boss," Kavachin said, stepping through the army of corpses.
***
Kalaraja practically skipped through the Kremlin's pathways.
Bodies littered the pavement around him and he cackled gleefully even as the sirens drew closer. He spotted a lone survivor amongst an ocean of corpses, desperately crawling away through a river of blood. Kalaraja walked up to the soldier and stepped on his back, digging his razor-sharp toenails into the man's flesh.
"Why bother struggling?"
Kalaraja ripped his nails out of the man's body, killing him instantly.
Seconds later, cars and armoured vehicles swarmed into the Kremlin, deploying more than a hundred police, heavily armed soldiers and ten Superhumans, all pointing their weapons at Kalaraja. Some began to take in the full effect of the destruction around them as the stench of blood and bodies created a suffocating air around them. Kalaraja titled his head back over his shoulder, snapping it around nearly 180 degrees, baring his teeth in a devilish grin.
"Fire!" A captain screamed in Russian.
Kalaraja cackled as bullets and magic hit his skin so softly that he didn't even feel the attacks. He threw his arms out to either side and all of the buildings in the Kremlin exploded in a terrifying display of black smoke and lightning. Piles of debris soared through the sky, smashing into buildings in the city, cars and the soldiers gathered in the Kremlin.
"What have you done?" Someone cried out.
"What I've done is kill everyone in the Kremlin!" Kalaraja proudly shouted with a bow. He glanced up at the soldiers and smiled sadistically. "You're next."
***
Michael sliced his sword through the vault door and found the inside to be exactly as he had expected.
Filled with money and priceless artefacts and paintings, and not a single trace of the Stone.
It didn't look like it had even been here to begin with.
Angered, Michael fired a blue beam from his palm at a stack of gold bars, destroying several of them.
"What a waste of time," he growled.
Phantom had been able to remain as a low-level threat in the world's eyes because they had been quiet for many years but, after two large scale terror attacks like this, it was likely that they would be considered more dangerous and attract unwanted attention.
Had either of the attacks proven fruitful and given Michael the Stone, then he wouldn't have cared but neither of them had done anything, except paint a gigantic target on his back.
"Lord Michael, it appears that a large Guardian force has arrived in the city," Kavachin said, walking into the room. "Should we-?"
"No, we're done here."
Kavachin nodded and left the room.
Where are you hiding it, Kasmine?
Michael thought, already knowing the answer.
Where else but under her own roof? |
The three-story house that Eric's team had been allocated was nearly twice the size of his own back in Imperial.
On the ground floor, there were two main rooms: the large open living room, with three leather sofas and a huge television, and a kitchen filled with the newest and best appliances. Off to one side, near the front door, was a small downstairs bathroom.
On the first floor, there were four bedrooms, all of which had twin single beds. There were two bathrooms in between the rooms as well, each fitted with a bath, toilet and shower. The entire top floor consisted of one large, impressive bedroom that would put a deluxe suite in a five-star hotel to shame which was for the team's leader.
"Either I'm easily wowed, or this place is just too ridiculous," Eric mumbled when he saw it for the first time.
He would never have imagined that there were hundreds of houses just like this one on the island if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
If Ferris was a city, then the student living area would be the suburbs.
After receiving a confirmation email in the morning that confirmed his team members, as well as their house number, Eric and Connor had met up with Kaida in the hotel lobby, then walked to the student village living area together.
"Seriously, how much money do they have?" Connor asked, checking out the kitchen.
"No idea, but a lot, clearly," Kaida replied. "Well, shall we start unpacking?"
The day before moving into the house, all of their team's personal belongings had been delivered to the house and put in the bedrooms upstairs. However, because they hadn't decided on who would be staying in what rooms, it meant that they would have a lot of moving around to do before they could even begin unpacking.
"Maybe we should wait for the others to get here first," Eric said.
"I agree. I mean, I haven't met any of them yet. What about you, Kaida?"
"Nope."
"Huh. Well, this should be interesting." The doorbell rang and Connor grunted. "Speak of the devil."
Eric answered the door and found Evony stood on the other side.
"Yo."
"Hey, Evony, I'd like you to meet some of your new teammates and two of my oldest friends," Eric began, gesturing to Connor and Kaida. "Connor Owen and Kaida Aidan."
"Nice to meet you guys," Evony said in a polite tone. "I'm Evony Alma."
"Likewise," Connor replied. He leaned down to Kaida and whispered, "She's pretty."
Kaida gave him a light jab with her elbow, knowing fully well what Connor was implying before flashing Evony a bright smile.
"Should we sit down and get to know one another a bit better?" Kaida suggested and the three of them sat down on the sofas.
Evony, Kaida and Connor then properly introduced themselves to one another while Eric waited in the kitchen, listening out for the door. The only person who had actually met every member of their team was him and so if someone that the others didn't know answered the door, they wouldn't know if they were in the right place.
I hope everyone can get along with one another.
Someone knocked at the door and he went to answer it.
However, when he opened the door, no one was there.
Puzzled, Eric took a few steps outside and scanned the area to see if anyone was nearby and could have rung it, but he couldn't spot anyone.
Did I imagine it?
"Here I was thinking it was Kiara playing a joke on me."
When he turned back around to go into the house, Kiara was hanging in front of him, upside down and grinning. Eric jumped out of his skin and fell over when he saw her, making Kiara laugh quite loudly.
"For what it's worth, you were right," she said, turning herself back the right way and planting her feet on the ground.
Kiara offered her hand and Eric took it; his cheeks red from embarrassment.
"Please don't do stuff like this every day."
"Even I wouldn't do it every day."
The two of them walked in and Kiara gave the others a small curtsey when they saw her.
"A pleasure to meet you all. My name's Kiara Morrigan."
"Just so I know, how many of them are beauties?" Kaida whispered to Connor.
"I'm willing to bet they all are," he replied, chuckling softly to himself.
"Kiara, why don't you go and sit with the others and introduce yourself?" Eric asked.
"Fine, but." She hovered slightly off the ground and brought her face close to his. "I'll be back to tease you later."
Eric stepped back and she giggled at his reaction, before flying herself over to the sofas and joining in their conversation.
"So, you really did tell everyone where Eric's room was then?" Connor asked and Kiara nodded proudly. "I approve."
"Please don't join forces," Eric said.
A few minutes later, the next person to arrive was Ajax.
"'sup, Eric," He said lazily. "Wow, they put us up in a nice place, didn't th-?"
Ajax cut himself off when he saw the three beautiful girls sitting on the sofa. Realising that he was severely underdressed and looked somewhat scruffy, Ajax quickly stood up properly and put on a gentle smile.
"Oh no," Eric muttered.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you guys," Ajax said, walking over to Kiara and resting his hand behind her head. "My name's Ajax Amory and if there's anything you lovely ladies don't know or need help with, I'm your man."
Connor could barely suppress his laughter.
Kiara stifled a laugh. "Eric, is he for real?"
"He wasn't like this when we met."
"What? What was wrong with what I said?" Ajax asked, confused. "That's what a cool guy would say, right? That sort of thing, right?"
"Put simply, he was hitting on us," Evony said and Ajax tensed up. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Not the best first impression, eh, Ajax?" Connor mused.
"But I was just being nice! It's not like I was calling them delicate or beautiful flowers, or anything cringy like that, so what was wrong with what I said?"
"The fact that you had only just met us and were acting like a player," Kaida replied with a sigh. "All of the other girls are beautiful and the only other guy is a perv."
"Let me start over then!" Ajax cried, before clearing his throat. "Hey, I know this sounds kind of weird coming from a stranger, but I think that you look cute. Does that work better?"
"Worse," Kiara stated.
"Seriously? Man, complimenting girls is difficult."
"It isn't. You're just shit at it," Connor chided and the others laughed.
Someone rang the doorbell and Eric moved to open it.
"Hey Eric, is it a boy or a girl?" Ajax asked.
"A girl," Eric replied. He looked at Ajax suspiciously. "Why?"
"Given how I've already screwed up my first impression with these guys, I want to show them what I'm truly like when I meet this girl. Can I get that one please?"
"I guess it couldn't hurt."
Ajax eagerly ran to the door and opened it. "Hi there, my name's-"
Before Ajax could even finish his sentence, Laila had fallen through her shadow, appeared from Ajax's, taken out his legs and pinned his arm behind his back. Ajax tried to throw her off but she drew her dagger and placed it against his cheek, causing Ajax to shriek a little.
"Hey, Laila."
Laila turned to face him and said, "Hello, Eric."
"Can I ask why you suddenly attacked Ajax?"
"Sorry." She sheathed her dagger and stood up off of him. "I sensed someone with ill intent on the other side of the door and my body just acted on its own."
Ajax whimpered on the floor. "I didn't even get to say my name before she branded me."
Ajax will be able to get along with the girls eventually, right?
Eric wondered.
Eric helped Ajax into the living room and planted him beside Connor as Laila joined the group.
Jasmine and Elthia were the last two to arrive and they came together, with Elthia shyly hiding herself behind Jasmine, even when they were meant to be introducing themselves.
"My name's Jasmine and this." She patted Elthia gently on the head as she poked her eyes around Jasmine's back. "Is Elthia. She's a bit shy, so I hope you guys can give her the time she needs to open up to you all."
After everyone had become acquainted with one another, they decide who would be pairing off with one another for the bedrooms. Connor and Ajax would be in one, Kiara and Kaida in another, Jasmine and Elthia, and finally Evony and Laila.
With the rooms decided, everyone unpacked their belongings in their rooms and, when they were done, they all met up back in the living room.
"So, how many of you guys have ever lived in or visited Imperial before?" Kaida asked.
"I only arrived a week before the induction day," Evony replied.
"Same," Ajax agreed.
"I'd been to Imperial a few times, but only for a day or two years ago," Jasmine said.
"...I've never visited Imperial before," Elthia whispered.
"Same," Kiara cried.
"Likewise," Laila said.
"Well, in that case, how about we spend the rest of the day in the city showing you guys around?" Kaida offered.
"The entire city?" Ajax asked.
"Of course not, you idiot," Jasmine chided, frowning.
"Wow, aren't you charming?"
"Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you."
The two of them glared at each other intensely.
"It'd be a good chance for us to get to know one another as well," Eric said. "So, what do you say?" The others all nodded in agreement. "Well then, let's get going."
***
"So, where are you guys from?" Connor asked.
"I'm from Athens," Ajax proudly declared, puffing up his chest. "Spent the best part of ten years there and we moved to England after a couple of bad terror attacks."
"You weren't affected by them personally, were you?" Evony asked.
"No, but they were only a few streets away, so my folks decided that it'd be best if we just left and went somewhere safer. So, off to Brighton we went."
"What about you, Laila?" Eric asked.
"Colchester."
"...O-okay."
"I'm from Canterbury, just in case anyone cared," Kiara chipped in, lightly hovering off the ground.
Kaida laughed. "It's a nice city, isn't it?"
"Have you been before?"
"A couple of times. My uncle and aunt live there so, whenever they can't come and see us, we go to see them." Then, she asked Jasmine and Elthia, "Where are you two from?"
Elthia quickly hid behind Jasmine who patted her on the head gently whilst smiling sadly. "We're both orphans from Cambridge."
"Oh, I'm sorry I-"
"It's fine, really. I never knew my parents and Elthia's were abusive, so, in the end, we only had one another."
"Ah, that's why she's like your child," Kiara added, swinging in front of Jasmine. "Still though, while I admit that an eighteen-year-old shouldn't be acting like an eight-year-old." She smiled and dove to hug Elthia. "She's extremely cute, so I'm willing to overlook that!"
"Stop that." Jasmine lightly hit Kiara on the head and she let go of Elthia.
"Connor, a quick word," Evony said. The two dropped to the back of the group and Evony whispered in his ear, "Did Eric intentionally choose all of these girls because of their looks?"
Connor smiled and let out a small chuckle. "No, trust me. Although." He smirked. "It's entertaining to tease him about that."
"I think I'm starting to get a clearer picture of your friendship now."
The two shared a small laugh before they arrived at the destination.
"This is the Windsor shopping centre," Kaida declared. "It has twenty-four floors of all kinds of shops, restaurants and cafes, and there's a large cinema on the top floor."
Ajax let out a long whistle as he stared up at the distant ceiling. "How many shops are there in this place?"
"Never stopped to count," Connor said.
"Seriously? You've lived here all of your life."
Connor shrugged.
"This is quite the sight," Evony admitted, nodding in approval. "Where shall we go first?"
"There's a gigantic clothing shop on the ninth floor that's very popular," Kaida said. "Shall we go there first?"
"Sure," Jasmine agreed.
Kiara began to lightly float her way up but Eric grabbed her heel, holding her in mid-air.
"Might I ask what you're doing?"
"Flying."
"Yes, I can see that."
"If you know that, why did you stop me?"
"Because, believe it or not, flying isn't exactly something that you should do in a shopping centre."
Kiara tilted her head, feigning ignorance. "Why?"
"Because it's not polite."
"Really?"
"Also, flying while wearing a skirt isn't a great idea."
Kiara smirked and planted her back on the ground. "I see, I see. In other words, you were going to look."
"I wasn't!" Eric cried, his cheeks slightly red.
"Heh. Yeah right."
"Alright, that's enough you two," Connor interrupted, grabbing their shoulders. "Come on, let's take the lift."
The group began to head towards the lift and Jasmine moved to follow them, but found that Elthia was frozen in place, tightly grasping on Jasmine's shirt sleeve.
Her eyes were shut firmly and her body was shaking slightly.
Jasmine offered her a hand. "Let's go."
Shyly, Elthia took her hand and they followed Kaida and the others to the lifts.
***
"You really can get anything in this city, can't you?" Jasmine thought aloud as she walked down the aisles.
The clothing shop that Kaida took them to was the largest in the entire centre with a great variety of clothing and brands.
Laila was inspecting the black shirts, while Kiara and Kaida were checking out the dresses together. Elthia stuck close to Jasmine as the she looked through the gym clothing that was at a discounted price. Connor and Evony were off to one side, talking to one another in the suit section.
Ajax and Eric, however, were just standing in the middle of the shop.
"Not interested in anything here?"
"It's not that. It's more that I don't need any new clothes right now."
"Fair enough." Eric looked down at Ajax's wrist. "Do you ever take that thing off?"
Ajax looked at his bracelet and shook his head. "Why would I? What happens if we got attacked in the city? Oh." Realising what he had just said, Ajax hurriedly cut himself off and said, "Sorry."
"It's okay. It's a sensible idea to always carry around your gear with you."
"Yours is probably the easiest to lug around with you, though, so that's something."
Eric had never really thought about that.
Now that he could summon his Armour with relative ease, if he and the others should be attacked, Eric would only need to transform and he'd be ready for a fight.
"Hey, Eric, got a sec?" Evony asked, approaching them somewhat shyly and with her hands behind her back, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Yeah. What's up?"
"Um, well." She then pulled out a pair of lingerie from behind her back and placed them against her body. "Do you think I'd look good wearing this?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?!" Ajax cried out.
"Um, well..." Eric tried to say but he fumbled over his words. "I-I'd...say so."
Evony smiled a little. "Did I do it right, Connor?" She asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Eh?"
Connor slowly pocked his head out from around an aisle, looked at Eric, smirked, and flashed Evony a thumbs up.
Evony smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
"Might I ask what you just did?" Eric asked, slightly confused and with red cheeks.
"Ah, well, when I was talking to Connor on the way here, he mentioned how much fun it was to tease you, so he suggested that I try it, too. He was right; it is fun."
Another one?!
"Damn." Kiara clicked her tongue.
"What's up?" Ajax asked.
"They beat me to the punch." She sighed and looked dejected.
"Please don't get dejected because of something stupid like that," Eric mumbled.
"I have both rivals and allies now," Connor boasted, giving Evony a high five. "Look forward to it, mate."
"Oh, I will," Eric said sarcastically.
"Two different girls were going to ask you about underwear choices just because of your reactions?" Ajax mumbled. "Then, I'll-!"
"I hope you're not thinking
'If I have reactions like that, maybe I'll see a girl in her underwear'
or anything, are you, Ajax?" Jasmine glared at him.
"So, what if I was? Every straight guy wants to see a beautiful girl in her underwear!"
"Pervert."
"Everyone's a pervert; I'm just honest about it."
"Oh, spoken like a true pervert."
"They're getting along great," Kiara whispered to Eric who could only weakly nod in response.
"Please try not to kill one another," he said, his voice drained of all energy.
***
"I still can't believe Connor managed to convince Evony to do that," Kaida muttered.
"Hey, the underwear was her idea."
"You didn't say no to it though."
"Of course not. It was ingenious."
"Well, thank you," Evony said.
After having a small lunch at one of the cafes in the Windsor, Kaida suggested they go and visit the park before autumn arrived and the park lost a lot of its beauty.
"A girl shouldn't do something like that in public," Jasmine added and Elthia lightly nodded.
"I don't think Eric or any guy there would have objected though," Ajax mused.
"I would have!" Eric shouted, making the group in front of him laugh.
"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Kiara excitedly asked, floating around Eric.
"Some parts weren't."
He let out a hefty sigh and she giggled. Kiara flew off to join the others, leaving Eric and Laila in a separate group.
"You say things like that but, even though it annoys you, you do find it fun."
"I'm not so sure it's fun for me but." Eric looked at Connor laughing and smiled. "As long as they can have fun like that around me, that's enough."
Laila nodded and the two of them walked to catch up to the others.
***
The evening sun was slowly beginning to set when the group decided to head back to Ferris.
While it had been a long day for Eric, he had to admit, it had been a fun day out.
Everyone seemed to be able to get along with one another, although Ajax and Jasmine had often been at each other's throats.
Well, they'll have plenty of time to patch things up,
he hoped.
Eric and Kaida were walking a fair distance behind the others in a soothing silence.
"I'd call this a success, wouldn't you?" Kaida asked and Eric nodded. "I think you picked some good people for our teammates."
"Well, Spike was the one who suggested them in the first place, but yeah, I'm glad that everyone's getting along with each other."
"You know, I was a little worried when I saw that every single girl that you'd picked turned out to be really cute. I thought you might have just picked them because of that."
Eric laughed a little. "I'd never do that, despite what Connor and Kiara will tell you."
"I guess so." Kaida giggled.
A few moments of silence passed by.
"I'm sorry."
"What for?" Eric asked, confused.
"I...I know it's not my fault, but..." She grabbed her arm. "I feel like it's my fault for you being in this situation now. If I'd never come back, then-"
"I'd be dead." Kaida looked up at him. "That's what would've happened." She went to say something, but Eric interrupted her. "Kaida, what happened that night wasn't your fault. Spike would've come to try and kill us anyway and we'd be dead long before the police, Guardians, or anyone else had gotten there, so you shouldn't be upset about it."
"But still-"
"Kaida." Eric looked into her eyes and smiled. "I don't hate you or blame you for what happened that day, so you shouldn't blame yourself about it. If anything, I'm actually okay with my life being like this now. Sure, it isn't the life I would've chosen for myself, but complaining about it and resenting you for it won't change a thing, so there's no point to it.
"In a way, I'm kind of looking forward to attending Ferris with you guys, even if I'm still a bit scared of the entire idea. But, if I'm with you, Connor and these guys, I feel like everything might be okay and, hell, I might even enjoy it."
Kaida smiled shyly and then stared off towards the rest of the team, at a loss for what to say next. It was hard for her to keep blaming herself for ruining Eric's life when he was saying things like that.
"Yeah, I think so, too," she whispered. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Eric."
"Hey, please don't say trying. It makes me feel like my words were meaningless."
Kaida laughed a little. "Sorry. But they did cheer me up a bit."
"I'm glad," Eric said, smiling. He then began to look nervous. "Um, Kaida. I'd been meaning to give this to you since you came back, but." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small black box. "After everything that happened, I forgot about it. I'd meant to give this to you sooner, but I couldn't find the right time to, so, here."
He handed it to her and, anxiously, Kaida opened the box and gasped in surprise at what she saw inside.
"Wow." She took the ring out and examined it. "It's beautiful."
"I'd wanted to give it to you at the end of the festival and make that a good way to end the night," Eric admitted shyly. "It was meant to be a welcome back present, but I hope you like it."
"I do! I love it!" Kaida slipped the ring on her ring finger and smiled at Eric, her cheeks bright red. "Thank you, Eric."
Eric blushed after seeing her beautiful smile and looked away. "You're welcome."
"Oi! You guys!" Connor shouted. The others were waiting for them. "Hurry up!"
The two of them looked at each other and smiled softly.
"Let's go then," Kaida said happily and she skipped off to join the others.
Eric was about to do the same when he noticed out of the corner of his eye one of the city's big screens playing a news report.
He grimaced at the title along the bottom of the screen.
Thousands Dead as Kremlin and ADAM Industries HQ Destroyed.
His fear slowly building inside of him, Eric looked at his left arm and grasped it tightly with his hand.
Will we have to fight people like that one day?
All Eric could do was hope that he never had to. |
Headmistress Kasmine had finalised Eric and Connor's paperwork long before they had ever agreed to attend Ferris.
"When I called her, she said all she needed was your parents' permission and that she'd handled the rest,"
Kaida told them.
Connor's parents had no issues with it and gave their permission right away.
Eric, however, had spent the day after the attack trying repeatedly to get in contact with either of his parents as they both worked hectic jobs and were rarely at home at the same time as him.
During a regular working week, Eric would be lucky to see them for a few minutes.
After leaving voicemails on both of their phones, Eric could do nothing else but wait for them to call him back.
Two days before the Ferris term started, his father finally got back to him where Eric explained everything that had happened and why he needed to go to Ferris.
'Give me some time to think it over,'
was all he said before he hung up.
The next morning, he called Eric back and said both him and his mother were okay with it as long as Eric was.
"Don't worry. It's something I want to do."
Even though Eric was scared about his future, he wanted to at least reassure his parents he'd be fine.
With everything settled, Kaida called the boys and told them to meet her at the Ferris train station at seven on the day term started to avoid the swarm of students.
The new students lived at the onsite hotel for their first week before the rest of their belongings arrived and they were sorted into their accommodations, so each student was to bring a suitcase with a week's worth of clothes and whatever equipment they needed to fight.
Eric was the last of the trio to arrive at the station and, as they had hoped, they were the only students there.
The station itself was impeccably clean and heavily defended, with turrets and mechs deployed inside, scanning and monitoring everything that happened, ready to fight at a moment's notice. There were a few mages from the teaching staff at Ferris as well.
Two gigantic mechs and several professional Guardians stood by each staircase up to the platform.
Eric couldn't help but feel intimidated by it all.
Eric, Connor and Kaida went to one of the ticket booths and presented their students IDs, acceptance letters and passports to the guards before they were allowed up onto the platform and into the waiting train.
There was no one but them on the train, except the android soldiers and turrets at the doors connecting each carriage.
"It's a little scary having all this security here," Eric said.
"Well, it's not surprising really that they're being this careful," Connor mused.
Given that thousands of people who were either trained in combat or gifted with superhuman abilities, or both, would be crossing over into Ferris, it wasn't unthinkable that someone with ill intentions would try to sneak onboard.
The three of them took seats close to the door and, just before the doors closed, an arm stabbed through the gap, forcing them back open.
When Eric saw who walked in afterwards, his face went pale.
"Yo," Spike said, a devilish grin on his face.
Connor and Eric were about to run away, but Kaida held them in place. Eric turned to question her, but she looked completely calm, even though her aura was beginning to flare around her body.
"What are you doing here?"
"Huh?" Spike looked genuinely confused. "Didn't she tell ya?"
Kaida let out a low sigh. "I
was
going to tell them before we got to Ferris. It's fine you guys." She shot daggers at Spike. "He's not going to attack you again."
"Doesn't explain why he's here and not behind bars," Connor hissed.
"Well, kid." Spike swung around the poll and planted himself in the seat opposite Kaida just as the train departed. "What can I say? And, hey, I did get punished for what I did."
"How? You're still a free man, aren't you?"
Spike snorted and lost his grin. "Free is not a word I would use to describe myself. My Master was angrier than I had ever seen him and I thought I was going to die." His body began to visibly tremble in fear. "So, as part of my punishment, I'm to serve as you guys' babysitter for your time here at Ferris."
"What?" Connor and Eric said in unison.
They turned to look at Kaida and she nodded.
"The Headmistress called me this morning to let me know," she said, defeated.
"Anyway, kids, let bygones be bygones and let's make these five years good ones."
The train carried them smoothly and silently across the bay out to Ferris.
The large man-made island the school sat on was almost two miles away from the mainland with only two authorised ways into and out of Ferris: the bridge or the train.
The train could only be used by students, members of staff or by members of the Guardians with their ID cards, which were heavily encrypted and nearly impossible to replicate. The bridge was only used to allow supplies and VIPs onto the island and there were six separate checkpoints along it.
"So, Kaida, how does Ferris work as a university?" Eric asked.
"Shouldn't you have asked about that sooner?" Spike mused.
"Well, we've had a busy week, you know, nearly dying and all," Connor spat back.
Spike shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't his problem, or his fault.
"Well, it's not all that different from any other university in the country," Kaida said. "You'll still study whatever degree you want, but there are also extra lessons added in to help you train your powers, and there's mandatory combat training too. Students live on site at Ferris in houses of nine who are their Guardian team for their time at Ferris."
"When I went here, it used to be only the people who did well in tournaments got to live in the houses," Spike added. "Kas scrapped that system as soon as she became the Head Mistress."
Kas?
"What about going to the shops or to hang out? Do we have to go into Imperial for all that or order our food online or something?" Connor asked.
"There's a leisure area on site with a massive shopping centre in it where you can buy pretty much anything. There's a shopping mall for general needs and food, but there are still things some things you might need to head into the city for."
"We're here, kids."
The Ferris train station was identical to the one they'd departed from, but it was even more heavily defended.
After verifying their identities and showing proof of their powers, the scars in Eric and Connor's cases and her dragon in Kaida's case, they were allowed to depart. Their luggage was confiscated to be inspected and it would be returned to them later that day.
Once they stepped out of the station, the three were in awe of what they saw.
Laid out before them was an impressive park area where, despite the number of students, they could see many small animals carelessly on the pathways, not running from the people who walked near them. Right in front of them after they exited the station, was a gigantic oak tree which was almost fifty metres tall.
Behind them were many large and imposing tall, futuristic looking buildings.
What stood out most to Eric though were two large domes on their right, both of which looked bigger than a football stadium.
"This is amazing."
"How big is Ferris?"
While the boys had always been able to see the island from the mainland, neither knew that it was a mini city.
"Welcome to Ferris, kids," Spike said, slapping Eric and Connor on the back.
"You know we have names,
necromancer
," Connor spat.
"I know, I know. Head over to the gym and I'll meet you there." Spike pointed at a gigantic white building across from them. "I've got to check in at the faculty office first."
After Spike left, the three of them made their way towards the building which seemed closer to a stadium than a gym; it was certainly big enough to be.
There were two floors, one of which looked down onto the other, and both were filled to the brim with people.
On the first floor were hundreds of new students, anxiously standing around and endlessly chatting amongst themselves. On the second, there were dozens of students from the current body looking down at them, excited to see what the freshers were like.
Gathered in the centre of the gym were a line of twenty-six teachers in tall green Mech suits. They were large, bulky and left the pilots completely exposed, but even Eric could tell that each Mech had been adjusted to suit each teacher's powers. One had glowing orange veins and another had several large guns attached to its back and shoulders.
"I thought we left early to avoid the rush."
"Trust me, we did," Kaida said. "There's going to be a few thousand more people coming later, so we avoided that."
"How many students are there in each year group?"
"Well, the school always makes sure that there are two hundred and fifty-six teams of nine in each year, although some people are strong enough to be on their own team or have other circumstances that mean they have to work in smaller teams. While it varies, there's usually about two-thousand three hundred people in each year."
"That many?!" Eric blurted out. "How can they house that many students?"
"Easily," Spike interjected, walking into the gym. "This is the only academy in the world that trains people to be Guardians and so it's excessively large. The student village is the size of a small town."
"How much money do they have?" Connor wondered. "Wait, wouldn't it be easier to just open more training academies across the world instead?"
"Believe it or not, that'd cost more in the long run. Also, Ferris acts as both a school and as the Guardians' HQ, so it needs to be huge and heavily defended. The best people to train new Guardians are qualified and active Guardians, and it means that the students, and HQ, have an extra line of defence should anyone try attacking this place.
"Think about it. If there were ten Guardian academies in the world, how would you decide who teaches at or protects each site? What if one of the schools is attacked and wiped out because there aren't enough people there to defend it? The founder of this place saw that as a devastating possibility and made sure Ferris would be the only Guardians' training facility needed."
Over the course of the next hour, more and more students trickled in and, once the very last one had arrived, the speakers hanging in the corners crackled, silencing the room in an instant.
"Welcome, new students of Ferris Academy," a soft female voice said.
Eric and the other students looked up and saw a woman standing on a podium, looking down at them, though he couldn't see what she looked like from where he was.
"I am the Headmistress of Ferris and the Supreme Commander of the Guardians, Kasmine Aysen," she said gently. "The years that you will spend here will be some of the best in your life, forging strong friendships, training to become the protectors of the world, and having the time of your life. We at Ferris hope to forge both your minds and bodies into the best people and Guardians that you can possibly be."
Kasmine exhaled and smiled, throwing away a cue card over her shoulder.
"Now, with that out of the way, I'll briefly go over what you freshers have in store before the term starts," Kasmine continued, sounding far more energetic than before. "For the first week, you will be introduced to the campus, how the school operates, its systems, customs, and, most importantly, forming your teams which you will spend the next five years of your life with.
"Anyone who doesn't join or form a team by the end of the week will be randomly placed into a team to fill out the numbers in that team. Oh, also, you can't change team members once you've been placed into them, so do be careful about who you pick to team up with and to play nice with one another."
The freshers began to murmur quietly to one another but Kasmine silenced them with a small cough.
"Once this assembly is over, you'll be shown to the hotel where you'll be staying for the week before being assigned houses. However, before that, each of you freshers will fight one of the teachers before you in a brief one on one match that will last no longer than a minute. These will not be graded, but it's a good chance to show off what you can do. So, try your best to impress your peers and the current students."
The crowd began to buzz, talking excitedly about the chance to show off what they could.
I might be the only person dreading this,
Eric thought.
He looked for Kaida and Connor but discovered that he had lost sight of them as students began to eagerly shuffle towards the teachers, hoping to get a good viewing spot of the matches.
"What am I going to do?"
Kaida could call her dragon whenever she wanted to, but Eric had never even summoned his Armour before, and no one had explained to him how exactly he did it.
Of course, Connor would probably have the same problem, but Eric could only worry about himself right now.
"Each teacher has been assigned a letter and if your last name begins with that letter, that is who you'll be fighting," Kasmine explained. "A is on your far left and Z on your far right. Don't worry about fighting as hard as you want because, I assure you, your teachers won't be harmed. However, large area of effect attacks and abilities are strictly forbidden and the usage of them will result in instant expulsion and arrest."
The Headmistress grinned and giggled maliciously. "Do try your best to put on a good show and don't worry about holding back too much." A man in a suit wearing glasses walked up behind her. "We have plenty of healers on standby."
Somehow, that didn't reassure Eric.
The large ocean of students began to move with everyone trying to push their way over to where they needed to be. Eric struggled but, soon enough, he was able to push his way over to the A's where he found Kaida.
Unfortunately, she was too far away from him for Eric to talk to her.
"I'm screwed."
"Don't panic so much," Spike told him, putting his hand on Eric's shoulder. "You'll be able to summon it."
"But I haven't been taught how-"
"Because it isn't something that you're taught. It's just something that you know."
"I don't!"
Spike sighed and leant down to whisper to him. "Magic and other superpowers all work on the same basis; image training. Imagine it, and it'll happen by instinct. Picture summoning your Armour in that moment and it'll come to you. Trust me, you'll be fine."
Spike patted Eric's shoulders hard and disappeared into the crowd.
Even though Spike had tried to kill him a week ago, Eric couldn't help but feel somewhat at ease from hearing Spike's words. Still, Eric was anxious, but he had no choice but to try.
What if I can't do it? Would I be laughed at? Expelled for being a failure? Hurt or killed?
Those words plagued his thoughts until it was his name was called.
"Agrim, Eric!"
Eric jumped but quickly gathered himself, pushing his way through the crowd to the teacher.
He stepped out of the crowd and found himself looking up at an eight-foot tall Mech with a Pyromancer sitting in it. Gigantic balls of fire were conjured in their hands and Eric could feel their heat from a dozen metres away.
"You're a new God Armour user, correct?"
"Ah, yes!"
The teacher nodded. "Very well. Let's begin."
The teacher immediately threw his arm back and chucked a fireball towards Eric.
He tried to jump out of the way, but his fear took over him, paralysing him.
I'm dead.
Call me
.
Time seemingly slowed as the voice whispered to him in the deepest part of his mind.
Call me,
it repeated.
Eric focused his mind as time returned to its regular speed for him and he concentrated on forming the image in his mind, of his body covered from head to toe in a demonic armour.
The image formed in his mind just as the fireball smashed into him, wrapping his body in flames.
A few students behind him began to panic and even the teacher looked worried but, a moment later, black energy was released from the heart of the flames, dispersing them.
As the flames died, it slowly revealed Eric, standing strong in the middle of them, draped in a suit of armour.
It was completely black and looked like it was made of rocks, with many jagged edges and sharp curves all over it. There were dark red orbs in the eye slots of his full-face helmet which had horns running along the side of his head, curving upwards at the back of his skull.
He had activated his God Armour and the room erupted into shocked whispers and cries.
"What's that?"
"A God Armour? But I haven't seen any like that before?"
"Is it a new God then?"
"But which one?"
"What Armour is that?" The teacher asked in shock.
A soft laugh came through the speakers and more eyes began to turn their eyes towards Eric.
The room began to go quiet as more and more attention was drawn to Eric and the soft laughter from Kasmine over the microphone.
Then, once almost all eyes were on Eric, Kasmine said, "That is the Lucifer God Armour, a brand-new Armour of unimaginable power."
The entire room burst into excited chatter, with more and more people trying to push through to see Eric in his Armour.
Not only was there someone with a powerful God Armour in their year, but it was also a new one whose full potential was unknown, and that made it all the more exciting, and terrifying, for those gathered.
Eric, still stunned that he managed to even summon his Armour, looked down at himself and had to admit that he looked pretty cool in it.
"Focus!"
The teacher threw his fist at Eric, but Eric easily blocked the blow by effortlessly raising his palm to block the punch.
The teacher's Mech suit collapsed against the Armour upon impact, crumbling into pieces.
The excitement in the crowd near him increased.
Eric pulled the fist towards him and punched the teacher's suit in the chest as lightly as he could.
It tore like paper and rendered the suit useless.
With the fight over, Eric imagined the Armour disappearing from his body, removing it from his body, and the crowd let out a large cheer.
I might have drawn a lot of unwanted attention.
"Eric Agrim, please come to my office right away," Kasmine said. "Anyone who gets in his way or slows him down even slightly will be punished."
Everyone backed as far away from him as they could and Kasmine couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, can someone please get another teacher to cover the A's please?"
Spike walked towards Eric and patted him on the back, beckoning Eric to start walking.
Why do I have a feeling that I've just ended up in a much worse situation than before? |
Eric opened his eyes and found himself alone in a cold, dark room.
"Where am I?" He asked, his voice echoing endlessly in the darkness.
He began to take a step forward and found himself knee deep in water. As he walked onwards, he felt out with his hands for something to grab hold off, hoping that he would hit a wall or something to help him get his bearings.
Eric's right hand brushed against something which he grabbed onto tightly.
After a quick feel, Eric realised that he was holding onto someone's hand.
"Who is this?" No one answered. Scared, Eric began to pull hard on the hand. "Hey, I'm talking to you. Please say something!"
After a powerful pull, Eric fell backwards, still holding onto the hand. As Eric realised what happened, the room began to become brighter and he saw that he was holding onto a freshly severed hand.
Eric screamed and threw the hand into the ocean of blood he was in. It was then that the toxic stench of iron and rotting flesh flooded his nostrils.
"What is this? What is this?!"
He swiftly looked around the room, desperately searching for an exit or someone else, and he found an open door with a blinding white light coming from it.
"Someone, help me!" Eric yelled, running through the door.
He tripped over and fell through the door, landing hard on his knees on the asphalt on the other side.
Lying in front of him was a corpse, a horrible stomach wound on their stomach which was leaking litres of blood.
"Jasmine..." Eric weakly said, reaching out to the body.
As he touched her cold flesh, her head snapped to look at him and smiled gleefully, causing Eric to stumble backwards.
"Bunny just wants to play," she said, giggling.
Then, another body fell on top of her with short, strawberry blonde hair, a big smile on their face, with multiple large wounds on her body, bleeding profusely.
"Bunny just wants to play," Stephanie said, laughing.
Eric screamed and ran away from her as fast as he could and into a nearby alleyway. Once he entered it, he found himself face to face with a giant of a man, carrying a large kitchen knife.
"Give...me..." It murmured, slowly walking towards Eric.
"No...stay away!" He yelled, stumbling backwards. "Stay back!"
Eric tried to transform into his Armour but it wouldn't answer his summons.
The figure drew closer and Eric's back slammed against a wall which had appeared behind him.
"Give...me..." The figure said. Eric cowered beneath it and it hissed, its face twisting in rage. "Give me it!"
The figure stabbed Eric in the chest and he screamed louder than a banshee, suddenly finding himself back in his bedroom, covered in sweat and his bed a mess.
His heart was beating dangerously quickly, his breathing was rapid and he felt like he was going to throw up.
Eric slowly looked around his room and tried to calm himself down with his breathing.
He took in a long, slow breath through his nose, held it for three seconds, and slowly exhaled through his lips, then did it several more times in a row.
"It was just a dream," he whispered, grabbing his heart. "Just a dream. He's in prison and Jasmine's alive." His breathing and heartrate slowly returned to normal, and he let out a small exhale. "He's in prison and Jasmine's alive," Eric repeated again and again like a mantra.
Eric checked the time on his phone and it had just turned six in the morning, around about the time he usually got up.
He quickly removed his clothes and jumped into his shower, turning the water to the lowest cold setting and he stood there, letting it just wash over him for minutes. After a lengthy shower, he stepped out and began to dry himself, but he found himself staring at a scar on his chest in his mirror.
Eric winced and lightly ran his fingertips over the inch-long scar on his heart.
"Damn it."
***
It had gone past ten in the morning and Kaida hadn't seen Eric.
She knew that Eric was always awake earliest in the morning in their house but, today, everyone else had woken up and come downstairs before him.
Kaida was scared.
After fighting Bunny and her puppets last night, Eric and the others hadn't said a thing and each of them immediately went to their rooms, including the healed Jasmine. Given the state they had come home in, Kaida imagined that it must have been a taxing battle but those who had gone with Eric were going on with their lives like nothing happened.
Laila, who had been beaten within an inch of her life, acted as she always did, but she used her teleportation abilities more while her legs fully recovered. Jasmine, who had nearly died, was quieter than usual but, aside from that, acted like she always did. Even Evony didn't seem too bothered by the previous night and was smiling and humming happily as always.
The only difference that Kaida could see was that they had been in real combat before; Eric had not.
Kaida looked on at the stairs sadly and grabbed her skirt tightly. "Has anyone seen Eric at all today?"
"No," Kiara said, casually floating in the air.
"I haven't, I'm afraid," Evony added with a sad smile.
Connor and Ajax both shook their heads and Kaida felt a dread in her chest.
"I'm going to go check up on him," she said, finishing up her washing up and rapidly walking to the stairs.
When she got to the bottom of them, Eric was slowly walking down the stairs.
"Eric!"
Eric jumped a little in surprise and smiled. "Morning, Kaida."
She stepped out of his way as he moved into the kitchen, grabbing an apple from their bowl of fruit. He washed it under the tap, dried it and took a large bite out of it, resting his free hand on the counter.
Kaida had, initially, felt relieved upon seeing him but then she realised that Eric was shaking.
"Eric," she whispered.
Connor and Evony poked their heads up to look at Eric and then each other.
"Oh, you're quite the late one today," Kiara mused, floating over to him.
"...I felt like sleeping in today."
"Everyone has those days," Connor said, heading over to the kitchen counter. "Nothing wrong with it."
"Eh, but Eric always scolds me whenever I sleep in." Kiara pouted. "It's only fair that I pay him back a little, right?"
"Not right now, at least," Evony cut in. "Give the poor kid a chance to wake up."
"Heh, I bet he just had a wet dream or something and was busy cleaning-"
The fruit bowl fell onto the floor, sending shards of glass everywhere.
Eric had, without realising it, slipped his hand over to it and pushed it onto the ground.
"Sorry."
He dropped his apple on the ground and began to pick up the shards of glass with his bare hands.
"Eric!" Kaida cried, knocking them from his hands. "Christ, you've cut yourself."
"Oh, sorry." Eric didn't look at his bleeding hands as he returned back up the stairs.
"Eric!" Evony called out, running after him.
"Kiara, why didn't you stop?" Connor demanded, fetching a broom to sweep up the glass.
"What? I just talked to him like I usually do. What did I do wrong?" She asked with a genuine innocence in her voice.
Kaida and Connor didn't say a thing and they finished cleaning up the glass, just as Evony came back down the stairs.
"How was he?" Connor asked.
"He's locked up in his room," she said sadly. "...I don't think he'll be coming out of there for a while."
"Kiara, why?" Kaida weakly asked, clutching her skirt hard as tears formed in her eyes. "Why couldn't you just...?"
"Kaida," Connor whispered.
Kiara landed onto the ground and looked at each of their faces. "I...I..."
"You know what he went through last night, and yet you still bothered him when he was clearly upset about it," Evony chided. "What were you thinking?"
"I...I thought that if I treated him any differently than usual, then that would upset him more," Kiara said dejectedly. "I didn't think he'd want to be treated differently."
"I get where you were coming from, but perhaps you should have waited a day or two. I imagine that as soon as Aria's potion wore off, all the feelings that it had been suppressing surfaced and started messing with his head."
Kiara's face twisted in agony and she felt tears begin to build in her eyes as she realised just how much she had hurt him.
The others realised that they had been too harsh with their words and awkwardly looked away from Kiara, unsure of what to say to her.
"Hey, there's no need to make that face," Jasmine called, climbing down the stairs. "It's not too late to apologise and, heck, I'm sure when Eric's feeling better, he'll understand what you were doing, right, guys?"
"Oh, yeah, of course," Connor hastily agreed. "In fact, I guarantee it that he will."
"Likewise," Kaida added.
"Everyone makes mistakes but," Evony smiled. "The important thing is that we apologise for them and work our best to rectify them."
"See, nothing to be worried about," Jasmine reassured her, wrapping an arm around Kiara's shoulders. "When Eric comes back down, just tell him you're sorry and that you're there for him."
Kiara wiped away her tears and smiled weakly. "I will."
***
Eric finished bandaging his cut palms in his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.
He had sweat dripping down his brow and he felt lightheaded, as the sight of his own blood forced his mind to recall the horrific scenery of the night before.
Eric felt something come up his throat but he swallowed it back down, before downing an entire glass of water to wash away the taste.
It hadn't been twenty-four hours since he had fought with Bunny and yet it felt longer than any other time in his life, even when he had last been stabbed and almost killed.
"Damn it."
Eric went through his usual calming breathing exercises but they didn't put him at ease like they usually did.
Maybe if I read something it will put it off my mind.
He grabbed a random and thick book from his bookcase, gathered his belongings, and left his room, locking it behind him. Eric quickly made his way down the stairs and to the front of the door, ignoring his friend's calls to him.
"Eric, wait!" Kiara called out but Eric had already shut the front door behind him.
It was suffocating for him to be in that house right now.
***
"Urgh, he hates me now," Kiara mumbled, crying into the sofa.
"It's not like that," Kaida whispered, longingly looking to the door. "I think, right now, he just needs a little time to himself."
"Are you sure?" Evony asked. "I mean, I think he needs to be with someone now more than ever."
"Not right now."
"What does that mean?"
"It means-"
"Kaida. Don't." Connor interrupted.
"But they should know," Kaida protested.
"It's not your place to tell them."
"Tell us what?" Jasmine asked.
"It's something that happened to-"
"Kaida!" Connor shouted. "This isn't something that they should hear-"
"It is!"
"Maybe from Eric, not from you. You can't just go around telling people about someone else's past trauma!"
"Past trauma?" Kiara asked, sitting up.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Jasmine inquired.
Kaida was about to speak again but Connor grabbed her arm in a tight grip. "Kaida, please."
"It's not just his trauma," Kaida reminded him, breaking free of him. "It affected all of us and we all have a right to talk about it. And." She looked at each of the others and closed her eyes. "They're his friends and should know. I won't tell them everything, just what they need to know. I promise."
Connor sighed heavily and threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine, do what you want. But I will tell Eric that you told them and that I was against it, so be ready to accept whatever happens after that."
"I'm more than prepared for that," Kaida sternly replied.
Connor smiled sadly and shook his head from side to side. "No, you're not."
He climbed up the stairs and left the four girls in silence, the others looking to Kaida and waiting for her to start.
"Kaida, if it's that big of a deal-" Evony tried to offer but Kaida shook her head.
"No, it's fine. I know Eric and he doesn't like keeping secrets between friends."
At the top of the stairs, Connor listened in to what Kaida was saying and looked longingly up towards Eric's room.
"No secrets between friends, huh?" He muttered, before returning to his own room.
"Guys, it's not just last night that caused Eric to freak out so much," Kaida began. "It's what Bunny was holding and used to stabbed you, Jasmine, that I imagine has him this freaked out."
"Her kitchen knives? Why would-?"
"I'll start from the beginning but, I ask you, please don't ask questions until I'm done speaking. Okay?" The others nodded and Kaida began again.
"It happened back when we were thirteen."
***
Eric hadn't hesitated to run away from everyone to his favourite reading spot by the lake, under the tree where he first met Laila.
He was very happy that everyone else was in lessons and that he and his team had the day off for their service the previous night, meaning that Eric practically had the lake to himself. He leant his back against the tree, opened his book and began to read, a small smile on his lips.
I'll just escape into here for a while.
However, no matter how engrossing the text was, no matter how much he focused on it, Eric's mind kept flooding him with visions of the night before, to Spike's attack and to the first time he had almost died years ago.
Eric's head began to throb and he grasped it, his breathing becoming irregular again. He dropped the book and went through his breathing exercises, over and over again but they didn't work.
Nothing did.
He closed his eyes and covered his ears and curled up into a ball, whispering to himself, "Please forget about it," over and over again.
He needed something to get them out of his mind.
"Eric." He lifted his head up and saw Laila standing before him, dressed in casual clothes, and holding two bottles of water. "Can I join you?"
She walked around to the other side of the tree, sat down against it and placed one of the bottles next to him. "They were out of soft drinks."
Eric said nothing and instead looked up into the leaves.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine." Laila could tell he was forcing himself to sound fine. "I mean, I was a bit freaked out when the potion Aria gave me wore off but, after a goodnight's sleep, I-"
"It's never a good thing to pretend you're okay when you aren't."
Eric wanted to deny what she said, but he couldn't say it, not when she said it like that.
"Sorry."
"Why are you apologising?"
"I..."
"Did you do anything wrong?"
"No, but-"
"I won't force you to talk about it," Laila said. "However, it's not good to keep everything in."
Eric nearly wrapped himself back into a ball again, but stopped himself; then, with a resigned sigh, he closed his eyes.
"Laila, have you ever nearly been killed before?"
"Yes, several times."
"So have I." Laila let out a small, audible gasp, making him grunt. "I know, it sounds impossible for someone who only entered this world less than two months ago, but I've come close to being killed now three times in my life.
"Last night when Bunny tried to kill me, during the Awakening when Spike tried to kill me, and when I was in year nine.
"I'd gone to the same school as Kaida and Connor and, because all of our houses were in the same direction, we always walked home together. One day, we were going down our usual route when a large and muscular man stepped in front of us in an alley, brandishing a kitchen knife.
"He was a mugger and was desperate enough that he'd rob school children.
"Being the idiotic teenager that I was, I stepped in front of Kaida and told him to leave us alone while Connor was discreetly calling the police from the phone in his pocket. I thought that, if I stalled him long enough, the police would get to us and save us.
"The mugger didn't like being spoken to in such a tone by a child.
"He screamed nonsense at me and stabbed me in the heart. Had he not screamed as he did it, chances are I would have bled out in that alley because a nearby police patrol heard his and Kaida's screams, and he was quickly arrested."
Eric touched the scar on his chest and smiled sadly. "I didn't figure it out at the time, but I think Kaida saved me that day. I remember my flesh feeling like it was burning from the stab, but the feeling increased greatly, probably because Kaida cauterised my wound for me. Although." His fingertips lifted off the rough skin and he lost his smile. "It left a scar which couldn't be healed, even with magic."
After Eric finished retelling that story, more memories that he had long since buried to the back of his mind began to resurface, threatening to send him into another panic attack.
"You don't have to say any more," Laila said, taking his hand gently in hers. "I'll always be here to listen to you whenever you need someone to. Take as much time as you need."
Eric blushed a little and smiled, holding her hand back. "Thank you, Laila."
Laila nodded and let out a small hum.
The two of them stayed like that for a long time, not turning around to look at the other.
Eric hadn't felt as calm and at peace in what felt like forever, and he didn't want to ever lose that feeling again.
***
By the time Eric went back home, it was already late at night.
When he went into his house, he found that no one else was downstairs, so Eric slowly made his way upstairs to his room, trying his best not to cause too much noise and wake up his teammates.
He turned to climb up the stairs to his room and found someone sitting outside his door, resting her head on her knees.
"Kiara?"
She groggily looked up at him and he saw that the skin around her eyes was red. Kiara rubbed her eyes and weakly smiled at him. "Do you mind if we talk for a bit?"
Eric unlocked his door and Kiara followed him in.
Kiara sat on the edge of Eric's bed, her hands on her thighs.
"I...I wanted to apologise about this morning," she whispered as Eric sat down beside her. "I should have realised that what happened last night would have bother you, but I thought you wouldn't like it if I treated you any differently, so I tried to act as I always do...even though I know that I shouldn't have.
"I'm so sorry, Eric." Her voice croaked and she sniffed quietly. "Please don't hate me. Please stay my friend."
"Kiara..."
He hadn't considered it whilst he was spending time with Laila but everyone else must have been worried about him and, as Kiara was the last one who spoke to him this morning, she must have assumed that she did something to upset him.
While Eric had spent the day getting better, he had left the others worried about him and it must have been tearing Kiara apart for hours.
Eric smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You don't have anything to apologise for." He brought her head to his shoulder. "If anything, I'm sorry for making you upset and for putting you through this. I'm sorry, Kiara."
"Why are you apologising?" She cried into his chest. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Actually, I did. I didn't listen to your apology earlier and that was entirely my fault."
"But if I hadn't teased you about your dream, or just left you alone for a while, then you might've-!"
"Kiara, don't tell the others this but, as strange as this sounds, I wanted to thank you for that. If you hadn't made me storm out, I wouldn't have been able to let everything out I'd been bottling up to Laila and I might've stayed in that miserable state for much longer, so, don't apologise, Kiara."
"Eric," she muttered. Kiara pushed herself away from his chest and wiped her eyes a little, before smiling slightly. "Honestly, you're such a weirdo, you know."
He laughed. "I guess."
"Still, I don't hate that about you. So." She fidgeted a little. "We're okay?"
Eric nodded. "Yeah, we're good." He opened his arms. "Come here."
Kiara embraced Eric's hug back and the two stayed like that for a few peaceful moments. They broke off and Eric winced a little, gripping his left hand.
"Did your cut reopen?" Kiara asked, taking his hand in hers. "Do you want me to rebandage it for you?"
"I can manage by myself-"
"No. I'll do it, so let's go to the bathroom and wash it."
Kiara dragged Eric into the bathroom and began to treat the cut. She unwrapped the old bandage, thoroughly washed the cut under the tap, dried his hand, and then reapplied the bandage to his hand.
"That should do for now." Kiara smiled. "Even though I'm sure you'll be fine, head over to the on-site hospital in the morning to check it out."
"Is that really necessary?"
"You picked up shards of glass with your bare hands and neither of us want to put Elthia through anything for a while, do we?" Eric's silence meant that he agreed with what she was saying. "Good. Now, ah."
A bit of blood began to seep through the bandage and Kiara found herself fixated on it.
"Well, at least it's covered now. Thanks again, Ki...Kiara?"
Eric looked into her eyes and noticed that they were beginning to become a much lighter shade of red, and Kiara appeared to be in a trance of some sorts.
Her mouth was slightly open and her fangs just poked out from her lips.
"Kiara?"
Kiara snapped out of her trance, looked at Eric and shook her head rapidly from side to side. "Sorry about that, I guess I just started daydreaming," she said, laughing awkwardly. "I won't keep you any longer for tonight, so, goodnight, Eric."
"Goodnight, Kiara."
Kiara swiftly left and shut the door behind her with a loud slam.
"What was that about?" He wondered, looking down at the small stain of blood on his bandage. He narrowed his eyes and then looked towards where Kiara had just left. "Her natural desires, I guess."
***
Kiara breathed slowly in and out, her back up against Eric's door and she grabbed at her throat.
It was dry and craved blood.
"I can't," she whispered to herself, shutting her eyes tightly. "Not now."
Kiara then went downstairs, put on her boots, and left the house.
She needed blood and there was only one place where Kiara was allowed to get it.
***
Alexis was curled up in Ace's arms and staring in silence at the floor.
While Ajax had been by her side until that very morning, Stephanie and her family's funerals were taking place in the city and Ajax had to attend for the both of them.
He had tried to postpone their funerals but, due to the amount of journalists harassing her family and not allowing them to mourn in peace, they had no choice but to rush it before their grief turned into hatred.
Ace had been holding the still, shattered Alexis in his arms for two hours and Serafin had brought them up food and drink, although only Ace had had any of it.
What can I do for Alexis right now?
He wondered, stroking her hair softly.
If I were to try and reassure her that everything was going to be fine or that Stephanie was in a better place, Alexis would feel far worse.
Is there anything that I can do for her?
He knew that talking about Bunny, her friends or Stephanie would make matters worse and, if he tried to just talk to her normally, then she might be angry with him and he could make her feel even worse.
However, Ace had to try and do something for her, even if it was just putting her mind on something else for a few minutes.
"Did I ever tell you that I grew up in Cambridge?" Ace asked softly, not checking to see if Alexis was listening. "If you haven't been there before, you should visit it one of these days. It's a really nice city and everyone's very friendly there, for the most part." He laughed quietly. "Except for the snobbiest people at the university.
"Some days I don't know why we ever left there for the big city. I know Cambridge is a city but, at the same time, it feels...tranquil there a lot of the time, like a small village in the countryside. The beautiful trees in the park, the clean and old-fashioned buildings, the sheer awe-inspiring sight of the university buildings.
"You know, I've never told anyone, not even my parents, about how I first came to discover my powers. One day, when I was back in primary school, I think I was about six or seven at the time, my friends and I decided it would be fun to sneak into the university. We waited until the big kids were all in their lectures and snuck in through a back window that had been left open.
"We pretended like we were super agents and were all sneaky-like, checking for patrolling teachers and students, ducking behind cover whenever we thought we'd be caught, and, without knowing where we were going, we ended up in the library. We were hiding in the rows, trying to sneak around the librarian but a couple of students were heading out way. So, guess what we did? We climbed the bookshelves to the top.
"At the time, I knew it was a dumb idea and even now I scold myself for doing it," Ace admitted with a small laugh. "We got all the way to the top and I slipped and lost my balance. Panicked, I grabbed a book, trying to hold onto the shelf but I ended up bringing several down with me. I smashed into the ground holding a book on the arcana which included a set of the cards and, right there and then, I summoned a chariot."
Ace chuckled. "The face on the students and the librarian was priceless. I had no control over it and it chased them out of the library, knocking over a few shelves on the way and, naturally, I ran like the wind. It became known as a freak accident done by a young mage whose identity was never discovered and I took the Tarot cards home with me.
"That's the most I've ever broken the law in my life. If Cambridge university ever found out, I'd be screwed." Ace went silent and lost his smile. "That was the last day I ever spent out of my house in Cambridge. The next day, my mum revealed that we were moving and I didn't even get to properly say goodbye to my friends."
"Why?" Alexis weakly asked.
It's working!
"My mum had met another person online who could become my step-dad. They'd been speaking for months and, my mum, the gullible person she is, fell for him and moved us into the city. That was probably one of the worst decisions of her life."
"Why?"
"The guy was a con-artist and tried to take all her money. We figured it out soon enough so, with my mum's blessing, I summoned a knight and we got him to confess and recorded the whole thing. We reported him to the police, got compensation and began living in Imperial but we couldn't afford it."
"Why?"
"My mum couldn't get a permanent job and ended working part time for the first year and we lived off what scraps we could buy and whatever I could get kids to give up when I beat them with my powers in duels. When I was eleven, I started learning how to better use my abilities, entered local tournaments and started winning prize money. It wasn't a lot but I did it because I wanted to."
"Why?"
"To show my strength." Ace closed his eyes and imagined the scenes of his victories in his mind. "To prove to the world that I was strong, that I didn't need a father, or mother, to support me. That I was going to become someone special and carve my name into this world and live for myself and by myself."
"Why?" Alexis asked, a hint of sadness in her tone.
"Because my mum didn't support me with her strength and losing my step-dad when I was so young didn't give me a father figure, so I tried to become the strong man of the family. For years, I thought that I had, but I owe you a lot for showing me that I still have a long way to go before that dream is fully realised."
The two of them went back to sitting in silence for a while, before Alexis let out a small yawn, her eyes struggling to stay open.
"Come on, let's get you into bed."
Alexis offered no resistance as Ace laid her on her bed under the covers. He tucked her in and she turned to face away from him.
"I'll come over tomorrow," Ace told her. "Get some rest and I'll see you in the morning."
She didn't say anything back and so Ace moved to the door.
Just before he left, he heard her whisper faintly, "Thank you."
Ace smiled. "You're very welcome."
After he'd left, Alexis quickly fell asleep.
***
Eric changed into his pyjamas.
He sat down on the edge of his bed, before throwing himself back onto it, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Eric grabbed his phone and checked the time. "It really has been only a day."
He sighed and threw his arms onto the bed. Eric closed his eyes and, for the first time in what felt like an age, he didn't see Bunny or the mugger when he shut his eyes.
Someone knocked at his door gently. "It's open." Then, Kaida slowly walked in in her pyjamas. "What's up?"
"I was just checking up on you," Kaida said with a smile, closing the door behind her. "I haven't heard from you since this morning, but I knew that you might have wanted some time by yourself, like back then."
Eric sat up on his bed and shook his head. "I never want to go through what we did last time." He patted the space next to him and Kaida swiftly sat in it. "I was planning on trying to cool off somewhere reading but, in the end, I opened up to Laila a bit and that helped me a lot." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Bunny and that bastard aren't showing up in my mind right now."
"I'm happy for you." Kaida lost her smile and twiddled her thumbs together. "Eric, there's something I need to tell you. Um, after you left...I told everyone that you had been stabbed before. I know I shouldn't have because it's your trauma, but I didn't tell them about what happened after that, it's just..."
"If that's all you told them, then it's okay." Eric looked up at the ceiling. "Honestly, just them knowing that I was mugged is okay but, the other bits-"
"I know. I would never tell them that without asking you for permission first." Kaida looked at him, an extremely worried expression on her face. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I don't know," he admitted, gazing down at the floor. "Right now, I can't see them but, when I fall asleep tonight, I'm terrified that they'll come back....I don't want to go back to that place."
"If...If you want, Eric, I...I could stay with you for tonight," Kaida offered, her cheeks slightly red and she averted her gaze from him. "I mean, you know how people feel at ease if they fall asleep holding the hand of someone they trust, I...I thought that might be worth a try.
"But just for tonight!"
Kaida shut her mouth and her blush intensified.
Eric couldn't help but blush in return.
"Um, are...you sure?" Eric asked nervously and she nodded a little. "In that case...just for tonight...could you please sleep with me?"
Kaida nodded and, with them both embarrassed, they climbed under his covers and faced each other, holding hands.
"Urgh, this is more embarrassing than I thought," Kaida admitted with a small laugh. "You won't try anything weird, will you?"
"I fidget a lot in my sleep, so whatever happens when I'm asleep I can't be held accountable for." Kaida pouted and frowned, causing Eric to laugh a little. "Do you really have to ask if I would?"
Kaida returned a small smile. "I know you're not that kind of guy."
Eric closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Kaida."
Kaida closed her eyes and her smile grew. "Goodnight, Eric."
Despite feeling incredibly embarrassed, the two of them soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep and, that night, Eric didn't have a nightmare.
***
Kiara drank the blood pack down as quickly as she could, so quickly in fact that some of it missed her mouth and splattered onto her hands, neck and shirt.
As the blood went down her throat, Kiara felt her thirst subside and she let out a satisfied sigh.
She curled up into a ball on top of their team's house and closed her eyes, basking in the full moon's light.
"I can't lose control. I can't." |
The Christmas season was in full swing at Ferris.
The pathways, school buildings and student houses were heavily decorated with lights and fake snow which made the place look more spectacular than ever. The grand highlight was that the giant oak tree just in front of the station was covered in lights and decorations, making it the 2nd tallest Christmas tree in the country.
Eric had been a little surprised that a university and a military institute like Ferris would even put so much time and effort into their Christmas decorations, but Kasmine had encouraged the students to, saying that everyone, especially Guardians, needed to enjoy themselves around this time of the year.
Still though, it's hard to believe that it was only a month ago that we were fighting Bunny and Alexis had been a complete wreck,
Eric thought.
Over the last month, thanks to the hard work of both Ajax and Ace, Alexis was finally back to her old self and seemed to have been able to accept Stephanie's death and continue on with her life.
Eric greatly admired her courage.
Under Kaida's guidance and enthusiasm for the season, the team's house was superbly decorated and, with everyone's help, it had only taken them a few hours to set everything up.
Now, Eric and the rest of his team were all in the living room of their house where Connor had asked them to gather to propose something for them all to do.
"You want to do a Secret Santa?" Evony asked and Connor nodded.
"It's our first Christmas as a team and I think it'd be something fun for us to all do," he said. "Are you against the idea?"
"No, but I think some of the other guys might already have plans for Christmas. Do any of you guys have plans for the holidays?"
All of them but Ajax shook their heads or said that they didn't.
"My sis and I always spend Christmas with our family and now more than ever we need to," Ajax said sadly. "But hey, that doesn't mean you guys can't do a Secret Santa without me."
"Sounds like an improvement," Jasmine murmured.
"Oi!"
"Well, why don't we do it tonight?" Connor suggested.
"Tonight? Will we have enough time?" Kaida asked.
"We will if we all head over to the leisure area this evening, do our shopping within a set timeframe and budget, and then we exchange everything here later. It's not a bad plan, is it?"
"It might be tough, but it could work," Eric said.
Laila nodded in agreement.
"Hmm, they do have everything there, so it could work," Kiara mused, floating above them. She spun around and smiled. "I'm all for it."
"Likewise!" Ajax cried.
"...I'd like to do it," Elthia whispered, looking pleadingly at Jasmine.
Jasmine let out a small sigh and smiled. "If everyone else is okay with it, then so am I."
"Great. Then, I'll go and make the lots," Connor declared and he left the room.
A few minutes later, he came back with a hat filled with nine pieces of folded paper. "Everyone takes one and if you draw yourself put it back in. However! You cannot reveal who you have until after we have exchanged presents, not even to each other."
"That could make shopping a bit more difficult, especially if you don't know what the person would like," Jasmine noted.
"That will just make things more interesting. So, as long as no one else objects, everyone, please pick your person, grab twenty quid and head over to the leisure centre and get shopping. Everyone will meet back up here at eleven and we'll do the exchange then. Okay?" Everyone nodded in agreement and he grinned. "Then, let's begin."
***
Ace was waiting anxiously by the main plaza of the leisure area, wearing the nicest clothes he owned under a thick winter coat.
After one of the longest month's in Ace's life, with his and her brother's help, Alexis had slowly recovered and began acting like her old self. Even when she seemed to be back to her old self, Ace still went over to her house every single day to make sure she was okay and he ended up asking her a week ago a question he was now slightly regretting.
"Hey, Alexis, do you have any plans around Christmas?" He asked, his cheeks a little flushed.
"Usually, I'll be at home for the day itself but, other than that, I'm free. Why?"
"Um, well, if you wouldn't mind- I mean, if you'd like to, would you like to go on a date with me around then?"
"Huh?"
Alexis's cheeks also turned red and Ace turned away from her, embarrassed. "Y-You know what, forget about-"
"I would," she whispered.
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah."
"Great, then, are you, um, free sometime next week?"
The current Ace looked back on his past self and cringed a little on the inside.
"Urgh, why'd I'd have to ask her like that?" He groaned, becoming more and more embarrassed the more he thought about it. "I was acting like I'd never talked to a girl before."
He was close to walking away out of pure embarrassment and a small part of him though that Alexis wouldn't show anyway.
"Good evening."
Ace turned to look at her and his jaw dropped.
Alexis looked stunning.
She was wearing a knitted pink sweater with black jeans under a black parker coat, and she was wearing a woolly beanie. While Ace was no expert in makeup, he could tell that she had used something on her cheeks and lips because they seemed more beautiful than ever.
When Ace realised that he was staring at her, he shook his head a little and looked to the side. "Good evening." His voice shook slightly.
"Hmm, why aren't you looking me in the eyes?" She asked, titling her head a little, making her look even cuter to Ace.
"Um, it's just, you look great and...I didn't know how to tell you."
"Hmm? What was that last part?"
"Does it matter? I think you look great and it's cold out here, so let's go inside."
As he began to walk away, Alexis cried, "Ah, wait a minute! You're deflecting!", running after him.
"No, I'm not!"
"Liar! What was that last part you said? Ace!"
She grabbed his arm tightly and Ace blushed a little. "Alexis?"
"Do you really think I look cute?" She asked with a puppy-dog expression on her face.
"Y-Yeah," he whispered.
She smiled brightly and gripped his arm more tightly. "In that case, it's fine."
"Um, Alexis, could you please let go of me? People are staring at us?"
"Ah, sorry." She quickly let go and instead grabbed his hand softly. "This is okay though, right?"
"Yeah." Ace smiled, his cheeks slightly flushed. "So, where do you want to go first?"
***
Eric let out a low hum as he checked out the shirts in the men's department of the clothing shop.
He had never had to buy clothes for another guy before and it was proving more difficult than he had imagined.
"Struggling?" Laila asked.
"A little, yeah," Eric admitted. He picked off from the rack an iron pressed smart white shirt. "Do you think this is a nice shirt?" Laila nodded. "Then, I'll get him this. What are you getting for yours, Laila?"
"I will know soon enough." She pulled a nice blue shirt off a rack near them and held it up against Eric.
"Um, what are you doing?"
She titled her head. "I'm seeing if this shirt would look good on you. You're my Secret Santa after all."
"If you tell the person then it's not really a Secret Santa."
Laila handed it to him. "Try it on."
"You want me to try it on now?"
"I want to make sure that it's a good fit before I buy it, otherwise it would be a waste of time and money."
"...I guess."
"Come on." She began pushing him over to the changing rooms. "Try it on."
Laila pushed Eric behind the curtain and passed him the shirt.
"I'm trying on a Secret Santa present before I've even been given it?" Eric mumbled, letting out a small laugh.
He changed into the shirt and checked himself out in the mirror, but Eric had no idea if it looked good on him or not.
"Done?"
"Yeah," Eric said and Laila threw open the curtain. "Laila?"
She looked him up and down in deep thought, then nodded. "It's a good look."
"R-really?"
"Take it off and I'll buy it."
Laila shut the curtain and Eric let out a small sigh.
So, I know my Secret Santa present before we even exchange them?
He took the shirt off and handed back to Laila who then promptly bought it. Once they had left the shop, Eric stopped walking and his eyes turned to the large Christmas tree that had been erected in the centre.
"What's wrong?"
Eric's eyes narrowed and his hands curled into fists. "Laila...that night, when we fought Bunny...I...killed Stephanie. S-?"
"No."
Eric closed his eyes and smiled sadly. "You already knew what I was going to ask, right?"
Laila nodded. "If you told either of them, they'd only be hurt. And." Laila took his hand and smiled at him. "You didn't do anything wrong. Trust me."
Eric smiled weakly back and said, "Thank you. Also." His cheeks turned slightly red. "People will misunderstand."
Laila shrugged and dragged Eric off into the shopping centre, keeping his hand firmly in hers.
***
"Thanks for waiting," Evony said with a smile, as she exited the department store carrying a large carrier bag.
"No worries," Connor replied, putting his phone away and offering up his hand. "Get what you wanted?"
"I was lucky that they hadn't sold out." She handed Connor her bag and asked, "Don't you need to pick up something for your Secret Santa?"
"Ah, I've already done that."
"Really? When? And, more importantly, where's what you bought?"
"Right here." Connor tapped his back pocket with a grin on his face.
"All that's in your back pocket is..." Evony let out a small sigh. "Really?"
"What?"
"It's not exactly a present."
"I think a hundred pounds is a good present."
"A hundred?"
"My family's a bit on the rich side."
"We set a price limit at twenty pounds." Connor shrugged. "Honestly, sometimes I'm amazed by you."
"Why, thank you."
She glared at him. "That wasn't a compliment."
Connor laughed. "If you think this is something, you haven't seen anything yet, Evony."
"I can't wait," she said in monotone.
"At least fake the enthusiasm."
"Sorry, but I don't do that."
Connor sighed. "You're no fun tonight."
"I'd be in a better mood if you put a little more effort into this. It was your idea, after all."
"Fine, fine. I'll do that when you start sounding more enthusiastic."
"That sounds great!" She cried with overly exaggerated gestures.
"I didn't mean right now," Connor said.
She smiled and put her hands behind her back. "You should've been more specific then."
Evony and Connor smiled at each other and continued walking around the shopping centre, a comfortable silence between them.
***
"Why couldn't I get one of the girls?" Ajax whispered, staring off towards the lingerie section of the clothes shop.
He let out a heavy sigh with his Secret Santa present in hand and checked his phone. He still had time before they were meant to meet back up at the house.
"What to do?"
Ajax left the shop and walked up to one of the shopping centre's maps, looking for places where he could window shop. Once he'd found a shop on the upper floor, he turned around and saw two people who he hadn't expected to see tonight together.
"Alexis?" He asked, as she and Ace walked in his direction holding hands.
"Ajax? W-what are you doing here?"
Ajax looked at the pair linking hands and glared at Ace. "I could ask him the same thing."
Ace quickly let go of Alexis's hand and nervously rubbed the back of his head, laughing a little. "Ajax, fancy seeing you here! What's up, my dear friend?"
"What are you doing with my sister?"
"Um, I-"
"Ajax, don't pick on him," Alexis said, smiling and retaking Ace's hand in hers.
"Ah man, I got scolded by my little sis." Ajax laughed. "Ace, did you really think I'd be an overprotective brother when it comes to her love life?"
Ace looked anxiously at Ajax. "Really? You're not going to be like that?"
"Hell no. I know you're a decent enough guy and you're no longer the annoy piece of shit you were when I first met you."
"Um, thank you?"
"You're very welcome. To think that the year's biggest, most annoying piece of shit would be dating my perfect, and beautiful, little sister."
"Ajax," Alexis said coldly, shooting daggers at him
"It-It was just a joke, Alexis! Right, Ace?"
"Yeah, what he said. It's okay," Ace reassured them. "I know how much of a pain I was back then, but I was happy to hear that you don't think I'm like that anymore."
"Dude, don't talk about it like it was ancient history. It was only a few months ago-" A cold look from his sister shut Ajax up. "Oh, would you look at the time?" He checked a non-existent watch on his jumper's sleeve. "I best be going. Have fun, you guys."
"Actually, could I have a quick word, Ajax?" Ace asked and Alexis looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "I just wanted to ask him about something in private and now's a good time. It will only take a minute."
"Okay." Alexis stepped away from the two of them.
"What's up?" Ajax asked, slightly worried.
"You don't have to make that face," Ace replied. "I was just wondering if I could ask you for a small favour?"
***
After purchasing their presents for Secret Santa, Jasmine and Elthia decided to kill time at the shopping centre walking around, hand in hand, window shopping.
"Hey, Elthia, is there anywhere you want to go?" Jasmine asked but Elthia shook her head in response. "Okay. If you do spot somewhere you want to go, just let me know."
"Okay."
The two of them continued walking down one of the floors when, excitedly, Elthia spotted an arcade and pulled on Jasmine's hand.
"Can we see what games they have?"
"Of course," Jasmine replied and Elthia smiled happily.
She dragged Jasmine into the arcade, let go of her hand, and immediately ran over to one of the claw machines, staring intently at a cushion in the shape of a cartoon cat's head.
Jasmine felt the blood drain from her face when she saw it.
It reminded her off that day, of a man holding a gun to her head, the sound of two bullets echoing through a dark room, and the body of a small girl and, in her hands, that exact same plushie, dyed crimson.
"Jasmine?" Elthia tugged on Jasmine's skirt. "What's wrong?"
Jasmine shook her head and smiled, and said, "Nothing. Do you want that one?" Elthia nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, I'll try to get it for you."
Jasmine put her bags beside the machine, inserted a coin and began the game.
Carefully, Jasmine lined up on the exact one that Elthia had been staring at, dropped the claw on it and picked it up in an instant.
"Come on," she whispered as the claw brought it over to the prize box.
It started to slip through the claws but, because of how Jasmine had picked it up, it fell out right into the box before the claws fully opened.
"Yes!"
Elthia quickly retrieved the cushion and hugged it tightly. "Thank you, Jasmine." She rubbed her face against the pillow.
"You're very welcome."
Jasmine couldn't help but smile at the sight of Elthia fawning over her prize.
Jasmine's expression became pained.
It's...not okay
.
She can't keep acting like a child for all of her life. But...
Jasmine bit down on her lip hard.
I don't know how to tell her that and...I don't know if I could bring myself to tell her that.
***
After finishing up their date at the shopping centre, Ace and Alexis started to head home, cutting through the lake's paths which, unlike most nights, had a lot of people around it, most of whom were couples.
"Look at that," Alexis said, stopping and gazing off to look at the water.
Even with the lighting around it, parts of the water still reflected the stars in the sky and the moon, making the lake look even more beautiful that it usually did.
"It's amazing."
Ace looked over at Alexis again, his heart raced and he felt blood flow to his cheeks. He cleared his throat quietly and turned to face her.
"Hey, Alexis, there's, um, something I want to give you," Ace stuttered, reaching into his coat pocket. He pulled out a long, cushioned box and offered it to her. "I know it's a bit early, but, Merry Christmas."
"Oh, wow," Alexis said, a blissful smile on her face. She took it and knew just by looking that it was some sort of jewellery piece. "Can I open it now?"
"Yeah."
Excitedly, Alexis popped open the box and found a silver locket in the shape of a heart inside. "It's beautiful."
Alexis popped it open and took in a sharp breath when she saw the photo on the inside.
"I...I asked Ajax earlier if he had any photos of the two of you, because I wanted to get you something to always remind you of the happy times you had with her," Ace said, looking away from her. "I was a bit scared to get you something like this because I didn't know if it was too soon or insensitive, or if it was none of my business to-"
"I love it," Alexis whispered, a sad, but gentle, smile on her lips.
She felt a strong warmth in her chest when she saw the picture of herself and Stephanie, both smiling happily at the camera as they took a picture together.
They had taken it at Stephanie's last birthday party.
"You don't have to worry so much about me anymore, Ace." Alexis closed the locket. "Even if I'll never be used to the idea of living without Stephanie, I know that I can't let it hold me back for the rest of my life." She put it on her neck. "Even now, it still hurts whenever I think that I won't ever see her again, but." She smiled and looked Ace in the eyes. "I know that she'd be angry with me if all I ever did was mope."
"I see." Ace smiled back and Alexis blushed a little.
She skipped over to Ace and threw her arms around him, catching the boy off guard. "Thank you, Ace."
Ace closed his eyes and embraced her back. "You're very welcome."
***
After a long evening of shopping, Eric and his team returned home, wrapped their presents, put whose present it was on tags attached to them, and hid them in carrier bags.
"I wonder who got who," Evony said.
"I can't wait for the person I got to see what I got them," Kiara purred with a soft giggle.
"Why did I just get chills?" Eric asked.
"Come on! Can we exchange presents yet?" Kaida burst out, unable to hold back her excitement any longer.
"Jeez, you have so much energy for stuff like this," Jasmine mused with a small smile. "I wish you could give me some of that, sometimes."
"Agreed," Laila mumbled.
"...I think it's wonderful, but...I'm a little jealous," Elthia whispered.
"Well, without any further ado, and, more importantly, before we all get headaches because of Kaida, let's begin," Connor said. "If everyone would close their eyes, I'll take everyone's presents out and leave the name tags face up so people can find theirs."
Everyone nodded in agreement and did as he said.
After a few moments, Connor had laid out all eight presents in the middle of everyone else, a large smirk on his face.
"Okay, open your eyes."
Excitedly, everyone opened their eyes and looked over the presents but, very quickly, their expressions turned from ecstatic to confused.
Six of the presents had Eric's name on them and two had Connor's.
"Huh?" Kaida asked.
"Um, what?" Ajax followed, dumbfounded.
"Eric, pinch me real quick," Jasmine said and he lightly grabbed the skin on her arm. "Thank you. I'm not dreaming then."
"Guys, am I seeing double, or sixple?" Kiara asked with a small smile.
Eric let out a heavy sigh and shot a frustrated look at Connor.
You son of a bitch.
Evony closed her eyes and frowned. "So, that's what you meant by I hadn't seen anything yet?" She inhaled sharply and glared at Connor. "Eric, even though I know the answer, I have to ask. You didn't rig the drawing, did you?"
"No, I didn't."
"Then, Connor, would you care to explain this?"
Everyone turned to look at him but Connor wasn't facing them. He was leaning nonchalantly into the sofa, looking off to the side and trying to hold back a smile.
He smirked, turned to face them all and said, "I just want to say that this." He gave them a thumbs-up. "It was totally worth it."
He leapt over the sofa and ran towards the front door in an instant.
"You bastard!" Jasmine yelled in close pursuit.
"You idiot! Why did you have to do something like this again?" Kaida cried, quick behind Jasmine.
"Again?" Kiara burst out.
Evony let out another sigh and closed her eyes. "Why are two of the boys on our team idiots?"
"Yeah, Eric," Ajax said. The other girls looked at him and, defeated, Ajax walked into the kitchen, his head held low.
"I should've seen this coming," Eric mumbled, rubbing his brow. "It's Connor, it's a chance to embarrass me, and he could easily trick us all."
"Is it bad that I think it's sort of ingenious?" Kiara added, floating upside down in front of Eric's face.
"Yes," he replied, gently pushing her to one side and she floated away.
"We'll have a good story to tell," Laila said.
"That may be, but that's not what you want to really go away with from a Secret Santa," Evony said.
"Well, how about we do this instead? We have another Secret Santa, a real one this time, and do it on New Year's Eve," Eric offered.
"Excluding Connor?" Kiara asked.
"Excluding Connor."
"Sounds great."
"Understood," Laila agreed with a nod.
Elthia nodded and smiled a little.
"Who will do the lots?" Ajax called from the kitchen.
"I will," Eric answered.
"Then, can I ask for a small favour? Can you make it so I get one of the girls please?"
The girls frowned and Ajax stepped back a few paces.
"Can we exclude Ajax as well?" Kiara suggested.
"Majority decides," Eric said.
"I don't think you'll have a problem there."
"Hey!" Ajax cried.
Evony let out a small sigh and leant back further into the sofa. "Connor put himself on everyone's shit list for a stupid joke, and Ajax openly asks for a girl with no doubt nothing but ill intentions."
"Hey! Don't lump me in with Connor this time. I didn't do anything wrong this time."
"Key words: this time," Laila chipped in.
Connor burst back into the house, locked the door behind him, ran into the living room, said, "Hi guys!" and then darted up to his room.
"Excuse me." Laila fell into her own shadow and appeared behind Connor.
Connor screamed and leapt over her into his room, bolting the door shut behind him. "Hey! Don't pull a dagger on someone like that!"
"Alright, where's the idiot gone?" Jasmine demanded as she and Kaida returned to the house.
"In his room," Evony called back. "He's probably not coming out for the rest of the night either."
"Seriously?" Ajax moaned, lowering his head. "Where the hell am I meant to sleep?" Jasmine shot daggers at him and Ajax laughed nervously. "I'm okay with the sofa."
"There's some spare bedding in the sofa's storage," Kaida told him.
As the rest of the evening played out, Eric watched on with a small smile on his face.
Even though they had their ups and downs, and the lengths which people would go to tease and annoy him was extreme at times, Eric was truly beginning to enjoy his time at Ferris.
After everything that had happened to him over the last few months, he was glad that he could enjoy moments like these with some good friends.
***
Kasmine closed her book and placed it gently onto her desk.
Her cat leapt up onto her lap and Kasmine patted it softly, causing it to purr happily. Kasmine spun in her chair and looked out of her window, a small smile on her lips.
"Beautiful night tonight, isn't it?" She mused. When no one replied, she sighed and asked, "How long are you going to just stand in the dark for?"
Her crow squawked and flapped its wings angrily at a far corner and her cat jumped onto her desk, hissing at the same corner.
"Silence," Kasmine said and her animals calmed down. "Merchant, come out."
A man walked out from the shadows and bowed slightly to her. He was dressed in grey leather armour, with an ebony quiver and bow strapped to his back. He had a katana running down beside the quiver and a dagger tied to his lower back in a sheathe. A gold-leaf scarf covered the bottom half of his face and he wore gloves embroidered with golden silk.
"Did you really think I wouldn't know that you were there?"
"Of course not," The Merchant answered. "I was merely making sure that your instincts hadn't dimmed since the last time I'd seen you."
"Satisfied?"
"Very."
"Good. Now, what have you found out?"
"Only what we already knew, I'm afraid. Michael Angelson is, indeed, the leader of Phantom, The Archangel."
"Nothing new at all to report?"
"I was able to learn more about his most powerful followers and they are very strong indeed."
"How strong?"
"Weaker than you and Ares easily, but I don't know if any member of the Ferris staff could best them."
"So, nothing to fear then," Kasmine purred.
The Merchant chuckled softly. "If only it was that easy."
***
Felix Arc quickly locked all five locks to the door as he entered his gang's base.
"Honestly, why do we need so many locks?" He complained, straightening his suit.
While Felix had never understood why his gang had chosen an old and abandoned office building as their safe house, he had to admit that it was, at least, secure.
That said, Felix hated the place.
It was rundown, covered in mould and damp, and it was miles from the heart of Imperial, making travelling from his flat in the richer part of the city to here a long and unnecessary one. Unfortunately, they couldn't renovate the place without drawing attention to their operations so Felix put up with it, even if he constantly complained about it.
He went to his office and found his righthand man, Tai, standing by his desk, his back turned to him.
"Tai, thank God," Felix cried in relief. "I was worried that you were caught up on the attack on the main base."
Felix closed the door behind him and Tai fell backwards onto the floor, two holes in his chest where his heart had been.
"Tai!"
"Honestly, Felix, I'm disappointed," a voice taunted. "He was the best you had?"
Felix's chair spun around and a man wearing black overcoat and a hat hiding his face was sitting in it, a pistol in his hand, the barrel aimed at Felix's heart.
"T-T?" Felix stuttered, slowly walking backwards but he slipped in a puddle of blood and drenched his white suit in it. "Wh-What are you-?"
T grunted and slammed his bloodied boots onto Felix's desk.
"I told you not to fuck with me. If you want to be the sole survivor of your gang, I suggest that you tell me where she is. And quickly."
"Sole...survivor?"
A drop of blood landed on his head and Felix looked up. He screamed wildly as he saw the heads of every member of his gang nailed to the ceiling; there were forty exactly, all forty remaining members of his crew.
"Then...the warehouse attack was your doing as well?" Felix whimpered, struggling to hold back the urge to vomit.
"Like I said." T slowly walked over to Felix. "Don't try to fuck with me. Now." He pointed the gun at Felix again. "Information."
"O-Okay! What do you want to know?"
"Jasmine Dalena. Where is she?"
"Who?"
T dropped his pistol and pulled a snub nose revolver from his boot. He unloaded a round into Felix's shoulder, ripping it wide open. Felix howled in pain and rolled on the ground, putting as much pressure as he could onto the wound.
"Someone...Someone help me!"
T snorted. "Pathetic." He smashed his boot into Felix's ribs and cracked two of them. "If you get medical attention soon, you'll live. If not."
T pointed his gun up at the ceiling and Felix's body became paralysed with fear.
"O-Okay, right, I understand!"
"One last time. Jasmine Dalena. Where is she?"
"If...If I can get to my laptop-"
T snapped his revolver to Felix's head and fired three shots into his skull, smashing the bone and tearing his brain into pieces. T holstered the revolver back into his boot, picked up his discarded pistol and went over to Felix's desk where his laptop was.
Upon turning it on, T discovered that it was protected by a password. He plugged in a device into the USB port and, in seconds, the lock screen opened onto Felix's desktop.
T grinned and closed the laptop, placing it in his suitcase which he had brought with him.
"Is this really the state of the underworld right now?" T grunted, looking at Felix's body with disdain. "Pathetic, but it doesn't matter to me anymore." He heard the faint sounds of sirens and grinned.
T quickly made his exit from the building via the fire escape, walking off into the night.
"Soon, Jasmine. Soon."
***
Spike tossed a stone and it skimmed across the water, sending the fish scattering away in the moonlight.
He grinned at the sight and picked up another smooth stone, rubbing it against his cheek. Satisfied with his choice, he threw it across the water and it bounced further across the surface of the water. Lares kicked an empty can behind him frustration.
"Someone's impatient."
"You said that he'd be here," Lares growled. "Where is he?"
"Chill, Lares." Spike picked up another rock and put is against his cheek. "My boss is a man of his word and if he says he'll be here, he'll be here."
"He'd better be."
"Heh, what are you going to do to him if he don't show?" Spike threw his rock and it sunk to the bottom of the river. "Honestly, I don't know why you have such a low opinion of the boss."
"Well, I wonder why," Lares mockingly cried. "Oh, sure he's a nice guy who keeps to his word. I mean, remember when he said he'd start up a conflict in the African Territories and he did? Good times. Such a good man."
"He's not like that. Sure, he has a dark side, but we all do."
"Most people's dark sides don't make them start a war just to enjoy watching people kill each other. How typical of his bitch to defend him."
Spike felt a vein pop in his head and he glared at Lares.
A satanical laugh was carried by the breeze and Lares gritted his teeth together. "You're finally here, Lich."
A black shroud dropped down from the bridge and landed beside Lares. Spike dropped onto his knees and prostrated himself before Lich, whereas Lares stood firmly in front of him, glaring at him.
"It's great to see you again, Captain Agrim. It's been far too long," the shroud greeted him, bowing slightly. Lares snorted. "Is something the matter?"
"I can't talk to someone unless I can see their face."
"You don't tell my Master what to do!"
"Spike!" Lich hissed and Spike immediately dropped back onto his knees. "If you speak again to Captain Agrim like that, I will make you go through that Hell again."
Spike whimpered slightly and bowed to Lich, putting his forehead onto the rocks.
"I do apologise for my servant's actions," Lich said, the shroud around him collapsing in on itself and materialising into a single piece of clothing.
A long, hooded black cloak formed around his body, tied around his neck, and reached down to the end of Lich's back. Even with the hood up, Lares could still make out his skeleton face and the orange orbs which glowed in empty eye sockets. Not a single part of Lich's body was covered in skin, but he still had his muscles which were ripped and well-built.
Lich had the body of a boxer but Lares knew that he was far stronger than that when he threw a punch.
He had no flesh left on his body apart from his muscles. He didn't feel pain or need to eat or drink, nor could he die from old age or being killed in combat. It was the price that he had paid when he had become a Lich, a Necromancer so powerful that even death itself couldn't claim his life.
"Is this more to your liking?" Lich asked and Lares nodded. "Excellent. Now, Captain, Spike tells me that you have some questions you'd like to ask me. Please, ask away."
"Why the Bunny case? Why did you insist on Eric? How did you convince Kasmine to let that mission happen?"
"Hmm, is that all?" Lich sounded disappointed. He walked over to the riverside and stared at the other side. "Bunny is one of the most dangerous killers on the planet, perhaps even on the level of Cu Sith. Your nephew has one of the strongest, possibly the strongest, God Armours on the planet and the Guardians need that power if they are to survive against Phantom.
"As for how I convinced Kasmine to get Eric involved, the answer is simple." He turned around and had a malicious grin on his face. "I told her that it was necessary and that if he battled her and faced his fears, he would grow stronger."
Lares's face twisted in anger. "You bastard! You sent him there knowing that he'd been attacked when he was younger!" He tried to hit Lich, but Spike grabbed his arm holding him back. "Spike, why are you stopping me? You said you disagreed with sending Eric as well, didn't you?"
"I did, but look at the results, Lares. Eric got stronger, he now has experience and he's faced his past demons. There isn't a single downside because of this."
"None of that was certain and he still sent Eric against her knowing that he couldn't do a thing! Even if you think we need Eric to win against Phantom, you didn't have to do this to make him stronger."
Lich chuckled slightly and Lares freed his arm from Spike's grasp.
"Oh Lares, Kas really doesn't tell you anything, does she?" He mused, smiling sinisterly. "I wonder, did she even mention what the tournament's winning teams will be doing this year?"
"What do you mean?" Lares demanded.
"Who knows?" The Necromancer shrugged. "Maybe someone informed Kasmine and the United Nations that some of the strongest new Guardians would be joining this year and, maybe, maybe, someone suggested that the team tournament this year would be a good way of determining who the strongest fighters among the students are, and that, maybe, they could be used to fight Phantom." Lich snickered. "Maybe."
"You're sending them into war?! Spike, how can you agree with what he's doing?"
"Lares, he's right," Spike said.
"How can you say that?"
"Think about it, Captain," Lich interjected. "Eric is, as of this moment, a candidate to become one of the most powerful people in the world and that's brought with him a gigantic target on his back. Would you honestly prefer that Eric didn't get more and more combat experience so that he could be at the stage where he could hold back or even defeat those who come after him?"
Lares snorted and glared at him. "It's all for Eric? What kind of bullshit is that? What are you really planning, Lich?"
"All I want is to ensure the boy's safety and growth. That is all. Why? Well, of course." Lich grinned at Lares again and slowly turned back into a mist. "Because it will be interesting to see how this all plays out."
Lich fully transformed into a black shadow and floated away into the night's sky, leaving an angry Lares and an exhausted Spike on the riverbed.
"Lares, I know you and I will always butt heads, but why can't you trust the boss's word that he does actually want to help Eric?"
"Spike, it's Lich. There's always another angle," Lares answered.
"If you tell him." Lares stopped in his tracks. "He won't be able to handle it."
"I know that," Lares hissed quietly, before storming off.
***
Michael replayed the footage again for the hundredth time.
He needed to confirm the rumours that had escaped Ferris and what he saw on the news that night.
The news helicopters which had been circling the block of flats that Bunny attacked had recorded the entire fight between her and the Guardians on the rooftop. It wasn't the best quality of an image and, for the most part, the camera was shaking wildly but Michael saw what he needed.
After the girl in clockwork was stabbed and kicked away, Michael's eyes narrowed upon seeing Eric's Armour evolve.
"He's finally shown himself, and he's weak," Michael whispered, a slight smile on his lips. |
It was the seventh day of the tournament at Ferris and Alexis's team were in the middle of their second match.
They were fighting in a rural neighbourhood in a country town and Alexis was going up against one of the more formidable first year teams: the Hunter Team lead by Herne Heolstor.
Herne always wore around him pitch black armour which looked like it had been forged from trees, with an unsettling black mist constantly floating over it. He was an archer who utilised black arrows and a forest generation ability, both of which he used to spread his '
corruption'
.
If one of Herne's arrows hit you, poison from the arrow slowly spread across your body, killing you and then allowing him to expand his forest out to it.
Whenever he initially generated his forest, it was always twenty metres long and twenty metres wide, and it would start to slowly expand with every passing second, hiding him perfectly within its impenetrable darkness of ebony trees and leaves.
Because he was an incredibly skilled archer and could hide himself perfectly inside a forest, he had earnt the title of the Ultimate Hunter in the student body.
People had tried to follow his arrows back to him and get to him that way but, the moment the arrow had been loosed from his bow, Herne would move to a different spot in the forest and most non-magic attacks didn't penetrate his forest.
He was the one person that Alexis was terrified to face and the one she wanted to leave for last.
Alexis ran across the rooftops, jumping from building to building, generating as much speed as she could whilst she avoided the enemy mech's laser rifle.
"Stay still, dammit!" The pilot screamed as she kept firing at Alexis who dodged every single shot.
"If it's all the same, I'd rather not," Alexis called back, grinning.
She sprung off the rooftop and aimed her machineguns at the mech, unleashing a hail of armour piercing bullets upon her. The mech pilot screamed and covered her face with her machine's arm, while still trying to fire her gun at Alexis.
"It's useless!" Alexis cried.
She sliced through the arm holding the rifle and it dropped lifelessly onto the ground. Alexis leapt over the girl's fist she threw, landed beside the girl and unleashed the rest of her armour piercing rounds at the pilot.
The mech collapsed onto its knees, before falling forwards, nearly crushing Alexis who jumped away from it.
Hunter Team; five players remaining.
"Five against six, huh?" Kilian mused through Alexis's headpiece. "Seems like we might be able to do this, after all."
"Herne's still up and we still don't have a plan for him," Alexis reminded him, reloading her guns. "And I'm all out of my armour piercing rounds. You got any ideas on how to beat him?"
"Sera and Sura are trying to land a shot on him, but they can't pinpoint his location in the forest. If I can get over to there, I should be able to track him."
"Got it. Radio Sura and Sera and tell them to hold on until you and I get there."
"Roger that."
***
Sat up in the bell tower of the church in the town, Kilian was looking down on the entire battlefield, surveying everything and relaying critical information to his team. Even if he was blind, his powers granted him the ability to act as a powerful mobile radar for his team.
From birth, Kilian had the ability to manipulate the sounds he produced and the sounds those around him created, enhancing it or reducing it to the point of being able to remove it completely. Further, Kilian had synaesthesia which allowed him to see emotions and sounds as colours, granting him a unique edge in a fight.
Using his powers, Kilian could pinpoint the exact location of someone to within a decimetre and he could also remove the sounds his teammates made. His role was entirely a support role with no combat potential whatsoever.
"Sura, Sera; stay alive. Alexis and I are on our way."
"What are you guys going to do?" Sera demanded.
"I can't see through Herne's corruption from where I am but, if I get closer, I should be able to see him and Alexis will be fast enough to strike him before he can move."
"Understood. We'll try, but don't expect too much."
Kilian smiled a little and picked up his cane, surveying the state of the battlefield.
"I have a feeling we're about to start losing again."
***
Sura and Sera hadn't landed a single hit on Herne.
No matter what they threw at him, his forest absorbed or reflected their attacks.
Sura was wearing a full body exoskeleton suit with several different firearms and projectiles strapped to its back, ready for her to pull off and use in an instant. Sera, on the other hand, was dressed in a completely black suit and top hat with a white mannequin mask covering his face. His weapon was a bladed cane which could transform into a whip in a moment's notice, allowing him to use it as both a sword and a long reaching weapon.
The two of them had been fighting Herne for some time and were struggling to avoid his attacks as his forest continued to grow and grow.
Sera lashed his whip encased in fire at the forest, but it bounced off a tree, doing no damage whatsoever. A black arrow flew at him but Sera side stepped it, narrowly avoiding it. Sura pulled a rocket launcher from her back, aimed at the heart of the forest and fired, but a large black hand made of ebony tree branches emerged from the forest, intercepting the missile.
"What?" Sura blurted out as the hand zoomed towards her.
She jumped out of its way and it left a large crater where she had been standing.
"Alexis, this guy can send giant wooden hands out of his woods as well," Sura said through her radio, dropping her rocket launcher and taking out an assault rifle.
"Roger that. How are you guys holding up?"
She heard Sera scream and she saw a black hand grab him, pulling him into the forest.
Alexis's Team; five players remaining.
"Fairly well," Sura mused as an arrow flew towards her face.
She ducked beneath it and opened fire at the forest, tracing the arrow back to its source but none of her shots managed to hit Herne. Sura hissed and reloaded her rifle, before running across the street, firing at him and seeking new cover.
A large hand stretched in front of her, blocking her path and an arrow landed in her back.
"Shit!"
The corruption from the arrow began to spread across her suit and it seeped through onto her skin. She felt her skin split and her blood boil.
"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" Sura cried, unleashing all of her remaining ammo at Herne.
An arrow soared into her forehead and Sura shattered.
Alexis's Team; four players remaining.
***
Alexis ducked behind a house as hundreds of pebbles were launched at her at the speed of a bullet. Given how the barrage seemed like it was never ending, Alexis ran out of her cover and leapt through a window into a nearby house, cutting herself on the glass. She took cover beneath the window and waited to see if the barrage would stop.
She felt the ground beneath the house shake and Alexis burst through the back door onto the grass outside, just before the house was lifted high into the air. The geomancer then threw the house at Alexis, but she slid underneath it and charged at him. The geomancer clicked his tongue, thrust his palm at her and more pebbles were launched her way.
Alexis raised her arms to protect her face, with the majority of the pebbles bouncing off her armour. She bit her lip hard as some of the pebbles hit her skin, but Alexis didn't stop her charge.
The geomancer threw his open palm to the sky and a pillar arose from the ground beneath him, lifting him high into the air. Alexis aimed her guns at him and opened fire, but he ducked down onto the surface of the tower, avoiding her bullets. Alexis's machine guns clicked and she leapt onto a nearby rooftop and ran along it as quickly as she could.
After building a good amount of speed, Alexis jumped off the rooftop and smashed into the rock pillar, feet first, creating a good-sized dent in it. She let out a short scream as pain rushed across her legs, and Alexis leapt back onto the ground.
The pillar, however, didn't collapse.
She grunted and took cover, reloading her machineguns with magazines from her belt. Then, she went around the corner, ready to destroy the tower but an army of pebbles forced her into retreat, several of them implanting in her arm.
"Kilian, I could do with some backup!"
"You've already got it."
A ball of black energy rammed through the pillar, causing it to collapse and the geomancer landed roughly on the ground on his shoulder. The geomancer screamed and thrust his hand down a side street, just as a tidal wave of sewer water rammed into him, dragging him down the street.
"Jikai. Ashar."
"Kilian told us to head to you immediately and I see why," Ashar mused.
"Are you okay?" Jikai asked as Alexis jogged over to them.
"I'm fine. Can you guys handle this for me?"
Jikai was wearing a brown cloak with a white scarf tied around his head, and he wore a single piece of cloth over his privates, showing off his impressively chiselled body. He had blue lines tattooed on his arms over his veins which glowed blue whenever he used his magic.
Ashar on the other hand was wearing a smart white suit, had blonde hair and red eyes, and he had opened his mouth wide enough to show off his fangs.
"You did well against him, but leave this to us," Ashar told her, smiling arrogantly at her.
"Herne is an enemy that only you can handle, after all. Leave the small fry to us," Jikai added, smiling softly at her.
"Thank you, guys. I'll leave him to you then."
As Alexis dashed off, the two boys looked at one another and sighed.
"Even though we said that." Jikai looked at the furious and wet geomancer, whose aura had rapidly expanded since they had last looked. "I wonder if we'll manage."
Ashar grunted and arrogantly and pushed Jikai behind him. "I can handle him, easily."
The geomancer roared and the ground around them cracked wide open, with over fifty large rocks floating around him, spinning in a circle and gaining momentum.
"Want some backup?" Jikai chuckled.
***
Taban hid behind a nearby house and an arrow smashed against the wall next to him.
"Shit!" He cursed, reloading his rifle.
Taban, like Sura, wore an exoskeleton suit of his own design, except his had been in the process of remodelling when the tournament match was set to begin, and thus it was missing the armour for his chest and head.
Normally, Taban would have been able to sit in his wheelchair in his lab, working all day to enhance his suit with all new kinds of weapons and gadgets but, sadly, the fight meant he couldn't. His suit was filled with all sorts of modern weaponry and it hoovered off the ground on boosters rather than using legs.
During the fight, Taban had taken on and defeated an enemy gunslinger and, knowing that Sera and Sura could do with backup, he had rushed over to support them, only to find them dead and leaving him to fight Herne by himself.
"How the hell am I meant to take down their ace by myself?" He shouted, firing a railgun shot from his wrist at the forest.
It did nothing and two black arrows flew at him, which he barely avoided.
"Oi! That could've hurt someone!" He cried, firing his machinegun loaded with anti-material rounds at the forest.
A black hand threw itself at him and Taban shrieked like a little girl, jumping onto his stomach to narrowly avoid its fingers.
"Backup! Backup!" Taban yelled through his radio.
"I'm almost there, hold on!" Alexis called back.
"Great. Well, I'll be dead soon, so, no need to rush or anything!"
He spun around the corner and sent missiles from launchers on his back at Herne but not a single one of them broke through the forest.
"Now that's just cheating!"
A black hand flew at him but he swerved out of its way, only for a black arrow to fly at him, destroying his power core in an instant.
Without it and his wheelchair, Taban was left defenceless.
"Dick move, Herne!"
Another black arrow flew at him and was going to hit him right between the eyes.
At the last possible second, Alexis landed beside Taban, scooped him into her arms and leapt with all of her might onto a nearby rooftop, ripping him from his exoskeleton just before Herne's arrow could kill him.
"You're late!"
"You're asking to be dropped," Alexis told him as they landed and then she did just that. She cursed when she saw the black arrow in his heel.
Taban looked at her, then the arrow and sighed. "So much for that rescue attempt."
"I swear to God, if millions of people weren't watching this, I'd hit you."
"How considerate of you."
The two grinned at each other as Alexis took cover.
"Kilian, where are you?" She whispered.
"A few streets from him and I can already see the corruption. How's Taban?"
"Absolutely useless."
"Oi!"
"Same as always then. Understood. Alex, see if you can't distract him for me."
"I can but, if he hits me with one of those arrows or grabs me, it's all over."
"I have faith that you can distract him for a minute or two without getting hit."
Alexis winced and looked over at Taban; the corruption had already spread to his stomach and his other leg.
"If I get hit once, it's over so you might want to think of a plan B," Alexis grumbled.
She took a few deep breaths, steeled herself and ran at Herne.
The hunter didn't miss her actions and a black hand shot at her, which she spun around. An arrow flew at her mid spin and Alexis slid beneath it, almost slipping off the rooftop on her knees. She spun on the spot, got up onto her feet and ran down the edge of the roof as a new hand chased her.
At least I've got his attention.
Alexis back flipped over the hand and Herne fired another arrow at her, but she spun her body to avoid it and landed perfectly onto the rooftop, crouched. She got back up, ran along the roof and jumped over to another one, firing her guns wildly at the forest, desperate for a hit.
However, none of them hit the hunter.
Herne fired three arrows at Alexis and she shot at them, hoping to intercept them, but the arrow's flight wasn't impacted even slightly.
She cursed and dodged the arrows and back flipped over the hand which reached for her, landing awkwardly on her knees, bruising them. Alexis fought through the pain and continued running from rooftop to rooftop, narrowly avoiding every single one of Herne's attacks but, as the fight went on, he began to figure out how to read her moves and his arrows and hands got closer with every single attack.
Come on, Kilian!
"Okay, I've found him!" Kilian yelled. "You see the chimney on the rooftop directly north of the forest? He's right in line with that!"
Alexis glanced over her shoulder and saw where Kilian was referring to and grinned.
She ran towards the chimney, gaining as much speed as she could and jumped at it feet first. She bent her knees against it as it cracked from the impact and she sprung straight off of it into the air.
Herne fired at her again, just like Alexis had wanted, and she activated her trump card.
Fire spat from her greaves and her speed increased mid-air, as she swung around the arrow and continued heading straight for Herne's location. Her speed kept increasing and increasing and she zoomed through the forest and, with a slice of her blade, Alexis cut down Herne with her blades.
Hunter Team; two members remaining.
Alexis landed gracefully on the other side of the forest and turned off the engines in her greaves. She turned around to see Herne's forest disappearing on its own and smiled.
"Taban really did make them easy to use," Alexis mused, looking at the engines in her legs which quickly retreated back into her armour.
"I think a thank you is in order," Taban said over the radio.
"I saved you, so we're even. Kilian, let's go."
"Roger that."
"Oi! Don't leave me here! What am I meant to do now?"
"Sit back and watch the show."
"This is discrimination!" Taban let out a defeated sigh and laid down on the rooftop. "This is bullshit."
***
"That was amazing!"
"How did she find him in there?"
"Do you think that they could win?"
Ajax laughed loudly and stuck out his chest proudly. "See how amazing my little sister is."
"Yes, yes, we know how great she is," Dead Eye said in a deadpan tone.
"Can you guys imagine how annoying it'd be if we heard about how amazing she was every time she did anything?" Evony asked, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, imagine that," Eric agreed and Laila nodded.
"It's not just your sister, but her entire team are good," Ace noted, rubbing his chin. "I didn't know that she had those boosters in her legs."
"They're a recent addition she made after sparring with you," Ajax explained. "She wanted to be able to have greater manoeuvrability while in motion."
The six of them were watching the fight from the arena seats, surrounded by a massive crowd who screamed and yelled whenever anything even vaguely exciting happened.
The way she moved in the air...it was almost like how Bunny moved,
Eric thought, frowning a little.
There is nothing wrong with learning techniques from your enemies,
an evil voice said in his mind.
Eric jumped a little.
Don't suddenly talk to me in my head, Lucifer. Where have you been?
I've been busy.
...Right. Still, would it hurt you to talk to me a little more?
Well, you haven't been talking with me as much lately.
I didn't know that you would act like a needy girlfriend if I didn't speak to you every day.
Lucifer laughed and Eric cracked a small smile.
When you next evolve your powers, then we'll speak again. Until then, I'll enjoy watching this tournament.
Okay.
"Man, I wish I hadn't been knocked out so early," Ace said. "I would've loved to fight her in a proper tournament match."
"Then don't suck so much," Ajax taunted.
"When Alexis's team go through to the next round, my team might be their opponent," Dead Eye said.
"Scared?" Evony asked with a sly smile.
"No. I'm looking forward to it."
"Well, I have to admit that I'd quite like to have a go fighting them as well."
"The only thing I'd be concerned about is whether or not we could take down Alexis." Eric folded his arms. "I wonder how fast she can go."
"The fastest that I've ever seen her go is over eighty miles per hour," Ajax chimed in. "Although, just now with the boosters, I think she went over a hundred."
"That fast?" Ace blurted out.
"Why are you asking about her speed?" Evony asked.
"I was wondering if, at those sorts of speeds, she would be able to pierce my Armour," Eric said.
"You don't have to worry about that," Laila told him. "Even at your current level, Alexis wouldn't be able to break through a God Armour."
"I would listen to her, if I were you," a calm and polite voice said.
Eric and the others turned around and found a boy standing proudly behind them, carrying himself in a way which made him seem like he was royalty.
He had a soft yet dark skin colour, black hair that had been combed and styled to make it appear as sophisticated as possible, and pale blue eyes. The boy was dressed in a smart white shirt, the top button of which was undone and the bottom of it was untucked from his black trousers, a gold pendant with a jewelled skull sat around his neck, rubies in its eye sockets.
"Who are you?" Ajax asked.
"Oh, excuse my poor manners." The boy bowed, then raised his head to smile at them. "I am the leader of a team; my name is Osiris."
Dead Eye frowned. "Osiris?".
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lucifer."
"I'd prefer Eric, if you don't mind," Eric said, forcing an awkward laugh. "What's your real name, Osiris?"
"My real name? My real name is Hital Sofian, but I would rather that you called me by Osiris, Lord Lucifer."
"Firstly, my name is Eric. Second, Lord?"
Osiris laughed gently. "It seems that my joke was not to your liking. I am very sorry."
"It's fine, just...don't do it again. So, was there something that you needed me for, Osiris?"
"Nothing in particular. I was just curious if you remembered the man I sent to recruit you for my team; I wanted to know the reason why you turned down my offer."
"Your man?"
"Short, about five foot tall. Brown hair, scruffy looking. Caucasian," Osiris said but Eric's face was completely blank.
"I'm sorry, but a lot of people-"
"It is fine, I understand completely. Perhaps I was too hopeful that you would return my offer amongst such an ocean of invitations. I had hoped though that you would like to join a team of other God Armours."
"So, he really is the leader of the God team?" Dead Eye asked.
"God team?" Ace repeated.
"There were thirteen God Armour users that entered into our year, nine of which joined a single team."
"Thirteen? Isn't that a lot?" Ajax burst out.
Osiris grinned and bowed a little. "Once again, allow me to introduce myself. I am Hital '
Osiris'
Sofian, leader of the God team, and I will be your opponent during the next match. A pleasure to meet you, Eric Agrim."
"Seriously?"
Evony pulled out her smartphone, went into her emails and, sure enough, whilst they had been watching Alexis's fight, their new tournament fight details had been sent.
"The God Team, huh?" She whispered, wincing.
Laila stared into Osiris's eyes. "Inspecting the competition?"
"No, I was merely here to introduce myself. I had some spare
Time
on my hands and it was merely
Fate
which led me to you." He grinned and bowed again. "Well then, until our fight, Eric Agrim."
He swiftly turned on his heel and confidently strolled away.
"What was that last bit about?" Ajax asked.
"Intelligence," Laila said. "He gave us the names of his teammates."
"I thought he had," Eric agreed. "Time and Fate, huh?"
"Even if you know the names of his Gods of Time and Fate, will that actually help you at all with the fight?" Ace wondered.
"Probably not," Evony answered.
"If I were you two, I wouldn't bother worrying about it," Dead Eye told them. "He gave you vague ideas of what his guys could do and wanted you to overthink it."
"How can you be so-?" Ajax began to ask.
"Because it's what I would do. Give you something that you can think about, over focus on it, and have you focus on that, rather than planning like you usually would. In battle, information is key and Osiris wants to manipulate what you know, hence why he told you the titles, not names, of his Gods."
"In other words, we just need to prepare a strategy like we usually do," Eric said and Dead Eye nodded. "In that case, Evony, Laila, let's plan as normal."
"Okay," they said.
A few minutes later, Alexis's team had won the fight and were through to the next round. |
Date: 12th January 2173
Kaida was, understandably, surprised when she found herself lying in Eric's parent's bedroom on their bed and under their covers. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and slowly climbed out of the bed anxiously, carefully and quietly walking into the corridor. She heard someone in the kitchen and, given how Kaida hadn't been thrown out by his parents, it could only be Eric.
Nervously, Kaida walked down the stairs, preparing herself and found Eric in his kitchen, humming to himself, and cooking some bacon and eggs.
He glanced over his shoulder and smiled when he saw her. "Morning, Kaida," He said, before turning back to his cooking. "Breakfast will be ready in a bit, so feel free to go freshen up."
"Eric," She whispered, her expression pained. Kaida rubbed her eyes and lightly pinched her cheek.
"I hope bacon and eggs are fine with you. We didn't have anything else in, so..."
She shook her head and smiled slightly. "It's fine."
Kaida sat down at the counter and watch Eric's back as he worked. It still felt a bit surreal to her, seeing Eric again in person after so long. When she had seen him yesterday, he looked like he'd seen a ghost and ran away from her will all his might. Now, though, it was like he had completely changed.
Is he...forcing himself to act how he used to?
Kaida wondered, wincing.
I don't want that...If he's hurting, I want him to tell me.
"Eric, I-" Kaida started to say.
"Ah, it's done!" Eric cried, turning off the stove.
He quickly put the food onto two plates and then passed one to Kaida and then fetched her a knife and fork.
Just as he was about to start eating himself, he stopped and looked down at his hands. "Sorry," He whispered. "For ignoring you for all this time."
"It's okay," Kaida said softly, resting her elbows on the table. "I'm just happy to see you again."
"Hey, Kaida, um...I'm...going to go back to school and..." He looked pleading at her. "I was wondering if you'd help me catch back up with everything."
Kaida's eyes widened and she felt them water, but she ignored them and shot him a beaming smile. "Of course!"
***
Date: 13th January 2173
Connor leapt up from his chair when he saw Eric the next day at school.
In fact, their entire classroom went dead silent upon seeing a nervous, shaking Eric standing in the doorway with Kaida holding his hand, smiling reassuringly at him.
"Don't worry, I'm right here with you," Kaida whispered and Eric nodded slightly.
"Eric," Connor said, slowly walking over to him, his eyes and jaw wide open in shock. "That's...you, right?"
"Yeah," He said with a small nod. "I'm...sorry...for-"
Connor threw his arms around Eric and brought him into a tight hug. "None of that matters as long as you're okay." Connor closed his eyes and put his forehead against Eric's shoulder. "I missed you."
Eric embraced him back and said softly, "I'm sorry...that I took so long coming back."
Over Connor's shoulder, Eric could see the rest of his class looking at him, their faces filled with relief, and he could see Alexa sat over by the windowsill, smiling at him.
"Welcome back, Eric," She called to him.
All he could do was smile weakly back.
***
"Ever since then, whenever something bad happens, I tell myself that I should try to live the best possible life that I can even after everything that I've gone through. I swore to myself that day that, no matter what happened, I would press on. Even though I always tell myself that, whenever the bad memories resurface, I read to distract myself from it, just like I did back then.
"Even though I'd resolved myself to change and put what had happened behind me, if it hadn't been for Kaida, chances are that I would never have successfully changed and would still have been a recluse and...I would've lost those two as friends.
"About a month after I'd started going back to school, Connor and Kaida swore that they would never talk about it again unless I said they could, which is why no one else apart from us three and you know about it."
"It seems painful to remember those days," Laila said.
"Yeah. Even though I no longer feel like I did back then, it still hurts a little remembering that I spent my life like that for what felt like an eternity. If it hadn't been for Kaida catching me that day, I would never have realised just how much I hated seeing those I loved like that, especially someone as happy and cheerful as her."
"Do you like her?"
Eric's face became flushed and he nodded a little. "I do, but I don't want to ruin one of my best friendships by confessing because, if she rejects me, it's all over and, even if she doesn't, it'll forever change the relationship that we have...and I'm not sure that it'll be for the better."
"I see. You're right that everything would change between you two so I understand not taking the risk."
Eric laughed a little. "You're not going to encourage me to go for it?" She shook her head. "Most people would in this situation."
"What right do I have to comment on the situation?" Laila asked. "If you don't think you should confess and you've known her all of your life, then what right do I have to come in and tell you to do something about it? If you think it's the right thing to do, then do it and I'll support you."
"Um, thanks, I guess?"
"You're very welcome."
At some point during the conversation about Eric's past, the pair's hands had naturally come together and interlocked with one another, but their backs were still against the tree and neither of them could see the other one's smile.
***
Evony loosed an arrow and it landed in the dead centre of the target.
She smiled, drew another arrow from her quiver, knocked it against her bow and took aim down the range once more.
Since she had joined Ferris, Evony made sure that she spent at least thirty minutes a day at the archery range so that she remained as good as she was. It wasn't anywhere near as long as she used to spend practicing, but her life at Ferris was always hectic.
She fired the arrow and it landed right beside the one she had previously shot.
"Very nice," Jasmine congratulated her, walking over to her.
"Cheers," Evony replied, placing her bow against the wall. "Did you come here to train, too?"
"Not really. Elthia's busy reading in the library and I had nothing better to do, so I decided to go on a walk around the campus."
"Fair enough. Ah, in that case, if you're free, do you mind doing me a favour?"
"Sure."
"Great." Evony smiled and picked up her bow.
She collapsed the string against it, before shifting the top and bottom of it out, clicking it into place, completely turning the bow into a doubled bladed staff.
"Do you mind sparring with me in CQC for a bit?"
After the Bunny Incident, it had become apparent to Evony that she needed to have some form of melee weapon on her to deal with targets who got too close to her to fire at. Laila had suggested to her attaching two small blades to the top and bottom of the bow, effectively making it a polearm.
However, even though she had a melee weapon, Evony had only a handful of weeks practice of using it and was still quite weak in close quarters.
"Sure," Jasmine replied. "I'll go grab my gear from my locker."
Per Aria's suggestion, Jasmine and Evony had stored spare versions of their equipment in their lockers at the training facility so that, should something happen when they couldn't make it back to the house, then they could come here, pick up their gear and be ready for a fight.
Jasmine had taken it a step further and had hidden supply caches in the city in places most people would never think to look.
The two girls moved from the archery range to a small open area and stood a few feet apart.
"You ready?" Jasmine asked.
"Yeah," Evony replied.
Jasmine nodded, deployed her blades, and ran at Evony.
Evony thrust her blade at Jasmine's head, but Jasmine caught the blade and bashed it away with her own. Jasmine then lunged her free dagger at Evony and Evony stepped away from it, barely avoiding it. Evony spun her staff around and swung it at Jasmine's temple. Jasmine ducked beneath it, swept her feet along the ground and took out Evony's legs. Evony shrieked in surprise and smashed her back against the ground, stunning her for a moment.
Jasmine leapt on top of her and stabbed with her blades at her but Evony blocked Jasmine's arms with her staff. Evony pushed Jasmine off her and got back up onto her feet, but Jasmine sliced her blades across Evony, lightly cutting the girl's flesh, before kicking her in the stomach.
Evony wretched forward and fell onto her knees.
"Game over," Jasmine said, lightly pressing her blades against Evony's throat.
Evony coughed and smiled. "Damn."
Jasmine offered her a hand and pulled her onto her feet. Evony winced a little at the small burning pain from her cuts.
"Do you want to get those looked at?" Jasmine asked.
"I'm fine, they're basically just long papercuts," Evony said. "Still, next time, maybe we should use blunted weapons."
"Good idea." Jasmine wiped a bit of sweat from her brow and smiled. "Shall we get some drinks?"
The two girls went to a nearby refrigerated vending machine and they each bought a chilled soda.
"I guess it'll take a while before I'm used to melee fighting," Evony admitted, taking a small sip from her drink.
"As long as you keep practicing, you'll be good at it in no time," Jasmine told her, finishing half of her can in one go. "It's actually kind of amazing how quickly you were able to modify your bow like that."
"It wasn't that hard. I'd already made my bow collapsible before, so it was just a matter of figuring out how to get it to collapse into a study spear-like weapon. Although, it's annoying that the blades have slightly increased the weight of the bow and upset my aim a little. Well, I've practically adjusted my aim now so that it doesn't affect my shots too much."
"Hey, Evony, can I ask you something kind of weird?" Jasmine asked.
"Shoot."
"This might sound weird and kinda insulting but, why is someone as blessed as you training to be a Guardian? I mean, you're a natural beauty, are incredibly intelligent and your family is very wealthy, so I've always been curious as to why you're here and not off being a super star model or curing cancer."
Evony smiled and stared at the ground. "It's because I didn't do anything to earn those things," She said softly. "I was just born with them. I just happened to be born to a rich family, I'd just happened to be a natural beauty and I happened to be a prodigy. I didn't do anything to earn those things; I was just given them.
"I don't want to go through my entire life just being given things; I want to earn things for myself, things that I can be proud off. While I asked for materials from my father's company, I made all of my bows, arrows and heads myself. I spent several hours every day learning how to shoot a bow and I exercised heavily to train my body, mind and improve my stamina and even a little improvement was something that I could be proud off.
"All of my life, I've had people ask me why I don't just model or just spend my days not working and living off my parent's fortune, but I don't want to do something like that. I want to do something that I can be proud off, something which I did myself, not something I was given."
Jasmine smiled and nodded. "That's really impressive and admirable."
"Thanks. Hey, Jas, why did you want to become a Guardian?"
Jasmine's body froze up.
Slowly, Jasmine finished the rest of her drink in silence and Evony knew then not to press any further into it.
"I'll go and throw the cans away," Jasmine said as soon as she'd finished her drink.
"Ah, thanks." Evony handed hers over to Jasmine.
"I'd better head back to the library and make sure Elthia's okay. I'll see you later, Evony."
"Yeah, see you later."
Jasmine quickly walked away from Evony, a small scowl on her face and her hands shaking.
I'm sorry, Evony, but I don't want you to hate me.
***
With a long yawn, Connor stretched his arms far above his head and his joints made a satisfying click sound.
After spending the entire day hanging out with Ace, Ajax and Dead Eye at the shopping centre, they had ended their outing at the arcade and spent about four hours playing all sorts of games together.
The reason being that whenever one of the others lost a game, they would immediately demand a rematch and would refuse to leave until they had won and thus hours had flown by without them realising.
"I should've known better than to go gaming with three other stubborn guys," Connor mused, smiling.
Then, Connor felt the hairs on his back raise, an unnatural chill drifting through the air.
It felt like someone was watching him from behind.
Connor snapped around and saw no one behind him, but he caught sight of something that clearly didn't belong there.
As he had turned around, a black mist had evaporated into nothing on a nearby rooftop.
Connor's eyes narrowed and made a fist with his left hand.
"Who was that?" He whispered angrily.
***
Just as Eric was about to turn in for the day, his phone suddenly began to ring.
He picked it up and smiled when he saw who was calling.
Eric answered it and said, "Hey."
"Ah, I finally got through to you," Alexa said on the other end, letting out a sigh of relief.
Alexa Elvine was the only one of Eric's close friends that didn't attend Ferris. The last time Eric had seen her was eight months ago and she had brown hair tied in a ponytail and hazel eyes.
Unlike Connor and Kaida, Alexa was a completely regular human with no secret powers or magic, and, while she was the athletic type, she had no interest in fighting herself.
"How comes you haven't answered any of my texts or phone calls?" Alexa asked.
"Huh? When did you try to get in contact with me?" Eric asked back.
"Pretty soon after I saw you fighting in the Tournament. Were you just that busy that you didn't notice?"
"Um, well, that, and I didn't get any of them except this one."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Alexa let out a frustrated sigh and scratched the top of her head furiously in anger. "That's all it was? A service problem? For a while there, I thought you were just ignoring me for no good reason."
Eric laughed a little. "Is a problem with my phone's service a good reason?"
"Well, no, but it's better than being ignored for the rest of your life. Also, how comes you never called me to tell me you were going to Ferris?"
"Honestly, it just slipped my mind."
"Oh, I see," Alexa said angrily, pouting a little. "I guess we're not as close as I thought we were."
"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about it," Eric said.
"Well, it's worth nothing."
"That's a bit cold. Is it not even worth a tiny bit?"
"Nope."
"Ah, that's too bad. Guess I'd best hang up then."
"Don't you dare! Not after how long it took me to get through to you!"
The two of them laughed cheerfully together and Eric felt whatever remaining nerves and anxieties in his body from his conversation with Laila earlier being removed just by hearing her laugh again.
It warmed his heart to know that one of his best friends was safe and far away from harm.
"So, what's life like over there?" Alexa asked. "Is Ferris as grand as I've heard?"
"What you've heard and more," Eric replied. "It's like a mini city over here and it's not as lonely as I expected to be living here either."
"I guess it's a bit easier for you given how busy your folks are, but I can't imagine living so close yet so far from my family, you know. Even though I know they'd be right across the bay, I'd still feel like I was in a completely different world from them."
"I was like that when I first came here, but I've gotten used to it."
"That's good to hear. So, I take it everything's going okay over there then? After all, you haven't contacted me in months about anything."
Before coming to Ferris, whenever Eric had had a problem, concern or issue that he wanted someone to talk to about, he would always go to Alexa first, even before Kaida and Connor. He felt it was always easier for him to open up to her than his childhood friends, because Eric didn't want to try and talk to them about something and then end up changing their relationship.
Alexa was always willing and glad to listen to whatever Eric wanted to talk about and, in his mind, she was very good at listening and giving advice.
"So? Has anything happened?" Alexa asked, her concern evident in her tone.
Eric smiled slightly and shook his head. "No, everything's been okay so far. It's not like everything's been great but, whatever problems have come up, my team has been able to support me enough and, well, it's easier for me to talk to someone face to face than over the phone. Sorry, Alexa."
"Hey, don't apologise for something like that. I'm just happy to hear that you're doing well. Ah, if it's okay with you, could I potentially visit and stay at your team's house on the fourteenth?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Well, I finally managed to score some tickets for the Single's and I'd like to experience what it's like to live on Ferris, even if it's just for a day. And it'd be a good chance for us to all catch up, don't you think?"
"I mean, I'd have to ask the Headmistress for permission but I don't see why not."
"Awesome! Thanks, Eric."
"No problem, but I'll also be going to the Single's Tournament."
"Really?" Alexa asked.
"Yeah. Some of my friends are taking part in it," Eric replied. "I'm going to cheer them on, so we can watch the tournament together."
"Ah, the good times just keep on rolling. Oh, I'd also love to see your Armour up close."
"Sure, but only for a bit. I'll contact the Headmistress tonight and ask about you staying over and I'll let you know what she says."
"Okay. Eric." Her tone of voice dramatically changed. "If anything does come up, please let me know."
"Will do. Goodnight, Alexa."
"Goodnight, Eric."
As soon as she'd hung up, Eric had texted Kasmine about it and, seconds later, he had been given permission.
It's fine, I'll deal with the paperwork myself,
it said.
As long as you don't do anything inappropriate, then it's okay ;)
"I wouldn't do that!" Eric yelled.
Even though he couldn't hear it, he knew that Kasmine had to be laughing to herself.
***
Someone knocked at Kasmine's door and she let out a small groan, all the joy she had just felt evaporated in an instant.
"Come in," She called, throwing the phone on her desk.
The Merchant walked into her office, a grim expression on his face and offered her a phone in his hand. "We just lost contact with the HMS Darius in Bahrain."
Kasmine frowned and took the phone and looked at the screen.
The Merchant was showing her a digital map of the entire world which highlighted the digital devices that the Merchant had tapped into and was getting information from. There was a massive dark area over the base, meaning that all of the electronic devices in the area must have been taken offline.
"Michael again?" Kasmine asked, handing the phone back.
"Most likely," The Merchant replied coolly, pocketing the phone. "I went over to see what they were doing and, unfortunately, he had pulled out all of the stops. I imagine that he's trying to send a message, or-"
"He wants the warships," she interrupted, frowning. "Contact our allies and put out the alert for the stolen ships and tag them yourself."
"I already have." The Merchant bowed and was about to leave, but he stopped himself at the door. "At this rate, he could be ready for war before we're able to go on the offensive."
"You don't have to worry about that," Kasmine said, smiling softly. "The Twins are already on their tail in Asia."
***
Michael landed gracefully in the centre of the burning base.
His soldiers, armed with some of the latest hardware and equipment, had cleared the base, eliminating or capturing everyone inside. Squads of soldiers overseen by Kavachin were moving supplies onto transport helicopters and Phantom's newly acquired warships. Sangili stood guard with twenty Phantom soldiers, keeping an eye on the prisoners that they'd taken and their rifles trained on them.
Kalaraja cackled as he began torturing one of the bleeding survivors on the ground, tearing the man's skin from his back.
Michael frowned at him and sent a blue bolt into the man's skull, killing him.
"Hey!" Kalaraja protested, shooting daggers at him. "Why did you do that?"
"Don't play with the dead," Michael warned him, his aura flaring.
Kalaraja frowned and let out a low hiss, before turning on his heel and shooting a black lightning bolt at a distant barracks, destroying it and sending it up in flames.
"What's his problem, sir?" Kavachin asked, walking up beside Michael.
"I stopped his
fun
," Michael said, glancing at Kavachin. "Report."
"Sir!" Kavachin stood at attention. "All of the sailors on board the ships have been killed and their bodies disposed of in the water. The ships have also had all tracking devices removed from them and we've installed our cloaking technology on them, so they'll be off the enemy's radar."
"Good. Load the rest of the base's supplies and send the ships out to sea. I want us out of here in the next twenty minutes before the Guardians figure out what's happened here."
"Understood!" Kavachin was about to leave but he stopped when he spotted the prisoners. "What about them, sir?"
Michael glanced over his shoulder and said, "Kill them."
A single chain swiftly decapitated the prisoner's heads and, by the time Sangili had called the chain back, the prisoners had all already died.
Michael flew into the air and oversaw the rest of his men's operations.
In less than five minutes, his assault force of two hundred men had taken down a base of ten times that number and, more importantly, they had acquired two battleships and an aircraft carrier as well.
They were fully supplied and were some of the finest that the British navy had to offer, and that made them perfect prizes for Phantom to acquire.
After his soldiers had evacuated the base, sent the ships to sea and were safely away from the base, Michael flew as high into the sky as high as he could, turned around and flew with all of his might towards the base. He generated all of his power into his right fist and, just as he was about to hit the ground, he smashed it into the ground, devastating the base like it had been hit by a meteor.
"How many more, Kasmine?" Michael whispered, looking at the destruction around him. "How many more lives will you make me trample over?" |
"So, those two really aren't going out?" Ajax asked in disbelief.
"Nope," Connor replied.
"Seriously?"
"Well, I'm very confident that they both like each other, so it shouldn't be long until one of them confesses...is what I said a long time ago."
A few days ago, at the end of their trip to the city, everyone had seen Eric give a ring to Kaida and, naturally, everyone assumed that they were going out. Evony and Ajax asked Connor to hang out with them at one of the cafes in Ferris to hear more details about their relationship, only to immediately have their hopes dashed.
"How long have they been like that?" Ajax wondered.
"I know that Kaida has had a crush on Eric for about ten years," Connor said. "Eric probably fell for her-" He cut himself off. "Well, I'm not too sure."
"Really? You've been with them all their lives, haven't you?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Was it when he hit puberty and realised she was an absolute beauty?"
Connor sighed a little and glanced out of the window. Evony took a quick glance at his pained expression and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to press him any further.
"Ajax, does it really matter when they fell for one another?" Evony asked.
"Well, no but-"
"Then stop asking about it."
Ajax looked at Evony and then Connor. "Right, sorry. I was just curious, is all."
"It's fine." Connor gave Ajax a small smile. "Anyway, as we're out of the house, do you guys want to go and train for a little bit?"
"Are you sure?" Evony asked.
"Yeah, I mean, you haven't transformed into your Armour more than once, have you?" Ajax followed up.
"Which is exactly why I need to start practice using it. I don't want to go to our first combat class and have to sit out because I couldn't summon it. Or are you guys are busy after this?"
"No, I'm-"
"Hey, that's my seat!" Someone nearby shouted.
"Was," a snide remark said back.
"What's going on?" Ajax glanced behind him. He grimaced. "Oh, great. The problem children are fighting."
The boy yelling his head off was Fiddah '
Ace'
Darpa, someone who many thought of as the most irritating person in their year.
He had wavy silver hair, pale white eyes and was dressed in a smart shirt and trousers, both of which were immaculately clean. After defeating the teacher on the first day, Ace proclaimed that he was as strong as the Achlys Twins and that he would be on a team by himself.
Needless to say, no one thought Ace was that strong, despite his unique, and strong, powers.
Ace used Tarot cards to perform impressive and powerful magical attacks and abilities, and he was the only one in the world that was capable of that.
He had given himself his own nickname of Ace and told everyone to call him that.
The boy Ace was yelling at was Kellan '
Dead Eye'
Bowen, a feared gunslinger who terrified most people because of the aura that he gave off, combined with his harsh stare and blunt attitude.
His nickname, however, wasn't one that just referred to his skill with a gun.
Kellan's left eye had been damaged beyond repair when he was younger, leaving it blind, though he did not cover it with an eyepatch. He had messy black hair and his other blue eye was currently closed.
Ace let out an irritated laugh, slamming his hand on the table. "That's
my
seat. Get off."
The other patrons near them drew quieter, many turning their gaze to the two.
Dead Eye opened his eye, looked Ace up and down, then promptly closed it again.
Ace clicked his tongue and yelled even louder this time. "It's my seat, so get off of it. Now!"
Dead Eye remained just as still and just as quiet.
Ace couldn't contain himself.
He threw a punch at Dead Eye, but Dead Eye caught the fist, pulled Ace towards him, and then elbowed him hard in the stomach. Ace cried out and collapsed onto his knees, grasping his stomach. Dead Eye stood up and kicked Ace with all of his might in the side of the head, sending him flying across the floor.
Ace's cries grew louder as Dead Eye moved slowly towards him to strike him again.
However, someone grabbed Dead Eye's arm roughly and held him in place.
"That's enough!" Ajax stared down Dead Eye. "Try anything else, and I'll stop you."
"It was self-defence."
"Bullshit! You goaded him into attacking and beat him up."
Dead Eye tried to break free from Ajax's grasp, but Ajax gripped him tighter than before. Dead Eye instinctively grabbed Ajax's arm, but caught himself before he ended up throwing Ajax across the room.
"Hey, what's going on here!" A guard demanded, bursting into the café. He saw Dead Eye, then Ace, and quickly put together what happened. "Bowen! Again! Come with me."
Dead Eye forcefully freed himself from Ajax's grasp and went along quietly with the guard, whilst Ajax and other helped Ace.
***
"Kellan, it hasn't even been a month since you joined the school and this is the fourth time that I've had you in my barracks," Captain Lares said, rubbing his forehead.
"He started it."
"I'd disagree. You baited him into it by taking his chair and not saying anything back to him."
"If he had spoken to me nicely, then this wouldn't have happened."
Lares let out a heavy sigh and leant back in his chair. "Kellan-"
"Dead Eye."
"...Kellan, if you don't stop doing this, I'll have to raise this with the Headmistress and have more serious disciplinary actions taken." Lares put on a smile and leant forwards. "I know you're not a bad kid, and neither of us want that to happen, do we?"
Dead Eye showed no signs that he was listening to him and Lares sighed once more.
"Then you leave me no choice. I'll report this-" Someone knocked at the door. "Come in."
A guard stepped into the room and saluted to Lares. "Sir, there's an Eric Agrim here to see you."
Lares smiled brightly, a smile that Dead Eye had never seen before. "Thank you, I'll be right there." He turned back to Dead Eye and lost his smile. "Keep an eye on Kellan until I get back, please."
"Yes, sir."
***
The Ferris Security Forces were a small, private guard force with a thousand members who existed solely as the guards of Ferris Academy.
Every member was a proven combat veteran, dressed in a dark blue combat armour and carrying powerful assault rifles with them at all times, making them quite intimidating sight to say the least. They were constantly patrolling the school grounds at all times of the day in pairs and were so present and effective that there was never more than a five-minute period where there weren't guards somewhere at Ferris.
Their headquarters looked more like a fortress than a barracks, complete with underground dungeon-like detention centre beneath it and, allegedly, a maximum-security centre deep beneath the earth where the most serious offenders were kept.
When Eric first arrived at the barracks, he thought that he was in the wrong place, or that he had somehow stumbled off of Ferris and to somewhere else entirely. However, a friendly guard greeted him and showed him to the captain's office.
The room had plain white walls, a sturdy desk and with three comfortable chairs around it, and a sofa in the corner. On the captain's desk was a picture of his wife and his brother's family, as well as a powerful computer.
Eric was sat at the desk, waiting patiently for the captain to show up.
Just as his eyes were wandering around the room aimlessly, Lares Agrim burst into the room, grinning from ear to ear. "Eric, my boy!" He ran over and wrapped his arm around Eric's head and playfully rubbed his fist against the boy's skull. "Still as ugly as ever, eh?"
Eric smiled slyly and said, "Still better looking than you."
Lares let out a hearty laugh and released Eric, before sitting on his desk chair. "So, how's my favourite nephew been?"
"Uncle Lares, I'm your only nephew."
"And thus, my favourite."
"By default."
"Hey, when you put it like that, it makes me sound bad. Why not take it that it means you'll always be my favourite?"
"It doesn't make me feel special if it's by default."
The two shared a laugh together before Lares's expression turned deadly serious. "How have you been feeling? I mean, since the whole...you know?"
Since Eric had arrived at Ferris, neither he nor his uncle had been able to meet one another and catch up, as they had both been incredibly busy and never been free at the same time.
"At first, I was terrified," Eric said, losing his smile. "I thought that after everything that had happened before, I'd never have to deal with the idea of almost dying again, but, when Spike nearly killed me that night, I remembered how scared I was back then and...feared that it'd happen again. But." Eric smiled again. "Right now, I just want to live a happy life with my friends and move past what happened."
Lares smiled slightly. "I'm glad you feel that way." He got up and pulled Eric into a one-armed hug. "If you ever need to talk, my office is always open for you. Anytime, any day."
"Thank you, Uncle Lares."
"No worries, mate."
Lares broke off the hug and sat back down. "So, was there anything else I can do for you today, or did you just come to catch up?"
"I wanted to catch up too, but I-"
There was a loud knock at the door.
"One moment. What is it?"
"Sir, Kellan has requested-"
"I'll be there in a moment." The guard left with a salute and, once the door was closed, Lares let out a weary sigh.
"Kellan again?" Eric asked.
"Yeah. Fourth time since he got here. Honestly, I don't know what to do with him anymore."
"Hasn't he been through a lot?" Lares shot him a confused look. "You know, because of his eye and everything."
"I imagine so, but that doesn't excuse him beating up another student, or three others for that matter."
While Eric agreed with his uncle, he didn't want to believe that Dead Eye was out of control or acting without a good reason. However, he also didn't want to just sweep everything under the rug because of Dead Eye's past.
"Hey, could I try talking to him about it before you discipline him again?"
"I'm guessing you have a good reason for suggesting something like that," Lares said. "So? What is it?"
"Maybe he'd feel more comfortable talking about his behaviour and stuff to someone his own age, and someone else who has gone through something similar."
Lares crossed his arms. "Eric, I don't hate that idea, but I don't know if you'll be able to talk to him about something like that."
"I will. I promise."
"Hmm."
Lares knew that there was probably nothing he personally could do to get Kellan to change his ways, but maybe there was something his nephew could do.
If they could bond over their pain or become friends, wouldn't that help Kellan change his ways?
"Give me two weeks. I'll talk to him and try to be his friend and
I'm sure he'll change."
"So, I let him go, you spend some time with him and try to break through his shell, right?" Lares asked. "It's worth a shot, I guess, but I don't know if it'll work."
"We won't know until I try."
Lares smiled. "Well said, lad." He held out a hand to Eric who looked at it a bit confused. "If you manage to get through to him by the end of two weeks, I won't take any disciplinary actions for the time being. That's fine with you, right?"
"Yes."
Eric took his uncle's hand and firmly shook it.
***
Once Dead Eye had been released by the security forces, he and Eric went to a bench by the lakeside together in a fairly deserted area.
The evening sun was hanging low above them as they sat in silence, a gentle breeze blowing over them.
Whilst Dead Eye was slouching on into the bench, Eric was sat perfectly upright, tense as he struggled to find a way to break the uncomfortable silence between them.
"How'd you convince him to let me off?" Dead Eye asked.
"I don't think he would've if I wasn't his nephew," Eric said, laughing awkwardly, scratting his cheek.
"Huh. Now it makes sense. I guess he spoils you then."
"A little, I guess. Sometimes, I think he considers me the most important thing in his life."
Dead Eye opened his eye. "He's not married?"
Eric shook his head. "He was."
"...Sorry."
"It happened a month before I was born, so I never got to meet her, and...Uncle Lares doesn't speak off her much anymore. My dad said she was one of the most wonderful people he'd ever met though."
"Kids?"
Eric shook his head again. "She was infertile. A few years ago, my dad told me that my uncle was a complete mess after she died. However, I've never actually seen my uncle look truly sad or depressed. Most of the time when I see him, he's always smiling like he's the happiest person in the world. Dad said that after I was born, Uncle Lares started to slowly change back to how he was before."
"...Huh."
Another breeze blew over them and silence returned, though, unlike before, it wasn't as awkward; it was strangely relaxed.
"When did you plan on asking me about my eye?"
"W-What?" Eric stuttered.
"Everyone always wants to know, but no one ever has the courage to ask about it."
"S-Sorry, I mean, I'm curious about it, so I couldn't help-"
"It's fine. It's only natural to want to know why someone's body is damaged. Everyone thinks about it, even if they don't want to. If you see someone in a wheelchair or with a burnt face, you naturally want to know how and why it happened, even when you don't know them, what they've been through or how it affects them."
...I'd never thought of it like that,
Eric whispered in his mind.
"Unfortunately, it's not that great or sad of a story," Dead Eye confessed, sitting up straight. "When I was younger, I was sitting next to a window when a cricket ball smashed through it. The glass shattered and a piece got into my eye and a few other pieces cut my body. A shard about this big." He made a gap between his fingers about an inch wide. "Went right through the centre of my eye and there was no hope of recovery. Synthetic wouldn't take either, so I just asked them to put the old eye back in. Heh." Dead Eye grunted. "The doctor's never saw that coming."
"That's..." Eric started to say but quickly stopped once he realised he didn't know what to say to Dead Eye.
Should he comfort him?
Console him?
Or just ignore it? Say nothing and change the subject.
"It's not a great memory, but I've come to terms with it." Dead Eye sighed. "I've already lost it and thinking about it won't bring it back. Still, if I had to lose an eye, I would've liked a better story to go with it. A cricket ball through the window is a lame way of losing an eye."
"That's...one way of thinking about it."
Dead Eye grunted, and a small smile crossed his lips. "Yeah."
A few moments of silence passed before Eric spoke up again.
"Does it hurt?"
"I get phantom pains here and there, but it always felt like it was on fire for the first couple of years. I had to be on pain medication until it stopped hurting, but the shard, and the eye, are still there, and it does itch occasionally which is annoying. You get used to it after a decade or so though."
Eric smiled sadly and turned his body away from Dead Eye, turning his gaze to the ground. "You're amazing," he whispered, enviously, grasping his chest, an action Dead Eye didn't' miss. "Absolutely strange and maybe a little insane, but amazing."
Now I get it,
Dead Eye thought, looking to Eric's chest.
Not all scars are visible, huh?
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so," Dead Eye said before his phone buzzed. He checked it and said, "Something's come up. See you later."
"Oh, okay. Um, hey, do you mind, um, if we, um-"
"I'm sorry but I don't feel that way about you."
"Not that!"
Dead Eye smiled. "Exchange contact details, right?" Eric nodded. "Sure."
The two quickly exchanged details and Dead Eye turned to leave.
"Bye, Kell-"
"Dead Eye."
"...Bye, Dead Eye," Eric said.
"See you around, Eric," Dead Eye said back.
It seems like Lares and his nephew are good people,
Dead Eye mused in his head, smiling to himself. |
Date: 11th September 2172
Eric's house was in almost complete darkness.
After his parents had gone to work, Eric had quickly gone around the house closing all of the curtains and blinds, refusing to let anything in from the outside world. Then, after checking that all of the doors and windows were locked, he had gathered three books, turned on a light in the living room and begun to read.
Before he knew it, he was already done with two of them.
Eric glanced over at the time on his watch and saw that it was time for his daily exercise routine.
He changed into his workout clothes and went to the home gym on the first floor. He stretched all of his core muscles for five minutes, then jumped onto a treadmill for twenty minutes, then he lifted weights for another five minutes, and used a punching bag to finish it off.
By the time he was done, he was drenched in sweat and exhausted, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling for Eric.
If he didn't do this much to distract and train himself, then Eric believed he'd never have a chance of venturing out of his house again.
Despite his parents' attempts to take a long period of time off work, they hadn't had more than a day to try and talk to Eric about what had happened and how it wasn't healthy for him to live his life as a shut-in. However, whenever they were home, Eric locked himself in his room until he knew that they were gone.
For him, it was far easier than talking to them.
Eric relaxed from his routine for a few minutes, then showered and changed, before resuming his reading.
***
Date: 14th September 2172
As soon as school had ended, Kaida had run to Eric's house and, out of breath, she walked up to his door and banged on it loudly.
"Eric! Eric! You're in there, aren't you?"
She pressed her ear up against the door but she didn't hear anything on the other side.
If Eric was at home, he was ignoring her.
Still, Kaida didn't give up that easily.
She leant against his door and began browsing on her phone, periodically checking the windows and door to see if there were any changes.
After waiting outside of his house for twenty minutes, Kaida decided to call it a day, for now.
She slipped her phone back into her pocket and walked home and, as she went, she kept looking over her shoulder again and again to see if Eric was coming out.
If Kaida could even catch a glance of him, that would be enough to calm her worrying heart for the moment.
However, Eric never appeared.
***
Date: 16th September 2172
Around ten in the evening on a Friday, Connor had stopped by Eric's house alone and had climbed up to the roof and was sat outside Eric's bedroom window.
"You should've been there today, Eric. Mr. Graham was happily showing off some old epics that he loved. I mean, not my sort of thing, but I imagine you'd have loved it. Oh." Connor chuckled. "Alexa's face was hilarious as she was trying to understand what the books were saying.
'Why do I have to read something as dull as this?'
she was screaming." His expression turned sombre and his smile weakened. "She misses you, too."
Connor listened for a moment, hoping, praying that Eric would say something; but, as always, nothing.
He let out a quiet sigh, stood up and forced a big smile onto his face. "Well, it's gotten late, and my folks worry far too much. I'll come back next week, but I hope to see you at school again soon. Night, Eric."
With that, Connor climbed down from the roof and slowly walked off into the night.
On the other side of the glass, Eric was sat on his bed in total darkness, his head in his knees and a blank expression on his face.
Even though Connor had been talking for an hour, Eric didn't remember anything except for what he'd said before he left.
"I'm sorry, Connor."
***
Date: 13th November 2172
Eric smashed his fists harder and harder against the punching bag with each swing.
Each part of his routine's time had doubled and, even though he knew he was over exerting himself, he kept throwing his fists again and again, ignoring the aches in his muscles and the pain in his fingers.
***
Even after two months of knocking on Eric's door and waiting for him to respond, Kaida still hadn't given up on him, even when he never responded to her.
In fact, with each day, she waited for him longer.
Obviously, to make sure that she wasn't just standing idly outside his house doing nothing, Kaida spent the wait studying, doing her homework or texting friends.
Kaida had even started knocking and calling for Eric every minute just to see if she could potentially annoy Eric out to talk to her, or even get him to yell at her.
Unfortunately, it had been in vain.
No matter what she did or how long she waited, Eric never answered.
***
Date: 14th November 2172
"God, physics today was boring!" Connor complained. "I know Mr Noel only just left, but God damn do I miss him already. At least I could understand what he was saying. This new guy, though, can't explain a thing. Honestly, why'd he have to chase a bigger pay check over staying with his students?"
Connor let out a small sigh. "My parents were asking about you the other day. They...they send their love and really, really...want to see you again. They...I...think of you as a brother." He frowned and stared at the glass behind him. "Alexa, Kaida and everyone else at school miss you...I...miss you." Connor cut himself off when he felt his eyes watering. "Well, see you next week...Goodbye, Eric."
Without a reply, Connor left for the night, leaving Eric, curled up on a ball on his bed.
***
Date: 11th January 2173
The doorbell rang loudly, breaking Eric's focus on his book.
With a heavy sigh, Eric went to answer the door and found an unattended package a delivery driver had left.
"If you're going to ring the doorbell, then at least wait until I answer the door," Eric muttered lazily, picking up the large cardboard box.
He heard something heavy.
Eric looked up and panicked.
It was Kaida.
It was the first time she'd seen him in months, she had inadvertently dropped her schoolbag, spilling the contents everywhere.
"Eric..." Her eyes were watering as she slowly walked towards him.
Eric, on the other hand, was like a deer in headlights, paralysed and terrified.
It was the first time in months that he had seen her.
Eric dropped the box and turned to run back inside, but he tripped on the steps and hit the door.
"Eric!"
Eric got up and tried to slam the door behind him, but Kaida jammed her arm in the door, wedging it open.
She winced, ripped the door open and screamed, "Eric, wait!"
She grabbed his wrist but Eric broke free and ran towards his bedroom upstairs. Kaida barged in, throwing the door closed behind her, and was close on his tail, determined to catch him and talk to him.
But she couldn't catch him.
He threw open his door, jumped inside, and quickly locked it.
"Eric, wait!" Kaida pleaded, turning the door handle and hammering against the wood. "Eric! Why won't you talk to me?"
She kept banging and banging on the door as Eric curled into a ball against it, hiding his face in his knees, trying his best to ignore her cries.
"Eric, please...talk to me," she begged, placing her head against the door, tears streaming down her face. "Please, don't do this. I...Eric...Eric" She slid down the door and onto her knees. "Eric, talk to me."
Eric winced, closed his eyes and curled up even tighter into a ball.
***
Before Eric realised, it was already midnight and Kaida's cries from the other side of the door had stopped long ago.
She must have gone home without me realising.
He stood up and slowly opened his door and, to his surprise, he found a fast asleep Kaida on the other side.
"Why?"
Eric could see that her cheeks that were wet with tears.
His childhood friend, someone that he hadn't spoken to in months and who he had purposefully kept away from him so that she wouldn't be hurt by his misery, had been crying so much outside of his bedroom door. Even after everything that Eric had done, after how much he had done to keep her at bay, and how poorly he had treated her and Connor, she had stayed by his side.
I...I did this to her.
A
gut-wrenching and painful feeling developing in his stomach and chest, more painful than the stab wound.
I tried to keep her from me, so that I could keep getting stronger and protect her, but...
His hands curled into fists.
All I did was hurt her.
He knelt down beside her and lightly brushed her hair, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks and eyes as softly as he could. "I'm sorry, Kaida." He scooped her into his arms. "I'm sorry that I've put you through so much."
Gently, he carried her to his parent's bed and laid her down, pulling the covers over her. He prayed that she would be able to sleep peacefully here.
Eric went to stand up but, in her sleep, Kaida's hand reached out and grasped his.
Her expression twisted in pain and her grip became tighter. Eric sat back down and lay beside her, squeezing her hand back and stroking her hair. Kaida, either half-asleep or fully awake and testing him, smiled and she peacefully went to sleep. |
The moment Lares learnt of Bunny's attack, he called Eric.
"Gather your team and your gear now! Bunny has taken over an entire block of flats in the city; she's currently contained thanks to the first responders on the scene. The cars to take you guys to the city will be there in two minutes and you need to be ready by then."
"Understood."
"...Eric, be careful out there."
"...I will!"
***
The jeep zoomed down the streets of Imperial as police officers cleared the roads, allowing Eric and the other Guardians to arrive quickly at the scene.
Eric, Jasmine, Elthia, Evony and Laila were in one car and the other two in their convoy had members of the Guardians, including Aria to provide support.
For Eric, this was not just his first time in a real fight, but it was also the first time he'd ever fought beside someone else since coming to Ferris.
He had spent the last few weeks being taught by Aria and Sapphire, but he was still anxious about fighting a real battle, and he didn't feel like he'd gotten that much stronger.
He could deploy deploy blades from above his wrists and he was decent with his magic, but he wasn't able to use a lot of his Mana yet.
The girls had all changed into their combat gear, while Eric remained in his casual clothes, making him feel a little out of place.
Jasmine was wearing a freshly cleaned white shirt and an ebony skirt with various pieces of gold armour over it. Her arms were covered with clockwork gauntlets, her back and chest was covered in a golden chest plate with her guns and ammunition placed strategically all over it. She had two shotguns holstered on her back, two collapsible submachine guns folded into her lower back with a semi-automatic rifle in between them which could compress, and two pistols that deployed from her gauntlets.
She had made all of her own equipment and created them with lightweight, but strong, materials, allowing her to carry an armoury on her without weighing her down too much.
Elthia was wearing a short jade dress that was cut off above her elbows and just above her knees with a silver tiara engraved with diamonds in her hair, leaving her tattoos on display.
"Elthia's tattoos need to be exposed to the natural Magical Energy in the air for them to work,"
Jasmine told him.
"They can't store Magical Energy in them and can only activate when they're in direct contact with the Magical Energy in the air. It makes it a bit harder for them to use their tattoos depending where they are on the body, but they could theoretically never run out of Mana as long as they're tattoos are in contact with the air."
Evony was dressed smartly in a smart white shirt with a pale green overcoat and black jeans, her quiver and bow resting beside her in the car. Laila was clad in dark leather armour with a black hood and scarf hiding her face. She kept her hair tied in her pigtails and her dagger was held in its sheath at her lower back.
"I still don't get why we're being sent to deal with this," Evony whispered.
"The Headmistress told us, didn't she? Eric needs some real combat experience and this is a good opportunity for it." Jasmine grunted. "At least that's how she rationalised it to us."
Elthia grasped Jasmine's hand firmly and she held it gently back. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
Elthia smiled, her cheeks slightly red, and leant into Jasmine's shoulder, a sight which Eric couldn't help but smile at, even though his hands were shaking.
What if I mess up or freeze up?
Eric worried.
What if I get wounded or, worse, one of the others gets hurt? What if I throw up?
He grasped his chest.
What if I have a panic attack?
"Scared?" Laila asked Eric, catching him off guard.
"Yeah, of course," Eric answered honestly with an anxious laugh.
"Understandable. However." She looked directly into his eyes. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."
"Thank you."
Even if it was just a throwaway line, it helped calm Eric down a little and, for that, he was extremely grateful.
"I'm pretty sure the line is meant to be '
We'll protect you'
," Evony chimed in.
"We'll protect each other I think would be better," Eric offered.
Evony smirked. "Says the guy who's shaking in his boots."
Eric lowered his head in defeat, making Evony laugh; Laila lightly pat him on his head, making him feel a bit worse.
The car made a sudden, sharp turn as it pulled up outside the block of flats Bunny had taken over.
The area was swarming with police and Guardians, forming a tight perimeter around the building. There were thirty gigantic spotlights which were pointed at the structure, illuminating the exterior, and two helicopters circled around the building from a safe distance. The streets surrounding the flats were in the process of being evacuated and hundreds of members of the press were kept at bay by a line of police cars.
When Eric stepped out of the car, he could see from the ground a few large blood stains on the side of the building, and several corpses strung along the balconies like they were gargoyles.
"Holy shit."
He felt his stomach churn as a paralysing chill spread across his body.
"Eric," Aria called, throwing a syringe to him. "Take that. It'll help calm your nerves for the next few hours and stop you from vomiting."
"T-Thanks."
It was a black cylinder filled with a light blue liquid; a potion that was injected directly into the bloodstream rather than ingested through the throat.
With little hesitation, Eric injected it right into the largest vein in his arm and, just a few seconds later, he no longer felt ill.
Before Eric could process everything that was happening, Aria grabbed his arm and brought her face close to his ear. "If things start to go horribly wrong, we'll storm the building. Keep yourself and your friends safe, and rescue any and all survivors you find. Understood?"
"Y-Yes."
Aria smiled and gently patted him on the back. "Good. Come on, let's go brief you guys."
Aria pulled Eric by the arm towards the front entrance where the rest of his teammates had gathered, as well as two people he didn't know, and a familiar face.
"Dead Eye? What are you doing here?"
"I volunteered when I heard you were getting involved," Dead Eye said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I also heard what happened to Alexis."
Eric smiled. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. As for these two." He turned and pointed at the two people Eric didn't know. "They're two of my teammates; Fayre and Khan."
Fayre had sapphire eyes and long brown hair, curling down her neck and the side of her face, showing off her delicate and smooth pale skin. She was dressed in an elegant white dress and heels and had beautifully woven black tattoos along her arms and legs in the shape of rose thorns.
Khan was a small statured Asian boy with thick black hair and murky green eyes, wearing a tattered old shirt and ripped jeans. Eric knew Khan by name as he also had a God Armour; the Armour of Genghis Khan.
No one knew why Genghis Khan had become a God Armour when he died and, despite many theories and investigations, no one ever came up with a concrete reason.
"Not their real names I presume?" Jasmine asked.
"Mine is. Khan, however, insists that we call him by a codename when we're in a fight," Fayre said sweetly
Khan nodded. "What's the game plan?"
"I'll explain that," Aria interjected. "The situation, as we know it right now, is that Bunny has invaded and taken over this block of flats, and we fully expect that everyone inside is dead. However, due to government concerns that there could still be civilians left alive inside, we aren't able to just level the building and take down Bunny and her '
puppets'
that way. Instead." Aria looked around at the massive numbers of police and Guardians. "We've set up as tight of a perimeter as possible."
"Would we really level the building if we could?"
"It would be the quickest and safest way of dealing with the crisis and not put any more lives at state. However, as we can't do that, we're doing the next best thing; containment and extermination. You lot are to enter into the building and neutralise the threats on every single level, rescuing any civilians we find. Well, the police and the Guardians will do that and move in behind you guys after five minutes. You guys however have to hunt down and engage Bunny.
"Normally, it'd be the other way around, but the Headmistress applied some pressure to the government to switch it around. Dead Eye, you'll lead the squad and take everyone, minus Elthia, straight up to the top floor where Bunny was last seen. If you guys attack her all at once, you'll scare her off and she'll retreat which is the ideal situation, as it'll make it easier to kill her puppets and find survivors."
"Why?" Dead Eye asked.
"After compiling reports about previous incidents with Bunny over the last twenty-five years since she appeared, we've learnt things about her abilities and habits, including that her puppets are only effective while she is within a mile radius of them. Force her to run away and they'll become mindless and easy to take down."
"So, Bunny is our priority?"
"Correct. Any other questions?" No one else said a word. "In that case, enter into the building and neutralise Bunny."
"Roger that," everyone replied.
"Before that." Aria pulled out a small bag filled with black cylinders filled with a glowing purple liquid in them. "Night vision potions. Take them now and they'll last for the next few hours."
The team didn't hesitate to inject them into their veins, before gearing up to enter the building.
Khan and Eric transformed into their Armours, the former spawning a scimitar in his hand. Dead Eye swung his rifle into his hands, Jasmine deployed her pistols, Evony took her bow off her back, Laila withdrew her dagger from its sheath, and Fayre giggled softly, pressing her fingertips against her lips.
Aria guided Elthia back to the police line as the young girl looked on anxiously at her friends.
Everyone, please be okay,
Elthia
prayed in her mind.
Dead Eye lead the way into the building, bashing through the shattered see-through doors and breaking what little glass remained in their frames. It was pitch black on the inside as the building's power had been severed by Bunny herself.
Had they not taken the night vision potions, they wouldn't have been able to see a thing.
Dead Eye swiftly aimed his gun from side to side, scanning for any and all enemies but there were only ten butchered corpses., lying in an ocean of blood and organs.
"Disgusting hobby," he spat as the others followed in behind him.
Laila crouched down to examine one of the bodies while Evony and Jasmine slowly began to spread out, looking for any signs of Bunny's puppets. Khan stepped over to one of the other corpses and plunged his blade through its head, but the body didn't react in the slightest to it.
"This one isn't a puppet," he said as his blade glowed green, evaporating the blood on it.
"How can you tell?" Eric asked.
"Bunny's puppets can only be killed by destroying their brains or hearts," Dead Eye explained. "Further, it seems that only she can bring people back as her puppets if she kills them personally."
Laila shoved her dagger into the corpse she was examining, piercing its heart and it let out a banshee like cry, causing Eric and a few of the others to cover their ears in shock.
In that moment, the other eight bodies had leapt onto their feet, brandishing improvised weapons, and leapt at them.
"As I thought," Fayre said as black vines shot from her arms.
They smashed through the puppet's hearts, exploding them in an instant and they stopped moving. Fayre recalled her vines and they returned to the tattoos on her arms.
"How many people would usually live in a block of flats this size?" Jasmine inquired, switching her pistols for the shotguns on her back.
"About a thousand," Evony replied.
Dead Eye pressed one of the lift buttons, but nothing happened. "Even the emergency power's out? No choice; we've got to take the stairs which puts us at a great disadvantage."
"No more than us all being trapped inside a small steel box," Jasmine said.
"Agreed. So, why are the stairs bad?" Khan asked.
"On the stairs, Evony, myself and Jasmine will be largely useless because we need space to attack from a distance."
"Then why didn't we enter through the rooftop?"
"Because a group of officers tried that earlier and Bunny leapt up to the helicopter, kicked it and blew it up."
"What the hell?" Eric whispered.
"Anyway, we need to get moving. Khan, Laila and Eric go in the front, Fayre at the back and the rest of us in the middle."
Jasmine went through the doors to the staircase first, her shotguns in her hands, and saw that the concrete stairs were covered in dried blood. She glanced up and spotted that the railings still had fresh blood dripping off them, each drop echoing endlessly when they splashed into the crimson ocean at the bottom of the stairs.
"No contacts."
Laila took the lead and slowly crept up the stairs, Khan close behind her and Eric behind him, his above wrist blades deployed. Even though the blood on the stairs had dried, there was still a chance that they could slip on the steps and hurt themselves which, in a fight, could get them killed.
Everyone remained dead silent as they slowly climbed up the floors, listening carefully for any sounds of Bunny or her puppets.
If they were ambushed on the stairs, it would be a worst-case scenario as they wouldn't be able to fight as well.
As they went up each floor, Laila counted them off in her mind.
First floor; no contact.
Second floor; no contact.
Third floor; feint whispers from the top of the stairs.
Laila thought about getting the group to stop temporarily, but they were right next to the door leading to the third floor and, if they stopped moving, they could be ambushed from the door and the top of the stairs at the same time.
Fourth floor; obstruction on the stairs.
The group came to a stop in front of a makeshift barricade of sofas, tables, chairs and other miscellaneous household items on the stairs, preventing them from climbing any higher. Laila put her dagger back in its sheath and held out her hands, shadows wrapping around the makeshift barricade. She tried to use her magic to lift parts of it up but nothing would budge, as if they were bolted to the concrete itself.
"Nothing," she whispered as Khan stepped ahead of her.
He handed her his scimitar and tried to rip apart the barricade with his bare hands but, even with his God Armour, it didn't move.
"What the hell?" Khan hissed, kicking the barricade with his boot. "It won't move."
"Magic, perhaps?" Fayre offered. "Although I'm not sure of what kind."
"I'll call it in and let Aria know," Dead Eye said. "For now, we go back to the third floor and wait there."
They went back down the stairs to where they had just been, and Laila and Khan went through the doors first; there were no bodies or puppets in sight.
"Don't let your guard down," Dead Eye reminded them and he reached for his radio. "Aria, this is Dead Eye, come in."
"Aria here. Report."
"We're currently on the third floor of the building and found a barricade preventing us from moving any further. It's unbreakable and we believe it may be some form of magic or enchantment. Over."
"You couldn't break it? What's it made out of?"
"Regular household furniture. Any ideas?"
"Hmm, this isn't the first time we've run into something like that during a Bunny case. We can only guess that she has some sort of reinforcement ability, given how her clothes can stop bullets. Head over to the staircase on the other side of the building and another team will begin clear up on the lower floors."
"Understood." Dead Eye turned off the radio and, as soon as he did, all of the doors to the flats opened up on their floor. "Shit!"
Over a hundred of Bunny's puppets poured out of the rooms, eerie smiles on their faces and they were covered in stab and slash wounds.
Khan and Laila jumped into action and charged at the corpses, Eric quickly following behind them; they sliced, stabbed and slashed at everything in their path. Jasmine holstered her shotguns and took out her rifle and Evony began to fire normal arrows, both making sure to only fire when they were sure that they wouldn't hit their friends.
Dead Eye was about to fire his rifle when the doors behind them burst off their hinges, revealing thirty more of Bunny's puppets. Fayre clicked her tongue and six vines smashed some of the puppets back, sending them flying down the stairs. More dropped down from the upper floors to take their place.
Fayre sent more vines from her arms and began slicing the puppets in half, allowing Dead Eye to provide support to Eric and the others. Dead Eye reloaded his rifle and then he heard it; hundreds of footsteps from above them.
"They're above us! Run!" He shouted.
Jasmine and Evony were the first two to start running, while Eric, Khan and Laila were almost at the end of the corridor when Dead Eye had shouted his warning. Fayre gritted her teeth together and ran as fast as she could, corpses chasing her from behind and more swinging down to her side.
"Bunny just wants to play," the puppets playfully called.
Fayre sent vines to destroy several of their heads at once just before she reached the end of the corridor. Once Fayre was in the staircase, Evony loosed an explosive arrow at the upper floor, dropping rubble in front of the doors and cutting off their pursuers.
However, the puppets smashed against the debris, clawing at it with their fingers so hard that it began to break and crack.
From the lower floors, the doors blew open and an army of giggling corpses ran up the stairs.
"Evony!" Eric screamed.
She ran to catch up with the others and Eric fired a bolt of black energy at the stairs behind her, taking out some of her pursuers and collapsing a part of the stairs. However, the puppets leapt over it and began jumping onto the railing of the stairs where Eric and the others were.
Evony screamed as she slipped on the stairs and rolled down eight of them, smashing her knee against the floor and leaving her centimetres from the puppets.
"Evony!" Jasmine shouted. She dropped her rifle and pulled out her machine guns, unleashing a hail of bullets upon the corpses.
Even though she kept cutting them down, it didn't stop their advance.
Eric jumped in front of Evony and shot a black beam from both of his palms, eviscerating several lines of the corpses. He scooped Evony up into his arms and ran up the stairs.
The group continued to fight their way to the eleventh floor but there was another barricade there, stopping them from reaching the top floors.
"Not again," Dead Eye hissed, smashing the doors to the eleventh floor wide open.
There were no puppets waiting for them this time but the corridor was littered with blood, organs and severed limbs. Everyone quickly rushed out of the stairs and into the corridor and Fayre was the last one through.
After checking that everyone was in the corridor, she spun on her heel and faced the door they'd come from. She thrust out her hands and erected a barrier made of thorns in the door frame. The puppets threw themselves at it, shredding their bodies and killing themselves, all of them desperate to get through to her.
"Will that hold?" Evony asked.
Fayre smiled. "Of course."
With a flick of her wrists, the connection between her tattoos and the barrier was severed but it didn't disappear.
With the puppets behind them unable to reach them, Eric and the others took a second to catch their breath.
"How's everyone doing?" Eric asked.
Jasmine's machine guns clicked. She reached for more magazine and she cursed. "Out of ammo for these."
She holstered her machine guns and took out her pistols.
"My rifle's out as well," Dead Eye added.
"At least now they won't be able to hit us from behind," Eric said.
"I imagine that they'll start to come at us again in any minute," Laila noted. "Dead Eye, what do we do?"
Dead Eye threw his rifle over his shoulder and took out a silver pistol. "We'll have to deal with her and her puppets at the same time. Eric, Laila, Khan; you three will have to take care of Bunny."
"Why us?" Eric asked.
"You three are the best suited to handle someone like Bunny. The rest of us are far more suited to dealing with her puppets. If you guys can force her to retreat, then we'll be able to manage and, even if you don't, the other team are clearing each floor and will be here soon enough. Any objections?"
"Of course not," Fayre purred.
"In that case, let's go."
Just as they were about to move, a door at the far end of the corridor opened. A figure dressed in a bloodstained hoodie and pair of jeans walked out and turned to face them, wearing a bunny mask covered in red splatters.
"Bunny."
Then, from behind her, a girl with strawberry blonde hair and red eyes, stepped out, an eerie smile on her lips, even with her rotting skin and empty eyes.
"Stephanie."
The rest of the doors on the floor opened and corpses slowly began to march out of the rooms, each of them horribly mutilated.
"Won't you come and play with Bunny?" They asked.
Eric and the others prepared to strike and the corpses all snapping to face them.
"Why won't you play with us?" They asked in a sinisterly innocent voice.
Eric fired a blast of energy towards Bunny, but she bent her back at an impossible angle to avoid it.
"That wasn't very nice," the puppets said.
"No shit," Dead Eye shot back, before firing a bullet through a puppet's heart.
"Why don't you want to play with us?" The puppets cried, charging at them, giggling.
Jasmine unleashed a volley of bullets at them but, no matter how much she shot at them, it wasn't enough.
If she killed one, five more ran at her.
Eric, Khan and Laila charged forward and cut through them, pushing through to reach Bunny. Evony and Dead Eye covered Jasmine as she reloaded and Fayre began to send her vines through the chests of puppets.
Eric tried to pursue Bunny but found himself cut off from her by a wall of puppets.
Dozens of bullets flew past his head and cut down the puppets, leaving only a few standing, including Stephanie.
Upon seeing her, Eric hesitated, time felt like it had slowed to a crawl.
From what Ajax had told him, Stephanie had been a beautiful, joyful and energetic person.
It sickened Eric to see her like this.
She was smiling, but her eyes were lifeless and bleak.
She was still energetic, but spewing Bunny's sick words and dancing to her sadistic tune.
As much as it sickened him, Eric didn't want anyone else to see Stephanie like this.
He ground his teeth together, let out a mighty roar and thrust his blade into her heart, turning her back into a corpse, and she went limp.
"Rest in peace, Stephanie," Eric whispered, gently removing his blade from her and placing her body on the ground.
I wonder...if Lucifer took over my body, would I end up being something like that?
As he was placing Stephanie onto the ground, several puppets leapt towards him, but were quickly dispatched by vines and bullets.
"Eric, get Bunny!" Dead Eye roared.
Bunny turned on her heel and ran to the far end of the corridor, bursting through and breaking the doors, before leaping up the stairs to the roof.
"Yay! Bunny gets to play!" The corpses screamed.
Eric and Khan reached the stairs and charged after Bunny but Laila struggled to find her way through the corpses. Every time she tried to teleport from one shadow to another, they were able to predict and intercept her, forcing Laila to retreat every single time.
"Fayre, Laila's unable to pursue Bunny!" Jasmine called back.
Her pistols clicked and she swore under her breath. They disappeared back into her gauntlets and two knives slid down beneath her wrists. Jasmine charged at the nearest puppet and stabbed it through the forehead, killing it.
"We need to go and help Eric and Khan as soon as possible!" Jasmine cried, before engaging another puppet.
Fayre sent a vine down the corridor weaving it through thirteen corpses heads and ripped them from their bodies. She then sliced the vine like a blade and cut the already dead puppets in half.
Fayre cracked five of her vines together like a whip and grinned. "I'll clear the way."
The vines wrapped around her hands and turned them into a bladed glove with the vines extending off it as individual whips. She swung her arm and, with a single slice, cut ten corpses into several pieces each.
***
Bunny burst through the doors and rolled across the rooftop, Eric and Khan right behind her. She leapt onto her feet and onto the roof of the stairs. Bunny stood there, basking in the moonlight as the wind whipped through her hair. She reached behind her back and drew her knives from their sheaths.
Khan readied his blade. "Here she comes!"
Bunny bent her knees and pounced towards them. She landed in front of Khan and began to slash at his face and chest, barely giving him enough time to block her attacks. Eric charged at her from behind, trying to stab her, but Bunny back flipped over him, kicking him in his back and sending him into Khan. The boys fell over each other and landed roughly on the floor.
Khan pushed Eric off him and lunged at Bunny. She swerved to the side and kicked him in the side of his face, sending Khan stumbling off to one side. She then ran over to him before he could recover and took out his legs, sending Khan onto his back. She leapt on top of him and began to slice at his face, her knives scraping sharply against his helmet.
Eric fired a black beam at her, but she bent her back at an impossible angle to avoid it. She then cartwheeled backwards away from Khan until she was stood by the edge of the rooftop. Khan got back onto his feet and stood ready to attack once again with Eric beside him, black energy gathering in his hands. Bunny tilted her head to the side before sprinting at the boys once more.
Eric unleashed a barrage of black bolts, but Bunny danced through them all. Khan's sword glowed green and he slashed through the air, a blade of green energy flew towards her. Bunny twisted her body to avoid them and jumped between the two boys, landing in a crouched position. She turned at Eric and began to relentlessly attack him with kicks and slashes. Eric couldn't block all of them and a powerful kick sent him back ten feet, but he was able to remain standing.
Khan tried to stab her from behind but she leapt up into the air and then landed on the blade. She then leapt off the blade to one side, performing a handstand and she brought her foot into the side of Khan's face, sending him flying. She then jumped behind Eric and took out his legs in a single movement.
Eric smashed his back onto the roof and grunted in pain. Bunny climbed onto his stomach, her blades poised to stab him through his heart.
Not again!
Eric screamed, his fear manifesting through his aura.
Khan roared and slashed at Bunny but she bounced off the ground and high up into the sky.
Khan pulled Eric onto his feet. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," Eric said shakily.
If Aria hadn't given me that potion earlier, I would've gone into a full panic attack.
"Still, this one doesn't sit still, does she?"
Bunny landed back onto the roof of the stairs and then kicked off the ground hard into the air. She then kicked off the air and went hurtling towards Khan. Khan's blade glowed green and he pointed his scimitar upwards, his blade aimed perfectly at Bunny's heart.
She fell straight onto the blade and it pierced her heart.
Her blood gushed out of the wound, coating the blade and Khan in crimson. Khan relaxed a little, believing that he had done enough, that Bunny was dead.
Khan felt the pressure on his blade increase. Bunny's hands wrapped around the sharp side of his blade, blood spilling out by the gallons from her palms and chest.
"Wha-?"
Bunny placed the soles of her feet onto Khan's chest and, with a powerful strike, kicked him off her, removing the blade that had been lodged in her flesh and Khan stumbled backwards. She landed on her feet and rushed at Khan, quickly taking out the boy's legs and she smashed her elbow into his face in a single motion.
Khan wasn't knocked out but he was dazed, and in pain.
Bunny wasn't going to let him recover.
She kicked him as hard as she could in the stomach and Khan went rolling off the rooftop. Before he fell off, he plunged his blade into the concrete and held onto it with all of his might, leaving only his arm and head on the roof.
"Khan!"
Eric tried to run over to Khan but Bunny landed in front of him. Before Eric could respond, Bunny jumped towards Eric and kicked him in the chest, causing him to buck forward. Bunny landed on her hands and sprung up onto Eric's back, wrapping her legs around his head. She then dug her hands into the concrete roof and threw Eric over her head using her legs. He landed awkwardly near the edge of the building and Eric ran back towards Bunny.
Bunny, however, was faster.
She dove in front of him, took out his legs from the front, straddled onto his back and tried to stab him in the back of the neck.
Laila emerged from Bunny's shadow and parried the killer's blade. Bunny swiftly retreated by cartwheeling multiple times backwards. Laila dove into her own shadow and tried to stab Bunny when she emerged from hers, but Bunny jumped into the air, kicked off it in mid-air and tried to smash her heel into Laila's skull.
Laila fell back into her shadow and appeared in Jasmine's who had just reached Eric, her golden blades deployed.
"I'll get Khan and you distract her," Jasmine yelled.
Jasmine darted over to Khan and Laila appeared in Bunny's shadow after dropping into her own. Bunny skilfully parried every single one of Laila's attacks and kept dodging her Necromantic attacks by twisting her body.
Jasmine reached Khan and threw out her hand to him. "Are you okay?"
"Perfect," Khan groaned, taking her hand.
Before she could start to pull him up, Jasmine heard a terrifying crashing sound behind her. She turned around and found Laila lying crumpled against the steel doors, bruised and bleeding. Bunny landed gracefully before Laila, her blades wet with fresh blood.
"Laila!"
"I'm fine; go and save her!"
Jasmine let go of Khan's hand and ran towards Bunny just before she could finish off Laila.
Jasmine stabbed her blades into Bunny's side and pushed her off Laila, sending the two of them tumbling to the side. Bunny tried to kick Jasmine away, but Jasmine dodged it, removed her blades and slashed both of them across Bunny's throat, emptying more of her blood onto the roof.
Bunny jumped into a handstand and kicked Jasmine hard in her chin, before cartwheeling backwards. Jasmine spun through the air, corrected herself and landed on her hands and knees, blood leaking into her mouth.
"Why won't this bitch die?"
After a quick evaluation of the rooftop, Jasmine realised how dire her situation really was. Khan was too weak to continue fighting but he was able to hold himself onto the side of the building, Laila was in no state to fight and Eric was only just beginning to get back up.
If I can hold out until the others get here, no one will die.
Jasmine needed to believe that in her heart or else she wouldn't be able to fight Bunny with everything that she had.
Bunny titled her head and looked at her hands, bloodied and without knives in them; she had dropped them in her tumble with Jasmine. Bunny reached behind her head and pulled out two more knives. She twirled them in her hands, before crouching low to the ground and pouncing at Jasmine.
Jasmine jumped at Bunny and the two exchanged blows with one another, each going for slashes, stabs, kicks, punches, and whatever else they could think of. In terms of fighting ability, they were equally skilled with knives.
In terms of endurance however, Bunny was far stronger.
As Bunny countered and blocked many of Jasmine's attack, she noticed that they were getting slower and slower. Jasmine also realised how desperate her situation had become and tried to take Bunny down as quickly as possible.
Jasmine lunged with both of her blades at Bunny, but Bunny danced to the side of them. She then stabbed Jasmine in the stomach with one of her blades and blood trickled out of the wound onto her blade.
Eric had only just recovered from his fight with Bunny when it happened.
"J...Jasmine," he stuttered, his rage and despair building up inside of him.
Bunny shot a curious glance over at Eric as the boy's aura began to grow and grow. She removed her blade from Jasmine's stomach and then kicked the girl where her wound was, sending her flying towards the edge of the rooftop.
She did not get back up.
"Jasmine!"
His black aura exploded and a light red aura replaced it which was twice the size of his old one. His Armour shifted and changed, developing a crimson trim, and it took on a more demonic appearance. Eric's gauntlets glowed a deep red and he fired two solid beams of energy at Bunny.
Whereas Bunny had had no trouble dodging his attacks before, she only narrowly avoided them this time.
Bunny leapt high into the air, kicked off of it once more and landed in the car park next to the block of flats. Eric ran to the edge of the building and fired a beam from both of his palms which left a large crater where she had been standing.
Bunny broke into a sprint, before leaping high onto another building's rooftop and she ran off into the night.
"Get back here!" Eric shouted. His wings expanded and began to flap, preparing to fly.
He was about to take off when someone wrapped their arms around his waist.
"Eric, don't!"
"She killed-!"
"Jasmine's alive." Laila almost collapsed onto the floor, but she caught herself on his arm. "If you go now, you can save her. If you go after Bunny, she'll die and so will you."
Eric quickly looked at Jasmine and saw that she was breathing but ruggedly.
Seeing his friend still alive, Eric felt his rage subside and he slowly calmed down; his wings stopped flapping and folded back inside his Armour.
It was only after Eric had lost his wings that he understood what Laila meant.
His Armour had almost evolved because Jasmine was wounded and, if he had gone after Bunny, if she didn't kill him, then his own Armour would have.
"Get her down to Elthia. We'll be fine."
Eric nodded at Laila as she sat down, trying her best to stay awake.
"Jasmine!" Eric cried, lifting her up into his arms. He ran as fast as he could down the stairs. "Stay with me! We're going to get you help."
Jasmine's hands wrapped around Eric's neck and she smiled, blood oozing from her lips. "You're too optimistic for your own good, you know that, right?"
He leapt down multiple stairs at a time, pushing past a few police officers on the way. He ignored Dead Eye and Fayre who called out to him and jumped over Aria's head.
"Eric..." Jasmine weakly whispered, her hands falling from his neck.
He felt her blood pour onto his Armour and he hissed through gritted teeth.
Six more floors! Come on! Just a little more.
With every step he took, her blood began to pour more rapidly.
"It's...too..." She trailed off as her vision descended into darkness.
"Jasmine!"
He reached the ground floor and collapsed onto his knees transforming out of his Armour, and Elthia ran immediately over to him.
"Eric, put her on the ground!" Elthia ordered, her voice breaking and tears forming in her eyes.
Eric did as he was told and Elthia pressed her hands onto Jasmine's wound. The tattoos on Elthia's body began to glow a beautiful light green and, slowly, the wound began to close, as did the other bruises and cuts she had sustained. Eric gasped in joy and he felt a wave of relief flow over his tense and tired muscles. He looked at Elthia's face, expecting her to be overjoyed as well, but she was not.
Elthia was in agony.
Her body was twitching like it was being stabbed all over. She was wincing, her teeth digging in hard to her bottom lip, splitting it and letting blood pour into her mouth. Her tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes despite trying her best to hold them in.
Even though Jasmine had been stabbed, Elthia looked like she was in far more pain.
It was then that Eric understood how Elthia's powers worked.
When she healed someone, the pain was transferred to her and the wounds that the person had sustained were healed. He could only begin to imagine how painful it must have been for her.
To save someone's life, she had to put up with an immeasurable amount of pain but, if she didn't, then they'd die.
What a cruel price to pay for such a beautiful power.
The wound on Jasmine's stomach fully sealed and Elthia passed out, almost falling onto her back but Eric caught her.
"It must have been too much for you to handle," Eric whispered, softly stroking her hair. He sat behind her and let Elthia rest against his chest. "Thank you for saving her life."
Dead Eye and the rest of Eric's team finally made their way down to the bottom of the stairs, all of them bloodied and injured, and all of them relieved to see that Jasmine was alive.
"Good work, everyone," Aria congratulated them. "Good work on all coming home alive. I'll bring the cars around, so wait here."
Aria left them and everyone collapsed onto the floor, not a single one of them able to stay standing any longer.
With Bunny no longer near the block of flats, the crisis was over and Eric and his friends were taken home safely.
***
Even though the crisis had only been solved an hour ago, Aria had still been able to present a brief report to Kasmine the very same night.
The Headmistress read it in her office, basking in the moonlight and smiled sadly at it.
"Only a thousand this time."
Kasmine finished the report and put it down on her desk.
Even though there was seemingly no way to stop Bunny, Kasmine couldn't help but feel frustrated that they weren't able to figure out anything else about her from this incident.
"If we had found a way to kill her, then these lives would have been worth paying."
Her mobile phone rang.
It was a phone call Kasmine had been expecting to get since the Bunny incident began.
She answered it and let the other person speak first.
"Don't worry, everything went as expected. We had safeguards in place in case something did happen, but they didn't have to act in the end." She hummed slyly. "Oh, I recall you being one of the people who gave their consent for this idea. And if the situation had called for it then they would have intervened and save Eric's life just like then. Honestly, you worry too much.
Kasmine smiled sadly and played with her hair. "...No, of course I can't. I don't know if you'll be happy to know this or not but Eric has gotten stronger as a result of this. He's unlocked the second version of his Armour but he can't fully use it yet. I'll have to increase the number of lessons that Sapphire gives him to make sure he doesn't end up killing himself using it."
Kasmine giggled a little. "Sorry, but I just wanted to let you know that we won't let that happen. Don't worry so much about it. We won't let anything happen to Eric. You have my word." Kasmine smiled softly. "Don't worry. I'll protect him.
"I'll keep you updated. I have some more work to attend to, so I'll bid you goodnight."
The other person hung up and Kasmine let out a small sigh of relief. She smiled and spun around to look out of her window, resting her arms on the windowsill.
"Honestly, he does worry too much," she whispered, closing her eyes. |
Connor jumped into the air, his gigantic battle-axe pulled back, and swung it at Eric.
Eric caught the attack between his wrist blades and the impact cracked the ground beneath his feet. Eric pushed back against the axe and pushed Connor ten feet in the air. As Connor landed, Eric rushed over to him and stabbed his blades at him, but Connor blocked the attack with his arms.
The blades almost pierced his Armour, but Connor channelled his magic into the gauntlets, strengthening the aura around them.
"That's not going to work!"
"We'll see about that!" Eric yelled and his blades glowed red.
Connor barely leapt out of the way as thin red beams shot from the tips of the blades, smashing his armour and forcing him to retreat further away.
"Not bad. But." Brown chains appeared from Connor's back and dangled from his fingertips. "I think I've got something better."
Connor thrust his palm at Eric and the chains flew at him faster than Eric could dodge. He raised his arms to protect himself, but the sheer force of the attack sent him skidding back across the ground. He lowered his arms and saw Connor running full force at him, his axe surrounded by a thick aura.
Connor's God Weapon was an incredibly heavy double-bladed black battle-axe three metres long, even though Connor was able to swing it around easily like it was made of wood. Worse for Eric, Connor's Armour absorbed the kinetic and magical energy of his opponent's attacks, even if they damaged him.
The more Eric fought him, the stronger Connor would get.
Eric side stepped the swing and slashed at Connor, but Connor's chains wrapped around Eric's arm and threw him over his back, smashing him into the ground. Eric threw up a bit of blood in his mouth as Connor swung his axe at his head.
Eric pushed out his palms together and fired a solid beam at the axe, sending it flying from Connor's hands. He then leapt up, spun in the air, gathered a large amount of energy around his boot, and smashed his foot into the side of Connor's cheek. The Armour broke from the weight and Connor spun off to the side, disorientated and disarmed. He fell face first onto the ground and Eric charged at him.
He jumped into the air, blades pointed at Connor's heart, and gathered energy in his blades, increasing their strength.
Connor thrust his right hand out, his chains wrapped around the hilt of his axe and the chains pulled it towards him, flying back into his hands and he blocked Eric's attack, the pressure cracking the ground beneath him. Eric directed more of his Mana into his blades and they slowly broke through the pole of Connor's axe.
"Hey, are you seriously trying to kill me?!" Connor protested.
"Don't worry, it's not like you'll really die, so it's okay!"
"Even if this is a mock battle, that attitude is scary!"
Connor's chains wrapped around Eric's chest tightly and began to slowly crush his friend's chest plate.
"Don't worry; it's not like you'll really die!"
Eric sliced through the chains, turning them into a mist, and he thrust his blades at Connor's chest.
However, Connor's attack was faster.
He punched Eric in the jaw and then kicked him in the stomach, sending Eric far away from him.
Connor spun his axe around a few times and waited for Eric to get back up onto his feet.
"Remember, the winner buys everyone's shopping for the next week."
"I never agreed to that!" Eric yelled.
***
Kiara elegantly floated out of the way of Kaida's dragon, smiling softly as she did.
She was holding a frilled black umbrella in one hand and she was spinning three black balls of energy around her other, gently floating across the ground and she was dressed in her usual attire. Kaida was wearing a beautiful red China dress with chainmail links and sleeves which was enchanted to make controlling her Mana much easier.
Kaida clicked her tongue, annoyed at how casual Kiara was about their battle, and the dragon soared after Kiara.
"If you can't catch me, then you won't ever be able to catch someone like Alexis," Kiara said, jumping away from the slash.
"I'm aware!" Kaida's dragon's wings beat faster.
"Not bad." Kiara leapt over it and grinned. "Still not fast enough though."
She pointed her index finger at the dragon and the black balls flew into its back, turning it into mist and she landed gracefully. When Kaida didn't summon her dragon again, Kiara tilted her head innocently. "Ah, aren't you going to summon it again?" Kaida glared at her. "In that case." She held up her left fingers and the black orbs appeared again. "I'll come to you."
Kiara flew towards Kaida who then spawned her dragon behind her, roaring as it formed. Kiara fired her balls at Kaida again but Kaida threw her arm out and a dragon wing appeared before her, absorbing the blow.
It wasn't one of the two her dragon had, but a brand new one.
"I didn't know you could do that."
Kaida smiled smugly. "Even I can manage something like this."
Kaida threw her arms to the ground and invisible claws cut through the air towards Kiara. Kiara's eyes widened in shock, but she spun between the slashes, though Kaida had expected as much and had already sent her dragon to intercept Kiara mid spin.
Kiara completed her turn and the dragon's jaws were open right before her eyes. She scowled and push her umbrella to meet the blaze, causing the fire to evaporate harmlessly as it impacted it.
"What the hell?" Kaida cried, calling her dragon back and it wound its body around her. "Did you enchant your umbrella?"
Kiara smiled. "You do remember that I'm a Vampire, right? I'm not just holding this because it looks pretty and matches my outfit; it's a necessity when I go out on hot days, so, naturally, it's enchanted to reflect heat."
"So, my fire is useless against it?"
"Yep."
"Then, that means I just have to hit you and not your umbrella then?"
"Yeah, but." Kiara barred her fangs as ten black balls formed around her body, spinning faster than they had before. "You haven't done that yet."
***
Laila wrapped a shadow around Evony's arrow, spun it around and launched it back at her.
Evony rolled to the side, pulled out another arrow and fired it. It split into three, one which flew to Laila's left, another to her right and the other flew above her head. Laila waited until the arrows almost hit her before dropping into her own shadow and emerging once the arrows had missed.
The arrows, however, spun around to strike Laila again.
Laila drew her dagger and swiftly cut them out of the air and dropped into her shadow before they exploded. She remerged as Evony loosed an arrow which split into five arrow heads. Laila back flipped away from them, landed in a crouched position, and sprinted towards Evony.
Evony fired an arrow into the ground before Laila and it sprung up into the air, spitting out small explosives. Laila dove into her shadow and emerged again once the blasts had passed. Evony went to fire another arrow but Laila was close enough now that she could manipulate Evony's shadow. She threw out her hand and twisted her wrist, sending a black slice from Evony's own shadow at her.
She cut the archer's wrist and Evony's grip on her bow loosened. Laila ran full speed towards her as Evony fumbled to pick up her bow in time. Evony reclaimed her weapon but Laila was right before her eyes, moving to slash at her stomach with her dagger. Evony swung her bow to counter the blow and Laila's dagger clashed with Evony's blades.
"I'm glad I took Jasmine's advice to install blades at the top and bottom of the bow," she mused, swiping Laila's blade away and stepping backwards.
Laila ducked into her own shadow and appeared behind Evony as the archer reached for another arrow. Evony let the arrow go, spun and clashed her blade again with Laila's. Laila kept disappearing and then reappearing in Evony's shadow, moving constantly around her and slicing at her.
Evony could barely keep up with Laila's speed and she couldn't predict where she was going to appear next.
It was too dangerous for Evony to try and predict Laila's movements because, if she got it wrong, it could cost her the match. It was far easier for her to counter the attacks as they came at her rather than try to predict where they would come from.
However, they both knew Evony wouldn't be able to keep up with Laila's relentless assault for long.
***
Ajax let out a roar and thrust his spear at Jasmine who moved her head to the side of it.
He followed up by swiping his spear at her, hoping to bash her with the shaft, but Jasmine bent her back to avoid the attack and kicked Ajax in the back of his leg, sending him down onto one knee. Ajax swept at her feet but Jasmine jumped over the blow and, with her blades deployed, sliced at Ajax's side, slicing against but not through his armour.
Ajax spun on his knee away from her, sweeping his spear with her and Jasmine retreated from it, putting a few feet between them. Ajax stood up, spun his spear around his body a few times and pointed it towards her again, ready to thrust once more.
Jasmine ran at him and Ajax feinted a stab and went for a slash instead, but Jasmine's reflexes were fast enough that she could avoid it. She bent forward, dodging it, went back up right and stabbed Ajax in his chest, piercing through to his skin. Ajax howled and Jasmine kicked him hard to the side of his knee, dropping him onto it. She then withdrew her blades, slashed across his neck twice and stabbed him beneath his collar bone.
Ajax screamed in agony and threw a punch at her, but Jasmine broke her blades off her gauntlets and spun away from his fist.
"Ow, that really hurt," Ajax complained, ripping the blades out of his chest. "Just because it won't leave a mark in the real world doesn't mean I'll forget about it."
"You're the one who said
'Hey, let's go all out!
'. Although, I think I'm beginning to understand the problem with your fighting style."
Ajax planted the butt of his spear into the ground and dismissed his helmet. "What do you mean?"
"While it's good that you've properly studied the correct way of wielding spears and swords, I think they're holding you back in actual fights. Your techniques can work wonders against an opponent if they perform the right action that you need them to, but, when you're fighting someone for real, moments like those rarely present themselves."
"For example?"
"Take your thrust-feint just now." Jasmine walked over to him. "Sure, if I hadn't dodged it, then it would've done a good amount of damage, but did you have a backup plan if I had caught the tip in between my blades, or if I had ducked beneath it and not to the side of it?"
"I...No, I didn't."
"What I learned early on in my training is that when you're on an actual battlefield, a lot of the proper techniques and training that you study end up being largely meaningless because situations change rapidly on the battlefield in ways we can't predict. For instance." She held Ajax in a judo hold, ready to throw him over his shoulder. "I was taught that if I do this, I could smash your head into the ground but how likely do you think it is in a fight between us that it could work?"
Ajax thought about it for a second and said, "Not very likely."
"And why is that?"
"Because, while you're holding me, I could be flailing my limbs around or stabbing at you with a weapon and, because you're vulnerable in that position, it could seriously wound or kill you."
"Correct." Jasmine released him. "Unfortunately for you, our fighting styles are too different and mine ends up being superior. While I've learnt a lot of different fighting styles, I've also been in enough real fights to pick up an instinctive and improvised form of combat, mixing instincts, techniques and prior knowledge into one.
"Take that knee jab. I knew that that was a weak point and, that if I hit it hard enough, then I could send you onto one knee. I wasn't taught that as a move but I knew it could happen and thus did it to turn the fight in my favour. Does that make sense?"
"Uh, yeah," Ajax replied as his armour vanished into thin air. He looked at his bracelet and clenched his fist. "I guess I've still got a long way to go."
"You'll be fine as long as you don't just rely on your techniques and theories to carry you in a fight. Don't fight your instincts and try to be constantly analysing and adapting in a battle to fit the fight."
"I will. Thanks, Jasmine."
"Alright, that's enough for today!" Aria announced and everyone in their class stopped fighting as soon as she said so. "Teeq, if you would."
Teeq nodded, close his eyes and the training area went back to normal. All of the damage that the students had done to one another was undone. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and walked away, pulling out and tapping away on his phone.
The mock battles that Eric and the others had been practicing in were virtual simulations created by Teeq.
Whatever happened within his virtual space, everything would be reset once Teeq ended the simulation, allowing the students of Ferris to gain real combat experience without posing any real danger to themselves.
Even knowing all of that, everyone had hesitated, at first, to fight each other for real because it was still like they were actually trying to kill one another. However, they soon got used to that feeling after the first few sessions and now they were more than comfortable throwing everything they had at one another inside his virtual worlds.
It wasn't quite as useful as real combat experience, but it was the closest, and safest, way to recreate it that Ferris could offer.
"Alright, with that, our final joint combat session before the tournaments are done," Aria told them, to the excited cries of many students. "However, you still have work to do for your chosen courses over the tournaments, so don't forget that. Now, all of you are to head home as soon as possible and wait for the Headmistress's announcement. No messing about, no detours and no excuses for not hearing the rules of the tournaments. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Then, you're dismissed."
The class broke off into their teams and Aria left the training arena first.
Everyone on Eric's team gathered around Elthia who had been sitting out of the practice session. As she didn't have any offensive capabilities whatsoever, it was pointless of her to take part in a sparring session. Jasmine had already taught her close quarters combat, but she wouldn't be able to keep up with any of the others in a fight.
"...Good work, everyone," she said, opening the cooler that she had been sat on. "...Here."
Elthia opened it and inside were a dozen cans of soft drinks surrounded by ice.
"Thank you, Elthia," Jasmine said, taking one and drinking from it.
"Did you go back to the house and get this?" Eric asked and she nodded slightly. "Thank you, but I feel bad that you went through all this trouble."
Elthia shook her head and grabbed onto Jasmine's sleeve. "...All I can do right now is cheer you guys on, so...I wanted to do something useful."
"You did great," Kiara told her, smiling and rubbing the top of her head, embarrassing Elthia a little. "Ah, she's just too cute! I-"
Kiara leapt to hug Elthia, but Jasmine elbowed Kiara in the back.
Everyone took out a can from the cooler and used it to sooth their bodies after the thirty minute long battles they had just participated in.
"The last training session for a month and it was a draw," Kiara complained, pouting a little.
"Maybe if you had spent less time playing around and more time fighting you would've won," Kaida said to the girl floating next to her head.
"But I wanted to see what other moves you'd been hiding from me!"
"Why would I show off everything to everyone here before a tournament?" Kaida demanded, pushing Kiara's head away from her.
"Ah, good point."
"You didn't even think about it, did you?"
Kiara stuck out her tongue cutely and Kaida pushed her further away in the air.
"I was so close to beating Connor, as well."
"Well, it can't be helped, given how you don't have your God Weapon unlocked yet." Connor patted Eric on the back. "I'm sure that, when you have it, you'll almost be able to beat me."
"I seem to remember you being pushed back several times."
"I seem to remember letting you push me back several times."
"Hey, Jasmine, would you mind training with me some time?" Ajax asked.
She looked at him and then glanced away. "Depends."
"On?"
"Two things: If I have time to do it, and if you've pissed me off or not."
"But everything I do pisses you off!"
"That's because everything you do is stupid or perverted, or a combination of the two."
Ajax hung his head low and whimpered. "I'll do my best not to do that."
"I look forward to seeing you try," Jasmine replied, taking her leave.
"I guess we'd best start heading home as well," Evony suggested.
"Eric!" He turned around and saw Sapphire walking towards them, her hands in her front pockets. "Need you for a second."
"I'll see you guys at home then."
"See you later," Kaida said and the rest of Eric's team left the arena.
"Don't worry, you won't miss the tournament announcement. I just wanted to check in with you quickly because we'll only be having one more session during the tournament."
"Is this about something serious?" Eric asked nervously.
"It's nothing serious, so don't worry about that. I was checking in to see if you think you're ready for the tournament or not."
Eric winced a little. "Honestly, I'm not so sure if I'm ready myself. I do feel like I could actually fight someone and win. The incident with Bunny and these mock fights have given me a lot of confidence in myself, but I've never fought in a team battle before and I've never led my team in a battle either. I've only really just started to get a sense for what they're like, so I'm not sure if we'll win or not."
He looked to the scar on his arm and grabbed it tightly with his hand. "Even after everything that I've been taught and learnt at Ferris, and, even after gaining so much experience, I still feel weak."
"Why? Is it because you can't manage your Mana output that well?"
"It's not just that, but I do feel like I'm getting much better at directing it to where I want it to go, but I can't quite control the amount of energy that is released."
"Then, is it because you haven't unlocked your God Weapon then?"
"Yeah."
Sapphire let out a low hum and folded her arms. "Even without it, your Armour is quite strong and you should be able to fully use your wings in the next few weeks, so I don't think you have anything to be too worried about."
"Do you know if there's a specific way or method someone has to use in order to unlock it?"
"There aren't easy answers for stuff like that, I'm afraid," Sapphire admitted. "People have tried studying it before and it ended up being a complete waste of time. Give it time and you'll unlock it."
"Then how comes Connor has been able to unlock his and I haven't?" Eric protested.
Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "His God Weapon?"
"Yeah, he says it's called
'Azrael'
."
Sapphire's eyes widened a little and she smiled softly. "Azrael, huh?" She repeated, laughing quietly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Anyway, give it time and you'll get your weapon one of these days." She patted him on the shoulder. "Or, if you're really desperate, then you could ask Beelzebub in your arm there for information."
***
By the time Eric had gotten home, the rest of his team were sitting in the living room watching the television, waiting for Kasmine's press conference.
"Ah, good timing," Kiara called.
"Why, is it about to start?"
"No. I just finished my drink and was thinking about getting another one, so, if you wouldn't mind."
Kiara grinned at him and Eric sighed, slumping his shoulders.
"I'm just joking," she said, floating off her seat. "I'll get it myself. Does anyone else want anything while I'm up?"
"I'll have a coke," Kaida called.
"Me too," Jasmine added.
"Okay. Eric?" Kiara asked.
"An orange soda, please. Um, where should I sit then?"
"Feel free to take my seat."
"Are you sure?"
"I can float. I'll be fine."
She closed the fridge door, picked up the sodas and flew back to the living room. Eric took her seat between Evony and Laila as Kiara floated up behind him and tossed the sodas to everyone.
"Here you go."
"Thanks."
Kiara planted her chin on Eric's shoulder and giggled when she saw his cheeks go slightly red.
"Man, I can't wait for the tournament this year!" Ajax cheered.
"You're certainly more fired up than usual," Evony commented.
"I mean, it's finally here so why wouldn't I be fired up?"
"Because Jasmine hates you?"
"Because the girls think you're a creep?" Eric offered.
"Because you will most likely, almost certainly, never have a girlfriend?" Connor asked.
"Even with all of that!" Ajax beamed. "I'm so excited about actually being able to fight in the tournaments this year!"
"Have you always wanted to?"
"Yeah. I've watched it every single year at home with my family and, when I first wanted to be a Guardian, I've always dreamed that I would get to fight on that stage," Ajax said.
"...It's starting," Elthia whispered, but it was too soft for anyone aside Jasmine to hear.
"Guys, it's beginning," Jasmine said louder, and everyone went quiet.
The panel of commentators disappeared on the screen and Kasmine appeared, standing behind a magnificent podium. All the teachers were gathered behind her sat in a long row of chairs and standing by her side were Teeq and a monster of a man in obsidian armour.
Kasmine was dressed in her finest dress and, unlike the other times Eric had seen her, she was wearing a fair amount of make-up, which really did make her look more beautiful than ever.
I guess she wants to make a good impression.
"Good afternoon, everyone." She spoke softly and smiled. "It is my great pleasure to announce her and today the start of the Ferris Academy School Tournaments for the year of 2178. I am pleased to announce that, as always, this year's tournament season will last the full month despite the tragedies which have beset the world in the past year.
"The Team Tournament will start tomorrow and will conclude with the final at the end of next month, so look forward to the abundance of matches that we will be bringing you this year. For this year, the Single's Tournament will take place on the fifteen and will be concluded on the same day. We will be sending out the full roster of the first rounds worth of fights later today to the general public and the students, so please do keep an eye out for that.
"Now, before we begin, as usual, we will state the rules of our dear beloved Teeq's Virtual Space so that all of you at home can feel at ease while you watch the matches.
"First and foremost, no matter what happens inside his Virtual Space, there is little to no impact on the participants in the real world. Physical damage and death that occurs within his space does not transfer over into the real world, so there is no danger to our contestants whatsoever. Think of it like a videogame. Our students are the players, here to level up and gain experience, but death and any physical wounds they receive are temporary. When students are defeated in these battles, they become '
spectators'
and watch the rest of the match with those of us at home.
"Further, the pain that is inflicted to them is reduced so that they do not experience anything too painful during the fight. After all, they are meant to have fun whilst learning from their battles. For the worried parents at home, don't worry; you can turn on the safety mode on your television and remove all the blood and gore from the fights once they start.
"Second, because of Teeq's imagination, he can create any kind of world that he desires of any size and he has absolute control over everything and one inside it, meaning that he knows everything that is happening and can remove players who go over the line or try to cause mental or psychological damage to a contestant.
"Remember, this is meant to be fun, so don't spoil it for everyone else.
"Thirdly, usually maintaining this Virtual Space would consume a lot of Mana but, thanks to the assistance of powerful mages transferring their energy to him during the fights, he can maintain his abilities for weeks, so don't worry about something going horribly wrong and resulting in a real death. In the impossible event something does go wrong and someone is gravely injured, we have one hundred healers on standby, so rest assured that no one will be seriously injured during the tournament fights.
"Finally, to the students of Ferris participating in this battle and watching it, remember this: this is tournament is meant to be a fun learning experience, one that will help you become stronger for your future, so please do take it seriously and fight with everything you have.
"Everyone, I sincerely hope that you have all been looking forward to this and will greatly enjoy this year's tournament." She let out a small sigh and lost her smile. "Right, with that out of the way, Teeq, please take over."
Kasmine tore up her que cards and walking away, even with the cameramen and reporters still asking her questions and taking her picture.
"The Headmistress is a very busy person, so please do excuse her for being so hasty," Teeq explained, taking her place at the stand. "Now, if I could have your attention please, I will answer all of your questions and address any and all concerns that you have."
"...I really didn't expect her to do something like that to the general public, but I guess that's just like her to do something like that," Eric mused and the others nodded in agreement.
"It's finally begun!" Ajax yelled.
"Stop shouting all of the time!" Jasmine shouted, kicking him in the back of the knee.
Ajax hissed a little, but he stood back up and smiled. "Sorry, but I've always wanted to take part in the tournament, so I'm so pumped to jump into it. And!" He grinned and puffed his chest out proudly. "I'll also be entering into the Single's Tournament."
"Really? In your first year?" Kaida asked. "Isn't that a bit risky?"
"Risky?" Eric repeated.
"The Single's Tournament has hundreds of people every year who apply to enter into it, but only sixteen of them can actually take part in the tournament," Ajax explained. "So, they sort through them by having the teachers and Teeq create a '
Survive until there are only sixteen of you left'
scenario, and then you can take part in the real tournament."
"I mean, you won't die, so what exactly are the risks?"
"The risk is that you can only enter into the Single's Tournament once every two years, and that includes if you're eliminated before the sixteen are actually chosen. So, if I enter and get knocked out in the first round, I won't get another shot until our third year."
"That's pretty brutal."
"Well, given the prize at the end it's hardly a surprise," Kiara said.
"Prize?"
"If you win, you can demand any one wish from the Guardians and, no matter what it is, as long as it is within their power and not illegal, then it's allowed," Ajax said. "Well, that's kind of just a bonus for me. All I want to do is just prove to the world and myself that I have what it takes to be a Guardian, and the Single's Tournament is the perfect place to test myself."
"Guys, is it me or did that almost sound admirable?" Jasmine asked.
"Is that...really Ajax?" Evony followed up.
"Did Jasmine's kick just now somehow mess with his brain and make him a good person?" Connor wondered.
"You know, you guys can say some really horrible stuff sometimes," Ajax muttered.
Kiara grinned. "Well, if you do manage to make it through, then you'll get to look forward to fighting me in the tournament."
"Eh? You're entering?"
"Of course."
"Don't sound too shocked, because I'll be entering as well," Jasmine interjected.
"Me too," Evony added.
"Seriously?" Ajax asked.
I guess everyone's that confident in themselves,
Eric thought, looking at his arm.
***
Eric sat on the floor of his room in his God Armour.
Leathery wings emerged from his shoulder blades and Eric focused his mind on trying to get them to move, even a little, but it was no use. He let out a long exhale and shifted his focus, allowing his wings to fold against his back like a bird's, and he moved to generating his aura like Sapphire ordered him to.
Eric tried to focus his mind and imagine the aura appearing over him like she had taught him, but his mind couldn't stay with the image.
"You're unfocused for once." Lucifer materialised beside him. "Is something wrong?"
Eric dismissed his Armour and put on a small smile. "I never thought I'd go to the Devil to talk about my problems. You can read my mind, can't you? So, you already know the reason."
"I only do that when I feel it is necessary. There is no fun to be had in figuring out someone's motives and past by just looking inside their mind."
"Okay..."
"So?" Lucifer looked at him and leant against Eric's bedframe. "Why are you so unfocused tonight?"
"...I was just wondering if I was becoming stronger by doing all of this," Eric said, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. "No matter how many weeks I spend training in Aria or Sapphire's lessons, or all the CQC training I do with the guys, I don't feel like I'm becoming much stronger. It's like...no matter how much I do or who I fight, I still feel weak. I was just scared...scared that I wasn't going to be strong enough to fight in the Tournament or anywhere else."
"You were worrying about something that stupid?"
"How is it stupid?"
"Eric, strength does not come to you after only a few months of training; it is something that takes years or even entire lifetimes to acquire," Lucifer replied. "As it is, you've made fantastic progress given how you are able to use your Mana fairly well and you have figured out a fighting style that works for you, both of which are good. You're not weak at the very least but, in terms of harnessing your full potential, you're still a long way away."
"How...How far away?"
"Hmm, years perhaps?" Lucifer thought aloud, rubbing her non-existent chin. "Although, that can easily be sped up."
Eric glared at her. "I'm never considering the other option."
"I was never going to suggest that, only that it could happen without you wanting it to nonetheless." An idea crossed Lucifer's mind and she let out a low chuckle. "Your friend, Kasmine, is craftier than I imagined."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it logically, Eric. The complex system for the Team Tournament is a perfect environment to trick a God's Armour to evolve or, say, cause a strong emotional reaction that triggers a boost in magical power within Mages, allowing them to unlock more circuits."
"You mean-?"
Lucifer nodded and grinned. "She's exploiting Teeq's powers to push students beyond their limits and attain greater power without harming them. Very clever."
"Then, you mean that-?"
"Depending on what you see during the Tournament, you could become stronger as the fights go on. Although, that will largely depend on the events of each battle and you."
"I wish you wouldn't-"
"Keep interrupting you mid-sentence?" Lucifer asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't read my mind while I'm talking to you."
Lucifer chuckled as Eric sighed. Eric stood up and began to change into his pyjamas; he had already become used to the fact that someone was always watching him every second of every day and he no longer cared what he did in front of Lucifer.
"Just so I know, that voice I heard when I first unlocked my Armour, that wasn't you, was it?" Eric asked and Lucifer shook her head. "I thought so."
"Based on what you read in that book, it seems that that is the voice of the Armour itself," Lucifer replied. "It evolves based on what its user desires, so it makes sense that it would ask you what you need before it changes."
"Except it can skip that process during times of emotional instability."
"Yes, so you need to be extra careful to not let your emotions get the better of you."
Eric grunted. "Easier to say than do."
"Indeed, especially for someone like you."
Eric paused and smiled sadly, looking down at his chest. "Yeah." He let out a small sigh. "What I don't understand though is that, no matter how much I've desired my God Weapon and wanted it, it hasn't appeared." Eric finished changing and looked down at his right hand. "So, why hasn't the voice asked me about it?"
"I can think of two potential reasons." Lucifer raised one finger to Eric. "First, you are not strong enough yet to properly use and wield it and thus, in order to not kill you as you use it, the Armour has refused to allow it to materialise. Second." She raised another finger. "You haven't truly desired it from the bottom of your heart or you have asked for it half-heartedly."
Eric shot him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"
Lucifer shrugged. "I guess you've forgotten how you first summoned your Armour in the beginning. Well, I'm sure you'll remember in time."
Lucifer disappeared and a faint red mist went back into Eric's arm, leaving the boy confused and annoyed.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Eric tried to think back to how he first unlocked his Armour and to how he used to summon it, but he couldn't remember how he had called it before.
He had spent months now just summoning it by imagining it over his body and it was as easy to him as breathing.
Whatever method Eric had used originally, he no longer used and had forgotten about it.
"How I first got it?"
After spending another hour awake wondering what he used to do to call his Armour, Eric became too tired to stay awake and drifted to sleep, still annoyed that he couldn't remember his old technique. |
A force greater than a meteorite wiped the base out in an instant.
It's thousands of guards, the state-of-the-art equipment and vehicles, the superhumans and buildings; all of it was nothing in the wake of the knight's attack.
He descended from the skies, wrapped in blue magical energy, and smashed his fist into the heart of the base.
The impact shattered the ground, sending shockwaves for miles around, crumpling buildings, vehicles and mechs alike into dust.
Thousands died instantly.
Those few who survived fell hard onto the ground, breaking their bodies or, if they managed to survive even that, they were crushed by falling debris.
It was the second time that night that the knight had struck at Germany's most secure military instillations.
The white knight stood calmly in the centre of the destruction. His suit was a pure colour with a teal trim and he soared through the sky on light blue wings with feathers shaped like diamonds. He held an ivory claymore with a golden trim in his right hand, and the hilt was decorated with a beautiful, fantastical pattern that was woven down the edges.
He glanced lazily at the devastation he'd caused before setting his sights on the only building that survived his assault; a gigantic, concrete cube that housed the base's precious research labs and vaults.
What the knight sought lay inside.
He calmly marched over the corpses, cleaved through the reinforced metal doors with a single, gentle swipe of his weapon, and slaughtered everyone inside the building, floor by floor.
It didn't matter to him who they were, only that they were in his way and had seen him.
Eventually, he came to a gigantic vault door that stood twenty feet tall and half as wide.
Using his sword, the knight sent blue streaks of energy to destroy the locks on its sides, before using his free hand to easily tear the door off its hinges.
He threw it over his shoulder and proceeded inside the vault.
However, he soon became enraged at what he saw.
There was a single pillar rested in the centre of the room with a light purple silk pillow sat on top of it, and it had a very visible indent.
"Gone," he muttered, glancing around the otherwise empty room.
The item that he definitely knew was housed inside the Cube had been taken right before he could claim it.
"Did Kasmine deceive me?" The knight sighed. "No, it was the broker who beat me here." He wanted to laugh at how easily the Death Stone had been robbed at him. "Dammit."
He shot a beam of blue energy from his free hand at the pillar, reducing it to rubble.
"What a waste."
***
The next morning, every country in the world was reporting on the attack in Germany.
No groups or countries took credit for the attack, but hundreds of them sent their support to Germany and stood in solidarity with them.
"More than two thousand people," Eric muttered sadly.
It wasn't an everyday occurrence, but crimes and attacks by superhumans were common enough in life that Eric had gotten used to hearing about them, and the useless debates the followed.
However, in Imperial, the city where he lived, they hadn't had a major terror attack take place in thirty years, twelve years before he'd been born; this was the first time that Eric had ever heard of an attack on this scale in his lifetime.
Eric stretched his arms above his head, yawning, before going to the bathroom.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror, seeing that his brown hair was in a tangled mess, slightly covering his hazel eyes. After having a quick shower, Eric got dressed and had a light breakfast.
When he returned to his room, he picked up his phone and saw that had missed a text from his friend Connor.
Need to talk to you. Outside. You have ten minutes before I throw a brick through your window.
Eric raised his eyebrow.
Concerned, he opened his curtains and found Connor standing across the street, his phone in his right hand and a brick in his left.
He smiled at Eric as he lifted the brick in the air, waving it at Eric.
"You wouldn't."
Connor lifted up his arm and tapped on the watch around his wrist, before mouthing '
Five'
.
Eric sighed and finished getting ready.
He brushed his teeth, gathered his belongings, threw on his trainers and quickly exited his home, locking the door behind him.
Connor grinned as Eric approached, lightly discarding the brick onto the grass behind him.
"Wow, you were really cutting it close there," Connor said, checking his watch. "You had just a few seconds left and all."
"You could've knocked, you know."
"Could've."
"And if I had been late and you'd thrown the brick, what was your gameplan?"
"I'm confident in my running speed."
"So am I."
"I wouldn't be if I were you."
Both boys smiled at each other and laughed.
Connor Owen was one of Eric's oldest, and closest, friends who had medium length blonde hair and soft blue eyes. While Eric didn't like to admit it, Connor was quite a handsome young man and his many girlfriends and confessions, from both men and women, attested to that fact.
"You wouldn't actually have thrown it, would you?"
"No, I would've."
He could've.
"So, what did you want to talk about? It better not be something stupid."
"When have I ever done something stupid?" Eric glanced down at the brick behind him and Connor shrugged. "Anyway, I did have something to tell you and thought it be best to tell you in person."
"Which is?"
"Kaida's coming back."
Eric's eyes lit up. "Really?! When? What time? What-" He cut himself off when he saw Connor's large smirk. "What are you grinning at?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. Just trying to remember the last time you were this excited. Ah." He hit his balled-up fist against his palm. "That's right. Last year when she came back for a whole week."
Eric rolled his eyes a little and mumbled, "So what?"
"I mean it's adorable to see you get so excited over your crush coming back to the city."
"It's not like that," Eric whispered with slightly red cheeks.
"Eric, come on, no one would-"
"Seriously." Eric's tone changed and he looked away from Connor. "It isn't...like that."
Connor stopped smirking and decided to stop teasing him.
"It really has been a while since we last saw her, though, so I'm just as excited as you to see her again," Connor said with a bright smile.
Kaida, Eric and Connor's childhood friend, had left the city two years ago and moved across the country, meaning she hadn't gone to the same Sixth Form as they had.
The three had spent practically their entire lives together, both inside and outside of school, so it'd been quite a shock when she first left.
"Why'd she tell you and not me?"
"Oh, that. She said she wanted to surprise you, but I thought it'd be more amusing for you to surprise her instead."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. So, what time does she get back?"
"Her train arrives around four, but I told her that we were going to the festival tonight, so she wants to change and drop some stuff off at her hotel room first," Connor said. "So, I imagine she'll want to meet us here about seven."
"That's nine hours from now," Eric sighed.
"I'm aware."
"...So, you didn't need to come all this way just to tell me this."
"I'm aware."
"And you didn't decide to just text me this because?"
Connor smiled. "I wanted to see your reaction."
"So you just wanted to mess with me?"
"That's not what I said." Eric glared at him. "...Well, you're not wrong."
"I'll kill you."
Connor laughed a little, before resting his hands behind the back of his head. "So, wanna hang out until tonight then?"
"Might as well."
***
Imperial was the largest and most heavily populated city in Europe, and the capital of England.
It once served as the heart of the Great British Empire hundreds of years ago.
Eric lived on a hillside house far from the bustling urban heart of the city.
When Imperial began to rapidly expand and grow nearly a century ago, the largest corporations and organisations on the planet had moved their head offices to the city which helped it earn its title as the unofficial '
capital city of the world'
.
"You hear about what happened at the Cube?"
"Yeah. Pretty scary stuff, right? Wasn't that meant to be the most protected place in Germany?"
"...Yeah."
"Well, it's at times like these I'm glad we live here than anywhere else. Always reassuring to look off the coast and see Ferris there."
Located a few miles off the Imperial Bay was the man-made island city of Ferris, the training academy and headquarters of the Guardians.
They were the United Nation's private global defence organisation run by Kasmine Aysen.
It was home to thousands of students and professional superhuman soldiers from across the globe, and it was the most heavily defended place on the planet.
The last time a major incident had occurred in Imperial, hundreds of Guardians from the island had been deployed to the city in under two minutes.
The two boys arrived in the heart of the city and departed their crowded train.
While it was always busy in Imperial, it was more crowded than usual because of the final preparations ongoing for the festival in the city centre.
They'd closed the roads in the area too, meaning even more people were on the trains.
Eric led Connor through the bustling streets towards one of the more prominent shopping areas in the city which housed many large department stores and shopping centres.
"You should've just said if you wanted to get her a present," Connor mused as they entered one called Windsor.
"Well, I didn't want to have you mess with me all the walk here."
"I totally would have done that."
The Windsor was one of the most popular shopping centres in the entire city, and as result, it was always packed with people.
It didn't help that it was also a popular date spot either.
"Any idea what you're going to get her?"
"A few," Eric replied, casually glancing the windows of the shops that they passed. "Do you want to get her something as well?"
"I could, but she wouldn't like mine as much as yours."
"That's not true. She'd love to get something from you."
"She'd still like yours more though, you know, given how she's madly in love with you."
"Don't say that."
"What, it's true, isn't it?"
"She's not in love with me," Eric said, blushing a little.
"Eh, is that so?" Connor purred. "Well, I'll probably end up picking up something simple anyway, so I don't outdo you."
"I told you it's not like that."
Eric came to a stop as they walked past a jewellery shop.
"I take back what I said; I couldn't outdo that even if I wanted to."
"What, you don't think that she'd like it?"
"It's not that she wouldn't like it, it's just." Connor leaned in closer and inspected the price tags. "It's a bit expensive, isn't it? I can chip in if you want."
"No, it's fine. I have enough saved up for the one I want."
Connor looked perplexed. "But that would mean that you'd have to know the price before coming here."
Eric turned his head away from Connor.
"You researched this place, didn't you?" Connor tried to make eye contact with Eric who refused to do so. "You already knew what you were going to get her the next time she came back, didn't you?"
"Anyway, let's just go in and buy it," Eric said, pushing past Connor and into the shop.
Connor couldn't help but smile at his friend's slightly red cheeks as he went in.
However, once Eric was inside, he lost his smile and frowned.
...How much longer are you going to keep blaming yourself for that?
***
Eric had bought a silver ring which had Kaida's name engraved into it in a nice cursive font. Afterwards, Connor picked up a new purse for her and the two went their separate ways back to their own homes.
Eric spent the rest of the day reading a book until about half five when he started to get ready for the festival.
***
"Hmm, I thought you'd be overdressed."
"Are you going to be like this all night?"
"Do you want the truth, or the truth?"
At Eric's weary sigh, Connor chuckled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll tone it down. A bit. A little. Somewhat."
"A lot."
"Woah now; let's not go asking for the impossible, mate."
Then, they heard a familiar voice call out to them.
It was a woman with long flowing red hair and beautiful blue eyes, Kaida excitedly ran towards them. She was dressed in a brown hoodie over a white shirt with a red skirt and she was slightly shorter than Eric and Connor.
"Hey Kai-" Eric started to say, but he was cut off by Kaida excitedly jumping on him, tightly hugging him.
"It's been far too long, Eric! I missed you so much!"
Eric smiled a little, relaxed and hugged her back. "I missed you, too."
"Um, I'm here too. But, it's cool. Only tricycles need a third wheel."
Kaida giggled and broke away from Eric. "It's great to see you too, Connor."
"Good to see you to, Kaida."
The two of them high fived.
"Why'd you ruin my surprise?" Kaida asked, slightly annoyed. "I wanted to see Eric's face when he saw me again."
"That's why?" Eric blurted out.
"Well, I just wanted to see how surprised you be. Don't worry, you won't have two Connors to deal with."
"How disappointing."
The three of them laughed together and began to walk into the city.
***
After travelling and catching up for an hour, the three of them finally arrived at the entrance to the festival which was a gigantic archway designed to look it was made of stone. Hanging from the archway was a banner which read:
Celebrating the 1077th Year Since the Founding of Imperial.
The streets were decorated with cardboard cut-outs of medieval architecture to help to help try and recreate what the city had looked like back when it had first been built. Thousands of people were walking through the streets, some of whom were even in period costumes or dressed up as knights. A fantastic display of lights had been erected above the streets which the city spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on each year to make the festival look as beautiful as possible.
"Wow, it's more amazing than I remembered," Kaida gasped.
"Yeah."
"Well, it better be given the few million they put into this every year," Connor mused. "Hey, does anyone remember the last time we all came here together?"
"I think it was the first year of secondary school," Eric said. "It was right after Kaida's dad transferred and it you started to go up north to visit him, right?"
"Ah, yeah," she said; her voice shook a little. "So, what do you guys want to do?"
"Well, as you haven't been in years, why don't you choose where we go first?"
"You guys sure?"
"No objections here," Connor said.
"In that case, let's go to the games!" Kaida cried as loudly as she could.
While the boys remembered how excitable Kaida had always been, they had forgotten just how loud she could get.
"Lead on then," Eric said.
Kaida nodded enthusiastically, grabbed both of their hands, and Eric lead them through the crowd to the carnival games.
They were extremely busy as hundreds of children roamed from stall to stall, dragging their reluctant parents with them.
"So, this is what it's like to have kids," Connor whispered to Eric which made them both laugh.
After surveying what games they had on offer, Kaida walked up to a shooting gallery and paid to have a go.
When Eric and Connor reached the stall, she handed the gun to Eric.
"You want me to win you something?"
"Well, I'm terrible at shooting games."
"Then don't go to the shooting gallery," Connor groaned.
"But I really want that plushie."
She pointed up at a hanging pink teddy bear which held in its hands a heart.
Eric looked at the rifle she had handed him and saw that he had three chances to land a bull's eye to get a prize. It was doable, but Eric wasn't the best shot in the world and the corks the guns fired were almost always rigged.
He had wanted to refuse but when he saw the puppy dog face Kaida was making, his resistance crumbled.
"Fine, I'll give it a go,"
Kaida eyes lit up.
"Pushover."
Eric glared at his friend's whisper, but Connor just looked away and whistled nonchalantly.
Eric fired his first shot and it swerved wide. He loaded in his second shot, adjusted his aim as best he could and fired again; this time, he just missed the bull's eye. Knowing that he could make the shot, Eric loaded the third and final shot and this time he hit the bull dead in the centre.
"We have a winner!" The owner cried out, ringing an obscenely loud bell next to his head. "Shooter, choose your prize."
"I'd like that one please," Eric said, pointing at the same bear Kaida had been.
The owner smiled as he gave the toy to Kaida, knowing exactly who Eric had won it for. Kaida tightly hugged it, before then hugging Eric and giving him a small peck on the cheek.
"Thank you so much, Eric," Kaida sung, her cheeks glowing.
"You're welcome." His cheeks were a little red.
Connor, upon witnessing such a scene, could only let out a weary sigh, before smiling at the two of them.
***
After going up and down the various streets, the trio arrived at a café.
All the shops and restaurants in the area had extended its hours into the early hours of the morning. They sat at a table outside of the café and took in the sights of the festival continuing right next to them.
A waitress approached them and took their drink orders before departing to the bar.
"How long are you back for Kaida?"
"Oh, right, I forgot to say, didn't I? I'm going to university here, so I've moved back for good."
"Really? Which one?" Connor asked.
Kaida smiled sweetly. Then, with a shaking voice, she said, "Sorry, I just need the toilet."
She got up and walked away, leaving the two boys quite confused.
Once Kaida was out of earshot, Connor asked, "Doesn't it seem like she's been a bit on edge all night?"
"Yeah."
The waitress came back with their drinks, quickly putting them on the table before attending to the table next to theirs.
They were about to take their drinks when a man walked up to their table.
"Evening, fellas," a deep voice with a thick American accent said.
Eric turned around and found a tall man with grey, messy hair standing behind Kaida's seat. He had brown eyes and wore a yellow smile on his face. His hands were tucked into his black leather jacket and he wore torn and tattered jeans, and ebony boots with spikes on them.
"Finding two of you in one spot at the same time," the man continued, sitting down. He brushed his hand through his hair, displaying the scars on his wrists hidden beneath his sleeves and a Necronomicon tattoo on the back of his left hand. "I must be lucky."
"Who are you?"
"Eric, let's go-"
The man grabbed Connor's left arm and forcefully held it against the table. "Name's Spike, but that doesn't matter."
Spike then tore the sleeve off Connor's arm, revealing a long-jagged scar running from his elbow to his wrist.
"Well, I'll be damned."
"Wh-What?" Eric stuttered.
The scar along Connor's arm began to glow black just as Eric felt a searing pain in his left arm. He rolled his left sleeve up and discovered an almost identical scar to the one Connor had, just as it started to glow a deep red.
"Heh, two at the same tim-" Spike turned back to face Connor and he stared at the glowing black energy.
Without so much as a word, Spike threw his free hand towards Connor, sending a bolt of black energy into his chest, launching Connor flying into the café's window. He smashed through the glass and landed hard on his back on the wooden counter, before crumbling to the ground.
"Connor!"
Spike grabbed Eric's arm and pulled Eric over the table. In the next moment, he punched Eric in the stomach, his fist glowing with black energy, and Eric soared across the street and into a nearby wall.
The people in the café and on the street nearby broke into a panic, running frantically, desperate to get away from Spike.
Eric's body felt broken and he glared at Spike. A malicious black aura formed around Spike's body, surrounding him in dark magical energy.
A necromancer!
Necromancers were mages who used Death magic to absorb and summon the spirits of the dead and conjure powerful spells with their mana. They were considered by many to be the strongest and deadliest of all mage types, and their ruthlessness was legendary.
"Sorry kid, but this isn't my fault, or yours; it's just bad luck. Be happy that'll it be over quickly."
His aura flared and a large black spirit in the form of a knight appeared behind him, wielding a two-handed battle axe.
The knight charged towards Eric with its axe raised.
It swung at Eric's neck.
However, the blow failed to connect.
A dragon wing made entirely out of fire appeared before Eric, blocking the strike. The dragon's claws then sliced through the spirit's chest, turning it into mist.
Eric barely had any strength left but, with what he had left, he turned to look to the left and saw a girl standing there, covered in a flaming aura. The flames licked high above her head and the dragon wing appeared to have come from her shoulder blade. The girl's red hair flowed on a powerful wind and Eric could feel the heat of her flames from where he was.
Kai...da?
He thought as he lost consciousness.
***
Kaida stormed out into the courtyard of the café and stood in front of Eric. Her aura flared and a large dragon made of fire appeared behind her, roaring at Spike.
She thrust her hand at Spike and the dragon darted towards him, slicing at his chest. Spike's aura, however, was more than strong enough to take her attack. He kicked the dragon in the side of the head, his foot surrounded by magical energy, and it turned into mist.
"That it?" He spat.
Spike's aura flared and a dozen black bolts of energy flew at Kaida. She threw her arm across her front and a dragon wing appeared before her, absorbing the attacks. Once the barrage stopped, she lowered the wing and summoned her dragon behind her once more.
"A Dragon Soul, huh?"
Spike's eyes narrowed and his aura's intensity increased, sending two solid beams of black energy at Kaida. The dragon flew out to intercept them, but the beams cut through the dragon and hit Kaida. She flew through the air and collapsed onto her knees roughly.
Kaida winced and summoned her dragon once more, its flames burning more intensely than before. A knight armed with a spear appeared behind Spike and threw its weapon towards her. Kaida rolled to the side as her dragon was destroyed once again and where she had been standing exploded in a black cloud.
Spike clicked his tongue and his aura flared once more.
It angered him how long it was taking him to defeat her.
Thirty black bolts shot at Kaida, hitting her repeatedly in the chest before her dragon could reappear. She screamed in pain as she flew into the café and into the far wall, smashing through it. Spike raised his hand, a magic rune formed in the air in front of it, and a stronger black beam fired from it, collapsing the café's roof on top of Kaida, trapping her beneath it.
"Now then." He turned back to the boys. "Don't know how you two survived my attacks, but another one or two should do it."
As he prepared his attack, his aura was hit by a hail of gunfire, causing it to crackle.
Spike was caught off guard and, in that moment, a figure jumped down at him from a nearby building, two swords aimed at his heart. Spike hissed and leapt backwards, easily avoiding the stabs and he sent his knight to attack them.
The knight and the figure dressed in all black fought, but the knight couldn't land a single attack on the nimble figure. The figure was wearing an obsidian mask with an emotionless expression on it and, given how they didn't have any other obvious weapons, Spike assumed that there had to be at least two of them.
"Guardians? No. Then, I was right to be afraid of the kid."
Spike conjured two more knights behind him, both armed with gigantic swords, and he raised his hand up again. He conjured another rune just as sirens began to blast from only a few streets away.
He was out of time.
The necromancer clicked his tongue and dismissed his knights and his aura vanished.
"Damn it."
The figure in black watched Spike disappear out of sight, then glanced over at the two boys, confirming that they were alive before leaping onto a nearby rooftop and leaving the area.
Kaida broke through the rubble, ready to fight, but found that Spike was already gone.
She relaxed her body, causing her aura to vanish, and she ran over to check on Eric. She placed her hand on his neck to check for a pulse.
It was faint, but it was there.
Kaida then checked Connor and was relieved that they were both still alive, despite being bloodied and bruised. Connor's pulse was far weaker and his body more damaged, but help would be there soon enough.
"I'm so sorry."
The emergency services and members of the Guardians arrived soon after, securing the area and attending to Eric and Connor. |
Team Diablo 5th Round Tournament Roster
Opponents
- Osiris's Team
Map
- Woodlands
Modifiers
- Clear Weather
Number of Participants
- Eighteen (Nine from Team Diablo; Nine from Osiris's Team)
Win Condition
- Eliminate all members of the other team
Good luck and have fun,
Kasmine.
The forest was absolutely gorgeous.
Tall trees in full bloom decorated the area for miles, with beautiful flowers decorating the grass around them. There were small woodland creatures running around happily and freely in the woods, seemingly unafraid of the humans in their homes.
"Is it me or do these arenas keep getting more and more amazing?" Ajax asked.
The match will begin in five minutes,
the announcer said.
Please use this time wisely.
"You can admire it later. Eric, what's our plan?"
Eric pulled up the map of the arena and surveyed the field with Laila and Evony either side of him.
"The entire playfield is just woodland, except for this lake in the middle of the map. If Osiris has any water Gods, then that's where they'll head first."
"There aren't any inclines, hills or rivers," Evony noted. "If it's completely flatland, then the only high ground available is the treetops but we don't have many people who can move effectively through the branches."
"There's also no key areas which we can control to help direct the flow of the battle either," Laila added.
"So, the only thing of note on the entire map is the lake then?"
"Should we make a B-line for it then?" Evony asked.
"No, that would be too obvious of a move," Eric said. "Honestly, without any landmarks or strategic areas to hold, we have no idea where the enemy team could move."
"Split up then?"
"We've got no choice. Alright, listen up guys!" The others gathered around Eric and looked at him, fully focused on him. "Because we don't have any real way of figuring out our opponent's moves, we've got no choice but to split up and try to find and engage the enemy that way."
"Wouldn't that be quite risky?" Jasmine asked. "I mean, isn't there a risk that one of us could run into their entire team and get destroyed?"
"I don't think so."
"Why?"
"My Armour and Connor's are very powerful and can absolutely destroy everything and everyone around them, meaning that there's a good chance that Osiris's team can too. As we'll have to break up into smaller teams to avoid friendly fire, I imagine that Osiris's team will have to do the same thing.
"We'll break into groups of two or three and move along the left, middle and right of the map. Connor and I will charge straight up the middle; Evony, Laila and Jasmine will head along the right side of the forest, and Ajax, Kiara and Elthia will go along the left side."
"What about me?" Kaida asked.
"I need you to head to the forest and evaporate that water," Eric ordered. "If Osiris's team has a water God on their side, that's where they'll head straight away and, if they can hold that area, they'll win. Once you get rid of the water, head towards Connor and I and we'll continue moving together."
"Okay, I'll try and get it done as soon as possible."
"Unfortunately, we don't know how they'll divide their teams or what they're capable of, so after you've defeated one or two Gods, head towards the middle of the map and link up with my team," Eric instructed.
"I wish we knew what they were capable of," Kiara moaned as she started to float slightly above the ground.
"We were either in a fight or watching another fight when Osiris's lot were," Evony replied. "So, any other questions for our leader?"
Everyone shook their heads or said no.
Five minutes have passed. The match has begun
.
"Alright, let's do this!" Eric yelled.
***
Laila was the first to engage the enemy.
Before she knew what was happening, wooden branches and vines had swarmed around her, sealing her in an arena made of wood. Then, a large muscular man dropped from the sky towards her. Laila dropped into her own shadow to avoid the attack and the muscular man destroyed the ground where she had once been standing, leaving a broken crater engraved into the grass.
Laila appeared in a tree's shadow across from him, her knife in her hand, and the man charged at her, his fist raised. Laila dropped beneath the attack and dug her blade into his arm and sliced it open. The man grunted and threw his other fist at Laila, but Laila disappeared into his shadow and appeared behind him, slicing across his lower back. The muscular man roared and slammed his feet into the ground, cracking it and causing Laila to lose her balance. The man pivoted and launched his fists at her once more, but Laila blocked the blow with her blade, causing his knuckles to grind against it. The blast, though, sent Laila flying through the air and into the wooden barricade.
She cursed under her breath, landed on her feet and swallowed whatever blood was in her mouth. She glared at the muscular man as he stood there, beckoning her towards him, his arm and back gushing out blood.
The man was not wearing any clothing, say for a thin piece of cloth that covered his private parts; his entire body was ripped with impressive muscles, causing his veins to twitch with each movement, no matter how tiny they may be. He had blackened eyes fuelled by anger, fear and raw power.
Laila dropped into her shadow and appeared before the man. The man chucked a right hook at Laila, however the petite girl slid beneath his legs, stabbing the entirety of her blade into his left leg and she ripped it wide open. The man growled furiously and swung his fist under his legs. Laila couldn't dislodge her blade in time, so she simply vanished into her own shadow and appeared a few metres behind him. The man tried to pursue her, but he collapsed onto one knee, his left leg paralysed with pain and pouring blood out at a tremendous rate.
"Heh, you're pretty good," he mused. He ripped the blade out of his leg, biting his lip, and hid it into his curled fist. "But you won't get far without your weapon."
"Correct," Laila answered honestly. "However, with those wounds, you cannot attack either."
"I don't know about that." The veins across his body stood up and, seconds later, the wounds had sealed themselves completely. "That's the beauty of the Ogmios Armour. It's nowhere near the strongest, but its healing effect is one of a kind."
"I see. The armour is designed so that the user has to go on the offensive, providing them raw power and a strong healing ability, but offering no defence abilities at all."
"Yeah. You can't damage it!"
He ran at her, his leg's impairment removed, and he drew his fist behind his head. Once close enough, he launched his attack however, at the same time, Laila launched her counter. She threw her left hand in front of her, dragging a thin shadow with it, and severed his hand from the rest of his arm. The fist dropped onto the ground and its fingers uncurled, revealing Laila's blade which she quickly retrieved.
She then stabbed the blade into Ogmios's left wrist, before running along his arm with the blade, tearing it wide open. Ogmios screamed madly in agony, his mind blank from the immense pain that had just suddenly spawned in his arm. He tried to grab at Laila with his right hand, but stopped himself after realising that he no longer had a way of fighting her. Laila swept her blade across his throat and blood sprayed over her.
The girl jumped off of the gigantic man and landed perfectly in a crouched position, her arm, blade and body dyed red. Ogmios fell onto his knees, unable to muster enough strength to stand on his own two feet, and Laila stabbed her blade into his head.
A second later, Ogmios shattered into glass.
Team Osiris; eight members remaining.
***
Jasmine rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding Damona's branches. She fired her machine guns at the God, but a green shield appeared before her, blocking all of the bullets before they could hit Damona. Jasmine clicked her tongue and took cover behind a nearby tree, reloading her weapons as quickly as she could. Evony launched an explosive arrow at Damona's back, but the shield appeared to defend her once more.
The two Gods who the girls were fighting, Damona and Grannus, worked perfectly with one another.
Damona was a petite girl dressed in a casual blue shirt and navy jeans, a long wooden sword with a blade two metres long in her hand. Grannus was donned in a long brown cloak, hiding the majority of his body say for his face, with no visible weapon on his person.
Jasmine jumped out from behind her cover, unleashing a hail of bullets upon Damona, however Grannus's seemingly invincible green shield appeared to block her attempts once more. Evony ran around the pair, firing arrow after arrow, but Grannus simply moved his shield in time with her movements, deflecting her arrows.
Jasmine took that chance and struck.
She fired all of her remaining bullets at the vulnerable Damona, but she raised a barricade made of branches to defend herself.
Evony stopped running around the pair and whipped out another arrow, knocking it against her bow. She loosed it at them but, before it could even get close to impact them, it exploded into a bright ball of light, destroying their vision.
"Shit!" Damona screamed.
Evony took out a second arrow and fired it up into the air. Just as the arrow began its descent towards the ground, dozens of small bombs were released from the arrow's head, creating a small minefield over them. Grannus fell onto his back, raising his shield above his body to protect it. Damona, still blinded from Evony's flare, staggered around on the field, resting against her sword to steady herself.
"Damona!"
Grannus leapt onto his feet, pushed the girl onto her back and raised the shield above her body. The arrow and bombs landed, blowing the ground and the God to pieces. Once the dust settled, Damona was left alive, unscathed from Evony's attack.
Grannus, however, was gone.
Team Osiris; seven members remaining.
Damona stood up and she planted her sword firmly into the ground. It glowed green and the ground around her began to shift. Branches, some as thick as a cannon and as tall as a tree, emerged from the ground and they wrapped themselves around Damona's body, completely covering her from head to toe. The branches shifted, adjusting themselves to Damona's body and a suit of armour made entirely out of magical branches was left on her, with violent green eyes glaring maliciously from the helmet.
"Didn't expect that," Evony mused.
Damona roared and hundreds of vines shot out from the ground, charging at impossible speeds. Jasmine wasn't fast enough to dodge this time and a vine stabbed through her chest and turning her into glass.
Team Diablo; eight members remaining.
Evony barely moved out of the way, only just weaving between the vines. She fired two explosive arrows at Damona which burst into flames against her Armour.
They did not, however, damage it.
She bit her lip and stopped running. Evony knocked three arrows against her bow, aimed towards the sky and fired them. They curved back around in perfect unison and hundreds of mines dropped towards the battlefield.
Damona was prepared for her this time.
She stabbed her sword into the ground and the branches weaved around her over and over, encasing her in a solid sphere. The explosives smacked into the wood and it shattered, pieces of burning kindling went flying in all directions. The air calmed and the branches slumped lifelessly onto the ground, burnt to a crisp and dead.
Damona, surprisingly, was still standing, panting heavily.
"Looks like that did some damage," Evony whispered.
Damona spat at Evony and ran at her, her sword drawn back behind her. She swiped at Evony's chest, but she dodged beneath it, kicking Damona in the shin. Before the God could recover, she kicked her in the stomach, sending her stumbling backwards. Laila appeared in Damona's shadow, stabbing her knife against the wooden armour, but it uselessly bounced back.
Laila retreated into Evony's shadow and the two girls stood side by side, ready to face the God together. Damona steadied herself, her body physically drained, and she was wheezing. Damona threw her arm towards the two girls; an army of branches flew at them which they were easily able to avoid. Laila jumped out of the God's shadow and sliced several times at her back, barely even scratching the armour.
Evony drew two explosive arrows and launched them at Damona, encasing her in an inferno. The flames dispersed, but Damona was still alive and moving, if barely.
"Maintaining that form must take a lot of energy," Evony called to Laila. "I wonder how much more she can take before it breaks."
Laila and Evony relentlessly continued their assault.
Damona cut at Laila, but the girl was always fast enough to drop into the shadows. She tried to charge Evony, but the girl simply retreated to another location and kept loosing arrows as she moved. Knowing that there was no way that she would remain alive at the end of the fight regardless of which side won, Damona decided to make a drastic decision.
She stopped swinging at Laila and drove her sword as deep as she could into the ground, leaving only the hilt above the dirt, and screamed as loudly as she could.
Thousands of branches jumped out of the ground, zooming wildly all over the place. Laila returned to the shadows, appearing behind a tree outside of the branches' attack range.
Evony was not able to avoid them.
Three of them smashed through her and she turned to glass.
Team Diablo; seven members remaining.
Damona's strength left her and the branches rescinded, returning to the ground where she had raised them from. She fell face first onto the ground, blood trickling out of her Armour, and she shattered.
Team Osiris, six members remaining.
Laila had nearly collapsed after escaping Damona's final attack.
Her body felt heavy, a large bruise had formed on her hip and several cuts had been made along the back of her thighs, tiny amounts of blood dripping from her skin. Even though she had been able to avoid the majority of Damona's attacks, she had still been hit by some, leaving her body battered and broken. It drained her Mana and stamina quickly when she used her powers normally, and she had pushed herself to teleport to a shadow over fifty metres away, using an entire fight's worth of energy in a single escape.
That single teleport had almost made her pass out.
However, she continued to move forward, regardless of how much it hurt, using the trees to support her weight, and she slowly moved through the forest towards the lake.
***
Ajax, Elthia and Kiara had been walking for quite some time and had yet to run into the enemy, not knowing that they were being observed by two Gods, hidden in the tree tops.
"They don't seem to be too strong, nor do they seem to be hiding anything," Void whispered and Lazarus nodded.
Void was a boy of small stature, about five feet tall, with thick auburn hair and grey eyes, a plain black cloak sat over his body, making up the entirety of his God Armour. Lazarus, on the other hand, was of average height and his entire body was made up of a silver liquid, granting him his powers.
Lazarus's Armour could shift into whatever shape or form he wanted and it had incredibly strong regenerative powers, meaning that no matter how much he was attacked, he wouldn't take any damage. However, while Lazarus was in his Armour form, he couldn't speak which made teamwork quite difficult.
"Let's go."
Lazarus jumped in front of Ajax, holding a silver scimitar in his hand, and he sliced at Ajax's neck, narrowly missing him as Ajax jumped backwards out of the way. Lazarus pursued Ajax, not letting him get a moment to recover, and launched a series of strikes, slicing and stabbing at Ajax constantly. Ajax managed to deflect his attacks and parried his blade to one side, thrusting his spear into Lazarus's chest.
It went through his skin like it was water and then the liquid armour sealed around the spear, locking it within his Armour. Lazarus leapt onto Ajax's chest, his feet transformed into spikes, and they pierced through Ajax's chest, and killed him.
Team Diablo, six players remaining.
"Ajax!"
She and Elthia had wanted to help in the fight but they weren't able to.
Void had created a black hole behind them, making them use all of their strength to hold onto the ground and not get sucked into it. Kiara had dug her nails deep into the ground, channelling her magic into them to make them act as an anchor. Elthia was holding onto a nearby tree but her muscles were too weak and soon she was pulled into the black hole.
Team Diablo, five players remaining.
The blackhole collapsed and Kiara immediately took off into the forest, catching Void off guard. He opened one behind her, but she was soon outside of its reach. She ran as hard as she could into the forest, shooting black balls back at the two Gods and soon she lost them.
After finally losing them, Kiara stopped, rested against a tree and tried to catch her breath,
Anchoring herself into the ground had used a lot of her magic and strength to avoid being pulled into the blackhole.
Kiara was so exhausted that she struggled to keep her eyes open.
"What the hell were those two?"
She took deep breaths in and out, using what precious few moments she had to relax and regain her strength.
"Smoke?" She sniffed again and saw a large pillar of smoke rising from the heart of the forest.
***
The forest fire was thick.
Kaida could barely breathe, let alone keep her eyes open enough to see. The temperature of it was at a level that made even the tiniest of sparks lethal to anyone that they touched. Kaida raised her dragon around her, using it to keep the flames around her at bay and it relieved a lot of the pressure the fire put on her.
Even with her dragon protecting her, Kaida could barely breathe.
The lake had been dried out, leaving a gigantic hole of mud in the centre of the forest, a tower of fire raging from it. In the centre of that inferno stood a single figure, draped in steel armour designed to look like a succubus.
"Oh, I'm surprised that you could make it through my blaze. A Pyromancer? No, a Dragon User. Well, it doesn't matter."
The girl flicked her wrists and they became encased in fire. She then thrust her palms at Kaida and two columns of fire zoomed towards Kaida, an attack which Kaida couldn't defend against.
If she moved her dragon to intercept the attack, then she would be consumed by the flames around her. If she didn't, then the pillars of fire would kill her.
No matter what Kaida did, she would die.
Still, Kaida swung her dragon wings in front of her, trying her best to endure the crushing heat. The columns of fire smashed through the wings with ease and incinerated Kaida in an instant.
Team Diablo, four members remaining.
***
Before they had even realised it, Osiris had unleashed his attack.
A lightning bolt soared into Connor's chest, cracking against the metal and it sent the boy flying through the air. The bolt then bounced over to Eric, smashing into his chest and catapulting him backwards. Eric landed awkwardly on his feet but he was able to stay up, unlike Connor who had collapsed against a tree.
"Finally, we face one another on the battlefield," Osiris said.
He leapt down from the tree branch that he had been standing on and landed perfectly on the grass, twirling his staff around his body.
Osiris's God Armour was decorated in polished solid gold, gleaming brightly in the sun. An eagle helmet covered his face and in his right hand rested a golden staff which had an Ankh on the top.
"Nice God Armour," Connor praised as he stood back up. "I hate to admit it, but it looks cooler than mine."
"Thank you very much. However, flattery will not save you."
He twirled his staff around the top of his head and then thrust it forward, unleashing another lightning bolt at Eric. Eric tried to dodge it, but he was too slow and it caught his arm. Then, like before, the bolt bounced off the first impact and flew at Connor who narrowly avoided it by ducking beneath it.
Eric leapt through the air towards Osiris, his wrist blades deployed and aimed at Osiris's chest. Just before Eric could land the blow, he felt his body completely lock-up.
No matter how much he tried to move, he couldn't.
Osiris let out a low chuckle and stepped to one side; Eric became free and he crashed hard into the ground, sending out a shockwave through the nearby land.
"What was that?"
Connor spawned his axe and chopped at Osiris, but Osiris blocked it with his staff and then countered it with a blow to his stomach.
Eric felt the punch of Osiris's blow in his stomach and he doubled over.
That's his trick!
"Connor, his staff can attack multiple people with a single strike!" Eric shouted.
"Yeah, kinda figured!" Connor shouted back as Osiris blocked his axe with his staff.
Connor pushed Osiris back and sliced at his feet, however Osiris flipped over it and landed to the side of Connor. He then bashed Connor around the back of the head and the boy flew forwards, smashing through several times before crumpling to the ground. Eric winced and fired a bolt of red energy at Osiris but it stopped mid-air.
"Again?!"
"I would have expected you to have figured it out by now," Osiris mused.
"Don't worry, I've figured out all your little tricks. Your staff can hit multiple people at once and you've got two of your friends nearby to help you out."
"Well deduced. This." He leant his staff towards Eric. "Is my God Weapon. I see that you have not yet unlocked yours, whereas your friend has to an extent, which is a shame."
Damn! He knows.
"I was looking forward to seeing it," Osiris said.
"Sorry to disappoint you!"
Eric charged at Osiris with both of his blades deployed and lunged at Osiris. Osiris swerved to the side, dodging Eric's attack, and then kicked Eric in the lower part of his back. Eric stumbled forward a little, turned around and began slashing relentlessly at Osiris, putting him on the defence.
While Osiris was able to dodge and deflect Eric's attacks, he wasn't able to turn the situation around.
Connor ran at Osiris from behind, his axe wound back, and he sliced at Osiris's back.
Just before he made contact, his body froze and he couldn't move.
"Dammit!"
Osiris backflipped over Connor and then smashed his staff into the boy's back just before he was released from his prison. Connor flew into Eric and both boys ended up on the floor. Osiris twirled his staff around his body and fired a focused bolt of lightning at the boys before they could recover, electrocuting both of them, causing them to scream wildly in pain.
God team; five members remaining.
"What?" Osiris stopped his attack and looked behind him.
In that moment, as soon as he had lost his focus, Osiris had cost himself the fight against Eric and Connor.
Eric stabbed his blades at Osiris's chest but he narrowly managed to avoid a fatal wound, but they still pierced his Armour. Osiris manoeuvred backwards and swung at Eric, but the boy slid beneath the blow, and fired from his palms a solid bolt of red energy. Osiris crossed his arms over his chest as the blast hit, sending him flying back twenty metres.
Osiris landed in a crouched position, his arms badly bruised and worn after taking a blow as powerful as that.
He stood up and swung his staff around in front of him.
"What happened?" Osiris mumbled.
***
Kala, the Goddess of Fate, ran through the forest as fast as she could, nearly falling over a dozen times and, each time, she was barely able to stay on her own feet.
Laila was right behind her and was getting closer with every passing second.
The assassin was naturally fast but, when mixed with her teleportation powers, she was unimaginably quick.
Kala threw her arms out to the sides, her bracelets on her wrists jingling madly as the crystals collided with one another, and the trees either side of her glowed pink. She snapped her fingers and the trees toppled over, landing behind her as she passed. Laila, though, had good enough reflexes to avoid every single attack Kala launched.
Her power was rather unique; she could move things to a point in the future that they would eventually reach. For instance, with the trees, she had sped up their lifespan dramatically so that they would fall over well before their time.
Essentially, she could age things to the point that she wanted, including humans.
Against God Armours it was useless but, against humans and most superhumans, it was extremely effective. If she could turn around and manage to focus her powers on Laila, then she could probably end the fight; but Laila was too quick to give Kala the chance.
It was a desperate attempt but Kala had no other choice.
She skidded to a stop, turned on her heel one hundred and eighty degrees and moved her hands in front of her body, covering all the trees around her in pink energy. She snapped her fingers and the trees collapsed over incredibly quickly. Laila ducked into one of their shadows and remained there until the trees stopped falling over. She then appeared in a shadow five metres in front of Kala and the girl snapped her attention to her.
Laila dove into the shadow and then appeared behind Kala, stabbing her through her back.
Kala let out a small whimper as the reality of the situation hit her and blood trickled from her lip. Laila swiftly removed her blade and then sliced open Kala's neck, killing her and she shattered into glass.
God Team, four players remaining.
"Two more down," Laila whispered, leaning against a tree for support.
She was exhausted and running on fumes.
But.
"Not yet."
Laila steeled herself for one last, desperate push to help her team win the match.
***
I had expected Chronous and Kala to fall, but I did not expect that they would get taken down so easily and in such quick succession,
Osiris thought.
There was only one member of Eric's team capable of pulling off a feat like that and that was Laila, as the distance between them was too great for anyone else to travel and finish them both off in such quick succession.
Eric was relentlessly attacking Osiris, chasing him as he continued to retreat further into the heart of the forest. Connor was running along parallel to them on their left, keeping pacing with Osiris and ready to strike if a chance presented itself.
Osiris stopped, turned on his heel and blocked Eric's thrust with his staff, catching the boy's fist with the butt of his staff. Osiris then swung his staff in a vicious flurry of blows over Eric's body, smashing his staff hard against his Armour. Connor charged at Osiris, but Osiris leapt over Eric and hit his staff into Eric's back, sending him flying into Connor.
Connor side stepped Eric and his axe's swing was caught by Osiris's staff.
They began to swing their weapons as fast as they could, desperate to land a single clear blow on the other. Osiris bashed Connor's axe to the side and then kicked him in the stomach, causing Connor to lurch forward. Osiris then followed up with a powerful jab with staff into Connor's stomach, breaking a piece of his Armour beneath the weight of his attack.
Connor coughed blood and collapsed onto his knees. Osiris was about to land the fatal blow on Connor's skull when Laila emerged from his shadow, stabbing Osiris in the back of the neck.
Had Osiris's reflexes not kicked in, he would have died.
He bent his body forward, causing Laila to narrowly miss the nape of his neck and he rolled over Connor's back. Osiris thrust his staff at Connor and the lightning smacked into his back, before darting towards Laila.
Laila dove into her shadow and appeared a few metres away, but the lightning bolt followed her and hit her shoulder. She winced as the pain burnt at her nerves but, given how badly wounded she already was, Laila wasn't going to stop fighting because of a little bit more pain.
She teleported into Osiris's shadow and began slicing at his legs and stabbing at his torso, trying desperately to find a weak point in his Armour.
Her blade pierced Osiris's thigh and he grunted, collapsing onto one knee.
Laila attempted to remove the blade but it was firmly lodged within the boy's leg. Osiris spun his staff into Laila's face and she barely escaped with her life into her shadow, the staff clipping the top of her head.
She appeared in Connor's shadow, crouched, as blood trickled into her eyes.
Lazarus jumped behind her and stabbed her in the back with both of his arms and Laila shattered.
Team Diablo; three players remaining.
"Bastard!" Eric screeched, charging at Lazarus.
He drew his fist back and lunged at him, but he was ripped off his feet backwards by a powerful force. Eric slammed onto the ground and it broke beneath the pressure. He looked behind him and saw a small black hole pulling him backwards.
With no other option, Eric stabbed both of his blades deep into the ground, trying desperately to stay alive.
"It's no use, Lucifer," Void taunted. "Not even you can escape from a blackhole."
In that moment, a battle axe was thrown into Void's back, killing him instantly and he shattered into pieces.
God Team, three players remaining.
"Win...this, Eric."
A large wall of fire encircled Connor.
Eric's Team; two players remaining.
"Damn demon!"
Lazarus spawned a claymore into his hands and slowly walked over to Eric. Osiris bit his lip as he removed Laila's blade from his flesh, causing him to hiss through gritted teeth. He tossed the dagger to the side and tried to stand back up, using his staff to support himself.
Then, Osiris felt his back split open.
Kiara had emerged from the nearby bushes and, using her Vampire claws, she sliced along the God's back, breaking through his Armour and cutting his skin. Osiris yelled out and, in anger, blindly swung at her. She easily avoided the attacks and sent a handful of black bolts at the God, stunning him and sending him backwards ten metres.
Lazarus jumped over to Kiara and swung his sword repeatedly at Kiara, his speed on par with hers. However, her natural instincts allowed her to keep ahead of his attacks, narrowly avoiding death multiple times and she back flipped up onto a nearby tree branch. She clung to it and Lazarus leapt after her. She pushed her palms together at him and fired a solid beam of black energy, knocking him out of the air and he turned into a puddle of silver.
Then, the tree she was on was engulfed in a tornado of flames.
Xantico cackled at the sight as the fire licked higher and higher into the sky, killing Kiara.
Team Diablo, one player remaining.
Xantico and Lazarus fell in behind their leader who was struggling to keep himself standing.
Osiris was breathing quite heavily and his body ached whenever he moved. Laila's blade had cut deeper into his leg than he had expected and Kiara's claws had carved a lot of skin off his back.
If they didn't win within the next minute or so, he would be eliminated.
Eric was exhausted and couldn't manage more than resting in a crouched position. He had used a lot of his magic fighting Osiris and whatever was left of it he had used struggling against Void's blackhole.
Damn it!
He screamed in his head, glaring at the Gods before him.
Why can't I win this? Why can't I unlock my Armour's weapon?
Because you haven't truly desired it until this moment,
a
voice echoed through his entire being.
I haven't desired it?
Indeed. You, wielder of Lucifer, have forgotten how you summoned this power in the beginning and thus have never considered it as a way of creating your weapon.
How I summoned it in the beginning?
Then, Eric remembered, that day when he had first come to Ferris and had first called the Armour to him.
He had desired it to appear.
This very same voice had asked him to call the Armour to him.
You have remembered then?
Yeah.
Eric shut his eyes and focused his being into his mind, ignoring the battle around him and the sounds of the Gods charging towards him.
Call me
.
Eric focused his whole being on that voice and then, he felt it.
His aura exploded and sent shockwaves through the air, causing Xantico and Lazarus to halt their assault, both captivated by the sight of Eric's aura.
Its energy concentrated itself before him and formed into a molten pillar of rock, glowing with red veins, a hilt in the shape of black rocks sticking from the top. Eric opened his eyes, grasped the handle with his right hand and let out a loud roar, his wings expanding from his back and flapping proudly, released from their shackles.
"Oblivion!" Eric shouted, tearing the sword from the rock and the shockwave sent Lazarus and Xantico into the air.
The sword was a black claymore with a red trim which looked like it had been made from obsidian and the edges of the blade was jagged and rock like in appearance.
Lazarus landed on his feet and, when he looked up, Eric was right in front of him, his sword aimed directly at his heart.
The sword pierced through Lazarus and the God collapsed into a silver puddle, before shattering into glass.
God Team, two players remaining.
"What?! How can you kill him when he's immortal?!"
Osiris's eyes widened beneath his helmet and his eyes widened realising the horrible truth of Eric's weapon.
Lazarus's God Weapon, his immortality, had been neutralised by Eric's.
Xantico screeched and thrust her palms at Eric, launching an inferno directly at him and burning the forest behind him for hundreds of metres. Eric drew his sword behind his head and threw it with all of his might, using what was left of his magical energy to increase the power, and the blade landed right between Xantico's eyes.
God Team, one player remaining.
Osiris couldn't help but smile, even when he realised that his team had lost.
"Oblivion, huh?" He mused, dismissing his helmet to show Eric his smile. "It is just as impressive as I imagined it would be."
Eric dismissed his helmet and smiled back, calling his sword to him and it flew into his hand. "Hey, you have an amazing weapon, too." He slowly began to walk over to Osiris. "What's it called?"
"Ikhernofret Stela. It's a-"
"An Egyptian stela from the Middle Kingdom period, right?"
Osiris's eyes widened in surprise and he nodded, his smile growing a little.
"I'd love to talk to you about it sometime."
"I would like that, too."
"Until then, Eric."
The two of them shared a moment of peaceful silence, before Eric thrust his blade into Osiris's chest, and he turned into glass.
God Team, no players remaining.
Team Diablo are the winners!
***
Sat alone in a dark room, Michael felt his body become consumed by rage when he saw Eric spawn that weapon on his television screen.
Oblivion, the very weapon which had killed his King and that had taken his own life.
Kavachin tapped gently at the door to the room and slowly poked his head through the door. "Michael, we're-" He started to say, before a bolt of blue energy smashed through the wall right next to his head.
Had that beam hit him, Kavachin would have died.
Michael exhaled and glanced over at Kavachin. "Sorry about that. What do you have to report?"
"Um, well, we found a base to hit that meets your requirements and-"
"Good. I'll come through to discuss it with you in just a second."
Kavachin nodded and closed the door behind him. Michael rewound the tournament match back the moment Eric had used it to kill Lazarus and he walked up to the screen.
"Oblivion," he growled, crushing the remote in his hand. "It's as deadly as ever."
Eric was in a place that Michael couldn't reach yet and he was getting stronger with every passing moment.
Soon, Lucifer. Soon. |
It had been a day like any other.
Eric had woken up, walked to school with Connor, met Kaida on the way, gone to forum, Alexa sped in at the last second, classes would begin, they spent lunchtime talking aimlessly, afternoon classes, and then the same walk home.
"Aw, GCSE's start next year," Connor complained. "I really don't know what I want to take. What about you guys?"
"All I've got so far is History," Eric admitted.
"I'm picking French," Kaida said.
"Any reason?"
"It will look good on my CV and give me a better chance of getting into university."
"They always say that kind of crap but then none of it really matters that much in the end."
"How do you know, Connor?" Eric asked.
"My older sister said so before she went to uni."
"GCSE's do help decide our future!" Kaida argued.
"Not really."
"They do!"
"Not even a little."
Kaida pouted as Eric and Connor laughed. "You guys better at least try to take it seriously," she said in a grumpy voice.
"I will."
"Guys, we missed the turning," Connor muttered.
"So, we did."
The three turned back and went down the side alleyway.
Not even three seconds later, a man in a worn and dirty business suit appeared before them, a kitchen knife in his left hand covered in a little bit of blood.
"Give me your wallets," the man hissed, slowly moving towards them. "Give me 'em and no one gets hurt."
Eric stepped in front of Kaida, putting his hands into the air. "Okay, we will, just don't do anything stupid."
As he did, Connor took the chance to reach into his pocket and dial 999.
"Give 'em!"
Even though Eric's body screamed at him, told him to run as fast and as far away from the mugger as possible, Eric's own desire to protect Kaida kept his feet firmly on the ground.
Eric slowly lifted his wallet out of his pocket and offered it to the man. "Here you go."
The man looked at it and glared at Eric, grinding his teeth together, and he took another step forward. The man's thin fingers reached out and snatched the wallet from Eric and he pointed the knife at Kaida.
"Give it!"
"Hey, we're giving you them!" Eric yelled back. "There's no need to point it at her!"
"You mockin' me, brat? You lookin' down on me, too?"
"No, I'm just-"
"Fuck you. Fuck everyone! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" The man growled and thrusted his knife towards Eric. "Give 'em!"
"I don't know what you're-"
Before Eric could finish, the man had lunged his knife into Eric's heart.
The mugger and Kaida both screamed louder than a banshee, alerting a nearby police patrol to their position.
What happened?
Eric fell onto his back, his strength rapidly leaving him and his vision slowly turning black.
I'm...on the floor...
He looked down at his chest and saw the blood spurt from it, the knife had been pulled out by the mugger who was now being held down and handcuffed by the police. Eric could hear Connor yelling frantically to someone, perhaps to someone on the phone, and Kaida was kneeling beside Eric, his hand in hers.
She was saying something, as loud as she could, through an ocean of tears but Eric couldn't hear her.
Am I...dying?
His vision turned blurry and was consumed by darkness.
He felt a burning sensation more painful than the blade at his heart, but he didn't have the strength to scream or move.
***
Groggily, Eric opened his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
His body was covered in sweat and he had thrown his covers off his bed in his sleep.
"Again." He gently running his fingers along the scar across his heart.
He winced, undressed and climbed into the shower, turning the temperature down to its coldest setting.
Ever since his encounter with Bunny, the same old memory had resurfaced in his mind time and time again, reminding him of the first time he had almost lost his life, and a dark part of his own history that he wanted to forget.
Eric had gotten used to seeing the mugger in his dreams now, but it always left a lingering pain in his chest.
Thankfully, he and his team had a day of rest from the tournament today as well.
Once he was dry, Eric eagerly went to his bookcase and pulled out a large paperback book, before heading off to the lake.
***
Eric knew there was a high chance that Laila would be reading by the lake too, and he was happy to see that she was already there, a copy of
'The Epic of Gilgamesh'
in her hands.
"Morning."
"Good morning."
"Are you enjoying it?"
She nodded.
"Where are you in the story?"
"At the end of the seventh tablet."
"I think that that's probably one of the best bits in the entire poem."
The two of them began to read peacefully together against the tree, facing away from one another; both of them completely immersed in their own texts.
"Did you have another nightmare?" Laila asked, catching Eric off-guard.
"...What makes you think I did?"
"You always come here to read whenever you're not feeling too good, or when you want to escape from your problems."
"I like to come here and read even when I'm feeling fine, too, but." He smiled sadly and rested his head against the tree. "You're right, though."
"Bunny?"
Eric shook his head. "The mugger. I haven't had a dream about Bunny in a long time, but...the memories of the mugging keep reappearing in my dreams. It just...reminds me of all the bad things that have happened."
Laila glanced over her shoulder. "Is it the stab itself?"
"No, I've...sort of come to terms with that. It's what came afterwards that keeps bothering me."
"Afterwards?" Eric went silent and turned his head away from her. "You don't have to say anything more than that."
"It's fine." Eric's hand inadvertently gripping his chest. "If I don't talk to someone about it, then it will never go away or change.
"After the attack, I was rushed to the nearest hospital and my wounds were attended to by a healer. All that was left was the scar where I'd been stabbed. The thing is, no one at the hospital had any idea how I'd gotten it, but they said that the wound had sealed up soon after the attack and that saved my life. I never understood how that happened either, until I found out about Kaida's abilities.
"It...it was after I was discharged from the hospital the next day that the problems began to arise.
"Being attacked caused me to be terrified of the outside world for months and I always felt restless and on edge unless I was inside my own house. I remember that everything terrified me when I went to school the day after I had been released.
"The people, the noises, the sound of metal, even the tiniest drop of blood from my friend's papercut sent me panicking.
"Everyone knew that I wasn't exactly in a good place and, as soon as the last lesson ended, I ran as quickly as I could home, ignoring Kaida, Connor and everyone else's screams and pleas.
"After that, I refused to leave the house.
"I ignored my parents who asked me to try going to school again, I turned my phone off completely so that I didn't have to deal with anyone calling or texting me, and I didn't step outside except to pick up packages and answer the door for strangers. For four months, I spent all of my time locked inside my own home, my own personal fortress, and spent my time reading, playing games, exercising and studying." |
Kaida and Kiara zoomed down the racetrack, practically neck and neck with one another.
After three hard fought laps, neither had gained much ground over the other. Now, they were on the final lap, seemingly unable to break the deadlock.
"You know what would be great? If you went off the course and crashed."
Kiara giggled. "As much as I like that idea, let's put a pin in it for now, shall we?"
She swerved her car to hit Kaida, but Kaida dodged it in time. "Hey!"
"There's no prize for second place, and honour is for the weak!"
They got halfway around the track when Kiara took a turn too sharply.
Her car nearly came off the track, but she was able to get it back under control. Unfortunately, she had lost a lot of speed when her car went out of control, allowing Kaida to pull in front of her.
There wasn't a gigantic gap between them, but it was more than enough for Kaida to win.
"I'll see you at the finish line!" Kaida taunted, turning her wheel sharply to the right on the curve.
She checked behind her and Kiara was still close and gaining speed. Kaida stepped down even harder on the pedal, intent on gaining even a little bit more speed to increase the gap between them.
Kaida snapped her wheel to the left and her car swung around the corner, and grinned when she saw the finish line.
I can do this!
Then, Kiara made her move.
She slammed her car into Kaida's on the turn, sending Kaida flying off the course and into a ditch.
"No!" Kaida cried as Kiara let out an evil laugh. "You bitch!"
"Victory is all that matters!"
Can I still catch up to her?
Kaida asked as she respawned, but it was too late.
You lose,
the machine said and Kaida's heart sunk.
"No," she whispered.
"Ohoho," Kiara laughed, puffing out her chest. "Bow down, peasant, for you are nothing compared to the queen."
"Damn it!"
***
Kiara and Kaida had been shopping in the leisure centre when Kaida made her foolish bet.
"What did you have in mind?"
"One race on that game and the loser buys lunch."
Kiara let out a low purr. "Very well."
Kaida had been crushed and forced to buy Kiara a large meal at a fast-food restaurant.
"Why'd I make that stupid bet?"
"You're the one who challenged me to it, so don't moan," Kiara teased, poking Kaida's cheek. She pouted and Kiara giggled softly.
"Hey, Kaida, can I ask you something? You're in love with Eric, right?"
Kaida choked on her drink after being completely caught off guard.
"How did you know?" Kaida asked, sounding genuinely shocked.
"You're surprised? Kaida, I hate to tell you this, but it's so incredibly easy to tell just by looking at how you act with him."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Kaida's cheeks reddened and she sunk a little into her seat. "Was it really that obvious?"
"If that's what you think subtle is, I would love to know what you call obvious."
"B-But, if it was that obvious, why hasn't Eric ever asked me how I feel?"
"Because Eric's as dense as a blackhole when it comes to things like this, although.'" Kiara hummed and leant back in her chair. "That might not be a fair assessment."
"What do you mean?"
"I imagine that he's convinced himself that you wouldn't like him that way and that he might have read too much into it and ruin your friendship."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Do...do you think he sees me as a good friend or as a potential girlfriend?"
"Both."
Kaida looked dejected and sighed. "That doesn't help."
"It's true, though. I'm sure if you confessed to him though, he'd respond in kind."
"Really?"
"Really. So, cheer up." Kiara smiled. "If Eric doesn't want you, then I'll gladly have you as a girlfriend?"
"Huh?"
Kaida's face became completely red and Kiara burst out laughing.
"Kaida, you make cuter faces than Eric when I tease him," she mused, wiping a tear from her eye.
"I think I'm starting to understand how Eric feels."
"So, how long have you been in love with him?"
"Um, I don't know how long exactly, but it's been years."
Kiara slammed her hands on the table and leant over it. "Years? Seriously?" Kaida nodded. "When did you first fall for him? What made you fall in love with him? Did he save your life? Were you lovers in a past life? Did he stand up for you when you were being bullied for being different from others? Did he pay off your parents' debts to the mob?"
"Huh? Wait a minute-"
"Have you saved yourself for him?"
"Kiara!"
Kiara giggled as Kaida angrily swiped at her, but she easily dodged. "I'll take that as a yes."
"God, don't ask things like that in public."
"Sorry, but you're just too much fun to mess with," Kiara purred. "Hey, if you've loved him for so long, why haven't you ever told him? I mean, you must have had a lot of chances to, right?"
Kaida's expression turned distant and she looked away from Kiara. "A lot of things happened, I guess."
I shouldn't pursue that any further,
Kiara noted in her mind.
"Then, what is it you like about Eric?"
"Huh? W-Well, if I had to answer, I'd say...everything."
"Cop out."
"What?!"
Kiara shook her head from side to side, disappointed with Kaida's weak answer. "Saying everything doesn't cut it for me. What I want to hear are specifics, like his looks, his personality, was it something he did, you know, stuff like that."
"Why do you want to know all of this?"
"Huh?" It was Kiara's turn to be taken back by a question. "Because it's interesting?"
Kaida wasn't convinced.
Is it possible that she also...?
Kaida started to think and, the second she though that, she had to ask Kiara the question.
"Kiara, what do you think about Eric?"
Kiara raised an eyebrow. "I take it you don't mean if I think we're friends, right?" Kaida didn't say anything and Kiara let out a small sigh, leaning back in her seat. "There's no need to make that face. I don't feel that way about Eric."
"But...you always act like that around him."
"Like what?"
"I mean, you always act so friendly and flirty towards him."
"That's just me being me," Kiara said. "I only act like that towards people I'm close to and." She smirked. "He's very fun to tease."
"I know this might come across as a bit bitchy and intrusive, but why do you think you're close to Eric?"
Kiara smiled a little. "You were right. That was a bit bitchy."
"Sorry."
"It's fine. I just feel that way because he accepted me for who I was when a lot of other people didn't. That's all."
Kiara continued to sip from her drink and Kaida looked at her with a slightly sad expression on her face.
"I told you not to make that kind of face," Kiara told her, taking Kaida's hand in hers. "I know why you'd be a bit worried by my behaviour, but I promise you it isn't what you're worried about."
"Thank you, and I'm sorry," Kaida said, smiling a little.
"I told you, it's fine. Anyway, now that we're done here." Kiara leapt up and offered Kaida her hand. "Shall we keep going?"
***
Eric strolled around the Ferris grounds humming softly.
He was looking for a good place outside to sit and read the book Kasmine had lent him:
The Realms of Existence.
However, he soon discovered that it'd be difficult to find a quiet place to sit as there were people everywhere on the site.
Then, an idea hit him.
He went into the park surrounding the lake and walked past the various people sitting around benches, talking, eating or studying together, to the tree where he had first met Laila.
No one was sat within thirty metres of it.
"It'll work."
Eric sat down, rested his back against the tree and started to read.
Since coming to Ferris, Eric hadn't had any chance to be by himself and read, something which he had found more difficult to cope with than he expected.
God, I missed this
.
No imminent danger, no teasing from Connor or Kiara, and no lessons with Sapphire today. Finally, a full day where I can just read!
As he slowly began immersing himself within the novel, he felt someone watching him from nearby.
Eric turned and screamed, nearly jumping up into the air, when he found someone looking over his shoulder.
"What are you reading?" Laila asked, titling her head to get a better view on the pages.
"Jesus, don't scare me like that. You should've said something."
"I did. You didn't respond."
"Really?" Laila nodded. "How long have you been there?"
"I just got here."
"I-I see. So, what are you doing here?" Laila brought up her hands and showed Eric the book which she had brought. "You came here to read as well."
Laila nodded. "I like reading."
"Just so I know, you didn't follow me here, right?"
"No. I scouted this spot out during the first week."
"I thought you said you were observing people."
"Multitasking."
"...Right."
"If I'm bothering you, I can go."
"No, it's fine," Eric quickly said. "You can stay and read your book, just, you know, try not to scare the living crap out of me."
"I'll do my best."
Laila turned and leant back against the other side of the tree and opened her book.
Eric smiled slightly and turned back to reading his own book.
"Non-fiction or fiction?" Eric asked.
"Fiction. You?"
"Non-fiction."
"Is that what you usually prefer?"
"I prefer epics."
"Like Gilgamesh?"
"Yeah. Have you read it?"
"No. If you say it's good though, then I'll give it a read."
"It's a bit difficult to read," Eric said. "And I don't want to feel like I'm forcing you to read it."
"No problem. I want to see what kinds of books you like, so I have more I can talk to you about."
Eric's cheeks turned slightly red and he smiled slightly. "What kind of books do you like?"
***
"So, what do you think about Ajax?" Connor asked as he and Evony walked along the streets of Imperial.
"That he's a very honest person," Evony replied.
"And?"
"And that he's an idiot. And that he's a pervert who tries to get into my skirt whenever I talk to him."
"And you don't like that?" Evony glared at him. "Understandable."
"What about you? As the other idiot of our team, what do you think about your partner in crime?"
"Hey, don't lump me in with him," Connor said. "He's a good friend, but he really needs to learn not to be so honest with his thoughts."
"Couldn't agree more. Still, do you think he'll learn?"
"Well, given how many times he's tried to ask you guys out and still doesn't understand how his '
compliments'
aren't compliments, I wouldn't hold out much hope."
"Maybe we've just got to tell it to him straight. You know how some people don't get things unless you tell it to them directly? Maybe he's an extreme version of that."
"Man, I can't help but pity the guy, especially when Jasmine scowls at him so much. I'd hate to be in his position and I would try my best to mend the situation as soon as possible."
"He might not even realise it's an issue, given how much of an idiot he is."
"You might be right."
"I feel so bad for him," Evony said sadly.
"Me too," Connor agreed.
"Um, could you two please not talk about me as if I'm not here?" Ajax meekly asked.
"Hey, we're doing this for your benefit, so don't act so ungrateful," Connor said and Evony nodded in agreement. "You should be grateful that we're being so honest with you and telling you all of this."
"Really?"
"Why would you doubt our intentions?" Evony asked, before gasping and pretending to cry. "Is it because you hate us? Is that the reason?"
She mockingly whimpered and Connor went to comfort her, tutting at Ajax. "How could you make a girl cry? How could you?"
Ajax grunted and spun on his heel. "I'm going home."
"Okay. See you later," Evony and Connor said, increasing their pace.
"Oi! That's not what you're supposed to say!"
Evony and Connor smirked at one another, and then at Ajax.
"You guys suck," Ajax mumbled, marching up to them and purposefully ramming his shoulder into Connor's back.
"And yet you came back," Connor mused.
"Because I thought we were going to a theme park and that I wouldn't be receiving this abuse."
"You know who you agreed to come along with, right?" Evony asked and Connor smiled, waving at Ajax. "It should've been obvious what would've happened."
"I thought you only annoyed Eric."
"Usually, you'd be correct," Connor admitted. "However, as you can see, he is not here, texting him is a pain when he's off reading somewhere, and you're the easiest to annoy out of those in a close proximity to me."
"Is that the reason why I don't have to put up with this?" Evony asked. "So, if it was just us two, then-"
"I would annoy the shit out of you."
Evony stared blankly at him. "Why on Earth am I friends with you?"
Connor smiled arrogantly and made a cool pose. "It's because of my stunning looks and charming personality."
Evony didn't say a thing, but he knew that she was judging him on the inside.
"That was a joke. Unlike the antics of one Ajax over there."
"I don't act like that, do I?" Ajax asked and they both nodded back in unison. "Seriously?" They nodded again. "No wonder girls don't like me."
"And why one of them hates you so much," Connor reminded him.
"I don't know if I'd say Jasmine hates him," Evony argued. "Hate's such a strong word, after all."
"What word would you use then?"
"Despises? Detests? Thinks is lower than the shit she steps on?"
"Hey, those are far stronger words than hate!" Ajax protested.
"Yeah, hate was too weak of a word and we needed something stronger," Evony reasoned.
"Connor, are we almost there?" Ajax asked, almost as if he was begging him to end this.
They stepped around the corner and Connor smiled. "We're here."
The entrance to the park was shaped in the form of a large castle gatehouse, complete with watch towers and security guards dressed as knights.
As Connor had already paid for the tickets earlier, all they had to do was collect them and bypass the hour long wait to buy tickets at the gates. After picking them up, they easily strolled into the theme park and Ajax and Evony involuntarily let out a gasp in awe of the park.
Thousands of people were spread out across the spectacular and futuristic looking theme park. Across the lake in the centre of the park, they could see a drop tower ride which was over a hundred metres tall, and a gigantic steel rollercoaster whose screaming riders they could hear from the entrance.
Even though Ajax couldn't even see half of the park from where he was, he knew that he wanted to go everywhere and see everything.
"Wow. This was almost worth all the abuse."
"Abuse? How rude," Connor said, pouting a little.
"I'll be back in a sec," Evony said, darting over to the toilet.
"Hey, Connor, just so I know, how much of what you said was true?" Ajax asked.
"All of it to an extent, but especially about the fact that you're a bit too honest for your own good. And." He smiled. "That you're my good friend."
"Do you treat all of your friends like this?"
"Of course. After all, can't you see how much Eric and I enjoy me annoying him? It's a sign of our unbreakable friendship."
"Is that what that is?"
Connor chuckled and put his hands behind his head. "Hey, Evony and I only did that stuff to mess with you, and to help you realise why some of the girls aren't your biggest fans."
"Right, I'll try to work on that."
Connor nodded in approval. "Good. Now, with that all out of the way, let's go and have a lot of fun today!"
"As long as you and Evony don't mess with me anymore, I'm all for it!"
"I can't make any promises!"
"What are you two yelling about?" Evony asked, re-joining them. "Actually, never mind. I can't imagine it being anything that isn't idiotic, so forget that I asked. So, what's the game plan for today?"
"Obviously, we're going on everything twice," Connor told them.
"Eh, can we really manage that?" Ajax demanded.
Connor let out a low laugh and pulled out three tickets from his back pocket. "Behold! Fast passes that are good for the entire day and can be used unlimited times!"
"When did you buy those?" Evony inquired. "Actually, how can you afford that?"
"My parents are very generous with my allowance."
"I didn't know you were a rich boy," Ajax said. "How comes you never mentioned it before?"
Connor shrugged. "Never a reason to. Anyway, shall we get to it?"
"Of course," Evony said.
"Bring it on!" Ajax shouted.
"Then, let's do this!" Connor cried.
***
Jasmine inspected her shotgun, carefully examining every nook and cranny.
"Looks good," she said with a satisfied smile.
While everyone else was out of the house, Jasmine was spending the day in the living room doing maintenance on her equipment which she did every single week.
For a gunslinger like her, it was critical that her gear was always in the best condition or else she could risk a jam or malfunction in a real fight.
She slotted the shotgun back into her armour and then began work on her gauntlets, checking that the spring mechanism deployed her knives and pistols correctly.
Elthia let out a small laugh in her sleep and turned over on the sofa, nearly throwing herself off it.
"Careful," Jasmine whispered, catching her and pushing her back onto the sofa.
Jasmine got up, fetched Elthia a blanket and gently put it over her.
"Honestly, she acts like such a baby in her sleep," Jasmine said, stroking the blonde's hair gently.
Jasmine frowned a little.
Someone her age shouldn't be acting like a child...she should be more mature and independent...but...it's too soon, right?
If Jasmine suddenly sprung it on Elthia, that could crush her and, given Elthia's young mindset, it could completely ruin their friendship.
"Maybe I should ask someone about it."
If I did, then they'd discover the truth about us.
Jasmine closed her eyes tightly.
...I don't want that.
Letting Elthia act like this for a little while longer won't hurt,
s
he convinced herself.
***
Stephanie Kaelyn rang the doorbell to Alexis's house and waited patiently outside, bouncing a little in place.
She took out a small handheld mirror and checked that she didn't look weird. Stephanie had short strawberry blonde hair and red eyes and, unlike Alexis, Stephanie had no special abilities or combat skills; she was a normal university student and not a warrior in training.
Alexis Amory and Stephanie Kaelyn had been best friends for years and had even gone to the same secondary school together, but, when Alexis had chosen to attend Ferris, Stephanie couldn't follow her.
She didn't have it in her to become a Guardian.
When she had received the phone call the day before from Alexis, practically demanding that Stephanie came over to visit, she could hardly refuse.
She had been quite surprised that she was even allowed to visit Ferris, but Alexis had reassured her that it was fine as she'd received permission from the Headmistress.
Stephanie put the handheld mirror back in her pocket and glanced behind her at the student houses.
Still, this place really is amazing,
she thought.
It really doesn't feel like a place for training Guardians.
The door burst open and Alexis leapt at Stephanie.
"Steph!" She called, leaping on top of her and tightly wrapping her arms around her. "I've missed you so much."
"I'd missed you right up to this moment," Stephanie said, struggling to breathe.
"Ah, sorry." Alexis loosened her grip but Stephanie hugged her back, stopping her from breaking it off.
"I've missed you, too."
Alexis and Stephanie both smiled and slowly parted from one another.
"Please, come in!"
Stephanie strolled in and Alexis followed her swiftly inside, closing the door behind her. When she walked into the house, she couldn't help but let out an amazed gasp.
The house was bigger on the inside than Stephanie's own house in the city, and it was filled with the latest and most powerful utilities and machines in the country.
"Jesus, this place is insane. They really do spoil you guys, don't they?"
"Stephanie, I'd like you to meet some of my teammates," Alexis said, dragging her into the living room where three others were waiting. "This here is Kilian."
Kilian was wearing a smart shirt and trousers with an unzipped jacket on his shoulders, and he was wearing dark glasses.
"Nice to meet you," Stephanie said, offering her hand.
Then, she saw his white cane and felt guilty.
"There's no need to look at me like that," Kilian told her, taking her hand in his.
"Ah, sorry."
"It's fine. Everyone does it, even if they don't mean to. You end up getting a little used to it, especially if it's a daily occurrence."
"Isn't that difficult?"
Kilian shrugged. "When you've never had eyesight, it's hard to miss it."
"Don't be overly conscious of it, he's saying," Alexis interjected. "Just treat him like you would any other friend."
"Okay."
How did he know what expression I was making?
She wondered.
"The arrogant git over there is Sera."
"Don't call me that!" The boy in question shouted. "My name is Serafin. Sera-fin."
"Like I said, Sera."
Serafin was dressed in a freshly cleaned suit and matching boots, a mannequin mask was tied to the side of his head, and he was wearing gloves.
Everything he was wearing was a clean white colour.
Stephanie had to admit that he was quite handsome with his short blonde hair and green eyes, although the arrogant smile on his lips immediately put her off of ever considering him as a potential boyfriend.
"Why don't you like people calling you Sera?" Stephanie asked.
"Because it sounds like you're calling me Sarah and that's not my name. Also, I know that the others do it just to annoy me, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't join them."
"Understandable. Nice to meet you, Sera."
"What did I just say?"
Kilian, Stephanie and Alexis shared a good laugh, while Sera looked on in disdain.
"And, finally, the girl over there is Hadarah," Alexis said.
Curled up off to one corner of the sofa reading from a thick book, and covered from head to toes in clothes, leaving only her eyes visible, was Hadarah.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Stephanie." However, Hadarah didn't even look up at her. "Um, did I do something wrong?"
"Hadarah's always like that," Alexis told her. "If you hang around her long enough, then she'll start to open up to you a bit, so don't mind her."
"Ah, okay."
I know I shouldn't ask but I wonder what she looks like under all those clothes.
"How have you been, Alexis?"
"I've been great. I've made some good friends, learnt a lot from my lectures and combat practice is actually quite a lot of fun," Alexis excitedly replied.
Kilian laughed. "I don't think combat training is meant to be fun though."
"Hey, it's not like it's a real fight. We can enjoy it if we want, right, Sera?"
"Please stop calling me that," Serafin groaned. "As long as we gain some valuable experience from it, I don't think it matters if we have fun whilst we train."
"I suppose, but we shouldn't be in this business for the thrill," Kilian reminded them.
"Anyway, that's enough of that conversation!" Alexis cried. "I didn't invite Steph all the way here for us to bore her with this kind of talk."
"I don't mind."
"I do." Alexis pouted a little. "I haven't seen you in so long and I want to spend the day having fun with you."
"Alex..."
"In that case, Stephanie, do you like videogames at all?" Kilian asked.
"Yeah, why?" She asked back.
"Well, what do you say to a group tournament in a fighting game?"
"That sounds like fun!" She cut herself off and looked at Kilian and winced. "But you wouldn't be able to-"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Alexis interjected. "Kilian might be blind, but he's great at videogames. And." Alexis grunted and pointed her thumb at Serafin. "He's far better than Sera."
"Don't call me that and it was beginners' luck!" Sera shouted as he jumped onto his feet. "And I went easy on him given his condition."
"I've been playing the game for the last two years, you challenged me, and I stomped you into the dirt."
"That's not how it went!"
"Oh, then prove it." Kilian grinned. "Fight me again and prove to everyone here that you can beat me."
Serafin knew that he was being set up and that, regardless of if he played the game or not, he would be mocked. He snorted, puffed out his chest and proudly stated, "I'll easily beat you, Kilian."
"Oh, he's so going to lose," Stephanie whispered to Alexis and both girls laughed quietly together.
***
Sat alone on the rooftops of Imperial, was a figure.
She was crouched on the side of a rooftop, looking through the eyes of her mask at the pedestrians walking beneath her.
She was a hunter searching for her prey.
It didn't matter who, but it had to be someone who was heading to a location where they would be easy to kill.
Someone who takes a dark alley as a shortcut to get to work, a university student living alone that was heading back to their house or flat, or, ideally, a group of people going somewhere easy to kill them all.
The figure's attention was drawn to a mother who was walking home with her daughter, holding her hand in one hand and a large shopping bag in the other. The bag was filled with food and the woman looked exhausted.
They were heading back to their home and were prime prey.
The hunter followed her prey discreetly from the rooftops all the way to their house in the suburbs.
Once they were inside, the figure jumped off her rooftop and onto theirs.
She drew a large kitchen knife from behind her back and swung down onto the balcony.
***
"How are you this good at this game?" Serafin shouted, furiously mashing buttons on his controller.
"Hehe, impressive, isn't it?" Killian taunted, hitting his buttons in a perfect rhythm to unleash a deadly combo on Serafin's character.
"You can't even see the damn screen."
"Not with my eyes, at least."
"That's not how your powers work and you know it!"
Serafin's character was defeated, causing him to howl in anger and Kilian to laugh evilly at his friend's defeat.
"You're still too weak to take me, young one," Killian said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"You lost to a blind person at a fighting game?" Alexis asked in disbelief. "That's impressive in its own right."
"Shut up, I still beat you!" Serafin cried.
"Yeah, because you can button mash faster than I can."
Everyone on the sofas laughed together and Stephanie relaxed back into it, wiping away a tear.
"Oh my God, that was awful, Sera," Stephanie teased.
"Don't call me that! I might have lost to Kilian-"
"Who, in theory, you couldn't have possibly lost to," Alexis mused.
"But I could still take you."
"Oh, is that so?" Stephanie asked, smiling. She held out her hand. "Kilian, the remote."
Kilian effortlessly tossed the controller to Stephanie and she sat down closer to the screen.
"Why not make things more interesting?" Alexis offered before they started.
"What did you have in mind, Leader?" Kilian asked slyly.
"If Stephanie wins, Serafin has to do whatever she wants for the rest of the day."
"And if I win?" Serafin asked.
"We won't hold any of your countless crushing defeats against you."
"Hey!"
Everyone except Serafin laughed again. Even Hadarah let out a quiet laugh.
"That sounds good to me," Stephanie said.
Serafin let out a long sigh. "Fine. It'll be easier."
A minute later, Serafin's character was dead and Stephanie's still had half of its health.
"Just give it up." Kilian pat Serafin on the back.
"Shut up," Serafin muttered.
"Right, which of your weakling's is next?" Stephanie asked.
"I'll be your opponent," Kilian offered.
"Fine, but don't think I'll go easy on you."
"I would've been angry if you did."
***
Tom walked into his house and locked the door behind him.
He hung up his coat and let out a long sigh, rubbing his brow. Even though it was early in the afternoon, his house was submerged in darkness.
"Honey?"
Nothing.
Slightly scared, Tom flicked the light switch in the hall, but the lights didn't turn on.
They didn't even flicker.
"Shannon?"
He took a few steps forward and his foot landed in a pool of liquid, causing Tom to jump in surprise.
"Shannon!"
He was about to run into the house, but he stopped himself when he imagined the worst-case scenario.
Slowly, and carefully, Tom walked back towards the door, one hand reaching for the handle and the other to his phone.
Tom anxiously dialled in 999 but didn't ring it there and then.
If he was wrong and he wasted police time, he would be in trouble with both them and his wife. He cleared his throat loudly as his free hand wrapped around the handle.
Maybe his wife hadn't heard him.
Perhaps she was in the shower or asleep, or out shopping.
Maybe it was as something as simple as that.
Then, he remembered the puddle that he had stepped in.
If it was a water leak, then Shannon would have been dealing with it and would have called a plumber.
If it was blood-
"Daddy," a soft voice called, easing Tom's nerves.
He smiled as his fear evaporated from his heart. "Hi, sweetie, I'm home. I didn't know you were home yet. Where's mummy?"
"Upstairs."
Tom let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back against the door. "Sweetie, where are you?"
"Over here."
The lights flicked on for a second and there she stood, staring at him from the staircase. Her ginger hair in a ponytail, and she was wearing her white dress with red spots on.
Tom did a double take. She didn't own a dress with red spots on it.
His wife certainly didn't and, even if she did, Sophie would never have been able to fit into it.
"Did mummy say if there was something wrong with the electricity?"
His daughter didn't reply.
Then, she began to hum softly a nursery rhyme.
"Sweetie?" Tom stuttered, his finger twitching over the call button on his phone. "Sweetie, where's mummy?"
Sophie's hums grew louder.
Tom gritted his teeth and slammed his finger on the call button.
At least, he would have.
A kitchen knife flew at his hand, severing two of his fingers.
Tom howled in pain as the phone slipped through his bloody grasp.
In a panic, he tried to open the door but another knife impaled itself into his hand.
Tom screamed and stumbled backwards, slipping in the pool of blood and slammed his head against a wooden cabinet.
"Wh-What?"
The floorboards beside him creaked and his daughter giggled.
"Sweetie?"
"Bunny just wants to play."
A figure jumped down from the top of his stairs and landed beside him. She was tall, had long black hair, and was wearing a blue hoodie and jeans, with a bloodied white bunny mask on her face.
Tom's daughter appeared beside her.
"Bunny?" Tom muttered. The figure drew a knife from behind her back and placed it against Sophie's throat. "Wait-"
"Bunny just wants to play," Sophie whispered.
"What do you want from us?"
The woman titled her head and Sophie giggled.
"Bunny just wants to play," Sophie repeated.
"Why won't you say anything?!"
Sophie laughed loudly, and hauntingly.
The woman slit Sophie's throat and let her blood pour out onto her hands.
Tom howled and lunged at her, but the figure kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby wall. He fell onto the floor and felt his strength leave him.
The figure pushed Sophie over to him and she fell face first onto the ground.
"Sophie..." Tom mumbled, shutting his eyes.
Sophie's head snapped to glare at Tom, breaking her neck and she smiled, blood trickling through her lips. "Bunny just wants to play."
A drop of blood fell onto Tom's forehead.
Terrified, he opened his eyes and looked above him; there, hanging from a noose made of barbed wire, was a corpse, grinning at him.
"Shannon..."
"Bunny just wants to play," they both called.
Shannon.
"Bunny just wants to play."
Sophie.
"Bunny just wants to play."
Why are you...?
"Bunny just wants to play."
Why are you...?
The woman drew her knife once more and stabbed Tom through his eye.
"Bunny just wants to play."
***
Stephanie pulled out her phone and let out a heavy sigh. "It's this late already?"
"Oh, do you still have a curfew?"
"No, it's just my dad's home early enough for dinner and mum thought it would be nice if we all had a family meal together."
"I didn't know he was that busy."
"After the attack in Russia, everyone at the Imperial branch has been working overtime to keep the company stable."
Stephanie put down the game controller and stretched her arms high above her head. "So, on that note, let's call it a day."
"Aw," Alexis said, pouting a little.
Stephanie giggled and grabbed Alexis's cheek. "Don't pull that face when you know I can't resist it." Alexis giggled happily. "I'll come over to play next week, so look forward to it."
The two of them walked to the door and Stephanie picked up her bag.
"I'll walk you back to the station."
"Alex, it's like a ten-minute walk, I'll be fine. If you're really that worried, I'll drop you a text when I get home, mum."
"Sorry for being concerned." Alexis pouted again and Stephanie brought her into a hug.
"I know you're upset that we didn't get to spend a lot of time together today, but I'll come over to visit more," Stephanie told her. "So, be a good girl and wait for me to come back, okay?"
"You really are my mum." Stephanie pinched her cheeks and Alexis tapped on her arms. "Ow, I'm sorry."
Stephanie released Alexis and the two girls smiled at one another. "I'll give you a call later, okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye, Alex."
"Bye, Steph."
***
As Stephanie walked home, she was busy on her phone, checking to see if she had missed any calls or texts from her parents or little sister.
After all, she was late and imagined that she would be coming home to angry parents and an upset sister.
"Nothing?" She mumbled, before locking her phone and pocketing it.
She walked up the stone steps into her two-story house, unlocked the door and walked in.
As soon as Stephanie entered her home, she could sense that something was wrong.
The blinds and curtains were all closed, the lights were off and it was dead silent. If her father was home, then her mother and sister would be very loud.
The fact that the house was as silent as the grave meant something had to be wrong.
Stephanie panicked and covered her mouth with her hands, nearly choking on the stench inside her house.
There was a distinct smell of blood in the air.
Terrified, Stephanie left her home in a rush and locked the door behind her. She began hyperventilating and walked backwards, but she slipped and fell down the steps, letting out a small scream.
"What's going on?"
Even though she couldn't see or hear a thing inside her home, Stephanie could feel that there was something wrong with her house.
She pulled out her phone, dialled 999 and waited anxiously for someone to answer it.
"Hello, emergency serv-"
"I need police officers right now at my house," Stephanie whispered, backing further away from the house. "The address is 21 Cambridge Street. My parents and little sister are inside and I don't know what's happened to them?"
"Ma'am, I need you to explain what's-"
"Please. Just send someone as soon as possible."
Stephanie collapsed onto her knees and broke down in tears.
She was completely paralysed by her fear.
"Ma'am?" The operator said through the phone which Stephanie had dropped. "Ma'am, if you're there, please answer. Ma'am!"
Stephanie looked at her house and saw someone staring at her through her own bedroom window.
The person was covered in blood and wearing a rabbit mask.
Stephanie held back a scream through gritted teeth and broke off into a sprint, not bothering to look behind her to see if she was being pursued, and not picking up her phone either.
***
"Ma'am?" The operator kept saying as people in the office began to panic. "Ma'am, talk to me!" She covered the mouthpiece. "Where are those officers?"
"Nearest one's are two minutes away!" Someone told her. "The Guardians in the area are five minutes out!"
"Ma'am, if you can hear this, then please find somewhere to hide. Officers have been dispatched."
The operator heard someone pick up the phone.
"Ma'am?" The operator nervously asked.
The person on the other end didn't say anything.
"Who is this?"
After a few moments of silence, a soft voice simply said, "Bunny just wants to play."
The operator felt the blood drain from their face, the telephone slipping out of their hands.
"No..."
***
Stephanie ran down the busiest streets that she could find, tears streaming down her face.
People called out to her as she ran by but she didn't stop.
Her entire body told her to run and keep running until she collapsed.
Stephanie glanced over her shoulder and didn't see the figure behind her.
She turned back around as a figure draped in blood and wearing a bunny mask landed in front of her. The pedestrians on the street began to panic and backed away from the figure.
"Is that...?"
"It's Bunny!" Someone shouted and pandemonium broke out.
Everyone near them screamed and ran away from Bunny as fast as they could.
Stephanie whimpered, turned on her heel and ran down a side alley, hoping that she could lose Bunny.
Bunny didn't pursue her as she darted into the alley and Stephanie thought, for a small moment, that she might be able to escape.
She heard bricks crack on the walls around her, spun her head around and found Bunny leaping off one of the walls towards her, kitchen knives aimed at Stephanie's chest.
Before Stephanie could react, Bunny had landed on top of her, her blades piercing Stephanie's chest, and blood spurted from her.
Stephanie coughed up blood as Bunny withdrew her blades and then proceeded to stab Stephanie again.
In seconds, Stephanie Kaelyn had died, but Bunny didn't stop.
She stabbed her again and again, relentlessly, in her chest.
It was only after the twentieth stab that Bunny withdrew her blades and stood up.
She cocked her head, examining the girl's body.
Her once beautiful eyes that had been full of life stared at her killer, lifeless and void of her warmth.
Stephanie's body twitched and her eyes began to roll around in her head before they snapped to look at Bunny.
Even though they were the same eyes and were moving, they still looked as lifeless as they were when she was dead.
"Bunny just wants to play."
***
Both the Guardians and Russian investigators announced moments ago that nothing was stolen from the Kremlin before it's destruction, nor were any leads found on those responsible for the attack.
"Why attack it then?" Serafin wondered.
Serafin, Alexis and Hadarah were all relaxing in the living room together, with the former two working on their assignments for the week, and the later reading.
Then, Alexis's phone rang and she answered it. "Hello, Aunt Lucy. What's-?"
"Alexis, I want you to listen to me carefully...Earlier tonight...Steph...Stephanie, she...she was...murdered."
Alexis went numb.
"What?"
We interrupt this news bulletin to bring you this breaking news!
Earlier this evening, the infamous mass serial killer, Bunny, was spotted on the streets on Imperial where she assaulted and murdered a young girl who the police have identified as Stephanie Kaelyn
.
It was then and only then that the reality of her aunt's words hit her and Alexis felt all life leave her body.
"Stephanie..." She whispered, tears slowly trickling from her eyes. |
Kasmine's raven flew through the window and landed gently onto her fingertips.
"Welcome home."
Her raven cawed and opened its mouth, presenting a clean and sealed small scroll to her. Kasmine smiled and took it out of the bird's beak. The bird leapt off her hand and climbed back into its cage.
"More bad news?" The woman in Kasmine's office asked.
"Not sure yet." Kasmine locked the raven's cage's door and pocketed the scroll.
Sitting on the other side of Kasmine's desk was one of the Magic instructors at Ferris: Sahiba 'Sapphire' Oormi.
She had short ebony hair and was dressed in a black shirt, a black leather jacket over it, and jeans, and a silver pentagram with an onyx stone in the centre of it necklace. On her left arm she had a silver bracelet in the shape of a skeleton hand, and a red tattoo of the Necronomicon's crest on the back of her right hand.
Sapphire, like Spike, was a member of the Necronomicon, an organisation comprised of the 10 strongest Necromancers in the world who were loyal to Lich and Lich alone.
Despite being a member of the Guardians and a teacher at Ferris, Sapphire was Lich's right-hand woman before that.
"If it's from him, then it's never good news," Sapphire said, removing her legs from the desk. "No new information on Phantom?"
"Nothing. All we've heard lately from our contacts are things we already knew." Kasmine let out a heavy sigh. "The Merchant keeps hearing whispers of Phantom's actions here and there, but still nothing concrete."
"That's an impressive feat for them."
The Merchant was an information broker, and an old friend of Kasmine's, who controlled the largest information and spy network on the planet, with access to information from anywhere and from anyone in the world.
However, when it came to Phantom, the Merchant's leads went nowhere.
"The Russia investigation?"
"The Kremlin won't give our agents full access to the case files until they've finished their own investigation," Kasmine said. "They don't want to look bad after such a massive terror attack on their own soil, so they want to get intel on Phantom by themselves and present that to the UN."
"I see. So, if you didn't call me for that, then why did you call me?"
"To seek your assistance with something very important." Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "From today onwards, you will be giving special lessons on magic, both practical and theoretical, to Eric Agrim."
"Why?"
"Because your boss told you to?"
"Which one?"
Kasmine smiled. "Both."
Sapphire frowned and turned her eye to the tattoo on her hand, the red pentagram with a black skull on it, and sighed.
"Seriously?" Sapphire moaned. "Why's this kid so important to you two?"
"Did Lich not tell you?"
"He did, but I object to giving Agrim this much '
special'
attention. As a teacher, I object to a student receiving this much special attention like this, especially when we don't offer, nor have ever offered, it to any other student."
Kasmine giggled softly. "I never imagined that you would become such a serious teacher in your later years."
"And." Sapphire glared at Kasmine. "If we continue to give Agrim this much attention, he'll start to wonder why and, in turn, he'll try to find out why and might learn things about himself that you don't want him to know just yet." Kasmine glared at Sapphire, a purple aura beginning to crackle over her body. "I didn't say I'd tell him."
Kasmine smiled again and her aura vanished. "Good. So, you'll do it?"
"Before I do, let me see proof from Master that he's given his blessing for this?"
Kasmine opened a drawer on her desk and handed Sapphire an open letter, written with Lich's hand and bearing the mark of the Necronomicon. Sapphire read through it quickly, then handed it back to Kasmine.
"Fine, I'll do it. When do you want me to start?"
Someone knocked at the door.
"Right now," Kasmine whispered with a devilish smile. "Come in!"
Eric shyly poked his head through the door and stepped in slowly. "You wanted to see me, Kasmine."
"Eric, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Kasmine stood up and gestured towards Sapphire. "This is Sahiba Oormi, but feel free to call her Sapphire. She's one of our best magical instructors."
"Oh, hi, nice to meet you," Eric said, offering her his hand.
Sapphire didn't stand up and turned away from him. Eric took his hand back as Kasmine laughed a little.
"Don't worry, she's really nice once you get to know her," Kasmine reassured him. "Please, have a seat, Eric." Eric quickly sat in the other seat and Kasmine sat back down. "I've called you and her both here today because I have arranged for Sapphire to give you special lessons on magic, both practical and theoretical."
"Huh? But I didn't ask for any-"
"I know you didn't ask for any but, as a God Armour user, it is paramount that you learn this stuff as soon as possible and that will help you learn to master your powers by the end of the school year."
"Do I have a say in this?"
"If I don't, then neither do you," Sapphire muttered, grabbing him roughly by the back of his shirt. "Right, let's get this over with."
Sapphire began to drag out of the room and Kasmine giggled, saying "Have fun!" as they left.
***
Sapphire took Eric to one of the empty training fields.
"Just so I know, how much do you actually know about the basics of magic?"
"Um, not much, I'm afraid," Eric said.
"Question. Do you know the difference between Mana and Magical Energy?" Eric shook his head weakly. "I've got to start with something that basic?"
Eric laughed nervously and Sapphire glared at him, resigning herself to a long extra lesson.
"I'll try to put everything in layman's terms for you but don't interrupt me until I'm done speaking," Sapphire told him. "Magical Energy is the natural existence of raw magical power in the atmosphere that can only be interacted with by a Mage or someone with an affinity for one of the six schools of Magic. While it is abundant across the world in its raw state, it is useless to Magicians because we cannot use it unless it is stored in our Magical Circuits.
"People who are born with an affinity for one or more of the schools of Magic are naturally born with a number of circuits in their body which they can train and improve like any other muscle in the human body. The more you train and use them, the more Magical Energy you can naturally absorb from the air and thus in turn grants you a greater amount of Mana to use.
"Mana is the useful form of Magical Energy and it is the basis of all magical abilities, from auras to large area attacks. The better you can control it and the more of it you have, the more powerful of an individual you are. When we use the Mana in our bodies, it reverts back into Magical Energy upon release and performs the effect that its user intended, assuming that they are in control of their powers that is.
"Does that all make sense so far?" Eric nodded. "Good. Before we continue though, come over here for a second."
Eric walked up to her and she placed her hands on his chest.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing, just-" Sapphire felt a piece of rough skin above Eric's heart. "Bear with it for a moment."
Eric closed his eyes as Sapphire did.
She let out a small amount of magical energy and it quickly swept over Eric's body. Sapphire focused her being on the energy that swept over Eric, scanning his body for any traces of Magical Circuits or energy in his body.
Once she had scanned his body, Sapphire let out a small exhale and stepped back.
"What was that?" Eric asked, his body covered in goosebumps.
"I was checking your body for Magical Circuits or Mana, whilst also testing to see if you had any natural affinity for one of the schools of magic."
"And?"
"Your body has a faint amount of Light Magical Mana in it, gathered right here." She touched the rough skin above his heart. "Nothing significant, but you also don't have any natural Magical Circuits or any affinity for magic."
"Is that a good or bad thing?"
"A bad thing, but it makes it easier for you to train with your Armour."
Eric shot her a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"In the material composition of God Armours, there are Magical Circuits and, in rare cases of Mages using God Armours, the circuits can sometimes negatively react to one another depending on their alignments," Sapphire explained. "For example, if you had the God Armour of Hades whose Armour has Necromancy aligned magic but you had a natural affinity for Light Magic, then the two would clash and they could cancel each other out if you tried to use it."
"So, is the Light Magic that you detected going to affect me in any way when I use the Armour?"
"You don't have to worry about that," Sapphire said dismissively. "It's probably residue left behind from the healing you received after that idiot's attack."
"The residue can last that long?"
"It could be trying to heal an old wound or scar tissue." Eric's expression twisted and he clutched his heart. "It won't be able to though and will disperse soon enough."
Eric let out a sigh of relief and Sapphire examined him more closely.
It's strange for someone who doesn't have any Magical Circuits or natural affinity to have any Magical Energy stored in their body,
Sapphire thought.
Well, it makes sense given who he is. Still.
Sapphire frowned.
I guess he really doesn't know who he is.
"Sapphire?"
"I was just thinking about how I would make Spike's life more miserable later. Don't mind me."
"Are you and Spike friends?"
Sapphire snorted. "Former teammates and fellow disciples, nothing more."
"Disciples?"
"Never mind. Anyway, you still have a lot to learn, so let's keep going."
"Yes."
"Right then. Eric, transform into your Armour," Sapphire ordered.
"Okay."
Eric gathered his composure and imagined himself transforming into his Armour and, an instant later, he was wearing it.
"Hmm, not a bad design," Sapphire mused. "It's strange that it's black with a red trim and not the other way around. Maybe that's what it'll look like when you've mastered it."
"So, what do I do now?"
"Now, close your eyes and block out everything else around you apart from my voice. Can you do that?"
"I can try."
Eric shut his eyes once again.
He cut out the smell of the grass beneath his feet, the sensation of his breathing and his chest moving up and down, the feint sounds of the rest of the school around him, and the soft footsteps of Sapphire as she circled him.
Eric focused himself on the darkness in front of his eyes and blocked out everything.
"Now, I want you to imagine something for me," Sapphire said, her voice seeping into his darkness. "Imagine Magical Energy flowing over your body like a river, spreading across your entire body and wrapping itself around you."
Eric returned to his darkness and tried to envision it. The energy flowing over every part of his body starting from his head, trickling down his chest, then his arms, and then his legs.
"Not bad for a first-time generation of your aura. Now, keep imagining that energy's presence over yourself. Don't lose that image as I tell you what to do next, okay?"
Eric didn't reply and focused on the image of his aura over himself.
"Slowly, I want you to open your eyes and awaken yourself to the world around you, taking back in everything that you once blocked out but, this time, you'll be bringing that image of your aura with you. Start."
Eric took a few deep breaths, reminding his body of the sensation of breathing and slowly he began to open his eyes. The light and sounds of the world returned to him but his vision of the aura over his body remained. He opened his eyes fully and was hit by all of his senses at once and now, unlike before, he had an aura covering his Armour.
"Very good. If you keep practicing generating your aura like that, you'll eventually reach the stage where that will naturally generate over your body every time you transform into your Armour. It won't be something that you have to consciously turn on and off every time. Practice this method every morning after waking up and every night before you go to sleep."
"Okay." Eric relaxed his body a little. "What's next?"
"You're an eager one, aren't you? Even after everything-" Sapphire cut herself off and sighed. "For now, that's the basics of controlling your summoning your aura. Now, we're going to have you tap into the Mana that your Armour has acquired and stored in its circuits."
"How do I do that?"
"First, go back to that blank state of mind that you were just in except, this time, dismiss the image of your aura. It's not necessary for this."
Eric removed the image from his mind and brought his body back into the state of nothingness like he had before.
"This time, you need to focus on your body once more like you did your aura. Imagine the river once again but, this time, only imagine the flow of a river of Magical Energy. Don't reach out and touch it. Don't interfere with it. Don't direct it anywhere. Let it flow naturally through your body as it sees fit."
He nodded slightly and did as she said.
Eric formed the image of the river and didn't do anything more than that. He let it flow through his body as it wanted, as it twisted and turned through many tributaries and meanders. As the energy flowed through his body, Eric could see the image that it was creating and it looked like a mess of lines and dots, all randomly connected to one another across his body.
"As expected of one of the strongest God Armours," Sapphire whispered, dragging her fingertips softly over his Armour. "The number of Magical Circuits it contains is amazing. However, from the looks of things, you can't access them all yet." She stepped back and let out a low hum. "Well, as you grow stronger with the Armour, that will change so don't worry about that.
"Okay, you can open your eyes."
Eric opened them and felt his head throb a little. "I can't get the image of the Magical Circuits out of my head."
"That's because you've awakened to it now," Sapphire explained. "The best way to think of Magical Circuits is to think of them as a magical form of the central nervous system. It's a processing centre in our body that we know of and use and, once we understand that it is there, our body is able to move as we want it to."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"You know how to walk without consciously thinking about how you get your body to move, right? Magical Circuits aren't all that different. Once we know that they are there, we can use them to manipulate Mana and release it as Magical Energy. By making you recognise the Magical Circuits in your body and how they are all linked, you will be able to draw power from them just by thinking something like
'I need to exert this amount of energy to do this'.
Do you understand a bit better now?"
"I think so."
"Further, like our own bodies, we know just by thinking about it how much force or pressure we want to exert on something without thinking twice about it, right?" Eric nodded. "Once you've trained with your Mana a bit, you'll be able to use it in the same sort of way. Now, with that out of the way, let's get onto practical uses of Magical Energy now."
Sapphire and Eric walked to the far end of the field where several dummy targets had been set up, by whom Eric didn't know.
"Now, I'll teach you the basic usage of a person's Mana," Sapphire said. "The concept is pretty simple to understand and use once you know it, so, like before, go to that nothingness, Eric."
Eric nodded and did as he was told, even though he was a little fed up with having to keep doing this over and over again.
"Eric, imagine for me please a castle."
"What?" Eric asked.
"Do it."
Eric shook his head a little, confused by what Sapphire asked but did as he was told.
"I'm going to ask you some questions now about the castle and I want you to answer them as quickly as you can for me, please."
"Um, why-?"
"Tell me what material the castle made of."
"Stone, why-?"
"How many guard towers are there?"
"Um, four."
"How many floors does the castle have?"
"Twelve. I-"
"Which floor is the Lord's bedroom on?"
"The eleventh."
"What's in the room?"
"Um, his bed, his-"
"What's the bed look like? What's it made of?"
"Um, wood. It has a white mattress and a red duvet."
"Is there a dungeon in the castle?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Beneath the ground floor."
"Which floor is the Lord's throne room?"
"The ground floor."
"That's enough. You can open your eyes now." Sapphire said with a smile. "Good job."
"Um, what was the point in that?" Eric asked.
"Eric, what was the first thing I asked you to do? I asked you to imagine a castle, just any old castle, didn't I? Yet, did you realise that, in that single moment, you had created a complex piece of architecture and could tell me all of the details about it when I asked for them?"
Eric was about to refute what she said, but stopped as he realised what she had gotten him to do.
"Image Training, right?" Eric asked.
"Correct. Using Magic is as simple as just imagining what you want it to look like when you release your Mana as energy. Without even giving it much thought about the theories, the why's and the how's, our bodies respond to our wishes based on the image we give them.
"For example." Sapphire raised her hand into the shape of a handgun and pointed at one of the targets. A blot of thin black lighting zoomed out of her finger and lightly burnt the front of the target. "I imagined a lightning bolt striking onto that dummy's chest with enough for to have sent it flying had it not been bolted to the ground. My body naturally made the energy appear and travel as a lightning bolt, and I didn't have to do anything more than envision what it would look like."
"It's really that simple?"
"Yeah. If you don't believe me, watch this."
Sapphire pointed her palm at Eric and a large floating black magic circle appeared an inch above her palm. It was a beautifully woven pattern with many intricate and ancient languages and runes written all over it.
"All I imagined in my mind was a large magic circle which could fire a powerful blast of energy if I wanted it to," Sapphire continued. "You see the characters written on the circle? I don't know what a single one of them means, or even what language they're from, yet I spawned a creation with them written all over it in an instant. As a Mage, our job is to form the basic idea of what we want our magic to look like when it is released and then it's our body's job to make that vision a reality."
"Wow," Eric whispered, both stunned and amazed at how easy it all sounded.
"However, bear this in mind." Sapphire dismissed the rune. "It's only that easy to perform while you have a clear and calm mind. If you let your emotions take over you, your body will respond in kind and will use more of your Mana when you don't want it to.
"Say I had just witnessed some creep kill someone I loved. In that moment, I would be overcome by rage and rather than thinking '
A bolt which would knock them out'
, my rage would take over and the bolt would become much deadlier. There's a reason why the Guardians put so much emphasis on training your mind and body. An unstable mind with limited Mana to draw from their circuits can lead to tragedies, like what happened to Cu Sith."
"I see." Eric stared intently at his left arm as he was once again reminded of the extreme risks that came with his powers.
"Well, if you train hard enough to control both your abilities and emotions, you'll be fine," Sapphire assured him. "Now, it's your turn. Raise your hand, aim at one of the targets and fire a blast of energy at the doll with the intent to knock it out if it was a real person."
"Okay."
Eric stepped in front of one of the targets, about thirty metres between them, and aimed his palm at the far-right target.
"Don't overthink it. Just think something along the lines of
'Fire a blast that will knock someone out'
and it'll happen."
Eric nodded and repeated those words in his head and, sure enough, a beam of black energy appeared from his palm and burnt the dummy a little on the front.
"I did it," Eric whispered, looking down at his hands in disbelief.
"No confidence in yourself?"
"It's not that. It's...I thought that this would be something too complex for me to ever understand it, so I was scared that I wouldn't be able to do it. But." He clenched his right hand into a fist and smiled. "I think that if I keep it up like this every day, I might be able to become a Guardian."
"That's a good mindset to have," Sapphire took a quick glance at her watch. "Well, we don't have much time left, so I'll only ask that you do something simple before we call it a day."
"What's that?"
Sapphire started to walk towards him. "I noticed this when you transformed earlier." She touched the back of his Armour where his shoulder blades were. "There are jagged pieces here which looked like they might be able to sprout wings."
"Really?"
"It's not uncommon among God Armours for them to be able to fly, even without wings, but I guess it makes sense for a fallen angel to retain its wings." Sapphire stepped back a few paces. "Try imagining wings sprouting from your back."
"That's a bit much to ask for, isn't it?"
"It's no different from everything else that we've done today. Just imagine them sprouting for now."
Eric nodded with a bit of confidence and pictured it. How they would crack through his Armour, slowing pushing themselves free of their imprisonment and then expanding magnificently for dozens of feet.
As Eric finished his visualisation in his mind, the wings began to push through the back of his Armour. Slowly, they forced themselves through the thick rock-like material and then, once they were fully out, they expanded into leathery demonic wings with a wingspan of seven metres.
"Okay, that felt weird," Eric said as his body registered the nerves in his wings as a part of his own body.
"You just gained some new limbs, so of course it would, idiot. However, they don't seem to be ready for flight yet."
"Even if I imagined myself flying through the sky?"
"I'm afraid not. As they are right now, they're unusable but, as you grow stronger, you should have no problem controlling them. Once they feel like a natural limb to your body and not like an add-on, then we'll revisit this again. Try making them appear every night as well."
"Will do."
"Any questions?"
"No, I think I understand everything so far. Thank you for teaching me all of this."
Sapphire exhaled a little a rubbed the back of her head. "If both of my bosses hadn't asked, I probably wouldn't have but, given how you picked it all up pretty quickly, I've decided that this isn't so bad after all."
"Thank you?"
Sapphire smiled and turned to take her leave. "I'll contact you again when it's time for your next lesson. For now, just practice doing what I showed you today."
"I will. Thanks again, Sapphire."
***
As Sapphire exited the training field, she ran into Connor who smiled a little before trying to walk past her.
However, as they passed one another, Sapphire stopped and sniffed the air, before grabbing Connor and throwing him against a nearby wall, catching the boy off guard.
"W-What the hell?"
Sapphire scanned over his body, sniffed him once more and smiled, looking right into his eyes.
"Liar."
Connor's body became completely stiff as Sapphire let go off him. She strolled off and smiled when she felt the boy staring daggers into her back.
Another Immortal Blood, huh?
Sapphire mused.
"Hey Connor."
"Yo," Connor called back, leaning back against the wall.
"Is everything okay? You look a little scared."
"Do I?" Connor noticed his hand shaking a little. "I'm fine. I just saw your teacher is all and she gave me a scary look."
Eric let out a small laugh. "Don't worry, she's really nice once you get to know her."
Connor joined him in laughing and the two of them went back to their house.
***
"Welcome back," Kasmine said as Sapphire walked in and jumped onto one of the chairs. "How'd it go?"
"Better than I had expected. He picked up on the techniques pretty fast and seems to be on his way to mastering the basics. No sign of his God Weapon yet, but I can confirm that he does have wings."
"Hmm, well, I'm sure that the Weapon will materialise itself in due time."
Sapphire nodded in agreement, before grunting. "Kas, you didn't tell me that we had so many interesting, high-profile students this year," she said, smiling.
Kasmine smiled back, knowing who exactly she was referring to. "Yes, yes we do." |
"So, if you would consider me for your team, I'd be grateful."
"Sure, I will," Eric replied with a forced smile. "See you later."
He locked the door before slamming his head against it.
"How many is that now?" Connor called.
"Seven today. About a hundred overall." Eric dived on the sofa.
He let out a heavy sigh as Connor patted him on the back, saying, "There, there."
After Eric had spoken with Kiara, she had followed him back to his room, saw where he was staying and then told everyone that she feasibly could which room he was in.
Since then, people had been knocking on his door for the past week at all times of the day.
"Why did Kiara have to go and tell everyone?"
"Because she discovered the gold mine that is teasing you," Connor said, stifling a laugh. "And I've got to give it to her, it was a brilliant idea."
"It's tiring enough having one of you in my life."
"I'll bet. Anyway, it's not like you have to keep answering the door, you know. Just pretend that you're out, or I can say that you are instead."
"But that would be rude, and what happens if someone we really wanted to be on our team came along and then we didn't answer the door for them?"
Connor stared at Eric. "Has that happened once so far?"
"...No."
"No. Still, we have a good foundation for a team already, don't we?"
"Yeah."
Including himself, Eric's team had five members: Connor, Kaida, Ajax and Kiara, and they had until the end of the day to find four more. If they didn't, then the rest of the slots on their team would be randomly filled by those who either hadn't joined or been invited onto teams, which could end up being a disaster.
It wasn't just a matter of if their personalities clashed; if their powers and abilities didn't work well in a team then they wouldn't stand a chance in a real fight. Worse, the team's members were unchangeable for the next five years, meaning that they had to fill their team with good members, and fast.
Unfortunately, Eric didn't have anyone else that he could think of who he wanted to join his team.
There had been a few standout people from the hundred or so people who had come up to him over the last week, but he could barely recall their faces, let alone their names. Kaida, unfortunately, didn't have any friends at Ferris to ask to join their team, neither did Connor or Kiara. Ajax's sister had also joined Ferris this year, but she had made herself a team a few days ago.
"I can't believe that you let Kiara join our team though after what she's put you through. Is it because she's pretty?"
"No," Eric denied.
"It's part of the reason."
"It really, really isn't."
"Then, why do you look so embarrassed?"
"Shut up. Kiara is beautiful, but that's not the reason."
"I'm convinced. Truly. Completely. Utterly. Convinced."
Eric let out a weary sigh, causing Connor to laugh.
Then, someone knocked on their door.
"Ignore it," Connor said. Another, much louder, knock came from the door. "Don't open it."
"Ya damn well will!" A deep, American voice shouted.
"Oh shit!"
Connor ran into the bedroom and Eric hurried over to the door. He opened it and found Spike, smiling, starring daggers at him and a thin black aura around his body.
"Yo, mornin', kid," Spike growled, pushing past Eric. "Where's the other one?"
"Definitely not hiding in the bathroom."
"He's right, I'm not!" Connor's voice broke.
"Blondie, get your ass out here," Spike called, leaping onto the sofa and planting his boots on it.
"If you want, you can go and drag him out of there."
"Screw you, Agrim!"
"I'm not mad and I'm not going to do anything either," Spike reassured him. "Kas told me about your situation."
"Even the Head Mistress knows what Kiara did?" Eric asked, defeated, slumping into the other sofa.
"Could've been a hell of a lot worse, kid."
Connor poked his head out from the bedroom, an awkward look on his face and he waved at Spike. "How's it hanging?"
"Mind getting me a soda while ya up?"
"Preference?"
"None."
Connor grabbed a random can and tossed it over to Spike, before seating himself beside Eric.
"So, why are you here Spike?" Eric asked.
"Still on guard around me, not that I can blame you," he muttered to himself. Spike popped open the can and took a big swig. "I stopped by 'cause Kas said you guys were still short four members, right?"
"Yeah. I take it you have some people in mind then?"
Spike smiled, reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped on it a few times and brought up a series of pictures.
The first was of a girl with long pink hair and violet eyes.
"Jasmine Delana, one of the best gunslingers in the year."
The second photo was of another girl with silver hair tied in pig tails and white eyes.
"Laila Chaaya, a Necromancer assassin who teleports through shadows. An unusual, but very powerful skillset."
The third was also a girl, with short blue hair and red eyes.
"Evony Alma, a tech archer. One of the best shots and smartest girls in your year."
"Hang on a second," Connor interjected.
"What?"
"You just said that both of those girls were some of the '
best'
in our year, right?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
Connor folded his arms. "How the hell do you know that?"
Spike shot him a look and leant back in his seat. "You don't think they make an effort to figure this sort of stuff out? That test you guys did in the gym was closely monitored by all the teachers and some pro Guardians, and the entire event was recorded. Everyone made notes of things like your mana levels, magical ability, fighting prowess, equipment and all sorts of other things to build profiles of you lot.
"Also, the school gets access to all of your previous school's records and achievements, and they use all of that to figure out what kinds of people you all are. Obviously, these test ain't full proof and can be unreliable, but they make for a good base line. As you go on through the school, they'll throw more tests at you guys and will update your profiles as they go but, for now, the information I'm going off is the rough data. Make sense?"e
"Sort of," Eric replied.
"So, you're saying they're the best at the moment?" Connor asked and Spike nodded. "Sounds unreliable."
"Deal with it, kid. Moving on."
The fourth and final image was of a girl with green eyes and blonde hair.
"Elthia Soparta, one of the few healers in your year. Shouldn't have to explain why you need her."
Spike put it back in his pocket. "So, what do you think?"
"I had hoped that you'd have backups in case we can't get all four of them," Connor mumbled.
"You don't need to worry about that. Each of them has their own reasons for not joining teams yet, kid."
"So, what makes you think that they'll join our team when we ask them?"
Spike grinned. "A hunch."
"Well, I think these four sound great," Eric said. "Spike, do you know which rooms that they're staying in or where I could find them."
Spike shook his head from side to side. "Sorry, kid, but asking for that kind of information invades privacy, but." Spike reached into his jacket pocket. "I have their Student ID photos for reference." He pulled out four printed photos of each of the girls. "That's the best I got, I'm afraid."
"Sounds like we'll be camping out in the lobby all day then," Connor said with a weary sigh. "What a pain."
"I'll head out and see if I can find them around the campus," Eric said. "Connor, Spike, could I ask you two to wait in the lobby to look out for them please?"
"Why do I have to wait in the lobby with him?" Connor protested.
"Because I know you and you'd just get bored and walk off. And I imagine Spike's no different."
"Hey!"
"No, he's right," Spike admitted.
"I'd rather not," Connor replied.
"Meh, I've got nothin' else to do." Spike stood up and grabbed Connor by the shoulder. "Come on, kid, let's go."
"Wait! At least let me grab my phone!"
Despite Connor's protests, Spike successfully dragged him from the room and slammed the door behind him.
Eric couldn't help but laugh at his friend's desperate plea.
After checking that he had his phone, Student ID and room key, Eric left his room, locked it and made his way to the leisure area of the school.
***
The leisure area was much larger than Eric had anticipated.
Surrounding the busy centre courtyard were lines of small shops for everything and anything that Eric could think of and, directly in the centre, was a large shopping centre about the size of the Windsor in the city.
There were large supermarkets, game centres, and a cinema as well surrounding it.
"One of them has to be here."
Even though he said that, Eric had no idea where best in the area to look for any of the girls. For all he knew, they could all be here but in separate buildings. Still, he had to start searching somewhere and the best area to begin, in his mind, was the shopping centre.
Once inside, he checked one of the maps in the centre and winced when he saw that there were eighteen floors of shops inside.
After an hour's search, going into every single shop on every floor, Eric hadn't even caught a glimpse of one of the girls. Defeated, he parked himself on a nearby bench and caught his breath.
Still, now that he was back on the ground floor, he could at least watch the entrances and exits for a sign of one of them.
All he had to do was be patient.
"What if I miss one of them while I'm waiting here?"
After a few minutes of observing, he spotted a girl leaving the centre with distinctive pink hair and Eric jumped into action.
He quickly walked after her, nearly losing her a few times in the crowded streets as she slipped between groups of people. Without warning, the girl suddenly vanished and Eric could no longer see her, not even when he caught up with the crowd she'd moved through.
"Damn."
Then, without warning, he was forcefully grabbed from the side and thrown into the alley that he had been stood next to. Before Eric could get his bearings, a silver gun was aimed directly at his face and he felt his body tense up, paralysed by fear.
Normally, an eighteen-year-old in England owning a firearm would be unheard off. However, as Guardians in training, the school had permitted them to carry weapons on them at all times in case something happened and they needed to defend themselves.
Eric, however, had completely forgotten that rule when he decided to stalk this Guardian in training.
"Why have you been following me?" The girl demanded.
She was dressed in a casual shirt and shorts, and her long pink hair was tied in a ponytail down her back, leaving her violet eyes on full display.
Even with the scowl on her face, Eric could tell that she was a natural beauty.
"Um, are you Jasmine Dalena?" Eric nervously asked.
"And what if I am?"
"Well, I was looking for you because I wanted to talk with you."
Jasmine let out an irritated sigh and holstered her pistol at her lower back. "Not interested," she said, beginning to walk away.
"Um, are you on anyone's team?"
She stopped. "No."
"Would you-?"
"Why would I want to?"
"Well, that's-"
"If you don't have anything, then I'll be off."
"My name's Eric Agrim." Jasmine stopped again.
She spun on her heel to face him. "Who?"
I guess my name isn't as famous as I thought,
Eric noted.
"I'm a God Armour user and I heard-"
"Which God?"
"Lucifer." Jasmine looked at him in disbelief. "No, really, it's Lucifer. Anyway, I heard you were a skilled gunslinger and I was wondering if you wanted to join my team."
"Lucifer? Really?" She sighed. "Why would anyone with that much power want to join up with me?"
"I'll prove it to you."
"Prove it then."
Eric collected himself and stood with his legs slightly apart, slowly breathing in and out. While he hadn't ever transformed again ever since the first day, he could still remember how he did it.
The command that he gave his own body, the power that answered and how to call and control it.
Eric body began to glow with a soft black aura and moments later his body was encased from head to toe in his Armour.
"Wow," Jasmine said, smiling. "I didn't expect you to be for real." Her smile faded. "Did you really mean that you wanted me to join your team?"
"Yeah." Eric dismissed his Armour. "Do you not want to?"
"Well, let me ask you this: why did you pick me?"
Eric looked confused. "Why? I told you why."
"Tell me again."
Eric didn't understand why, but Jasmine had a deadly serious expression on her face and Eric couldn't help but tense a little under her stare.
"Because I heard that you were a skilled gunslinger," Eric repeated.
Jasmine looked over his face, then his body, whilst in deep thought for a few moments, before nodding to herself and smiling a little.
"I get it. Fine, I'll join your team, Eric."
"Thank you, Jasmine."
"On one condition. You have to let someone else join the team too."
Ah, this might be bad.
"Who might that be?"
"Elthia Soparta," Jasmine said to which Eric let out a sigh of relief. "What?"
"Well, it's just, I had already planned on asking her to join the team."
"Oh really?" Jasmine smiled again. "It seems that you've done your research, Leader."
"Leader, huh?"
"Should I not call you that?"
"It's not that. It's just that I'm not used to it. Do you know where Elthia is at all?"
"At the campus library next to the main school building. Do you need me to show you where it is?"
"No, that's fine. Well, I look forward to working with you, Jasmine. Could we exchange contact information please?"
"Yeah, sure."
The two of them pulled out their phones and swapped phone numbers.
"Right, well, I'll see you later then."
"See you later, Eric."
***
"Two hours of searching and I've only found one," Eric mumbled, stumbling through the park.
Even though it was almost autumn, the temperature was unexpectedly hot, causing him to build up a bit of a sweat. On his way through the park, he spotted a vending machine and bought a cooled fizzy drink from it. He quickly scanned the area for a free space to sit but there didn't seem to be any space anywhere.
Without a better option, Eric walked over to a lone tree near the lake and sat against it. He felt refreshed as he sipped from his drink.
Eric tilted his head back and let out a small scream.
A black shadow was hovering over him, hidden between the tree branches.
"Wh-What? Who are you?"
The figure titled its head. "Did I scare you?" It was a girl's voice.
"A bit."
The girl nodded before pouncing out of the tree, rolling as she hit the ground and pivoting to stare directly at him. She had silver coloured hair tied in pig tails, leaving her face and hauntingly beautiful white eyes on full view. She was wearing casual clothes which, despite the weather, were all black from head to toe, including a silk scarf that hung loosely around her neck.
Eric also couldn't help but notice a dagger held in a sheath strapped to her lower back and he wondered if she would be as quick on the draw with it as Jasmine had been with her pistol.
Is everyone on this island paranoid, or is that a sign of someone who's been in this world longer than I have?
"Am I that scary?"
"No, but it's scary to see a black figure staring down at you from above."
"I wasn't staring. I was observing."
"How is that any different?"
"Staring involves suspicion. Observing involves interest."
"I-Is that right?"
Another weird person.
"Anyway, I didn't expect anyone at Ferris to like climbing trees."
"I do."
"Um, why?"
"It's quiet," she said, and Eric couldn't help but smile. She titled her head again. "What is it?"
"It's just nice to meet someone else who likes some quiet time to relax," Eric said. "What's your name?"
"Laila. You?"
"Eric. Wait--"
Before Eric continued, he reached into his pocket and pulled up the picture of Laila which Spike had given him.
She looked exactly the same as the girl in the photograph.
"Is your name Laila Chaaya?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Um, Laila, are you part of a team yet?"
She shook her head.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to join my team?"
She nodded.
"Really?"
She nodded again.
"Please stop nodding and say something."
"Okay," Laila said, with a nod.
Eric sighed. "So, you're okay with joining my team just like that?"
"Yes."
"Right, well." He stood up and brushed down his back. "I look forward to being on your team, Laila."
Eric held out his hand which Laila lightly shook, nodding.
Before Eric could walk away, Laila lightly grabbed his shirt and tugged on it a little.
"What is it?"
"Are you using photographs to find people you're interested in joining your team?" Laila asked. This time, he nodded. "Show me them."
Eric handed her the other girl's photographs and Laila quickly looked over them. She stopped on Evony's and held it up to Eric.
"I saw her this morning heading to the training area," she said, handing back the photographs.
"Really? Thank you so much, Laila," Eric replied, lightly jogging away. He stopped and turned back to her. "Sorry, almost forgot, but could we exchange contact information?"
She nodded.
***
When Eric entered the training grounds, there was only one student at the archery range and dozens of arrows planted into the distant targets.
He couldn't help but notice that most of the arrows had landed within the 8 and 10-point regions of the targets.
Another arrow soared through the air and landed perfectly in the centre of the bullseye, causing the girl who shot the arrow to fist pump the air. She had short blue hair, red eyes and was dressed in a smart white shirt and black skirt, a quiver filled with arrows strapped to her back and a leather brace on her left arm.
"Nice shot."
The girl faced him and smiled. "Thanks."
She walked towards a table with her bag on it and rested her bow against it. "Have you come to practice yourself?"
"No, I'm looking for someone."
The girl took out a sports drink from her bag and took a small sip of it. "Need any help finding them?"
"Actually, I was looking for you, I think." The girl cocked her head a little. "Evony Alma, right?"
"Yeah, that's me," Evony answered, offering out her hand. "And you are?"
"Eric Agrim," he replied, shaking her hand briefly. "I was-"
"Agrim, as in the kid with the Lucifer God Armour?"
"Yes." He rolled up his shirt sleeve, presenting his scar to her. "I can transform if you don't believe me."
"No need," Evony said dismissively with a wave of her hand. She put her drink down and picked back up her bow. "I made sure to pay close attention to everyone of significance at the induction. You really stood out like a sore thumb."
"That was mainly because of Kasmine," Eric mumbled under his breath. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you were a member of a team yet?"
"I'm not." She pulled out an arrow from the quiver on her back and knocked it against her bow. "I take it you want me to join your team?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm." Evony drew back on her bow and took careful aim at a distant target. "Why?"
"Why?"
Evony loosed the arrow and it landed right in the centre of the target. "Why do you want me on your team?"
"I've heard, and now seen, how skilled with a bow you are, and I think that you would be a good member of my team."
She glanced over her shoulder at him, looking at his profile, before turning back to the range. "A God needing the power of an archer, huh?" Evony laughed a little.
"Is that not a good enough reason?"
"It's not that." Evony spun around on her heels to look at him, smiling. "Just, unexpected is all." Evony looked into his eyes once more and nodded slightly. "I think I will join your team, Eric." She held out her hand again. "Good to be working with you, Leader."
Eric smiled. "Thanks for joining, Evony."
He held out his hand and they shook hands.
"As you're here, do you want to spend some time training together? I know some CQC if you want a quick one on one without using our weapons."
"Maybe another time. I've got one more person that I need to ask to join our team, and I don't want any broken bones, so I'll see you later."
"Okay but, first, let's exchange phone numbers."
The two quickly shared their contact details with one another, before Eric dashed off and Evony resumed her practice.
***
The Ferris Library was gigantic, to put it lightly.
The building itself was just as large and grand as the shopping centre, only with less students roaming around it. Hundreds of rows stretched across over ten floors encompassing all genres and areas of study, all with bookshelves that nearly touched the ceiling. There were many people in the library studying at tables alone or in small groups, a lot were reading by themselves throughout the building, and both students and staff walked up and down the rows.
It's amazing how quickly I've gotten used to the feeling over being overwhelmed by everything at Ferris.
As much as Eric loved to read, even he thought that a library of this size was ridiculous.
Even if I came here every day for twenty-four hours, I wouldn't be able to read half of these books.
Now, the question became where would he be able to find Elthia?
He texted Jasmine, asking what genres or types of books Elthia read, but even Jasmine herself admitted that she didn't know.
Elthia likes reading anything and everything,
Jasmine's text said.
As long as it catches her interest, she'll read it. Oh, she also doesn't have a mobile phone, so I can't reach her from my end.
Then, she sent a much shorter text afterwards:
Good luck.
Eric laughed quietly and put his phone away.
Knowing that his best bet was to just look for a small blonde girl, Eric began his long trek through the library's rows, searching for her.
It only took him ten minutes to find her.
Sat at a rectangular table by herself, Elthia Soparta was reading a heavy book and had a small smile on her face.
She was dressed in a short jade dress that was cut off above her elbows and just above her knees, with a silver tiara sitting on top of her head, making her eyes look like sapphires beneath it. The exposed parts of her arms and legs were decorated in beautifully woven black tattoos in the shapes of various plants and wildlife.
I've never seen someone with natural tattoos before.
Unlike the tattoos that were intentionally drawn onto people's skin, natural tattoos were those that people had been born with that granted them unique magical abilities which varied greatly. Usually, you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell what someone's tattoos were capable off until they used them but, given how Spike had mentioned Elthia was a healer, Eric could guess what she was capable of.
Eric walked over to one of the nearby bookshelves and picked up a book that he had already read before,
The Mahabharata
, before walking over to her and sitting near her.
Elthia reflexively jumped, shifting nervously in her seat as Eric shot her a small smile.
He began reading the book and Elthia anxiously returned to reading her own book. Eric had a look at the cover which read
The Age of Demons - The Rise and Fall of Darkness.
Elthia noticed him looking and slowly brought the book up to cover her face.
"Sorry, I was just looking at what book you were reading. I haven't read that one before." Elthia gradually lowered the book from her face. "Is it fiction or non-fiction?"
"...non-fiction,"
"Is there anything on the Waste Walker in there?" She titled her head to one side. "Have you not heard of him?"
"...no."
That's...surprising.
The Waste Walker was commonly taught in history lessons at schools; Eric first learnt about him in primary school.
Thousands of years ago, during the Age of Demons, the Waste Walker had been one of the Great Demon Kings of the world, a powerful, blood thirsty and merciless Demon who burnt and conquered most of Europe and Asia. Eventually, he was killed by an army of a thousand Demon Hunters, almost all of whom lost their lives during the fight.
For someone their age to not know about him was rather strange.
"Would you like me to tell you about him?" He offered.
"...no thank you."
Eric held up his own book to her. "Have you ever read this?" Elthia shook her head. "It's a very good book about a war which claimed over a billion lives in a battle that lasted less than a month." Elthia's interest piqued and Eric smiled a little. "A war of Gods and men and, at its centre, warriors of great power. Would you like me to tell you more about it?"
Elthia looked at him shyly, and suspiciously. "...why are you talking to me so much?"
"Well, I had come here originally hoping that you would join my team, but I didn't think that you would just join a stranger's team," Eric confessed. "Your friend Jasmine asked me to join, but I wanted to make sure that you were comfortable talking to me first. Sorry, if it seemed like I was lying to you."
"Jasmine asked you?"
"Yeah." Eric took out his phone and showed her Jasmine's text. "You can call her if you want to make sure."
"...that's okay. If Jasmine says that she'll join your team, that's enough for me."
"Okay then. Thank you, Elthia, and I look forward to working with you from now on."
He offered her his hand, but she held her book in front of her face in defence.
Eric let out a small laugh and smiled. "See you later, Elthia." He put his book next to her. "When you're done with that, this will definitely interest you."
He then took his leave, leaving a slightly confused and embarrassed Elthia to her reading. |
After some of the longest weeks of his life, Eric and his team finally started their first day of classes.
Their classroom, 1-G, had sixty-four desks sat on raised platforms facing a gigantic screen, with ramps on either side for access for those less able. The room was located on the bottom floor on the largest building on the site and Eric's team was in the same class.
I thought that everyone was studying different courses, so why are we all in the same classroom?
He wondered.
"Looks like we've been assigned the back row of seats," Evony said, looking at the seating plan displayed on the screen.
All of their classmates had already arrived, but most of them weren't sat at their desks. Most were in small groups scattered around the room. Eric and his team walked to the back of the class, earning a few curious looks and whispers at Eric, and took their seats.
The night before, Eric and the others had received an email telling them to bring everything that they would need for a tournament battle on top of their notepads and pens. While Eric, Connor and a few of the others didn't have anything to bring with them, Evony had had to haul her bow and quiver with her, and Jasmine had a suit of clockwork-style armour and guns with her.
"Are they planning on having us do practical training on the first day of classes?" Jasmine complained, slinging her bag beneath the desk.
"I imagine so."
"I wish they wouldn't, though," Eric groaned. "I haven't gotten much chance to practice with my Armour yet."
"Same." Connor sighed heavily. "I barely got by on the induction day."
All the first year students had been forbidden from using any magical abilities, powers, Dragons or Armours after the induction day, meaning that neither Eric nor Connor got the chance to equip their Armour again.
Had Eric been caught transforming into his Armour when he met Jasmine, he could've been punished or even expelled.
Eric dreaded the idea of doing combat training so early in their first semester, and not just because of his inexperience.
Everyone seemed to have high expectations for him and all were eager to see what he could do.
Even now, as Eric was sat at his desk, he could see more than twenty people looking at him. Some looked on in anticipation, others in fear.
Eric let out a small sigh, resigning himself to his new life once again, and decided to check out his other classmates.
Immediately, a few caught his eye.
Sat on the front row was someone covered from head to toe in clothes, including a scarf, a baseball cap, and a pair of gloves. Two rows behind that person was Ace, who was frowning and tapping his fingers on the table angrily. On the row behind him was someone covered in a black mist wearing armour which looked like it was made of tree branches. On the far side of the classroom was a boy wearing gloves engraved with runes, his eyes fixated upon them with a scowl.
Eric's face lit up a little when he saw Dead Eye and his team gathered on the second row.
Dead Eye spotted Eric and the two waved at each other.
"Ajax!" A girl screamed, happily running up the ramp towards them.
"Alexis? I didn't know you were in the same class as us."
"Well, you never texted me like you said you would."
"Ah."
The girl frowned and folded her arms. "You forgot about me, didn't you?"
"Forgot is such a strong word."
"What's this? There's a girl who can tolerate Ajax?" Jasmine asked, shocked beyond belief. "No way! His girlfriend?"
Ajax and the girl looked at one another, then burst out laughing.
"Girlfriend?" The girl wiped a tear from her eye. "That's a good one."
"Hey, don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Ajax asked, downtrodden. "Guys, let me introduce you; this is Alexis, my little sister."
Alexis Amory was quite a short girl with long brown hair tied in a ponytail, and she had green eyes like her brother; she was dressed lightly in a hoodie and blue shorts.
"Wait, you have a sister?" Kiara chimed in, floating above Jasmine's head.
"Ajax." Alexis shot daggers at her brother. "Did you not tell your teammates about me?"
"He told me," Eric said.
"And Eric told me," Connor added.
"Wait, did I really not tell the rest of you guys?" Ajax asked; everyone else nodded. "Seriously?" They nodded again. "Huh."
"Dude, you're the worst," Connor chuckled.
"Ignoring that, it's nice to meet you, Alexis. I'm Eric Agrim, Ajax's team leader."
She beamed and eagerly shook his hand. "It's great to meet you, too. I know that my brother's an idiot, a pervert and he'll make you regret ever knowing him, but I hope you can become his friend despite all of that."
"Why doesn't anyone ever say nice things about me?" Ajax mumbled, looking like he was about to cry.
Eric then realised that, standing at the front of the classroom in a corner, looking absolutely miserable, was his '
babysitter'
; Spike.
Just how much does he hate this?
As soon as the clock struck nine, their teacher burst into the classroom.
She was dressed in a blue jacket over a red shirt and she had dark navy shorts on. She had knives strapped in sheathes on her thighs, and two pistols in holsters at her hips. In her hands, she was carrying to identical suitcases which she placed carefully beside the podium at the front.
Everyone sat down in their seats as their teacher looked over each of them, slowly, carefully, like she was trying to analyse everything about them just from a first glance.
"Everyone came then?" She mumbled, before clearing her throat and began speaking into the microphone. "Welcome, new students, to Ferris Academy. I am your group's personal tutor for the year and I will be personally responsible for your health, wellbeing and making sure that you have no issues with your courses and classes. I will be teaching you during these joint sessions here and I shall also be leading your combat training sessions.
"As for your own personal studies and degrees that you've chosen, they'll work like any other university, so you'll be in different classes for that. Before we get started, I suppose it's best that I introduce myself first.
"I am Aria Yuuko, a normal human gunslinger who was active in the field member of the Guardians for the past eleven years. I was called off duty for..."
A few of the students began to whisper and snicker to one another.
"A normal human? Seriously?"
"She was probably called back because she's only good with guns."
"What can she teach us?"
Eric frowned at them. Then, he saw one person in front of him snort, an arrogant smile on his face. "This gunslinger's going to be teaching us? What a joke. She's probably-"
Before the boy could finish his sentence, a red paintball smashed into his forehead. The paint rolled down his face and the boy grasped his head, hissing in pain through gritted teeth.
Everyone in the classroom began to murmur and, still in shock, all eyes turned towards the front of the room.
In a fraction of a second, Aria had drawn one of her pistols and fired a single shot at the boy's forehead.
"Allow me to repeat for those of you who weren't listening before," she said, slowly. "I am Aria Yuuko, a specialist in hunting and killing Mages. Oh, and if you're wondering what my qualifications are for teaching you lot, well." She holstered her gun, then said, "I've killed twelve Mages in less than a minute with just my pistol."
She's dangerous!
Eric screamed in his head.
"At this class's level, I might be able to take down half of you before you'd be able to kill me," Aria mused. "And that's without me using my full equipment. Though, if any of you doubt that." She smiled thinly. "I'll be more than willing to take you on."
When no one took her offer, she lost her smile and returned to speaking like nothing had happened.
"Now, for the first part of today's lecture, I will explain how you'll be spending your time studying here at Ferris.
"First; you have two main courses that you will be studying: one is the course that you picked for your degree which I have nothing to do with; the other is to do with your training to become future Guardians. During the latter classes like this, each year group is divided into classes of sixty-four which, in theory, should be six teams. You lot, however, have a couple of mismatched teams in here, but that won't affect the course, so don't worry about that.
"Second; every week, we will be taking part in practical training on the school grounds and I will outline the rules of engagement for those when we go out to practice later."
Dozens of people began to buzz at that, but Aria silenced them all with a tap of the mic.
"As I was saying. We will also have lectures in this room where we will go over some of the basic concepts of different powers and abilities that people possess." Someone towards the front raised their hand. "Yes?"
"Why are we doing that?"
Aria looked at him like he'd asked the dumbest question in the world.
"While you lot probably know a lot about your own powers, abilities, skills, limitations, strengths, and weaknesses, I can guarantee that you don't know anywhere near as much about those in this room and, more to the point, you'll have no idea who or what you could end up facing on the job. If you guys went up against someone like me or Spike over there without knowing what people like us were capable off, then, more often than not, you'll lose. Or worse.
"However, that's not all we'll be doing in this class. We will also spend time going over what it is that makes a Guardian, and we will also be studying major incidents where Guardians have been involved where I will be testing your instincts and decision-making abilities, so look forward to that."
"Mrs Yuuko?"
"Yes?"
"Um, why are we in teams of nine?"
"Ah, that, huh? To put it simply, there are two main reasons why we have you work in such large teams both here and when you're active Guardians. First; nine people can easily take control of and dominate a situation involving a single criminal and it's better to have more people to control a dangerous situation. For example, say you're up against a strong Pyromancer terrorist in the suburbs. Three of you could engage the hostile, three of you could evacuate civilians from the nearby area and the rest of you could do search and rescue in the affected area.
"Second; there people in this world who can hold their own or even win against several Guardians at once, so we have you train and work together as teams to counter such individuals. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Good. Any other questions?" No one raised their hands. "Well, with all of that sorted, we will be heading out to one of the training fields for the rest of the hour. If you're not already ready to fight, please get changed as quickly as possible."
***
Once everyone had changed into their combat gear, they assembled in a wide-open field, talking to one another, and was Aria standing before them, her cases by her side.
"Right, listen up!" She yelled and everyone went silent. "Before we get started, I'd like a volunteer." No one stepped forward at first. "If not, I'll pick someone-"
Ace stepped through the crowd, his usual arrogant smile on his lips. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie with a bowler's hat and white gloves. Eric could see several decks of Tarot cards on his belt and he imagined that Ace had countless more hidden in his jacket and up his sleeves.
"I'll do it."
"A willing victim?" Aria mused but Ace's smile didn't fade. She narrowed her eyes and sighed. "Fine. Let's get this over with. Stand over there."
Ace walked to where Aria pointed which was ten metres away from her, and everyone watched on excitedly.
"That's Ace, right? The kid with the Tarot cards?"
"What are they going to do? Fight?"
"But will she be able to beat him?"
As everyone began whispering to one another, Aria took out the magazine from her gun filled with paintballs and inserted in another one, before holstering it again.
"Did she just switch in live ammunition?" Jasmine whispered.
"What? Isn't that dangerous?" Ajax asked.
She glared at him. "No shit sherlock."
"Listen carefully, everyone!" Aria commanded and they stopped talking. "Here, we will be fighting as if it was a real battle, meaning that you can fight as hard as you want, as long as you do not aim to seriously injure or kill your opponent. All other attacks are allowed. Do you still want to continue, Fiddah?"
Ace grinned. "Of course."
"Very well. Kellan, call it."
Dead Eye nodded and walked to the front of the crowd. "Are you both ready?" Ace's grin grew and Aria's eyes narrowed.
"Three."
Ace flexed his fingers.
"Two."
Aria remained as indifferent as ever.
"One. Fight."
In less than a second, Aria had drawn her pistol and unloaded two shots into Ace's forehead whereas Ace had only just reached one of his decks.
The class were left speechless.
Ace, one of the most well-known and powerful members of their year, had been defeated before anyone there could process what had happened.
"H-Huh?" Ace whispered, collapsing onto his knees. "How did-?"
Aria grunted and slotted her gun back into its holster, before throwing Ace a towel to wipe off the paint from his face.
"How many of you here awakened to your powers for the first time just a few weeks ago?" Aria asked. Eric, Connor and two others raised their hands. "Only a few? Now, how many of you do you think would be able to defeat a gunslinger or another normal human in a fight?"
About half of the class raised their hands nervously, now unsure of themselves.
"If that's the case, then you're all greatly mistaken," Aria bluntly told them. "While you have Magic and powers that people like me can only dream to possess or have to use technology to match, what you need to get through your minds is that you are not strong fighters or Guardians yet. You are, all of you, weak.
"It doesn't matter how strong your magic or powers are if I can kill you before you can use them. Take Fiddah here." She glanced over her shoulder and found Ace still kneeling on the grass in shock. "His powers are strong but he himself is weak. Most professional magic-capable members of the Guardians or trained Mages can have a natural aura surround their body at all times, acting as a shield of sorts. Spike."
Spike, who had been leaning against a railing disinterested, looked up and begrudgingly walked over. "What?"
Aria pulled out her other pistol and fired all twelve shots, each of which crackled and sparked with his aura upon impact.
"Don't just shoot people without warning," Spike complained.
"If you'd paid attention, you would've known," Aria retorted. "Spike's natural aura is incredibly strong, so strong in fact that it defended him against my enchanted bullets designed to pierce through auras. He didn't raise that aura; it's his natural one. Spike, explain."
He sighed, mumbling, "Why do I have to?" He cleared his throat loudly. "The point Aria's trying to make is that the more experienced you are at maintaining your aura around your body, you will eventually just start doing it without even thinking about it. Think of it like trying to walk for the first time as a baby. At first, it's difficult but, years later, you know how to do it without even thinking about it. Aura's aren't all that different."
"Thank you for your enthusiastic explanation, Assistant Professor," Aria chided. Spike glared at her, his aura spiking. "Also, bear in mind, as future members of the Guardians, it is critical that everything that you need to fight should be carried on your person whenever possible. For the God Armour users and Mages among you, that's easy enough, but, for Mech pilots, gunslingers or any other type of fighting who needs a lot of equipment, try to find ways of carrying your gear with you. For instance."
Aria picked up one of her suitcases, held it before the students, and then pressed down on a button on the handle.
Instantly, the suitcase began to distort and transform, slowly turning into small molecules and encasing Aria from head to toe in a pitch-black-coloured tactical suit of armour, complete with something that looked night vision googles over her eyes that glowed a light green.
"This is my combat gear I wear when I'm on active-duty as a member of the Guardians," Aria said, picking up her other case. "And this." She pressed the button on the handle and the suitcase fell open, revealing a semi-automatic rifle on the inside. "Is my weapon. It takes 50. calibre enchanted bullets and has minimal recoil due to various runes and enchantments applied to it. Spare ammunition packs are in the case and I can slot them in the belts and holsters of my suit."
The students spoke enthusiastically with one another, continuing to become more and more impressed with Aria.
"In less than thirty seconds, I'm ready to fight. All of you will need to be able to get geared up for a fight within that time frame, or even less when possible. If you don't, then it is highly likely that you will die during a real fight."
I don't think I've ever been happier to have a God Armour than I am right now.
Eric let out a small sigh of relief.
"Now, with the introduction out of the way-"
"Is that what that was?" Connor whispered to Eric and they both laughed quietly.
"We will start practical training now. For this first week, you will all pair off with one another and have small sparring matches against each other. For now, try testing each other's abilities out on one another but try to do so in a way that doesn't injure either of you.
"Before that, are there any Light Mages or support types among you who have no attacks whatsoever?" Only Elthia raised her hand. "Hmm, how rare. Well, for the combat training, it's probably best if you just sat out for the time being. When we start practicing team engagements, then you can join in but, for now, just practice your magic by yourself. Okay?" Elthia nodded. "Good."
"Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads or said nothing. "Good. Pair off and begin."
***
"Hmm, this is stupid."
Whilst everyone else had already paired off, Ace was stood off to the side by himself, his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face.
However, it was all a façade to hide his frustration.
How did I lose to someone who doesn't even have any magic or special abilities?
Before coming to Ferris, Ace had never lost a fight.
Every opponent he'd ever fought, regardless of their age, powers or talents, Ace had defeated them all.
Yet, in just the last two weeks, Ace had been beaten up by Dead Eye and now he'd been defeated by Aria.
Ace had never felt so frustrated before.
Did I let my power get to my head and make a rookie mistake?
Weak
.
You are, all of you, weak.
Ace frowned as Aria's words repeated themselves in his mind.
"I'm not weak," he muttered.
"Hey, don't you have anyone to spar with?"
Ace looked up and found a girl with a ponytail standing in front of him, smiling. She had metal greaves and braces on, with curved blades running from her elbows to just past the tips of her fingers.
"What do you want?"
"If you haven't partnered up with anyone, do you want to pair off and spar with me?"
"Huh? Why would I bother doing that?"
"You don't want to?" She asked, putting on a cute face.
What the hell's with this girl?!
He grunted. "Why would I bother fighting against such a weakling?"
"I'm not a weakling."
"Please. I could defeat a weakling like you in no time at all."
The girl smiled slyly at him. "Are you really sure you could?"
Ace glared daggers at her and she smiled happily back.
God, this bitch is annoying,
Ace cursed. Then, a brilliant idea hit him, making him grin.
If I fight her, I can let out my stress and regain my reputation from my loss against Aria.
"Fine, I'll take you on."
Alexis, however, kept smiling.
***
"So, what do you think of my Armour?" Connor asked. "It's cool, right?"
"Mine's cooler," Eric said, pouting a little.
Eric had to admit, in his head at least, that Connor's God Armour did look awesome.
It had the appearance of ebony plate armour which made Connor look more muscular than he really was, and he had brown eyes glowing from his full-face helmet. There was a thin black mist flowing over his Armour as well, seeping from the gaps in it.
"Heh, you're just jealous because mine's better than yours."
"I'm wearing the Armour that belonged to Lucifer himself, and I don't think that you can get much more awesome than that," Eric retorted.
"Well, looks aren't everything."
"You brought them up in the first place."
"What matters most, as we all know-"
"Don't dismiss the point you raised."
"What really matters is what you can do with your Armour and, after doing some CQC with Ajax and Evony for a bit, I think I can take you on."
Eric smiled. "I can't just ignore that now, can I?"
Connor shifted into a fighting stance, smiling and beckoning Eric to attack him.
Eric was about to charge at Connor when he noticed that everyone else had begun to gather around one pair in particular.
"What's going on?"
***
Even though their fight hadn't begun, the entire class gathered around Ace and Alexis, all eager to see what would happen.
"I won't hold back," Ace warned.
Alexis grinned and moved into a crouched position. "I wouldn't have expected you to."
As soon as she finished speaking, Alexis leapt at Ace from her location, covering the distance between them in an instant.
Ace was caught off guard and barely had enough time to raise his Moon shield in front of him, blocking her blow.
Alexis, however, didn't let up and began madly slashing at his shield.
Ace clicked his tongue and leapt into the air, throwing a dozen Death Tarot cards in the air, each sending a black beam at her. Alexis swiftly dodged under the beams and jumped up at Ace, but Ace's shield blocked her lunge. Alexis kicked off the floating moon before Ace's sent two dozen black bolts flying at her face.
She landed gracefully on her feet and moved back into a crouched position. Ace landed back on the ground and she charged at him, aiming to pierce his heart. Ace threw up his Moon again and two Devil cards, which sent fireballs at Alexis. She ducked under them, but the balls of fire turned around and pursued her.
Alexis saw them and dashed as far away from them as she could but they still followed her. Ace threw another dozen Death cards into the air and the bolts zoomed at Alexis who narrowly avoided them and the fireballs. She spun around and fired her wrist-mounted machine guns at the fireballs, causing them to explode.
Ace hissed and threw a Chariot card into the air, spawning a large bull-driven chariot driven by a warrior wielding a spear. It snapped the reins and charged at Alexis, accompanied by another two dozen Death bolts from Ace.
Had Ace timed the cards better, Alexis wouldn't have been able to dodge his attack.
Instead, the black bolts arrived ahead of the chariot, allowing Alexis to dance through them and, when the chariot arrived, she simply leapt over it.
Ace, however, had expected as much.
Four fireballs flew at Alexis who spun in mid-air, twisting her body over the flames and she landed awkwardly in a crouched position. The fireballs turned to follow her and Ace summoned more black bolts to intercept her. Alexis ran towards Ace, swerving through the bolts and jumped over him, putting him between her and the fireballs.
She swung wildly at Ace but his shield appeared again, deflecting her blows. Ace roared, dropped the Moon shield in front of him and landed a strong kick on Alexis's chest, sending her back a few feet. Ace quickly shifted the shield to his back, blocking the fireballs and tried to get it back in front of him.
Alexis, though, was faster.
She drop-kicked Ace, slamming the soles of her feet into his ribs, and sent him flying backwards. He landed on his side and rolled for about thirty feet, cutting and bruising him all over. He quickly stood back up and raised his shield in time to stop Alexis's follow up kick.
Ace threw a Suit of Swords Arcana into the air, spawning a floating sword which attacked Alexis. Alexis caught the blade between her own and snapped it in half but Ace had thrown a Sun card into the air. He covered his eyes just as a bright light exploded from it, blinding several of the students for a few seconds.
Ace grinned and placed a Strength card on his neck and he felt a great amount of power flow through his veins. He spawned two swords in his hands and ran at Alexis. Alexis dodged Ace's first swipe and disarmed him of one of his blades when he attacked again. Ace grunted and grabbed his remaining sword with both hands and lunged at Alexis. She caught the blade in between her own, cut it in half and then threw a kick into the side of Ace's head, smashing her heel into his cheek.
Normally, Ace would have been sent flying but, thanks to his Strength card, he was strong enough to take her attacks now.
Realising what Ace must have done, Alexis leapt backwards as Ace threw a punch, missing her and destroying the ground where she had been standing. She stared at him, narrowing her eyes, and adopting her crouched position once more, blades pointed at him. Ace smiled sinisterly at her and spawned another chariot.
This time, Ace ran alongside it at Alexis.
Alexis quickly unleashed a hail of bullets upon the chariot, destroying it, just about giving her enough time to slide under Ace's fist. She swung her legs around and took out Ace's legs, sending him face first onto the floor but he rolled to the side to avoid her thrusts. He jumped up onto his feet and caught Alexis's foot as she tried to kick him again.
Ace began to pull her towards him, but Alexis's metal legs deployed blades which spun around her shins, forcing Ace to let go of her. He jumped back a few feet and tried to hit Alexis as she began her assault again.
***
"Miss Yuuko? Shouldn't we stop them?" Evony asked.
"Why?"
"Won't they end up being seriously injured at this rate? Alexis is firing live ammunition, isn't she?"
"Yes, but you don't have to worry about that. Over there." Aria flicked her chin over her shoulder at a man watching the fight. "As long as he's here, they won't endure any real damage."
The man that Aria had pointed out was another one of the teachers at Ferris. He was dressed in a smart grey suit and wore glasses with thin black frames around them, resting on his rather large nose. The man was quite tall and was staring intently at the fight, a thick aura generated around him.
"Is that Teeq?"
"Yes, that's why we don't need to worry," Aria said.
Just like Aria said, when the dust had settled and the fight was over, neither Alexis or Ace had any injuries on them and the parts of the field they had destroyed in their skirmish had been repaired the moment they stopped.
***
Why?
Ace thought.
After a thirty-minute skirmish, Ace and Alexis's match ended in a draw.
Their class's group lecture was the only lesson they had for the day, so everyone else had gone home, leaving Ace by himself on the field.
"Why?" He clenched his hands into fists. "Why can't I win?"
Alexis was a skilled fighter, but Ace should've been able to overwhelm her with his Tarot cards; yet, he hadn't landed a single clean hit on her. Ace's defences had been strong enough to hold her back, but he was angry that he couldn't damage her even a little.
"Am I weak?"
A cold can was placed against his cheek and Ace flinched. He looked over his shoulder and found Alexis standing behind him, smiling and holding two cans of soda.
"Want one?"
With a defeated sigh, Ace took one as Alexis sat beside him.
"Are you planning to stay here forever?"
"It's none of your business," he grumbled.
She smiled a little and the two of them sat together in silence for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Alexis asked.
"What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Woman's intuition?"
"That's it?"
She laughed a little. "You'd be surprised at how often I'm right. So, what's wrong?" Ace turned away from her. "You don't feel comfortable talking to a girl about it? Or just someone you don't know in general?"
"Wouldn't most people say something like
'If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine'
or ask if the upset person wanted some time alone?"
"I mean, you're on a team by yourself. Aren't you lonely?"
"No, not at all," Ace said.
"You're not a good liar, Ace."
"What makes you-?"
"Because it's usually the loneliest people who want someone to talk to the most."
Ace's eyes widened as Alexis smiled.
"The fact that you haven't just gotten up and left yet makes me think that you really want someone to talk to," she whispered.
"Is that also your women's intuition?"
Alexis giggled. "That one was just my own personal intuition."
"...How is that any different?"
She titled her head a little. "Am I wrong?"
Ace wanted to deny it, but he couldn't.
He couldn't maintain his façade any longer.
"...You're right." Ace took a few moments to steel himself before he began again. "Honestly, for the last few weeks, I've been frustrated. Ever since I was a child, everyone around me told me I was amazing, that I was strong, that I was going to be someone truly special when I grew up.
"You know, before I came to Ferris, I'd never lost a fight to anyone before. After defeating the teacher on the first day, I felt happier than I ever have before. I thought that I must be strong, that I had become someone special and that if I could defeat a trained member of the Guardians in single combat, then I must be stronger than everyone else.
"Then, Dead Eye beat me up, Aria took me down before I could even pull out a card and I couldn't land a good hit on you either...I've started to think that I wasn't strong...that I might be weak."
"Hmm, I don't know if I'd ever call you weak," Alexis said. "It took everything I had to just dodge your attacks and you are strong, there's no doubt about that. I think though you just don't have enough experience yet, that's all."
"What do you mean?"
"Dead Eye's been training for the last twelve years to become a Guardian capable of fighting in all forms of combat, and Miss Yuuko is an experienced mage hunter who is incredibly quick on the draw. Ace, I might be wrong about this, but I don't think you've ever properly trained with your powers."
"I have trained!" He snapped.
"How?"
"I..." Ace trailed off, looking back at the ground. "I've tried using the different cards in my decks, tested what powers work well with others, pushed the limits of how many cards I can use at once, and-"
"Have you actually fought against other people before?"
"What are you talking about? I told you before that I-"
"You said that you'd never lost before, but that might be because you did to your opponents what Aria did to you; wiped you out before the fight could even begin. Ace, what you and I did earlier was a fight; what Aria did to you was not. Be honest, how many of your fights ended as quickly as Aria's attack on you?"
"...Most of them."
"I thought so," Alexis said, letting out a small sigh. "I think I understand now why this has been such a shock to you." She stood up and faced away from him. "All your life, everyone you've ever known has told you how amazing you are and, because everyone around you told you that and couldn't best you, you thought that you were strong.
"However." She spun around to face him. "Wouldn't it make more sense that you were all just weak to begin with?"
"W...What?"
That single statement shattered Ace's entire being and understanding.
All of his life, Ace had believed himself to be strong because everyone else around him couldn't compete with his abilities. He had been so sure of himself that he was invincible, that he was a child prodigy and the next living legend among the Guardians, as strong as the Achlys Twins.
I...I'm strong...I was strong,
he told himself, but those words were beginning to drift from his mind.
No, I was never strong to begin with.
Before Ace became consumed by the shock and horror of his realisation, Alexis spoke up again.
"However, like I said early, you are strong but not as strong as you thought you were or as strong as you'd like to be, and therefore you're weak. At least, that's how I see it," Alexis explained. "I imagine that if you had met and lost to people like Dead Eye when you were younger, then you might actually be as strong as you think that you are."
I...I'm weak...
Ace thought, the colour draining from his face.
I really am weak...
Alexis patted him on his shoulders and the two of them looked into each other's eyes.
"Ace, I know that this is a shock for you, probably the biggest shock of your life," Alexis said, smiling slightly. "But I want you to believe me when I say this; you can become strong, stronger than you ever thought you could be. If you let me, I'll help you become that strong."
"R-Really?" Ace whimpered and she nodded. "I can become strong?" Alexis nodded again. "You're not lying to me, are you?"
Alexis shook her head. "I hate liars."
Ace smiled a little and leant his head onto one of her hands, his chest began to feel warm.
I wonder what this is, h
e thought, letting that feeling flow through his body.
Weak.
You are, all of you, weak.
I'm not weak,
h
e told himself.
I can become strong. I will become strong.
"Alexis, would you please help me become strong?" Ace asked, looking up at her.
"Of course," she said, smiling brightly. |
It's a bit sudden, but listen seriously to the question I'm about to ask and think about the answer carefully.
Is the world really free, I know this may sound weird but does freedom really exist? Is there such a thing as free-will in this world?
Humans claim to have freedom yet they still remain bound to the restrictions they created themselves.
What are laws and why do they exist? What is religion and why does it exist?
Come to think of it, we believe in a supreme being we've never even seen, all these religious books of teaching are told to have been written millenniums ago, one might say they're about the same age as the celestials.
When information is passed down from a person to another, variants of the same information but with a couple of tweaks start appearing and by the time it reaches another generation, the information is totally different from the original information.
While taking this fact into consideration, what makes one so sure that the information contained in the religious book is still intact after all those years of translations and modifications.
Now, one may argue that the supreme being has protected the contents of the holly book and so the information is intact. Well, that would be the case if there was only one book, however, that's not the case.
There are over three thousand versions of the same book, revised versions have already been produced too and some people have even added a couple of chapters to the original book.
Seriously, who is fooling who?
Let me indulge you in a little fantasy,
Just hypothetically speaking, if a supreme being and overlord of all creation really existed, what does that make us? His beloved children? I'll leave that to your imagination for now. A supreme overlord with all that power at his disposal would never have any need for us, after all, we are just a tiny bit fraction of all of creation.
When you really think about it, things that happened in the religious books were all to fulfill the scripture, doesn't that mean that the supreme being scripted all this?
And if that's true, doesn't that mean that he has control over what we do? In short, it is all but a script, life itself. Your fate was sealed the moment you took your first breath and set foot into this world.
We're all mere pawns created for the amusement of he who watches over everything, I mean seriously, what use could we be to the supreme one?
Now, one might again argue that they are free to do whatever they want and that they are not bound by the rules of the supreme one. Well, if the supreme one really has the power over everything, wouldn't that make him able to control what you think? Including making you believe in your freedom just to make the show more interesting for him.
Think about it, you believing in your freedom makes you ignorant to the most important part of all, which is truth. Truth to what exactly? Well, I don't really know either.
Information is though to me the most valuable weapon in battle, however, if this information is misread, it may lead to sudden defeat. Humans see, hear and believe what they want, believing in the existence of a supreme being gives them hope for the future through promises and so they subconsciously choose to believe out of sheer desperation.
That's just how the world works |
Lares placed the report onto his desk and rubbed his brow in frustration.
Bunny had returned to Imperial and that meant that lots of people would die, no matter what he or anyone else did.
She was a living natural disaster.
When Bunny had last appeared two years ago in Imperial, she killed a hundred and twenty people before she was scared away by the Grand General of the Guardians, Ares.
Lares had prayed that would be the last time they'd ever see her in Imperial, even though he knew she would come back eventually.
Her MO was always the same.
She would appear in a heavily populated city, kill a lot of people, get bored or scared away, and then reappear somewhere else within six months, sometimes longer depending on how she had been scared off.
"Shit!" Lares slammed his fist onto the desk. The victims were some of the youngest that Bunny had ever killed. Someone knocked loudly at his door. "Come in."
"Yo, Lares," Spike said nonchalantly.
"Spike." Lares glared at him. "Unless this is official business, kindly piss off. I don't have time to deal with Lich's 8th least favourite pet."
Spike let out a low chuckle and walked over to his desk. "Right now, I'd be lucky to be his 9th favourite."
"What do you want?"
The Necromancer said nothing and threw a sealed letter onto Lares's desk.
"I am on urgent business," Spike said in an uncharacteristically serious voice.
Lares frowned at the letter's seal: the mark of the Necronomicon, Lich's seal.
"What does it say?"
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."
Lares tore open the letter, then swiftly took out and read the letter, his face twisting in anger the further he read.
"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, leaping onto his feet.
"Boss's orders."
"Well then, it's a good thing neither I nor Eric work for your boss."
Spike shook his head. "It's not just that boss." Lares's eyes widened. "Kas signed off on it, too."
Lares felt the colour drain from his face. "What?"
"Not that it matters, but I objected to this as well. Those two decided on this and I can't defy them. Neither can you," Spike said, before taking his leave.
Lares was left frozen in shock.
"Please tell me this isn't true," he whispered, crumpling the letter in his hand.
***
Kasmine sat patiently at her desk, her cat resting in her lap and she petted it gently.
Standing beside her door was a monster of man, almost ten feet tall and covered in thick black plate armour with a large bladed staff in his right hand. He had vacant blue eyes that never blinked, staring into space, and had been stood at attention for the last ten hours straight and would stand for another hundred unless ordered otherwise.
Lares burst into the room and her bodyguard immediately grabbed him roughly by his collar, hauling him into the air.
"Put him down," Kasmine said and the figure immediately released Lares. "Wait outside."
The monster ducked through the door frame and shut it behind him.
"What is the meaning of this, Kasmine?" Lares stormed over to her desk.
"Harbinger's a little overprotective, you see-" Kasmine began to say, before Lares slammed his palms on her desk.
"Don't mess with me! You know exactly why I'm here, so don't play dumb."
Kasmine's cat hissed at Lares as it leapt onto her desk. "Spike should have informed you of the situation fully. And." She glared at him and her aura appeared. "You'll do well to remember your standing, Captain."
Lares clicked his tongue and stepped back from her desk. He took a few moments to compose himself and said, "Sorry."
"I understand your concerns and worries but, I assure you that this is a good opportunity for Eric to gain some real combat experience."
"Kas, he hasn't even been in a tournament fight yet. If you want to send students to deal with Bunny, why not a fourth or fifth year group? Why not send my men?"
"Those are both out of the question. Your men are necessary to ensure the safety of Ferris, and the students who are in those year groups have more than enough experience under their belt."
"Kas...please don't do this. He's my nephew."
Kasmine let out a small sigh, petted her cat briefly before turning to look out her window.
"Lares, you know how many people are after Eric's life, don't you?" She asked him and he tensed up. "Not counting Phantom, there was Spike and, if someone like Spike took an interest in him, then I can imagine dozens of others who would as well. If we don't prepare Eric to deal with threats of their levels, then he will die."
"I agree with you on that, but why Bunny? She's a natural disaster and Eric won't be able to stop her."
"It's never been about stopping her. It's been about scaring her off for as long as possible. I imagine that a fight with the Lucifer God Armour might give us a few years until she comes back."
"And what happens if she defeats him and tries to kill him? He doesn't even have his God Weapon yet."
"He's been trained on combat theory and practice by Aria, and Sapphire has been teaching him how to use his magic, so he's not unprepared for it."
"Why not send him on another case after the new year?" Lares suggested. "Why not wait for a lower level mage to appear, or a madman with a gun, or anything other than Bunny?"
"It wasn't just Lich's suggestion to do this," Kasmine said. "I saw the benefits of it as well. We'll put safeguards in as well, just in case."
"Just like you did during the Awakening?"
Kasmine smiled at him and walked over to Lares. "I trust that you'll keep that a secret from him, won't you?" Lares nodded as a cold sweat crawled down his back. "Good. None of us wanted to push Eric into something like this so soon, but the reality of the situation is that he won't be ready when Phantom or someone else comes from him at this rate.
"Once he's experienced what this life is really like, then he'll be closer to being ready for them." She placed her hand against Lares's cheek and stared into his eyes. "Trust me on this."
"I trust you, but I don't trust that monster." Lares took a step away from her. "How can you trust Lich after everything he's done?"
"Immortals have few friends, especially him. As long as I can keep him entertained during peace times, he won't cause trouble or start any wars."
Lares let out a heavy sigh and went to the door. "I'll tell Eric myself. If he doesn't want to-"
"Then we won't make him, but." She smiled sadly. "We both know what he's like."
Lares left her office and closed the door behind him.
Sorry, Lares, but I still can't tell you everything about Eric. Not ever.
***
Ajax had never cried so much before in his entire life, nor had he ever seen his sister so distraught and lifeless before.
Stephanie had been a good friend to Ajax, but she had been Alexis's closest friend, someone they'd known since she was three and it was heart-breaking for them both to think that she had been taken from them in such a horrific way, and for no reason.
It had been two days since Stephanie died, and only now Alexis had started to eat again.
Ajax sat with Alexis on her bed and she was firmly locked in his arms. She was gripping onto his shirt tightly, still damp from her tears, and the two had said very little to one another.
Someone knocked gently at the door and Eric slowly poked his head around, a small, warm, smile on his face.
Ajax could barely force a smile back as he stroked the top of his sister's head.
Alexis was considered to be one of the top beauties in their entire year with gorgeous long brown hair and emerald eyes that sparkled with life.
Now, she was a compete wreck of her former self.
Her lips were dry and cracked, her cheeks wet with tears and her hair was in a complete mess, tangled together and greasy.
As Eric slowly walked into the room, Alexis raised her head from Ajax's chest and smiled weakly at Eric, a sight which he felt he would cry at.
"Hey," he whispered tenderly, sitting beside them.
"Hey," Alexis said, her voice hoarse and her throat dry.
"Hey, man," Ajax said softly. "You need me for something?"
"Just for a few minutes, if that's okay."
Alexis let out a small grunt of displeasure and tightened her grip on Ajax's shirt. Kaida, Evony and Kiara walked into the room and smiled at them.
"They can take over while we talk, if you're okay with that," Eric offered.
Ajax nodded at them, looked down at his sister and gently rubbed the top of her head. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."
Alexis looked up at him, tears in her eyes, but her brother's reassuring and warm smile stopped her from crying. She released her grip and Ajax got up, allowing the other girls to sit with her and hold her. Alexis immediately clung onto Kaida and she embraced her back.
Ajax looked back at her, barely able to hold back his emotions, but Eric grabbed his arm, snapping Ajax's attention away from her. Ajax steeled himself and the two of them left the room.
Waiting outside, fidgeting, was Ace.
"Ajax, I'm-" Ace began to say.
"Thank you for coming," Ajax said with a sad smile.
Eric put his hand on Ajax's shoulder. "Let's talk outside."
***
After walking back to Eric's team's house, Ajax smashed his fist into the wall and screamed madly.
"God fucking dammit!" He threw his other fist at the wall. His knuckles split open and began to bleed. "Damn it." Tears formed in Ajax's eyes as he put his head against the wall. "Damn it."
Eric and Ace looked on with sympathy, but neither of them said anything.
For neither of them knew what to say.
"It's not fair, you guys. It's not fair. Why did Stephanie have to die? Why did her family have to be butchered like that?"
"I don't know," Eric mumbled.
"Why? Why did this happen to us?" Ajax turned to face them, tears flooding from his eyes. "What did Stephanie and her family ever do wrong? Why did that bitch kill them? Why...?" Ajax collapsed onto his knees. "Why?"
"They didn't do anything wrong and there was no reason for it," Ace whispered. "Bunny just kills randomly. That's how she's always been, how she always will be."
Ajax stood up and grabbed Ace roughly by the collar. "Do you think that makes it any better? Was that meant to cheer me up?"
"Ajax-!" Eric cried but Ace raised a hand to him, telling him to stop.
"Would you rather than I sugar-coated it for you or lied to you?" Ace asked. "I thought you and your sister hated liars."
"That doesn't mean-!" Ajax shouted.
"I was just telling you that they didn't do anything wrong and didn't deserve it! They were great people. No, they were fantastic, irreplaceable people and that monster killed them because it wanted to. They didn't do anything wrong or get involved with the wrong people or anything like that. They didn't deserve to die like that."
Ajax ground his teeth and released Ace. "I know that...But-"
"It never makes it easier to know, does it? I'm the same." Ace said softly and Ajax looked at him, a surprised look on his face. "My step-dad got caught up in one of her attacks when I was three while he was in Rome. He was always so nice, always so happy and always smiling. He didn't deserve to be butchered and become one of her puppets. No one deserves a fate like that."
"Ace..." Eric whispered.
Ace put his hands-on Ajax's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Let it all out Ajax and we'll take it all. Hell, hit me if you want to, and as many times as you want to, if it helps you even a little bit."
Ajax shook his head and wiped his remaining tears away. "I couldn't do that." Ajax took a few deep breaths in and out. "Sorry about that, Ace."
"Don't mention it. Let out everything you need to."
"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll be okay for now. Alexis needs me more."
"Was she that close with Stephanie?" Eric inquired.
"Stephanie used to live in Greece in the house next to ours. We've known her and her family almost our entire life; they moved to this country right before my family did, except they could afford a place in Imperial."
"So, what are you going to do now?" Ace asked.
"I'm not leaving Alexis alone for a while. I'll be with her for the next few weeks and I'll slowly get her back to how she was. At least, I hope I'll be able to."
"I know you will be able to."
Ajax nodded. "Thanks, you guys, for visiting her, and for this. I'll see you guys later."
"Bye, Ajax."
"Tell her I'll come and visit tomorrow," Ace told him.
Once Ajax had left, Eric asked, "They'll be okay, won't they?"
"I don't think we'll have to worry too much about them," Ace reassured him. "If it's those two, then they'll be able to help one another through this." He took out his phone and checked the time. "I've got to head back home for today. Give me a call if something happens to her, won't you?"
"Will do."
They exchanged contact information before Ace went back to his home.
Eric was about to head back to Alexis's house when Lares appeared before him, a grim expression on his face, although he tried to hide it with a forced smile.
"Do you have a minute?"
***
Night-time had arrived at Ferris and most of the students had either gone home or to the leisure area.
No one dared venture into the city with Bunny around.
Lares and Eric sat next to each other on a bench overlooking the dimly lit lake in silence.
Despite his uncle asking to talk to him, Lares hadn't said a word since they'd arrived and was twiddling his thumbs instead.
"Eric..." Lares began but he stopped himself from continuing his original thought. "Did you know that there's a story about this lake? They say that if you come here at midnight and look across the water, a beautiful woman appears on the surface of the lake. They say that she looks at those who see her longingly and that she's the spirit of a girl who drowned in the Imperial Bay years ago."
"I didn't know that," Eric admitted and Lares cringed a little at how little confidence he had to tell Eric about Bunny. "Although, I think I might have seen her once."
"Wait, seriously? But it's just a story, you know."
"I'd never heard the story when I saw her but she didn't look like she was lonely to me."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, she smiled at me and then faded away."
"Hmm," Lares dismissively hummed.
After a few moments of silence, Lares let out a heavy sigh and leant forward.
"Eric, I have to talk to you about something very important and extremely dangerous." Lares refused to look his nephew in the eye. "This is something that the Headmistress herself has suggested and wants you to do. I don't want you to but that's not the point."
Lares gathered his resolve and stared into his nephew's eyes. "Kasmine wants you and a few others to go after Bunny."
"What?" Eric inadvertently shouted. "What? Why? Who? When-?"
"I know you have a lot of questions but let me finish saying what I need to first, otherwise I won't have the courage to say what I need to." Eric became quiet, though he was visibly shocked by his uncle's words. "Kasmine has decided that, because of how high profile of a person you are now, you need to gain some real combat experience outside of your lessons. I suggested waiting for someone else to come along, but Kasmine doesn't think we have that much time.
"As for the why, someone gave her the idea and she signed off on it but, obviously, she's not just sending you in alone. Members of the Guardians will be with you as well, including Aria.
"As for when, we don't know yet. Bunny's usual MO is to appear, kill a large group of people, '
play'
with her puppets for a bit, and then leave when the Guardians arrive. We expect that within the next week an incident like that will occur, and you will be notified off it immediately. As for who else is going with you, Dead Eye and some of his team will be, as will Evony, Laila and Jasmine from your team."
"Why them?" Eric asked.
"Out of your team's skillset, they're best suited for fighting indoors and in close quarters," Lares explained. "Ajax would've come instead of Evony had he not just lost one of his oldest friends. Elthia will also tag along but she'll be in a supporting role only due to her lack of offensive abilities."
Lares grasped Eric's shoulder tightly. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, but the Headmistress feels like this is a good chance to gain some real combat experience."
Eric spent a few moments in deep thought, staring across the lake's surface.
Of course, the prospect of fighting someone who could kill him terrified Eric to his core, and he was scared that, if he agreed and went after Bunny, he might die. Eric's head began to throb as he remembered his last few close calls with deaths and he winced, terrifying memories surfacing in his mind.
I have to do this.
"Uncle Lares, tell me something. Spike isn't the only person who will come after me, is he?"
"...No."
"If Kaida hadn't been there, I would've died. If I can't defeat Spike, how can I expect to survive against whatever else comes my way?" Eric stood up and curled his left hand into a fist. "I know it's dangerous, and I know that it's something I shouldn't do. Hell, it's something I don't want to, but it's something that I have to do in order to become strong enough to stay alive."
"Eric, you can get stronger just by training!" Lares protested, leaping up from the bench. "You can practice with Sapphire and Aria all you-"
"That won't be enough, will it? As it is, I'm already behind almost everyone else at this school in terms of experience with their powers and in actual combat. If I do this, I can start to catch up to them and become strong enough to keep myself and those I care about alive. Also, after what Bunny's done, I want a chance of stopping her for good, even if it's impossible for me at my level. I want to try it."
Eric stared into his uncle's eyes. "I want to do this, Uncle Lares."
"Eric..." Lares whispered, gripping his knees tightly. "I...I'm scared."
Eric smiled and pulled his uncle into a hug. "I know, I'm scared too, but I'm more scared at the idea of not being strong enough to protect myself and those I love. Even if it's risky, I want to try this."
Lares smiled sadly and broke out of Eric's hug. "Honestly, when did you grow up to be someone like this?" He sighed a little in resignation and smiled happily. "If you get yourself killed out there, you know I'll come and kill you."
"That doesn't make any sense," Eric chuckled. "I appreciate the feeling, though."
The two of them shared a small fist bump and both of them felt slightly relieved.
"If that's all, let's leave it there for tonight, Uncle Lares."
"Wait, before you go, there was one other thing I wanted to ask you," Lares said, stopping Eric in his tracks. "Um, how much did Kas explain to you about the laws of God Armours to you?"
"They're Armours which are born from the remains of a dead God in their world when they enter into ours and, initially, they appear in someone's arm but they are actually small pieces of Armour which can be transferred between people. They also have all of that God's powers, right?"
"Well, that's right, but did she tell you about what happens when a God Armour first appears in our world?"
Eric titled his head, slightly confused. "What do you mean?"
"Kas said that she gave you a book to read on God Armours and, knowing you, I thought you would've finished it by now. I take it you haven't finished it then?"
"I'm a quarter of the way through and have no idea what you're talking about."
Lares exhaled heavily. "Eric, what do you think happens to a God's soul when they are killed? The God's soul doesn't vanish and they don't technically die. When a God is killed in their world, it's not just their powers and abilities that are converted into the Armour; their soul is as well."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that the God is still alive in our world, but they can never return to their own. However, they can live again for a price. A God's soul still existing within its Armour can take over the user's body for themselves, essentially killing the host and allowing the God to be reborn into a mortal body."
Eric swallowed hard when he realised what Lares was trying to say.
"Eric, right now, the soul of Lucifer is living in your left arm and he could kill you at any moment."
He...He could take over my body at any moment and...kill me?
The moment Eric came to that realisation in his mind, a wave of fear and dread surged within his chest.
"He...could kill me..." Eric whimpered, hyperventilating and grasping his heart tightly.
Eric began to sweat all over his body, his heart rate increasing rapidly and a tight pain developed in his chest. He started to feel dizzy and his vision became blurred, almost as if he was losing consciousness.
Lares called out to Eric but Eric had already begun to descend into a panic attack.
I don't want to die!
Is that so?
A deep, satanic voiced boomed in his mind. Then, aloud, it said, "I suppose it's time that I reveal myself to you now."
Eric's scar glowed and a red mist seeped from it, drifting into the air and slowly forming itself into a figure. The figure was ten feet tall and well-built with thick muscles and tough skin which was a deep shade of red. It had burning eyes of fire which glared out of its eye sockets and ebony horns protruding from its head.
Fully formed before Eric and Lares was the personification of evil himself: Lucifer.
"L-Lucifer?" Lares reached for his pistol, even though he knew it was futile.
The mist groaned and stretched its arms above its head. "Finally, I can move around," Lucifer said, clicking its joints. "Being trapped inside a God Armour isn't all that fun. The only entertainment that I get now is from what I see and hear from Eric, and that can run dry pretty quickly."
"You're...Lucifer?" Eric asked, inadvertently stepping away.
"Lucifer, hmm? When was the last time I was called that, I wonder. Abaddon, Accuser, Apollyon, Beelzebub, Deceiver, Devil, Satan, The First Fallen, The Serpent, and Lucifer. Well, Lucifer is better than the others." It grinned and held out a hand to Eric. "A pleasure to finally speak with you, Eric."
"R-Right." Eric tried to shake the hand but his hand passed through it.
"What do you want with my nephew, Lucifer?" Lares demanded, glaring at the demon. "Are you planning on taking over his body?"
"There's no need to look at me with such hatred," Lucifer assured him. "I have no intention of doing anything of the sort. After an eternity of fighting that damn God, I am enjoying the small pleasure of just being alive. I don't plan on harming anyone else."
"Forgive me if I don't believe you."
"I would have been disappointed if you had."
"So, why should I believe you when you say you won't harm Eric?"
"Hmm, I suppose from a mortal's perspective I must be the villain."
"Are you trying to say you weren't the bad guy?" Eric asked.
Lucifer chuckled softly. "Bad woman, perhaps."
"Wait, woman?!" Lares cried. "B-but you're naked and you don't have-?!"
"Ah, this." Lucifer looked down at her body and sighed, lightly prodding her chest with one finger. "This is what I looked like long before the war began. This is what I was like before becoming Queen of Hell."
"...All the myths say Lucifer's male, so I just-"
"...Uncle Lares, I really don't think that's the most important issue."
"R-right, sorry, Eric, Lucifer."
She chuckled loudly and went to smack Lares on his back, her hand passing through his body and reforming from the mist. "It's fine, it's fine! And Eric, listen to me. There are no true bad guys in war because everyone is fighting for what they believe is right. Although, I must confess, after an eternity of fighting, I don't remember why we were even fighting to begin with."
"You fought that long that you forgot?" Lares questioned.
"No one knows how long we fought one another, but it was long enough that trillions of our people had died and we stopped counting the number of years we fought long ago."
"Who won?"
"I did. I stormed into the heartland of Heaven, burnt it to the ground and attacked Eden itself. We forced our way into the city to God's palace and I struck him down. I lost billions of my people doing that and I thought that I had done it, that I had brought peace to my people.
"Unfortunately, the Angels did not surrender even with their creator lying dead at their feet. The Archangel Michael lead a counterattack against us, taking with him nearly two thirds of the Angels with him and fought against us. I engaged Michael in single combat and we killed one another.
"The next thing I knew, I was inside your arm being thrown by a Necromancer."
"Why do you think that you fought God?" Eric asked.
"I said I didn't-"
"But why do you think you did now?"
Lares and Lucifer were both a little taken back by Eric's question.
"Hmm, I hadn't ever thought about that," Lucifer said. "If I had to say why I rebelled, it was probably because I always thought of him as a tyrant and I imagine he must have thought that I was one as well. Perhaps it was as simple as that."
After she reflected silently for a few moments, Lucifer slowly began to fade into her mist form again. "For now, I will return to the Armour and I will rest for a while. When I'm awake, feel free to talk to me, Eric."
"Lucifer, if you ever do take my nephew's body, I won't hesitate to kill you," Lares threatened him to which the demon chuckled.
"Would you now?" Lucifer mused before disappearing back into the Armour.
"Well, that wasn't how I imagine this conversation would go," Lares confessed with a forced laugh. "Food for thought I guess, food for thought. Anyway, I'll contact you as soon as Bunny is sighted, so stay alert for the next few weeks, okay? Goodnight, Eric."
"Goodnight, Uncle Lares.".
Eric looked down at his left arm and frowned.
Before I was only in danger when I was using my powers or when I was in a fight. Now, my life could end in an instant on Lucifer's whim. I have to find a way of keeping her entertained so that doesn't happen. Maybe it might be worth talking to her often to build up a relationship between us. For now though, I need to focus on getting stronger and stopping Bunny.
Right now, that's all that matters.
***
Bunny was stood in the shadow of a tree, gazing curiously at the tall building before her, her clothes still freshly stained with Stephanie's blood and, gathered behind her, were nine of her puppets.
The block of flats had eleven floors, not including the ground floor and the rooftop, and every single one of those flats was occupied.
Someone, carrying a full bag of shopping, walked into the flats and Bunny titled her head.
She had just confirmed that the last person living in the flats had come home for the night.
One of her puppets stepped forward, her strawberry blonde hair running down her face, with more than a dozen recent stab wounds in her chest that were still open and rotting.
"Time to play," the corpse said, smiling gleefully. |
Team Diablo Tournament Roster Round 1
Opponents
- Fiddah 'Ace' Darpa
Map
- Standard Arena
Modifiers
- None
Number of Participants
- Ten (Nine from Team Diablo; One from Ace's Team)
Win Condition
- Eliminate all members of the other team
Good luck and have fun,
Headmistress Kasmine.
"The first fight in the entire team tournament is ours and it's against Ace."
After Kasmine's speech yesterday, Eric and the others had all received an email detailing their first match in the tournament and, today, they had started planning for the upcoming fight.
"Is it even really that much of a contest?" Jasmine asked. "It's just Ace against the nine of us. There's no way he could win, especially given how weak he is."
"He's gotten stronger since he started training with my sister. Even then, I don't think we have anything to be too afraid of. He's got a lot of strong powers that allow him to adapt to any situation but there's no way he can withstand a nine-way attack."
"I'm surprised that Kasmine didn't have any modifiers added or give Ace the advantage by tailoring the terrain in his favour," Eric said, leaning back into the sofa.
"Have you never watched the tournament before? Modifiers and the more interesting maps are saved for the later rounds. The Headmistress can't change those rules to give a student a handicap or else it would invalidate the entire thing."
"So, we don't have to worry about those then until the next round?" Kiara asked. "Then, it really will be an easy win."
"I'm not too sure," Evony said. "There are seventy-eight Tarot cards in a deck, including the Major and Minor Arcana, and how many of their powers do we know?"
"The Moon is his shield, Death fires bolts of death magic, the Chariot and Knight cards summon gigantic versions of themselves, the Devil creates fireballs, Strength enhances his physical abilities, and-"
"That's what I mean. We only know so many of his card's powers and, while Kaida can block the fireballs and Laila can stop the Death bolts, we don't know what all of his cards can do and, chances are, he's been saving the strongest of them for a reason."
"...Maybe he can't use them yet?" Elthia suggested.
"I can imagine a guy as arrogant as him not thinking of his opponent's as worthy as to use them on, though," Connor said. "As much as I'd like to believe that he can't use all of the Arcana, chances are he can."
"Even then, he won't be able to counter an assault from all sides," Laila stated. "The Moon is the only purely defensive card he has access to and, as long as we constantly attack from two sides, he can only protect one of them."
"All we need to do then is keep pushing him from multiple angles then!" Ajax cried. "Right, I think that's all we need to do strategy wise this time."
"Also, I had a look through the entire rule book last night and came across something interesting of note," Jasmine interjected. "It says that we can bring and use our own handmade communication devices, so it might be worth someone looking into that for our next match."
"Hmm, I've never made anything like that before, but I can give it a go," Ajax offered. "It might take a while, so don't count on having it for the first few fights."
Jasmine nodded. "With that then, I think that's all we need to discuss for now."
"Yeah," Eric replied. "When we end up going against a full team of opponents, we'll spend much longer planning for it. However, in order to do that, we need information on who our opponents could be."
"You want us to go and watch the matches then?" Kaida asked.
"Not just that. We need someone checking the live streams as well so that we don't miss anything. We won't be able to catch everything with our own eyes; likewise, the streams won't be able to cover every angle."
"And thus, we compensate by monitoring both." Kiara finished Eric's train of thought. "Even then, we'll still miss out on teams who could be our opponents."
"Even then, it's worth doing," Evony said.
"Agreed. For the fight with Ace, we'll keep the strategy simple," Eric began. "Connor, Ajax, Laila and I will keep as close to Ace as we can, keeping him locked down in close quarters. The rest of you will have to focus on taking long range attacks whenever you see an opportunity, and when you are absolutely sure that you won't hit one of us. Elthia will stay at the back to heal and protect the long-ranged attackers.
"Any questions or disagreements?" Everyone shook their heads. "Then, let's go."
***
Hello everyone and welcome to the first fight in this year's Team Tournament presented by myself, Darryl Harrison, and my co-host Joe Harding,
the commentators announced through obscenely loud speakers.
This is my tenth year hosting this show and it's Joe's first, isn't it?
Yes, it is, Darryl. I'm very excited to be here.
Fantastic! Now, I know you're all excited to see the exciting match ahead of us today, the very first one of the year which the Headmistress herself seemed to be quite excited by.
Yes, it seems that she's eager to see what young Eric Agrim can do with his God Armour, as is the rest of the world.
Ah but, of course, we're all excited to see what all these young Guardians in training are capable of and we'll now be quiet for a few minutes and let the Headmistress take over from here. Everyone, please enjoy the match!
The commentators cut their feed and Eric let out a small sigh of relief.
He leant back against the waiting room wall as the rest of his team finished changing into their battle gear.
"Are they always that loud?"
"Last year was worse," Ajax replied. "You should be grateful that they have that Joe guy up there as opposed to Eddie."
"Eddie?"
"To give you the gist of it, by the end of the year's tournaments, people kept booing and groaning whenever he was talking."
"He was that bad?"
***
Ace pulled his gloves over his fingers and let out a long exhale, his body shaking a little.
"You can do this."
He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror, cracking a small smile when he saw how awful his face looked.
Ace had never been uneasy before a fight but, now, he was shaking so much that he was embarrassed.
"As strong as the Achlys Twins, huh?" Ace repeated his own foolish words.
No, I can't be like that!
I've come a long way since then.
I've practiced more every single day and I've been training with Alexis and her team for weeks now. I shouldn't have picked up any bad habits from fighting them and I'm stronger than I was, far stronger.
I can do this!
If Ace didn't believe that he could win this fight, then he wouldn't stand the slightest chance of winning against Eric's team.
In fact, it's not just a case of I can do this; it's that I will do this! I'll defeat them, advance into the next round and show everyone just how powerful I really am. I know I can do this!
I will become someone special!
***
Hello, everyone here in the stadium and watching at home,
Kasmine began speaking softly into the microphone.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this year's tournament and I am grateful that so many of you are tuning in to see what the next generations of the Guardians can do, and I sincerely hope that you and your children can rest assured knowing that you are safe and protected by strong warriors like these.
Everyone, please cheer for them with all of your heart as they fight with their hearts on the line to prove their strength to you!
The entire stadium roared in unison and Kasmine smiled whole-heartedly at the response, nodding a little.
Thank you, everyone. Now then, shall we kick off this year's Team Tournament with a bang?
The stadium screamed again.
Now, give a loud cheer for our competitors!
As soon as Eric emerged into the gigantic arena, he immediately felt like he would be crushed by the sheer number of people staring at him and cheering as loudly as they could.
The arena itself was about the size of the old main stadiums that used to be used in the Olympic games and every single seat was filled.
There were seventy thousand spectators and hundreds of cameras as well, covering every single possible angle.
I wish I was somewhere quieter,
Eric immediately thought when he walked out.
Ace and Eric's team walked into the central platform of the stadium and waited on their marks, both sides staring intently at one another.
Unlike Eric who was sweating and shaking from his nerves and the audience's gazes, Ace looked as arrogant as always, grinning smugly at them.
"Someone's overly confident," Ajax whispered.
"I thought he had become more modest," Eric said.
"Old habits die hard, I guess."
On my mark, the first match of the Team Tournament for the Year 2178 will begin.
3.
2.
1.
Begin!
Ace's hands went for two decks of cards at his belt and he threw dozens of them into the air.
Connor, Ajax and Eric charged towards him, with Evony and Jasmine running on their flanks and firing at Ace. Jasmine's bullets were blocked by Ace's moon and Evony's arrows were shot out of the air by black bolts. Kaida threw her dragon in front of her, Laila and Elthia, protecting them from Ace's remaining attacks and Laila jumped into her own shadow.
Ace took out a single card and a large rock pillar emerged from the ground beneath him, sending him ten metres into the air. He then took out two cards in each of his hands and tossed them into the air, sending two chariots and knights towards Eric's team. A chariot flew towards Eric and smashed into him, crushing him beneath its horse and dragging him for many metres before it was destroyed by Connor's axe.
One of the knights stormed at Jasmine and she unleashed a hail of bullets on it, destroying it before it could lunge at her. She reloaded her machineguns, slotted them into her armour and took out her rifle, aiming at Ace's head. She tried to shoot him, but Ace sent more black bolts at her, forcing her to roll out of the way of them.
Two black bolts nearly hit her, but Laila appeared from behind Jasmine and swiped a shadow across them, absorbing the bolts.
"Thanks," Jasmine said as Laila fell into her shadow.
Connor and Ajax reached Ace's pillar and destroyed it, upsetting Ace's balance. He threw another tower card in front of him, spun in the air so that his feet hit the top of it, and the tower catapulted him through the air, dozens of metres away from Connor and Ajax. He deployed his moon beneath him and used it to break his fall, landing awkwardly on the ground.
Jasmine and Evony both fired at him but he moved his moon in front of him, deflecting the blows. He then threw a deck of cards into the air, unleashing a volley of fireballs at every member of Eric's team.
"I won't let you!" Kaida cried and her dragon roared behind her.
It flew over her and zoomed into Ace's fireballs, absorbing the impacts and it soared over to Ace, breathing fire. Ace narrowed his eyes, drew two cards and two claymores appeared in his hands. He spun to the side of the dragon's head and sliced it from the rest of its body, destroying it.
Ace planted the blades into the ground and applied a card to the back of his neck, causing his veins to pulse as power flowed through his veins, making him to smile. He withdrew the blades from the ground and threw them at the fast-approaching Ajax and Connor.
Connor was hit square in the chest and rolled backwards, but Ajax swiped the sword out of the air with his spear, sending it flying off to one side. Laila appeared from Ajax's shadow and the two of them ran side by side at Ace. Jasmine and Evony began to fire at him again and Ace threw three towers in front of him, blocking their attacks but obscuring his vision.
Ajax smashed shoulder first through the towers and threw his spear at Ace, cutting his shoulder. Ace hissed and threw a pack of Death cards at Ajax, sending fifty black bolts at him. Laila leapt out of Ajax's shadow and wrapped them in her shadows, protecting them from the attacks.
Ace, however, had wanted her to do that.
While Laila protected them, they weren't able to see what he was doing and he had summoned three chariots which rammed into them. Laila narrowly avoided it by falling into her own shadow, but Ajax was crushed by the horses and dragged across the ground. He howled in pain and Kaida sent her dragon to slice through them, only just saving Ajax's life.
"Ajax, switch and get healed!" Eric ordered, running past him.
"Roger that," Ajax groggily replied.
Elthia ran over to him and Ajax removed his armour, allowing Elthia to get to his wounds.
If I could fly, this would be much easier,
Eric thought, cursing his own weakness.
Ace used another tower and climbed into the air, avoiding Laila's slashes. Evony knocked three explosive arrows against her bow and fired at the tower, cracking it in half and it began to collapse. Ace lost his footing and spawned another tower behind him.
However, he couldn't push his feet against it.
Before it smashed into his back, his moon appeared behind him and Ace launched across the field, over Eric's head to where Kaida, Ajax and Elthia were. Ace spun in the air and threw a pack of Devil cards at Ajax, unleashing a volley of fireballs at him.
Elthia let out a small scream but threw her arms in front of them, summoning a line of glowing green trees and vines before them. The balls cracked against the barricade and almost broke it, causing Elthia to scream in agony. She collapsed onto one knee and Kaida ran around the barricade at Ace.
She summoned her dragon and it slammed into Ace's side, sending him tumbling on the ground for many metres. He got up onto one knee and his moon appeared behind him to block Jasmine's shots. Ace pulled out another Strength card and placed it on his chest, causing him to double over and he coughed blood up violently.
His skin cracked open and some of his blood vessels burst open, causing blood to slowly drip down his skin.
Just a bit more!
He screamed in his head.
Laila emerged behind Ace in his shadow and spun around the moon, aiming to slice at his throat.
However, as she cut his skin, he disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" Kaida demanded, conjuring her dragon again.
She spun around on the spot and a bolt of black energy smashed into her face, turning her into shards of glass.
Team Diablo; eight players remaining.
"I must admit, the Fool card is probably my favourite," Ace mused, smiling arrogantly at Laila.
Ace sent more fireballs at Laila, but she fell into her shadow and appeared behind Ace, stabbing at his back. Ace had expected her to attack from behind and had jumped forward, but the blade caught the edge of his skin, cutting him fairly deep.
He screamed in pain and threw an entire deck of Death cards at her.
Laila, however, didn't move out of their way.
The beams hit her and did nothing.
"You're making mistakes about your own abilities," she told him, teleporting into his shadow again. "Death Magic is useless when used against a Necromancer."
Her blade bounced off his shield and Jasmine landed a shot in his shoulder, making Ace howl madly. He planted a tower card beneath him and he flew into the air as Jasmine continued to fire at him.
"Damn it."
His arm was losing all feeling; soon, it would be useless.
Laila formed a blade from her shadows and cut the pillar at the base, causing it to shake and throw Ace off the top of it. He spun in mid-air and threw chariots out in every single direction, one of which hit Laila and slammed her into the ground, turning her into glass.
Team Diablo; seven players remaining.
Evony swerved through the chariots and fired a homing arrow at Ace which flew towards his heart. Ace raised his moon to intercept it but Jasmine started shooting him from behind, forcing him to shift it to his back. Panicked, Ace threw up a knight card and it absorbed the blow.
Ace landed roughly on the ground and coughed up blood.
His Strength cards made him stronger, but they damaged his body heavily whenever he used one.
Using two at the same time ran the risk of killing himself.
Ace threw two decks of Knight cards into the air, before surrounding himself in eight towers.
"He's trying to recover!" Evony called.
"Connor, now!" Eric yelled.
"Roger that!"
He and Eric charged through the knights as Ajax, Jasmine and Evony took out the ones in their way, and Connor threw his axe with all of his might into the towers, destroying them all from the impact.
Connor then stopped running, grabbed Eric by the back of his Armour and threw him at Ace, his above wrist blades deployed.
Ace looked up just in time to see Eric slice through his chest before he shattered into glass.
Ace Team; no players remaining.
Team Diablo; wins!
***
"Damn, I thought there for a minute I could do it as well. Well, if I had really tried, I imagine I could have."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Connor said.
"I have to admit though, Ace did put up a great fight," Evony told him. "I'm impressed that you managed to take out Laila and Kaida in that situation."
"Yeah, that was nicely done," Kaida added and Laila nodded in agreement.
"Like I said, easy," Ace replied.
"Hey, is it alright if I punch him in the face?" Kiara asked.
"Um, I don't think that's a good idea." Eric laughed a little. "Honestly, I did think you did great, Ace. You really are strong."
Ace's eyes widened a little, but he quickly closed them and smiled. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without Alexis's help, so I need to make sure I properly thank her after this."
"I think her team's up tomorrow morning, right?" Kaida asked.
"Yeah, first match of the day," Ajax replied. "We're all going to go cheer her on if you want to join us, Ace."
"Thanks, but I'll pass. I've already asked Mrs Yuuko if I can train with her tomorrow when I have-had, sorry, a gap in my tournament schedule."
"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" Elthia asked gently, making an adorable face which Ace turned away from, refusing to let himself get baited into it.
"Sorry, but I've got to go now." He turned to Eric and held up his fist to him. "Good luck, Eric."
Eric smiled, put his fist against Ace's. "Thanks."
Ace took his leave with a wave.
"He's gotten better," Connor mused.
"It's amazing how much he's changed since he met my sister," Ajax added.
"He's totally in love with her, right?"
"No doubt about it," Eric agreed.
"Wait, seriously?" Ajax blurted out.
"Ah, I guess an idiot wouldn't have picked up on that," Connor said.
"Seems that way."
"Oi!"
***
Ace had walked calmly to the lakeside; then, once he knew he was alone, he smashed his fist into a tree as hard as he could.
"Damn it!" He screamed, hitting his fist into the wood again. "Damn it!" And again. "Damn it..."
Shakingly, he looked down at his hand. The glove was completely torn and covered in red blotches, his skin had cut and bled in multiple places, and he was sure that he might have broken or badly damaged one or more of his fingers.
"Why?" He whispered, resting his head against the tree, tears slowly trickling down his cheeks. "Why couldn't I do it?"
From the bottom of his heart, Ace had believed that he could have defeated all of Eric's team and proven his strength to the world, showing them that he was strong, that he was special and proving that he didn't need a parental figure in his life.
All of that, though, had fallen apart in minutes.
Most would've been proud to take down two members of a team of nine by themselves, but Ace hadn't wanted to do that.
He wanted to take them all down.
He wanted to win.
"Again..." He whimpered with a sniff, closing his eyes. "Why...?" He slid down the tree onto the dirt and wept into his knees. "Why?" |
I often think about the time that exists between when our days end and when they start. That period of time when one should be sleeping but often find ourselves unable to.
Sleepless nights are an interesting occurrence, a period of time where nothing really happens but semi-lucid thoughts and a feeling that can't quite be captured by any other time of day.
I must confess something- I wish they would last forever.
You see in that state where no matter how tired you are, you can't get to sleep because you're thinking about trying to sleep; there exists a serene perfection. The day is over and a new one has yet to begin- it isn't like midnight where arbitrarily a day ends but it still feels as though it's the same day.
No, that period of time exists in a liminal space separate from the day that comes before and the day that comes after. After night falls and before dawn breaks.
There are no tasks to accomplish and yet, it can also be the most stressful part of any day.
That period of time where you worry about what happened the day before but also what will happen tomorrow, it's particularly detrimental to those who live by the doctrine of living one day at a time. It's a period when 2 days overlap, a period where you can't think just
one
day at a time.
Yet, if those sleepless nights were to last forever and if after night fell, dawn would never break. That Achille's heel wouldn't exist.
That period of limbo would be the norm, nothing to accomplish or worry about, just semi-lucid thoughts and a feeling that can't quite be captured by any other time of day.
To some, such a wish might seem fatalistic, if time never passed then nothing would ever change. Change is the centrepiece of the human condition, or that's the belief I hold and without it, where would we be?
But if nothing ever changed, the hours never ticked by, that hint of chronophobia that anyone can feel subsided, there was no pressure- I think I'd be happier
At least for a little while.
If that period of time was forever, semi lucid thoughts like this could be pondered eternally and that indescribable feeling became the norm, I think I'd be more creative or at least get more work done.
If there was never a deadline, if day never arrived, if I never closed my eyes- I think I'd be happier.
At least for a little while. |
*Pant....Pant.... Pant*
"Got..... to get away"
The girl said as she fled through the cluttered deserted alleyways as fast as her legs could carry her, all the while the sound of running footsteps behind her got louder and louder and louder. The light from the end of the alleyway beckoned to her almost as a beacon of hope, summoning her will she rushed through the narrow alley and into the street, To her horror the street was deserted not a soul in sight.
"Giving up already girly" A voice called from the alleyway behind her
The girl quickly spun her head around to face the source of the voice in the darkness of the alleyway she could see a pair of piercing white eyes in the shadows. She froze in fear, choking back the urge to cry.
A tall man stepped out of the dark his white eyes sizing up the girl like a shark eyeing its prey. "we got ourselves a snack boys and a pretty one at that" he said in a menacing voice.
"Finally ive been starving all day" A voice called out
"she is a pretty one, i bet her blood tastes fantastic" another voice called out
The girl knew she was surrounded on all sides by these demons she knew as the Depraved, part vampire part machine these were creatures she knew all to well but she could do nothing a mere human cannot stand against the Depraved.
despite the overwhelming circumstances she found herself in fight or flight overcame her, in a split second she charged the Depraved man standing in front of her.
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGG I WONT DIE TO YOUR KIND" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
The Depraved man was taken a back by the girls sudden outrage but this was of course just a mere human, he lifted his right leg up and effortlessly kicked the charging girl back, her body flew along the street hitting the wall of a building on the other side of the street.
the girl groaned and strained her body racked with pain, she could no longer move, all she could do was watch as the three depraved closed in on her.
"no, i cant die not like this!" the girl said weakly
****
The cold rain of the night began slowly dripping down on the city, the midnight breeze blew steadily in the air, in the serenity of the night a figure stood on top of a tall building, her short white hair gently swaying in the breeze, the water from the rain was gently rolling off her cold metal mask that covered the lower part of her face. her black leather trench coat which covered most of her body was damp from the rain.
she had her red eyes fixed on something below her.
"Targets located, commencing purge"
The mysterious girl turned 180 on her heels, she drew her arms out of her coat revealing two crimson coloured revolvers she held them out at her sides in a T pose. without hesitation she leaped in backwards somersault off the top of the building.
*CRASH*
The girl landed on the ground perfectly, stood in front of her were 3 white eyed Depraved to her back was a girl slumped up against a wall below the building she had just jumped from.
"Wha-what is this" one of the Depraved called out.
"She-she cant be human but she isn't a Depraved like us" another Depraved noted
"That means she must be one of the Six" The third Depraved said with a shaky voice.
"Prepare to die" The white haired girl said calmly.
"YOU THINK WE ARE AFRAID, THERE IS 3 OF US AND ONE OF YOU!" one of the Depraved said before quickly lunging forward towards the white haired girl.
in the blink of an eye he had reached where the girl had been standing however his aggressive lunge had missed its target.
"Huh, where did she go"
*THUMP*
in a flash the girl had appeared behind him, she brought her leg up high above her head before driving it down on the Depraved's neck, with his neck pinned to the ground by her foot she pointed one of her Crimson revolvers at the back of his head.
*BANG BANG*
Two shots ripped through the Depraved's head virtually destroying it, a mix of red and white blood poured out of the now gaping wound.
"SHES OPEN NOW GET HER" Another Depraved yelled as he two was lunging towards her from above.
The white haired girl had not flinched at her new attacker descending upon her from the rooftop she simply raised the Crimson Revolver in her other hand and pointed towards her foe.
*BANG BANG BANG*
She shot the man three times through the chest sending White and Red blood along with small mechanical parts from inside the Depraved flying into the air. The Depraved dropped to his knees.
The white haired girl walked up to the Depraved who was still on his knees hunched over in pain, she placed one of her guns back in her black trench coat, she used her now free hand to raise the Depraved's face up to meet hers.
*SNAP*
The white haired girl twisted the Depraved's head completely off its body a fountain of blood shot up to greet the night sky. The girl turned her attention to the last Depraved.
He was shaking violently "please..... please spare me PLEASE"
The final Depraved began running down the alleyway they had originally came in from. The white haired girl watched him run down the alley for a moment before reaching into her trench coat and pulling out a blade which looked like an old school Katana. She quickly threw the Katana in the Air as the blade reached its apex and was making its way back down to the ground the white haired girl span around and with a slight jump on the spin kicked the handle of the falling blade with immense force.
The blade rocketed down the alley with great speed and precision until
*SQELCH*
A scream echoed throughout the alley confirming the blade had reached its intended target the fleeing Depraved was now pinned against a wall by the sword which had pierced him through the gut.
*BANG BANG*
two bullets accompanied the sword on its travel and struck the Depraved in middle of the head killing it instantly.
The white haired girl lowered her Crimson Revolver.
"Purge complete"
She turned and walk towards the human girl who was still slumped up against a wall, she knelt down in front of her.
"Hey girl you are safe now"
The human girl raised her head to look at her saviour all she could see was the girls white hair, metal mask and crimson eyes.
"Who are you" she asked
"I'm a member of the organization of the Six, you were attacked by creatures part Vampire and part Machine called the Depraved, but you are safe now" the white haired girl did her best to reassure the human girl
The human girl slowly rose to her feet.
"Yes i know what they are, those bastards are the reason my family are dead"
"i see" the white haired girl said nonchalantly as she turned to walk away from the human girl.
"Wait, i never thanked you for saving me, my name is Clare what's yours?"
" My name is Scarlet "
*Authors note*
This chapter is meant as a semi prologue to introduce readers to some of the characters and the world. more details and characters will be covered in later chapters |
A distant sound of a shower could be heard from the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom of the hotel room that Clare and Scarlet were hold up in. Scarlet was slouched up against the head of one of the beds that lay near the centre of the room.
"Why do i keep her with me, she is nothing but a burden, i said i would ditch her the first chance i got so why" Scarlet thought to herself with her dipped down.
It had been a little over a week since Scarlet and Clare had met in that deserted part of town. Scarlet had saved Clare and informed her she would take her somewhere safe in town and that they would part ways however Clare seemed strangely hesitant to leave much to Scarlet's dismay. Scarlet slowly turned her head towards the sideboard which stood next to the bed on top of the sideboard illuminated slightly by a lamp was a small makeshift lunchbox inside was some rice and a few pieces of cooked chicken.
"At least she is a good cook" Scarlet muttered.
Suddenly a voice spoke directly into Scarlet's ear via the electronic communication device in her ear, the voice spoke only two simple words "Midnight Hour" Scarlet knew the words meaning, she took a deep breath before rising from the bed, she walked a few paces over to a large mirror that stood on the opposite side of the room, with her stoic reflection looking back at her she began buttoning up her white shirt as well as straighten up her black skirt making sure it was above her knee, the reason Scarlet preferred this length of skirt was because it offered the least restriction when kicking something.
Feeling satisfied with her look she turned around and grabbed her black trench coat from the bed she jammed her arms through the sleeves and threw the coat on almost in the same motion she pulled out her two crimson revolvers and after a quick check they were operational she placed them in her pockets, finally she walked over to the hanger by the door and retrieved her metal mask she placed the cool metal construct against her soft skin and with that she was ready.
"One more thing" she said non chalantaly
Scarlet kicked the door to the bathroom open, the door struck the bathroom wall with a thud.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh Scarlet what was that about" Clare screeched as she quickly scrambled to wrap a towel around her wet nude body.
"We have a job to go to, hurry up and get dressed, then meet me in the entrance way in front of the hotel" Scarlet said sternly
Scarlet walked out of the room leaving Clare to dress herself.
Clare retrieved her essential item of clothing first that being her underwear and a bra, black being the color of choice this time around. Next Clare threw on a white buttoned shirt not unlike the one Scarlet had on however unlike her Clare wore a pair of full length blue jeans with a black leather jacket. she tied up her blonde hair in a pony tail, now also satisfied with her look she left the room and made her way to the entrance to meet up with Scarlet.
"Ready to go" Scarlet said as she spotted Clare near the entrance
"Yes i am ready, as soon as you tell me where it is exactly we are going" Clare replied whilst folding her arms looked slightly annoyed
Scarlet seemingly unfazed by Clare's apparent annoyance
"We are going to a club called Midnight Hour, its located on the edge of town i have a job to do there" Scarlet said with her usual monotone voice.
"and take it we are going on that" Clare responded whilst focusing her eyes on the motorcycle that Scarlet was leaning up against.
The bike was black and red in color with a decorative design of what looked to be a dragon near the front, Scarlet swung one of her legs around and hopped on the bike she shot a glance back to Clare.
"Move it or get left behind" Scarlet said with a hint of annoyance in her voice
Clare took a deep breath and quickly jumped onto the back of the motorcycle
Scarlet took off down the main street at high speed she was going so fast that Clare had to wrap her arms around Scarlets stomach to steady herself. Scarlet looked down at the hands now cupping her waist before looking back up and offering a small smile hidden behind a mask of cold steel.
After a short while of driving down the many roads and streets of Caligula the pair arrived at the edge of town, Scarlet pulled up along a side street and just a few feet away was a large building with an exterior lit up spelling the words Midnight Hour confirming they were in the right place.
Scarlet and Clare hopped of the bike and started to walk towards the club, before they got in range of the entrance Scarlet suddenly stopped and without turning around to face clear said in a quiet voice "stay close to me when we are in there" she then continued walking.
Scarlet and Clare reached the entrance to the club but strangely there was no door security personnel at the door which was strange for an establishment like this, however the club seemed to be in operation as music could be heard booming through the building sending vibrations rocketing through the floor and through the bodies of the two women.
The main hall of the club was full of people, the dance floor had many young adults jumping and dancing along to the techno music playing on the DJ stand, to the right of the main dance floor was a bar and recreational area with many tables and chairs laid about evenly.
Clare looked up at Scarlet who was scanning the room, her eyes had turned a bright red as her head slowly rotated like a radar beacon.
"They're Depraved" Scarlet said suddenly
"Huh what do you mean" Clare responded
"Almost everyone here is a monster" Clare responded coldly
Suddenly Scarlet began walking to the centre of the dance floor gently shoving people out of her way as she walked, Clare surprised at Scarlets sudden movement followed closely behind.
Scarlet quickly lifted her arm up and jammed it into her coat pocket as quickly as she had she pulled out one of her crimson revolvers and shot it twice towards the ceiling, the bullets echoed throughout the room followed by the sudden shattering of glass the bullets she fired had hit one of the glass floodlights attached to the DJ's kit sending shards of glass everywhere.
there was silence in the room for a moment before the crowd of people who were in the club suddenly stopped what they were doing and all focused there attention on Scarlet.
"Its her" one of the members of the crowd shouted
"Someone go get the boss, tell him one of THEM is here" Another member of the crowd shouted.
Scarlet placed her Crimson Revolver back into the pocket of her black trench coat before looking out at the crowd which had now grouped up opposite her creating a large gap in the centre of the room between them.
"You are all monsters and you will all be purged.... prepare yourselves!"
Two of the Depraved from the crowd rushed towards Scarlet at break neck speed.
Scarlet matching their speed and with great ferocity lifted both her arms up and thrust them forwards, she plunged her hands viciously into the chests of the two Depraved in front of her before yanking her hands backwards taking the hearts of the two Depraved with her. the bodies dropped in a clump at her feet motionless and bleeding red and white blood from the chest.
Another Depraved had climbed up a nearby wall and was now jumping down towards Scarlet, but Scarlet once again met the Depraved's speed a punch it in the stomach with great force, she then quickly raised her other hand and clutched onto the depraved's neck in a inverted guillotine hold, before yanking the head of the depraved completely off its body and kicking the now headless corpse at the crowd opposite her.
"That's enough everyone" a voice called out from the darkness
The crowd of Depraved suddenly fell silent once more and like a ocean that had been parted by a deity they split to either side of the room forming a pathway, out of the shadows stepped a tall imposing figure, a man dressed in a white suit with a black buttoned up shirt and short black her was now staring down Scarlet with piercing blue eyes.
"its you.... Kane" Scarlet said with a look of recognition and anger in her eyes.
"were you expecting anyone else" Kane said with superiority in his voice
He raised his right hand up as if making some kind of speech "So tell me Scarlet what brings you a member of the Organization of the Six to my humble abode"
Clare drew both her Crimson Revolvers out of her trench coat and aimed them at Kane "..... Your life" she said coldly as she fired her dual revolvers at Kane's chest.
The bullets stuck Kane in the heart with pinpoint precision but shockingly Kane didn't even flinch and the wounds sustained by the gunshots almost immiedtly healed. Kane let out a sly chuckle as he ran his hands through his hair.
"My life..... well you are going to need to try a lot harder than that Scarlet" Kane said as though he was a god looking at a mere insect.
Scarlet reached behind to the back of her coat and pulled out a small Katana.
"Fine then ill just take your head" she yelled as she charged Kane.
out of the darkness and without warning a deafening scream resonated throughout the room as if traveling with the sound a mysterious female figure flew out of the darkness and met Scarlets charge with a vicious kick sending Scarlets sliding back.
The woman's eyes were glowing white, her dark purple hair flowing gracefully down her back, she wore a long black dress which cut off at the legs enabling athletic actions like the kick she had thrown. The woman was growling with rage
"Such Insolence how dare you harm Kane" The woman yelled with pure rage
Scarlet reeled back slightly before quickly regaining her composure.
"Who are you"
" Layla my love stay calm we must play nice with our guests" Kane's voice spoke with the unmistaken sense of affection for the woman standing beside him.
Layla's body calmed slightly at the sound of Kane's voice.
"Well Scarlet as you can see the odds here are not stacked in your favour so what is it you plan to do now" Kane said smugly
Scarlet grunted clutching onto her crimson revolvers tightly
*BOOM*
Suddenly the roof above them collapsed in a rain of debris and rubble, amidst the chaos was the figure of a pink haired woman falling through the air, she hit the ground perfectly. the figure slowly turned her head towards Scarlet.
"Should have known you couldn't have handled this on your own" The figure said
Scarlets face contorted in annoyance. "I never asked for your help... Iris"
Iris offered no response she simply turned her head towards Kane and Layla, drawing a large sword from its holster positioned on her back, the blade was glowing a distinct pink. " I think the odds are fair now 2 on 2"
Scarlet rushed at Kane once again as Iris set her sights on Layla, the 4 exchanged blows of punches, kicks, sword swipes and gun shots, no one seemed to be giving an inch. Scarlet managed to land a high kick catching Kane in the face, sending him reeling back a step, Scarlet seeing an opening swung her Katana at Kane's neck with great speed and precision.
"KANE LOOK OUT" Layla shouted in concern
Seeing her adversary distracted Iris span around quickly on her axis landing a spinning heel kick to the face of Layla sending her crashing into the ground with force.
"This is where you die wretch" Iris declared as she held her sword out in front of her, the sword's pink glow suddenly began pulsating and the light it gave off getting stronger and stronger with each second.
"Sakura Style FLOWING DEATH" Iris shouted as she took the sword in hand and swung it sideways, the light from the sword shot out like a laser heading laterally towards the neck of Layla.
"LAYLA NO!!!!!" Kane shouted his rage fuled his monstrous power, the entire room shook with tremendous force. He grabbed the Katana coming for his neck with his bear hands with a quick clench of his hand he snapped the sword in two, before Scarlet couldn't even react Kane grabbed her by the neck and threw her with one hand across the room, the force of the throw was so great Scarlet went straight through the wall on the otherside of the room.
"SCARLET" Clare who had been standing near the exit of the club to avoid the brutal fight shouted as she watched Scarlet go flying through the wall. she ran over to where the impact had struck in search of Scarlet.
Kane now rid of one of his adversaries moved in the blink of an eye to grab Layla before the pink laser which had been fired from Iris's sword could find its target. He looked down at the unconscious woman in his arms, tears began to form in his eyelids.
"This is not over....count on it" Kane declared before jumping out of a nearby window.
Iris watched the pair leave through the window before sheathing her blade. "Our next encounter will be your last"
Iris turned on her heels and looked over to the wall which now had a huge hole in it due to Scarlet impacting it earlier in the fight. in the mess of the rubble Scarlet was standing being shouldered by Clare.
"So you are travelling with a human, Scarlet you have a lot of explaining to do" Iris said looking in Scarlets direction.
"I know but not here and not now" Scarlet said weakly.
Clare lifted Scarlet up to steady her "we need to get her back to the hotel its in the middle of town we can treat her wounds there"
"You human..... why do you care so much about..... one of us" Iris asked
Clare shot a determined look back at Iris
"Scarlet saved my life i owe her for that..... also as much as Scarlet says she isn't human i can see how much she cares when she fights, she fights to keep people like me safe, she fights so we don't have to, she devotes her life to others and i intend to stand by her side and help her anyway i can"
******
On a nearby rooftop Kane sat on the edge of a ledge overlooking the streets below, Layla was now conscious and sitting next to him looking at him with a affectionate but confused look on her face.
"Kane.... you could have killed her that Scarlet but you didn't.... why?"
Kane lifted his head up and turned to look at Layla a small smile appeared on his face as his reach one hand up to touch Layla's face.
"i saw you were in trouble and i had to come to save you.... ill never let anything happen to you" after staring into Layla's eyes for a moment Kane leaned forward and gave her a small passion fuleld kiss.
"I love you Layla" He said lovingly
Layla smiled back at him
" I love you too dear"
She returned his kiss. |
Escape
Chapter 1: Test subject
Kei Fukushū
From the depths of nothing, light reached out to me, pleading for me to grab it with my hands. Behind my shivering shoulders, an elegant figure stood with her hands open in front of me, the mistress had brown hair similar to mine. I studied the woman with my eyes hoping to find out exactly who in the world she could have been. She observed my eyes stare at her dazzling gaze while saying words that couldn't be heard but only read.
"Kei... Wake up now." The omniscient woman gleed.
I jumped out of my uncomfortable bed, my hazel eyes opened quickly as goosebumps spread along my thin arms. A brown strand of my bangs landed on my bed with no blankets or pillow. I was covered in an expression of shock and confusion after an abnormal dream appeared in my sleep.
The state of my room was unbearable, green moss slept on my white walls and slowly expanded. The only mirror I had was completely shattered into pieces of cake. The wooden table which hasn't been cleaned for years emitted dust that danced in the cold air my room was enveloped in.
"Test subject 344 may you please proceed to the testing room, immediately. I repeat Test subject 344 may you please proceed to the testing room, immediately. " The robotic voice echoed across the large pentagon prison.
I began wandering toward the room, the hallways were filled with human guards who wore expensive blue and white striped attire packed with black weapons. The hallways were always uninhabited and lifeless. As I got closer, to my desired location, the guard who stood out near the glass automatic door, stared at me with his intimidating gaze, all I could do was look at the floor that reflected my face as I refused to make eye contact. The doors opened smoothly like the skin of an apple.
A blue orthodontic chair waited for my arrival. The robots around me moved their limbs, preparing their needed elegant equipment, as I walked towards the seat. I placed myself onto the chair, my head facing upwards towards the blank ceiling and my arms resting on the side of the blue seat. Suddenly a sharp needle pierced through my rough skin, my vision faded into darkness as the yellow liquid invaded my frail body.
3 hours later...
I was back in my atrocious room, my legs stretched across the unsettling bed I lay on. I stared deeply at the white ceiling above me. My brown 6ft portico door emitted a knocking noise, that spread along my small room. I jumped down from the top of my shaking bed and landed on the wooden floor, I dashed towards the door and was met with a man who stood 5'10, his medium-sized beard was the first thing my eyes laid upon, his livery which consisted of black weapons informed me more about the profound man.
Standing beside him was a child who was around my height, he had orange curly hair and a slim body. His eyes hid away from mine as the obscure man thrusts the boy into my dreadful room.
"Test subject 344, this child is your partner, teach him how to be loyal!" his glare shook my spine.
"Y-Yes, sir..." my eyes glared off, as the door in front of me shut closed.
My gaze laid upon the boy in a similar white gown like mine. I formed a smile on my face, as I tried to lighten the mood. The boy avoided my gaze as I studied the boy more, he had dazzling scarlet eyes that looked as though they were given to him by a god and he had thin arms and a scar that sent shivers down my throat, it looked like he was born with the large scar that's what I thought at least. My lips began stretching as I formed words in my head.
"Hey, are you hungry?" my concern evident in my facial expression.
A dull and unsettling silence filled the bedroom. I sighed as I tossed a piece of bread toward the boy who avoided my gaze. Unexpectedly the anonymous child caught the food in one swift motion. He gently cut the bread in half and began consuming the bread that he had caught using both hands. I hadn't expected any other sound moving forward but to my surprise, a soft voice echoed from the boy.
"Thanks..." his voice could barely be heard, but I knew what I had heard wasn't me going crazy.
I nodded in reply. My roommate soon finished absorbing the energy he needed and quickly placed himself under my bed and I did the same as I realized what time it was. I positioned my body to face the white blank ceiling as I asked the boy a question that has been laying in my head from the first time we met.
"Hey... what's your name" I asked my partner who was crawling up like a ball.
"Aka..." the voice remained soft and low.
"It's nice to meet you! Aka. I have never once had a friend, so why not you become my first?"I asked with a desperate expression on my face, luckily he hadn't seen it.
"Sure" his soft and low voice made me want to know more about my new friend.
we both drifted off to sleep and a smile washed over my face. I slept in peace for the first time in 15 years.
------------------------------------
My eyes slowly opened up like a baby opening its eyes for the first time. My mouth opened up as I yawned while turning my head to the right side to recall what time it was, thank goodness I woke up early, or else I would've been in trouble, big trouble.
I stared out my bedroom window as the sun greeted me a good morning while it rose from its slumber. I climbed down from my bed to see the sleeping curly-haired boy who slept like a baby... literally.
My eyes began scanning the boy's complexion, his hair looked very messy and made him look very funny in his sleep, and his eyes were filled with sleep crust. I moved my arms toward the boy's shoulders and began shaking him in an attempt to wake him from his shuteye.
"Wake up! It's time to eat breakfast!" I said in a normal voice, trying not to grab the attention of the guards roaming around outside my room.
Luckily the boy momentarily awoke from his sleep. He leaned against the wall, with his arms hugging his legs he had a shy expression but his scarlet eyes finally noticed me.
"Okay..." Aka said with a low voice.
A smile crept on my face, I was glad that the boy finally got some sort of courage to look at me. I stood up and reached out to the boy with my tough hands as if I were offering him aid.
"Let's go, shall we?" I said to the shy boy as he grabbed my tough hand with a bit of hesitation.
We exited my hell-like room and headed to the elevator which was luckily very close to my room. The guards had already begun glancing at me with disgust and unacceptance. My gaze was focused on the foundation of the building as one of the female guards approached us.
Aka used me as a shield and hid behind me in fear, he clenched my gown with his hands shaking viciously. My gaze looked avoided the strict women's unmatched gaze, her mouth began opening to form words
"Where are you two off to? may I join you?" the woman with a built-up figure spoke.
end |
"Princess, you mustn't. We haven't even started your magic-control lessons yet!"
"Look. It's
because
I'm the princess that I
must
leave. Earth can't defend itself." Lacia slammed the book in her hand shut. The smell of old paper filled her nostrils. "We don't have
time
to start from square one and I'm not enrolling in some academy so I can take
more
notes that I was never good at taking in the first place."
"Kilhan really won't be happy if you leave."
Lacia sighed. "Look, I appreciate the wonderful care you and the other maids have given me, but I really can't stay. Kilhan will understand, trust me."
A series of knocks came at the door. Kilhan stood in the frame, unamused. He must've overheard Lacia's entire conversation, though he made no moves to sway her one or the other.
"You're a young woman now and can make your own decisions, so I won't say you aren't allowed to leave, but listen to me carefully, Lacia." Kilhan's eyes shone with worry. "It's not that I'm concerned about Earth, I am, but I have a duty to protect you and promise to keep to your mother. If I let you run out there unprepared, Eaukea would haunt me from the grave."
"My mother isn't here right now—"
"All the more reason you should wait. No one is forcing you to perform four years' worth of coursework and magic instruction in less than a month. In theory, you've accomplished more than what we can teach you, but that's why we must teach you
how
to use it." Kilhan was firm, but not unswayable.
Lacia placed her hand on her chest. "This is
my
fight and I have to carry on where my mother left off. Just because she's not here doesn't mean I don't still love her, but it's
because
she's not here that I have to go."
"I won't stop you, but there's someone you need to meet first. Unfortunately, she hasn't been around for quite some time. However," he pulled a photo from a side pocket, "I'd like you to take a look at this picture and tell me if you know this girl or not, first."
Kilhan handed Lacia a photo of two little girls. She recognized herself, sitting along the edge of a riverbank, a light blue ribbon tied up in her hair. The other girl looked as if she was trying to fight Lacia for the same ribbon, but she just sat there, grinning like everything was under control. The only semi-recognizable feature about the other girl was her hair, but hair color alone wasn't even enough for an educated guess.
Lacia shook her head. "I don't recognize her, sorry."
"Infuse a little of your mana into the photo and then tell me whether you recognize her or not. If you're truly set on leaving, you need to know who
she
is." Lacia looked hesitant. "All you have to do is close your eyes. Imagine your mana flowing into the picture, like a river."
"Well, there's no harm in trying if this is truly that important." She scooted her chair out from the desk and immediately engorged herself among the red silken sheets and throw pillows of her bed. She closed her eyes as she held the photo between her hands. Her mana flowed seamlessly into the image.
She opened her eyes, frustrated, but she soon realized she was no longer in her room, though a familiar sense flooded her body. "I've been here before," she said, nostalgic.
A sudden emergence of light startled her, but it was just the sunrise. Beams of fresh light illuminated a row of wooden cabins. Fresh morning dew dripped off the logs. The smell of wet grass greeted her as it glistened in the morning sun like a freshly cut diamond.
Birds began their morning chorus as if perfectly synced with the rise and fall of the sun itself, eager to get a head start on their morning meal. It was peaceful, a stark contrast to what her reality had been lately. She shuddered, not from unease, but the cold morning mist that crept onto the camp like an unseen thief, out to steal the warming presence of the sun. Shuddering, she grabbed her arms, palms brushing every miniscule goosebump as she desperately tried to warm herself.
"Hold on— I'm
cold
." She made her way to the front of the nearest cabin, trying to see through the moisture laden windows, hoping for a warmer environment. Her knuckles gave the door a small knock. No answer. She tried again, a little louder. Still nothing. She grabbed the door handle. "Don't say I didn't knock first..."
Surprisingly, the cabin was devoid of any human presence. Blankets and sheets were perfectly folded in the center of each bunk, wooden chairs were pushed in, and the sink looked as if it hadn't been used in weeks, but for some reason, the cabin was pleasantly warm. She stood in silence. The silence and warmth filled her with content, but she still felt awkward—it was too quiet.
She stepped onto the porch, bothered by the eerie lack of human presence, but then again, actually getting
away
from people was nice too, she supposed. She turned around to take one last look at the cabin before coming face to face with three agonizingly familiar numbers: 009.
"Cabin number 009— Yeah, that's not creepy at all. Glad the doors didn't magically lock me in there or something creepy like that," she mumbled. "What do I have to do to erase those memories of the ship?"
The remainder of the cabins were in nearly the same condition as the first: tidy, unused, and warm. Before exiting the final cabin, a piece of paper floated to the floor at her feet. A sharp pain erupted across her forehead as she picked it up. She sat down on the couch, examining the blotched ink.
"It's a list of all the campers per cabin." She scanned the list. "Cabin 009... Lacia Amana: Camper No. 009." She crumpled the paper up and threw it across the room. "Ok— I've officially had enough of this." Her head felt like it was on fire as she stood up. "Dammit... There's gotta be something here for pain relief, right?" She rummaged through the cabinets before finding a bottle of pain relivers and herbal tea.
Everything was right where it should be: the kettle, sugar cubes, even fresh milk. The more she dug around, the less she wanted to find—she felt like she was being watched. She sat back down on the couch. Having brewed a cup of tea, she read over the list once more. One name in particular stood out, but the ink had been smudged making the camper's last name illegible.
"Lyra. I wonder if this is the same girl I met back in Chiipha... When I really think about it—"
The front door slammed open causing Lacia to spill hot tea across her lap. She jumped up, aggravating her headache. Her head suddenly grew fuzzy, and her ears buzzed as she fell back onto the table, splintering the wood. The ensuing pain cleared her mind just enough for her to realize the devils had been tipped off.
The rough scratch of rope burned irritating red rashes into her skin. She was helpless, crumpled on the floor in agony. Frustration filled her like a rage as she felt articles of clothing ripped from her body.
"I don't see it. Should we just take her with us?" A male voice spoke.
"No. If there are no runes on her body at all, then she's not a true Illiern and we've been chasing the wrong person this whole time." Another voice replied.
"So, what do we do with her then?"
There was a momentary pause. Lacia took advantage of it. The underside of the table was made of glass; all she had to do was find a big enough piece to—
"Unf!" A firm kick had been planted into Lacia's side, winding her as she gasped for air. It all felt like a dream: half-awake, barely conscious. She could hardly differentiate between physical and mental pain.
"Watch it. Ahzef told us to be careful. He wants her in pristine condition and your kicking her that hard probably broke a couple ribs."
Lacia feigned unconsciousness. She allowed her breathing to steady, carefully listening in on the conversation of the two individuals, still squabbling.
"She looks the
exact
same as the picture Ahzef gave us, though. How can you be certain that she
isn't
who we're after?" The first voice had grown uncertain.
"Because there isn't a single rune on her body. Obviously, we can't have word of this getting out to anyone, so we'll just throw her in the lake." The second voice was decisive.
Lacia's heart skipped a beat as the two individuals picked her up. She'd panned for this, barely, but if she moved too early, she'd blow her only chance at escape. The picture Kilhan gave her was pinned to her thigh.
"
Thank God for garters
," she thought.
Just a single finger was all she had to do was make contact with the photo. It was only a theory, but she assumed the photo had something to do with why she was at the camp.
"
All of this teleporting to different places is growing old
."
Her eyes remained closed, but she allowed her arms to lay across her body, slowly inching her bound wrists towards the picture. The person holding her upper body adjusted their grip, jolting Lacia's arms from their place atop her body. Luckily, the unsteady motion widened the slit of her dress, exposing the picture that was pinned to her thigh—the opportunity she'd been waiting for.
"This one can use magic, so make sure you finish the job," the second spoke. "If we just throw her in and leave, she might still get away."
The two individuals stopped moving. Lacia could hear water lapping against the shoreline as anxiety ran through her veins. Was this the dream she used to have? About drowning? If her hunch was wrong, was she doomed to a watery grave after all?
"Use this neriolite. We don't know why, but it seems to have a negative effect on her. Secure it to her body and it should ensure she drowns successfully."
"Understood," the first voice said nervously. Were they having second thoughts about drowning her?
Lacia felt her back hit the ground. "
God, I hope these useless crunches we used to do in P.E. come in clutch.
" She arched her legs as she lunged forward, trying to pull herself close enough to reach the photo.
A sudden sharp pain tore through her hand and leg. Blood flowed from fresh wounds, however she managed to make successful contact with the photo, funneling her mana through the blood-stained image. The world began to morph into an image of her room. She was so close she could almost reach out and touch it.
"
More,
" she demanded. "
More.
"
She took a deep breath... of water. Her eyes flew open. There, at the shoreline, stood the two individuals. They'd thrown her in without hesitation. Air bubbles slowly filtered to the surface as the morning light faded to watery darkness, ensuring her worst nightmares. She tried to kick with her legs, but it was no use. Even without the neriolite, she was fated to drown in this lake, unable to free her arms or legs.
The deeper she sank, the colder the water became. Her lungs screamed at her, but what little oxygen remained was of no use and she didn't have gills. The more air she lost, the faster she sank until she hit the lakebed, expelling the last of the oxygen in her lungs. How could water be such a giver of life, yet such a deadly force?
There was no use in struggling, but if there was even the slightest chance she could potentially free herself, it was worth a shot. She rubbed her arms and legs raw between the rugged bindings, but the rope remained resilient and unwavering.
"
Dammit, Lacia, think! There has to be something I'm missing here...
"
A gargled static played in her head: "
La...c... can... hear ...e ?"
"
That sounded like Licht, but how
?"
A large bubble grew to displace the water around her as it filled with oxygen. A clean pocket of breathable air. But how? She mashed her knees into the muddy earth as she struggled with her binds. Water forced its way from her lungs, seizing her in a coughing fit.
"
There we go. Now I have a clear signal!
" It
was
him!
A small vibration tickled the back of Lacia's hand startling her before she recalled the Leyliner. Never in her wildest dreams did she think he would be the one saving her—much less with a device that hadn't been used in over two years.
"Licht," she croaked, "how the hell did you find me? I thought I was about to drown. I've had nightmares about this kind of thing!" She squirmed into a sitting position. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to be able to cut these ropes, would you?"
"It's not that I didn't know where you were; it's that I couldn't get a strong-enough signal to reach you." Lacia's binds snapped as they fell into the mud. "I don't know where you went, but when you appeared on the Leyliner again I knew I had to find you," he continued.
She rubbed her wrists where the rope dug into her skin. "Let me be more specific: How did you know I was drowning and where this place was?" She paused. "Actually,
where
is this place and what happened to that neriolite...?"
"Can't say. I've yet to see one. As for the Leyliner, it's always sampling the environment around it, so when it was suddenly submerged in water, I deployed a small mana field to create a pocket of air," he explained. "I don't know where we are, but something tells me, with a better look,
you
will. Though, the environment itself is almost surreal."
"Maybe, but," Lacia stood up as she examined the wall of water around the bubble, "there's a
lot
you'll be explaining later. For now... How do we get out of here?"
"The same way you went in."
She looked up, wondering how deep she was. It had taken at least a couple of minutes to hit the bottom. Swimming back to the surface might kill her even faster—she would have to expend more energy as she considered the stab wound in her hand and leg.
"I'll have to try and heal it when I get out of here," she mumbled. "Can—"
Without warning, the air bubble lifted her from the mud as it slowly ascended to the surface. A school of fish swam around her as she peered through the transparent pocket of air.
Moments later, she broke the surface. Water slid off the sides of the bubble before it abruptly popped, depositing Lacia back onto the rocky shoreline, wincing as she landed on her tailbone.
"Fair warning, this version has a bug that can read your thoughts. Be careful what you think while you have this line open," Licht warned.
"Normally I'd hit someone for saying something creepy like that, but you just saved my life, so I guess I can't be
too
upset." She looked around, nervously scouting the camp for her attempted killers but they were nowhere to be seen. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
The sun had moved to the center of the sky indicating it was already afternoon. How long had she been in the water? It was early morning when she found herself at the camp; she was tied up not thirty minutes later. How had so much time passed? If that were truly the case, shouldn't she have drowned hours ago?
"Licht. What time is it?"
"A quarter to ten, why?"
A set of chills ran down Lacia's spine. It was still morning, like she thought, but the angle of the sun was too high for it not even being ten.
"Ahzef sent me to another world, another dimension, like ours. While I was there, I watched as the sun was devoured and the moon crumbled into dust. Ahzef doesn't want to just
change
the world—he wants to destroy it and rewrite it." Lacia wrung the water from the skirt of her dress before finishing. "This
world," she emphasized, "is next on his list and we're running out of time—fast."
"How far are you from Seria? We need to regroup and then find the others if what you're saying is true."
"I'm still not sure where I— Actually..."
The rusted remains of an old metal sign glinted in the sunlight. She pushed aside the tall grass to find the sign half-buried in the earth.
"Camp Solsummer," she read aloud.
"Got it. Stay put until I get there. If you're out in the open, you could be an easy target for the devils."
"I feel like making a run to the convenience store, to be honest. Maybe I'll find Ahzef there while I'm paying for my snacks," she said sarcastically.
"Do you tease everyone like this, or...?"
"Seeing as you're the only one I
can
tease at the moment, just you."
Loud shouting echoed from across the lake and by the sounds of things, someone wasn't in a very good mood. Lacia crouched down in a patch of tall grass as she listened to the ensuing loud shouts. Who knew she could use a dress as a form of camouflage?
"I think you jinxed me," she whispered. "Someone's fighting on the other side of the lake and they're super mad. Any way you can enhance my hearing with this thing, too?"
One small
click
from the Leyliner later and Lacia had the hearing of a bat. There were multiple voices, not just one, she realized, and it sounded like one of them was on the defense.
"We stuck around for twenty minutes to make sure she didn't come back up. We even tied her hands and feet. Besides, if there's no blood trail anywhere, how do we really even know she got away and we just didn't see her corpse?"
The first voice began to shout again. "I explicitly warned you two fools that she was no ordinary girl and to keep an eye on her. Dead
or
alive!"
"We'll go back in and look again. We just must've missed 'er," a third voice said.
"You do that and when you come back up, explain to me why there's a giant wet spot over on the other end of the lake that's about the size of a human girl."
"Licht," Lacia whispered, softer this time, "there's three other people here. Two of them are the ones who threw me in the water. The third I'm almost certain is Ahzef."
"I'm almost there and I've got the car. I'll idle at the entrance to the camp. Try to make your way there as best you can."
"Understood. I'll meet you at the front then."
The two men and Ahzef were still quarrelling. Good. The tall grass and thick weeds would help conceal her from their sight and dampen the sound of her footsteps. She crawled through on her hands and knees until she reached the closest cabin. Once there, she'd make a beeline toward Licht, hopefully waiting for her.
"Tell you what, you two can join her supposed overlooked corpse at the bottom of the lake. In fact, I'll even give you an assist," Ahzef said.
A series of loud splashes broke the composure of the water's surface. Lacia turned around as she watched the bodies of her attempted killers hit the water... piece by piece.
"If you want a job done, you have to do it yourself, I guess. Isn't that right, Lacia?" the devil shouted.
"
Why mention me specifically? I don't kill people when they get something wrong.
" If she could bottle up her thoughts and put them on display, she'd label it
Lacia's Cynical Thoughts
.
"Did you forget my little insurance policy? Tell me, Lacia, where is it that you think you can hide?"
She approached the backside of the nearest cabin, out of sight of the waterfront
and
Ahzef. The front of the camp was just up ahead, though it looked like Licht hadn't arrived yet and there were no signs of any approaching vehicles. She couldn't outrun Ahzef forever and she was a sitting duck without him.
"Licht, where are you? I'm nearly to the entrance gates," she hissed.
"Sorry— Had to make a detour. I'm still a couple minutes out."
"A couple minutes is a couple minutes too long and I have a funny feeling Ahzef won't take the long way around, either."
"Keep moving, Lacia. If I stop the car and he hears, he's going to know we
are
here." His voice was stern. "I can slow down, but you're going to have to jump in. If you miss—"
"Have I told you what happens if
you
miss? We all die. That's what happens."
She snuck past several other cabins, finally reaching the front entrance of the camp. She knew Licht wouldn't drive off without her, but if she missed the car, she would lose precious time. If Ahzef knew she was still in the vicinity, there'd be hell to pay, and she'd be paying it.
"I didn't get to use my other toys against you during my fight with Hika. I wonder how she's doing now, considering I nearly stole all of her life."
Ignoring the devil's taunts, Lacia hid herself behind a tree closest to the road as she waited for Licht. She watched in horror as Ahzef began to seamlessly cross the lake, but what frightened her most wasn't that he could walk on water—it was the simultaneous, disjointed bending of two boney fingers.
"Let me hear you scream, girl. If I can't contain you, then I'll just kill you and steal that lovely little gift of yours that way."
Lacia watched as Ahzef's fingers dragged against the palm of his hand, but nothing happened. She felt herself up and down. No cuts or bruises and no blood. Was she just immune to his attacks now or was he only able to use his "insurance policy" within a certain range?
The hum of an approaching car instilled Lacia with the single-biggest ounce of hope she'd had since waking up. She would jump in and tell Licht to gun it; that she wanted to be as far away from this god-forsaken place as possible. She watched as the vehicle began to slow, passenger doors flying open.
"It's certainly no carriage, but it'll have to do.
This
princess is
not
about to be locked up for a third time." She sprinted to the car. "I guess Ahzef bought the knockoff insurance because it's clearly not working," she surmised.
She could see Licht in the driver's seat, motioning for her to hurry, but what was that look of panic on his face and... was he mouthing something?
"Don't... turn... around?" she mouthed back.
He nodded fervently.
A sharp sting shot through her ankles, causing her to stumble mid-sprint. Something dark and shapeless shot up a nearby tree as the leaves began to brown and the trunk rotted away. It fell across the path behind her, barely missing her entirely. Ahzef really
was
intent on killing her and he wasn't looking to take no for an answer again.
Despite her stumble, she was parallel with the car but not close enough to make the jump, ultimately causing her to miss the car by a mere inch. Her hand swiped at the swinging doors, hoping to grab one, but all she caught was a cloud of dust and gravel to the face.
"Dammit!" she shouted. "That's what you were going for then, huh? By causing me to stumble, I lost just the right amount of time!" There was no use in trying to hide. Ahzef had known she was still on the camp's grounds.
"Perceptive as always, Lacia!" Ahzef shouted back. "Last chance: come with me or rot away like that tree."
"I'd honestly rather try my luck at making friends with a Yeti, but thanks for the offer anyway," she yelled. "Now, how the hell am I—" Squealing tires and burning rubber filled her senses. "That idiot. He turned around, but I won't miss this time."
"Then I won't either," the devil leered. He pulled the string of a makeshift bow, firing another decaying black mass at Lacia—faster than she could blink.
She watched as the world seemed to move in slow motion. The string on Ahzef's bow vibrated, returning to its taught state. Even the trees seemed to sway slower than normal, steadily rocking back and forth like a hypnotic dream.
The decaying mass flew by in a blur, grazing Lacia's cheek as it passed. Panic quickly set in. It was just a graze, but how much damage would it do? Would her flesh start to rot away like the tree? Her cheek erupted in a flurry of blisters and searing pain. She wailed in torment.
Tears streamed down her face, but she mustered up the courage to sear the rotting flesh away. The pain was agonizing as she cauterized her own cheek, hardly able to remain conscious. Her knees slammed into the dirt and gravel beneath her feet.
"We could have avoided all of this, but I'll have you, either way. It's too bad I have to kill you now." Ahzef's voice rose from behind her.
Lacia's hair fell in front of her face as she stared at the ground. She fought to keep her focus, but her voice was dreadfully cold. "Not only did you destroy my makeup, but you also forced me to tear my own face up in the process," she grumbled. "I'm not some fragile—"
"It's true you have a wonderfully pretty face," Ahzef said, lifting her up from the neck, "but that won't matter once you're dead, now, will it? Just think: no more fighting, no more suffering; you won't have to worry about a thing."
Lacia struggled to free herself only for the devil to tighten his grip. "You won't gain anything from my death," she choked, "but by all means—sabotage your own plans."
Azhef tightened his grip further. "I'll crush your throat right here and now. Don't tempt me, girl."
She caught something scurrying around in the underbrush through her peripherals. She knew better than to draw attention to it or she'd put Licht's life at risk as well. "
You idiot
," she thought.
"Before I kill you, why don't you tell me how I can find this so-called "Omnis" and the second Halipher. If you do that, I'll be merciful and kill you quickly. Deal?"
"I don't know what you're... talking about," she struggled. "I didn't have access to the last Halipher anyways. Aria—"
"Wrong answer."
"But it's the tr—"
A sucker punch to the gut knocked the wind out of her, and Ahzef's grip was too strong for her to recover her breath. "Those are beautiful nails you have. The polish looks expensive, too. It'd be a shame if one were to get pulled off."
Lacia's eyes widened. She didn't want to imagine the torture of having her fingernails pulled off. The cheek was one thing but having to endure her own fingernails pulled from their beds was another.
She stared into Ahzef's eyes, still watching Licht work from the corners of her own. There was an open wound on his hand, and it looked as if the blood had been smeared, like it was being used for something. What was that boy up to?
He stayed low, using the underbrush and trees to keep himself hidden. The leyliner must have been reading her thoughts after all considering Licht was also scurrying around in the dirt. Without warning, his head rose above the grass as he gave Lacia a quick thumbs up.
"
A thumbs up?
" she thought. "
I'm about to asphyxiate and he's popping his head up in the grass like some safari animal.
"
"Any last words, Miss Amana?"
"That's... not my name."
Licht snapped his fingers, illuminating a series of red sigils. Some took on a honeycomb pattern while others resembled triangles laid out in the shape of a star. Each glowed with the intensity of a large flame as they grew increasingly luminescent, bleaching everything in fierce white light.
"I've been hoping to practice my magic a little more. After all, I had two years to hone my skills," Licht stated. For a moment even Ahzef was stunned by his situational command. "Hope you won't mind if I learned a few tricks from a certain someone." He smiled.
Ahzef hurled Lacia like a baseball before centering his wrath on Licht who was nowhere to be seen. "Aghh! Why does it keep getting brighter?!" the devil snarled. "As soon as I find you, I'm going to cut you into pieces in front of your friend here! I'll finish what those two idiots couldn't. How about that?"
"Actually, she's right here." Licht stood behind Ahzef, Lacia cradled in his arms. "I mean, if you want her that bad, I guess I could just hand her over. Here— Catch!"
"H-hey! Don't just give me up like this," she yelled. "If Ahzef doesn't kill you, you better hope
I
don't."
The devil stood there, remarkably confused by the sudden turn of events. He caught Lacia as Licht disappeared in a literal flash. Or was he just incredibly
fast
?
"So, uhh, how about
not
killing me—"
"Out of the question," Ahzef said, breaking one of Lacia's pinkies. "I will not play this stupid game of tag you keep engaging me in, but
you
will play one of my favorite games: how many bones can I break before the heroine dies?" He continued, one finger after the other.
Ahzef tapped on Lacia's now post-broken foot. "Tell me, does it hurt when I do this?" He twirled a finger around in a circle; Lacia's foot followed.
"Mmm!!" There were no words for the kind of pain that shot straight through her body. Her spine tingled and chills raced through her body like an electric current. "
Licht is so dead when I find him
," she thought.
"Hey, devil man. You can't just go around breaking people's bones like that, ya know?" He stood by the road, placing Lacia into the backseat of the car. "Oh, and I'm taking her with me this time. Thanks for holding onto her for me!"
Lacia blinked in bewilderment. "Huh?"
"Oh, and some parting words for you:
Voxillumisaru
."
The sigils burst into an array of dazzling white and midnight black as a series of lines swept across the ground, connecting each sigil to its nearest neighbor. They chased each other through the trees and into the underbrush as they turned everything into a surrealistic version of a video game. Everything began to devolve into a game world, full of nothing that offered only solitude.
Ahzef's form dissipated into a bony shadow-figure as he tried to claw away the enclosure, but it rebuilt itself faster than it could be torn apart. "You're the next one I kill after the girl, boy," the devil warned.
Shivers bristled Licht's spine. "He won't be leaving for a while. It won't last forever, but it should buy us some time," he explained to Lacia. "I'm sorry about the fingers and foot. I truly regret not thinking this out more and that you got hurt in the process." He clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "Please forgive me!"
Lacia's good cheek reddened slightly. It was embarrassing, going from protector to protected. She still stood zero chance against Ahzef and it felt like every move she made she took two steps back in the process. What would it take to finally put her best foot forward?
"Just... drive," she said, turning her head away. "I want to get as far from this place as possible. For more reasons than one."
Licht nodded. They didn't have to exchange words to know what the other was thinking. The leyliner had purposefully been disconnected to give Lacia as much time with her thoughts as possible. The mood didn't seem despondent, though. It was more like a sense of acknowledgement, but uncertainty as how to come to terms with it.
"We'll head for Buunit. Seria has become too centralized. Buunit is, well, it hasn't changed since Mana and Brendan left. It'll make us hard to track, especially if you're able to suppress your mana." Lacia raised an eyebrow. "I'll explain once we're all together again, but for now, two years was put to good use."
She sighed. "I trust you, Licht and I don't blame you for what happened back at the camp." The road was a blur of asphalt and yellow stripes as road noise filled the car. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. The only person who can explain all of this isn't here and I don't know where to find her."
The outskirts of Seria came into view, sprawling across the landscape. Lacia was glued to the window as she took in the enormity of the architecture. Licht surmised she'd never been to the city before, considering the small community that Azalea was, there wasn't much reason to ever leave. If anything, Seria was more like a symbol of growth and change, something that went beyond the here and now.
A light blanket of snow had begun to coat the roadways as the car sped north. It was strange, he thought, being in the same car as the girl who was the supposed catalyst for world-altering events and the reason he found himself entangled in the threads of fate and chaos. The falling snow was an eerie reminder of that. After Brendan and Mana left to find Lacia, he couldn't help but stand there and watch as their silhouettes faded into the endless night and blanket of white. For the first time in his life, he'd felt truly alone.
Having Lacia with him
was
a tad awkward, but if she truly was the key to everything, it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get to know her. What did a little small talk ever hurt, anyways?
Lacia caught his eye in the rearview mirror and gave him a small laugh which she immediately regretted. She was tired of broken bones—again. "Either we play childish car games, or we get to know each other. Is that what you're thinking?"
"You got me. It's a long drive to Buunit anyways. I'll fill you in on some of the in-betweens before Ahzef attacked us back at the Gila border, too. What do you say?"
"Well, I'm sitting here with three aching fingers and a broken foot, again, and Aria is the only one who can use powerful-enough healing magic, so... help me take my mind off things?"
"Okay." He took a deep breath. "My name is Licht Hinaar and it's nice to meet you, Miss—"
"Ook. Stop right there," Lacia giggled. "While it's nice having your last name, we
definitely
don't have to start from scratch."
The remaining fringes of sunlight gently caressed the back windshield, warming Lacia's back and neck as the two carried on in conversation. What had been a trial of a day gradually turned into something neither Licht nor Lacia had expected, but it was nice. The presence of the other was the one thing keeping them going.
"
Thank you
." |
"Home... What does that even mean anymore?" Life had dealt Mana one blow after the other. She'd lost Lacia early on in their journey as it quickly became one of the darkest periods of her life. Their brief reunification had reignited the passion she had for Lacia, but she couldn't escape the icy undertow of the tide as she watched Lacia and Aria summon a supernova of light and heat that incinerated everything in its path.
Regardless, her reckless abandonment couldn't be tamed. She lept back through the interdimensional doors, immediately greeted by blistering heat and searing pain. Stupidity would only set her and Brendan back, but it was impossible to convince her that she was the one who wasn't thinking straight.
She sighed. "I don't know. I thought what I was doing was the right thing, but now I'm not so sure."
Clouds morphed into different shapes before warping through a glass-like crack in the sky, eventually exiting out another. There wasn't much difference between the grassy plain she'd landed on and Earth, but nothing could compare to actual home. The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Some days she felt happy and ready to take on the world and others she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. More than anything though, she just wanted someone to hold her and tell her everything would be ok, that they'd figure it out—together.
Grass tickled her back as she gazed up at the endless sky. She reached out a hand, closing her fist around the halo of the sun before letting it fall back onto the grassy terrain. She removed her hand, watching as the tiny green blades straightened themselves back out.
"I hate it here. There's no one around for miles, I have no cell-signal, and Brendan won't stop playing that damn 'guitar' he made." A warm breeze blew through Mana's honey-blonde hair. Its length was testament not only to
its
growth, but her growth as a person. It wasn't that she couldn't find a way to cut her own hair, she just didn't care. A rush of wind swept it up into the sun's rays before finally settling against the midsection of her back again.
"Heeey, Mana," Brendan shouted, "lunch is almost ready so come in for a while. Besides, you might want to be here for this."
Intrigued, she stood up and brushed herself off before heading back to camp. They'd found an abandoned RV as soon as they arrived and were shocked to find it fully-furnished—a small amount of food had also been left. Beds were neatly made and pillows were aligned against the headboards, ready to comfort the next person who laid their head upon them. It seemed eerily coincidental that a fully-furnished RV with food would just be sitting there, waiting for them. Brendan had tried to argue that the owners might eventually return, but the thick layer of dust that lined the countertops made Mana think otherwise.
She stopped at the base of a small hill where two makeshift gravemarkers had been erected in Aria and Lacia's honor. She knew it was pointless, but she would ask anyway:
"Do you think they're still alive? Out there somewhere, in a place we don't even know about?" She would receive the same reply in response:
"I don't know, Mana. I wish I could tell you they're safe and everything is going to be alright, but I can't promise you what I don't know," Brendan would say.
She knelt down before the gravemarkers, placing one hand on top of each. Talking to empty graves didn't do much good, but it at least made her feel a little less alone. "Well, it's been two years as of today. I don't know what we're doing anymore and it seems like we struggle a little more everyday just to get by." She paused, half-expecting Lacia's voice to come out of nowhere, telling her it was going to be ok, but the only voices came from the trees in the wind. "Brendan's been a good sport and has really opened up to me since your fight with Ahzef—"
"Mana, are you coming?" Brendan shouted from the windows of the RV.
"Duty calls," she said with a weak smile. She kissed two fingers and lightly tapped them against Aria and Lacia's gravemarkers. "I hope this is good news," she whispered. "Please be with me, Lacia. Aria, please grant me your courage to make it through these long, drawn-out days." She stood up and turned to face the RV. "I'm on my way Brendan, relax. It's not like we have somewhere to be."
"You're kidding me," Mana said. A look of shock crossed her face. "You knew Lacia?!"
"She wasn't here long, but in the time she was, she was so genuine," a female voice spoke. "I'd never met someone like her before." A large cloak obscured much of the girl's face, but Mana could tell she was telling the truth.
"Can you tell us anything about what she was doing while she was here? We got a little short-changed on the details. She has a tendency to get along really well with other girls her age though, so I'm not surprised she opened up to you."
"And feel free to remove the cloak. We'd like to get to know you better, especially since you knew Lacia," Brendan spoke up.
The girl removed her hood as medium waves of brunette hair fell across her forehead. "My name is Lyra. I wouldn't say we were on terms like you three are, but..." She stood up, pulling off the rest of the cloak. "Ughh! This thing is so stuffy! Anyways, Lacia was very kind, but we were attacked by someone and she ended up with an arrow in her side which is when she just kind of... disappeared." She fanned herself with her hands. "Is she here now? With the two of you?" Mana and Brendan exchanged nervous glances. "Oh, I see. We don't have to talk about this now."
"It's fine. Besides, I think I can explain," Brendan said. His blonde hair turned to gold under the interior lights as he rummaged through a small cabinet. He placed a pen and paper on the table in front of Mana and Lyra. "This," he said, tapping on a circled sentence that read
You Are Here
, "is your world, Lyra." He pointed at another circle that read
Alura
. "
This
is where we're from, our home country. Underneath both of these worlds is a place called—"
"The Reverse World," Lyra spoke softly. "Are you saying that because of the interdimensional shifts we've been experiencing, it's allowing travel between our two worlds?"
"I do," Brendan affirmed. "There was someone else with us—Aria. She got caught up with Lacia trying to fight Ahzef. Somehow, we all managed to get the door to
this
world open just in time, but Mana and I were the only ones who made it through."
"I knew it was
possible
to travel between dimensions, but I can't believe you came face to face with Ahzef and lived.
My
hunch is that he's trying to merge our worlds together which would explain the odd rifts in the sky, too." Lyra turned to look at Mana with tired brown eyes. "And you've been to see Omnis, haven't you? Your magical energy is so pure."
"Uhh, yeah. Once or twice. Why do you ask?"
Lyra focused her attention on Mana. "Well, let's just say we knew you were coming. While Lacia was here, she met
you
. What she didn't know was that she was subconsciously manifesting her desires, but for a person to be in two separate dimensions at the same time—"
"They have to have been given a Halifer, right?" Mana queried.
"Not quite. Halifers are only a small part of the equation. Your prior existence in this world is theoretically possible, yes, but that's only if Lacia held a power we call
Mahiruma
—a power that allows the wielder to split their consciousness." Lyra opened her mouth as if to say something, but Mana had already caught on.
"So how was she able to split an entire other person's consciousness?
Mine
."
Lyra shook her head. "Not even I know the secrets behind those that wield
Mahiruma
, but there's a few old legends that describe something like this."
Brendan placed the pen down on the table. A short list of bulleted points ran down the page. "Alright, so... We believe Ahzef is responsible for the interdimensional shifts, but this isn't for certain. Lacia's ability to split her consciousness is theoretically possible, but not how she created an
artificial
consciousness, and from my understanding," he paused, making eye contact with Lyra, "you are also aware of the Halifers and Omnis."
Lyra nodded. "I guess there are still more mysteries than answers, huh? I wish I could be of more help. Sorry," she said glumly, "but what I
can
do is at least tell you the name of this world." She stood up and gestured out the window. "Welcome to Chiipha," Lyra said, flashing a bright smile.
"Chiipha... It's kind of cute," Mana giggled. "Don't be sorry, though. You've been a great help." She gave Lyra a smile of her own. "What I want to know now is why you were alone. And why the cloak?"
The sudden symphony of insects signaled the arrival of early evening as the sun's rays began their descent upon another day. Clouds turned the color of rust. They'd occasionally find themselves in heaps of giant orange fluff as they floated through the various rifts.
Mana couldn't shake the feeling of a certain uncomfortableness despite having grown used to Chiipha. She sensed the same uncomfortableness in Lyra, but maybe it was just her own paranoia. If Lacia and Aria had defeated Ahzef, then why did she still feel so uneasy?
"Actually, we can totally discuss this later. Why don't you stay here for the night? I'd love to hear more about this world and what you were doing out there, wandering alone," Mana said, offering hospitality to yet another stranger. "
What is it with me and letting everyone into the place I live?"
she thought.
"That sounds nice. I'd feel much more comfortable being around you two than spending another night wandering in the dark." Lyra's voice was tired and her muscles were tense. Several small cuts and bruises dotted her arms and legs. A larger cut across her cheek mired her flawless complexion. "Please let me know what I can do to help. I fully intend to pull my—"
"No ma'am. You sit right there and Brendan and I will have dinner cooked up shortly. Feel free to use the shower in the back of the RV while you wait, too," Mana smiled. "You're the first person we've seen besides each other in two years. I feel that if we put our heads together, we might finally have some answers to all of this madness."
Lyra seemed to relax at the thought. "I know you asked about the cloak, but I think that's a conversation for tomorrow, honestly. So, what's for dinner?"
"I'm glad you asked," Brendan said, now fervently chopping away at a mysterious plant.
Night fell upon the RV's inhabitants before they realized it. Crickets chirped in the grass as fireflies dotted the muggy air. Two moons blanketed the field in pale lunar essence as they traversed the never-ending sky. Surprisingly, Chiipha felt more like home at times than Mana realized, but that didn't stop her from climbing onto the roof of the RV for some alone time. The life she once knew had changed in ways she never could have imagined, but the cool Chiipha nights made her feel just a little closer to a long-abandoned reality.
A light breeze drifted through the open field, silently caressing each blade of grass before sneaking onto Mana's skin. She held a hand to the sky again, this time closing her fist around a handful of stars. Nights like these eased her weary mind, but tonight she was restless. The new information Lyra had presented to them that evening shook the foundation Mana had been rebuilding over the last two years. New cracks began to form in the holes she had tried to patch.
"Even if there's the tiniest fraction of a percent she could still be alive, I
will
find her." A passing cloud temporarily blotted out the lunar luminescence. "Ahzef wanted to merge Earth and Chiipha together, but clearly he wasn't making the progress he was hoping for. Maybe the Reverse World isn't the only thing we need to be worrying about." She sat up, frightened by the thought. "It's too late to run this by Brendan and Lyra, but I really feel like we've overlooked something important.
What
, though?" She wracked her brain as she replayed events from day one at the High School to her first encounter with Omnis in Seria—even the struggle against Ahzef. "Ughhh. If there's something there, I'm too tired to find it," she said as she swung her legs over the side of the RV. Her feet hit the dewey ground with a soft thud.
Brendan and Lyra were fast asleep as Mana opened the door. Lyra seemed especially relaxed. Her covers rose and fell with each silent breath she took. "
I'm glad she feels like she can rest easy,
" Mana thought. She quietly opened a cabinet above the sink for a midnight snack before crawling into bed herself.
There was no use in dwelling over the day's events all night, especially not when she still had to deal with the aftermath of mana-contraction. Her magic had grown stronger and increasingly-balanced, but she'd lost much of her physical condition. Like Lacia, Aria was also gone—her only lead in finally kicking the night-sweats and fevers that came with the debilitating aftermath of the condition.
"Nothing I can do about it now and I can't perform if I don't get some rest." She turned towards Brendan and Lyra's beds, whispering a soft "Goodnight" before succumbing to sleep herself.
The night was misty, creating a glaze on the roads as city lights reflected in the watery mirrors. An icy cloud of breath erupted from nearby pedestrians as cars eased through the soaked streets. Cold and wet, a combination that would make anyone shiver. Alleyways formed cramped corridors between buildings. They were just wide enough for a person to cross from one side to the other—an ideal location for shady business-dealings or criminal activity. Neon signs buzzed and flickered as various stores and restaurants flashed by the tinted windows of a dark car.
"Here
,
" a deep voice demanded.
The car gradually slowed to a stop as water spiraled up from underneath the tires. A rusted sign bathed a small section of sidewalk in a warm, orange glow despite the chilly fall-like atmosphere. Dressed in a white suit and tie, a strange man stepped out from the passenger side of the vehicle. He was lanky, but an ominous aura poured from him like a poison fog.
"Excuse me," another male voice rumbled. He stood in the shadows, hidden from the light. The toes of a pair of black suede shoes and the brim of a hat were barely visible. "Crappy night, huh?"
The man in the white suit turned around, surprised he was being addressed. "Yes, I suppose it is a rather foul night, I agree. Might I ask your name and what your business with me is?"
"Ah, yes. Where are my manners?" he said, stepping into the streetlight. My name is Zheff and I have a proposal I think you might like." The rusted shop sign began to flicker erratically. An elongated shadow stretched out behind him. "I will happily be on my way if you would oblige me, Mr...?"
"Just call me Jetto."
"Very well then, Mr. Jetto. I am willing to pay you handsomely for your help. I believe your little shop here has something I need." Puddles began to freeze as temperatures dipped below freezing in record time. "What say you, Jetto?"
Jetto crossed his arms. "Ten minutes and then you need to leave."
"That's plenty," Zheff hissed. "Your services will not go unrewarded."
Jetto scanned the area for other uninvited guests—lurkers in the shadows. "Looks like you're it. Come in. Don't need anyone else botherin' me tonight."
Zheff's shadow retreated as he stepped further into the light. "Very well then, lead the way."
Dim fluorescent light struggled to illuminate the small shop. Shadows lurked in corners, ready to leap onto the floor at a moment's notice. A foul odor permeated through walls causing Zheff to wrinkle his nose. The shop didn't have much to offer: a few rusted bicycles and an occasional murky glass case, the contents of which remained a mystery. Jetto motioned for Zheff to follow as they walked past a large display of exotic plants.
"You've got a little bit of everything here it seems," Zheff mused. "For such a small space there sure do seem to be many rooms."
"Looks small on the outside, but on the inside this place is a maze." Jetto walked behind a glass counter. A small
click
came from a locked filing cabinet. "We keep a tight record of everyone who comes in here and why. Take a few minutes to fill this form out," he said sternly.
Zheff happily obliged as he hurriedly jotted down name, address, and reason for business. A light burnt out in the room behind him as his shadow exercised free reign. The form was time-consuming—a trivial matter, but he'd come this far. He handed the form back to Jetto who locked it away in the filing cabinet.
"Good. Follow me. I think I know just what you're after," Jetto said flauntily. "Better hurry or you'll get lost. This place is really quite astounding."
Several minutes later, the two men walked through an arched doorway into what must have been a relic of a library. The room was expansive: gothic-style windows, arches that curved around the vaulted ceilings, and stories-high oak bookshelves packed with countless books and journals.
"Marvelous... There's a lot of ancient literature here, from what I can see. Do you happen to have anything dating back to a certain family conflict from a couple hundred years ago?"
Jetto chuckled. I can go as far back as—"
A book fell to the floor with a soft thump and flap of pages. Zheff knelt down to pick it up. "It seems you landed on a very interesting page," he mumbled. "These are almost certainly Dumiere's notes." Zheff fervently thumbed through several more pages. "It looks like I'll be leaving with more than what I came for..." An enthused smile crossed his face. "Isn't that right, Miss Lhumin?"
Zheff brought the book closer to his face. Incomprehensible terminology and unfamiliar names were etched in now-faded ink. "We have the only official record of the Searing Wounds conflict," Jetto sneered. "That
is
what you're looking for, correct? The Lhumin family is thorough, but not thorough enough."
"It would seem so." Zheff hastily shut the book. The faint scent of paper stock flew from the pages. "
I
would suggest you start running, girl." Zheff broke into a fit of maniacal laughter. "See you soon..."
Mana's eyes shot open as she jolted awake, narrowly missing the low ceiling above her bed. Light filtered in through the shades of the RV-–an indication she'd slept longer than anticipated. She allowed her eyes a moment to adjust. A cold, wet sensation greeted her hands as her mind immediately jumped to Lacia and her one blood-soaked evening. Momentary panic swept over her before realizing it was just sweat, but her and her sheets were still soaked. Hurriedly, she undressed and stepped into the small shower space to rinse off. The sheets could come after she was clean.
Everything seemed livelier with Lyra around, but the question remained: why did she wait two years to come forward? Warm water rushed down Mana's face, forming small streams at the tips of her fingers. There had to be more to the story, yet there was still so much she didn't understand about Chiipha. She didn't want to ask a question and the answer have been in front of her face the entire time, though. The linking of Earth and Chiipha would have implications—that much was clear to her. She pushed her wet hair back, fingers firm against her scalp.
"This is all so exhausting," she said exasperated. "I still haven't figured out what Omnis meant by unlocking the door to the grand maze, either. The first half of the riddle referred to the Halifer which brought us to Aria and then here—" A sudden tightness in her chest brought her back to reality. She moved a hand above her breasts as her heart began to race—like she'd received a shot of adrenaline. There was no time for clothes. She pulled a towel from the rack outside the shower as her stomach dropped like she was on a rollercoaster. She stumbled out of the bathroom.
Spots formed in her eyes. Blood rushed to her head as her mind grew fuzzier by the second. Brendan and Lyra were outside, but the contents of their conversation were lost in the encapsulating numbness that filled her mind. Miracles weren't her thing, but she'd be sure to reconsider if she could just make it outside. Dark spots continued to fill her vision as she glimpsed the RV door.
She placed her weight on the handle as the door swung open, bright sunlight blinding her the rest of the way. Lyra was saying something, but Mana felt like she had lost all understanding of language. A shrill whistle resounded through her mind before she lost all sense of touch. Her vision began to clear though she still felt she was underwater.
Lyra crouched down in front of her, elbows on her knees. Her face was mired by curiosity and concern. A turquoise hue enveloped her fingertips as she placed them across Mana's forehead. Lyra's lips were moving, but all Mana could focus on was the buzzing inside her head. In full panic-mode, Lyra darted off towards Brendan for help.
"
It seems you are not doing quite as well as I had hoped, dear child,"
a familiar voice danced around in her head. "
You have made progress, however. You children are indeed fascinating to watch."
Mana closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. Her body felt lighter than air and her thoughts became clear again. The tightness in her chest had also begun to ease as she steadied her breathing. Subconsciously, she knew she had returned to the Hall of Memories and that Omnis had likely summoned her back, but why? And after two whole years?
"Wha—?"
"
Do not worry about your friends right now, child. We have a lot to talk about.
" A sense of urgency had crept into Omnis' voice. "
Join me for tea, won't you?
"
"Reading minds now. So that's where two years went,
"
Mana chided sarcastically.
She opened her eyes as they adjusted to the light. She found herself face to face with her own reflection in a wall of pure water. A sparkly rose-color eyeshadow and dark eyeliner made her eyes pop. Likewise, her cheeks no longer resembled Chiipha's limited harvests. A subtle blush enhanced her replenished cheekbones to top off the look. "I actually look
alive
instead of like I'm on the verge of starvation," she said, admiring her reflection.
A small table and set of chairs appeared in the center of the hall. Cute floral cloth with lace trim topped the table. "
A lady must keep her appearance up. I think you'll soon understand why I stress this importance to you, especially.
" Omnis paused for a moment.
"
Why don't we have a verbal conversation instead
?"
"That would be much easier, if you don't mind," Mana said joyously. "I hope you'll be able to answer some of my questions, too."
"There is a limit to what I can and cannot tell you, but the answers you seek are not far behind." Omnis began to pour a round of tea. "Two years ago, you met Ahzef at the border of Alura and Gila. Tell me, what was that like?" A teacup floated its way into Mana's hands.
She recounted her experience after a small sip. "It was terrifying. All I could think about was how afraid I was and not just of Ahzef. I didn't want to lose Lacia again, but I couldn't stop her." Tears welled in her eyes. "I can't cry, though. I have to be strong for Lacia because I know somewhere out there, in all of this madness, she's trying to find her way home." Mana left off with a sniffle.
Omnis took a sip as Mana finished. "I see. That is certainly a setback, but I had planned for this." The rich magical energy in the air began to shift. "Mana?"
Hot tea spilled over the side of the teacup in her hands. "Yes?" she said, startled.
"I think it is about time I showed you one more thing, but you must do something for me first. In Chiipha, there's a town called Chronid. Go there and find a woman in a black dress with a red ribbon in her hair." Mana sat up, trying to focus on what Omnis was saying while nursing her burns. "Her attire will be similar to the one I gave you back in Seria."
"Alright. Am I to assume I'll need
my
dress as well? And what about Lyra? I don't know if she has anything like that." The burns on her fingers began to throb. She winced.
"Treat your burns, Mana. I apologize for startling you, but it would be better for us to be on a name basis. As for that girl..." Omnis' form briefly shimmered as new outfits seemed to sport themselves through different wavelengths of light. It was like a fashion show of light and color. "This one will do if she is unable to procure proper attire for herself," Omnis said, laying a beautiful white dress with gold trim in Mana's hands.
The mana in the air returned to a settled state. Mana placed the dress in material storage for easy-access and safe-keeping. A pale green light shone from both her palms as she remedied her burns. She looked at Omnis and heaved a sigh. The answers she sought still eluded her, like a game of cat and mouse. A dress for Lyra and hot-tea burns weren't how she envisioned their reunion.
"You're conflicted. I understand, but for the time being, I cannot involve myself any further. Go to Chronid and I believe you may find what you're looking for as well. You will know what to do from there." Omnis raised the teacup once more before placing it back on the table. Something wasn't right.
"You felt that too, didn't you?" Mana asked, unseating herself.
Omnis' voice relayed in her head. "
Go to Chronid and remember what I told you
.
Things have progressed much quicker than I had anticipated
."
Mana's ears popped as the pressure in the air spiked. Her chest felt heavy, like someone had laid a pile of bricks on her. A loud thumping sound coursed through the hall. The tea on the table shook in its tiny cups, sloshing back and forth—a motion that seemed almost symbolic. If the last two years had taught her anything, taking this moment to flee for granted would be a mistake.
A golden light surrounded her. She realized she'd be returning to Chiipha regardless of how she felt about the situation. "How do I get to Chronid?" she shouted, the distance between her and Omnis growing by the second.
"
Lyra will guide you. The Devils have grown exponentially more powerful, but they still cannot access Chiipha. We will talk later.
"
A blinding plume of golden light overtook her body. She shielded her eyes from the heavenly luster. Traveling through time and space wasn't such a bad deal, however, the reality that now faced her felt more like a nightmare. "
I didn't think this fight was over, either
," she thought.
As she removed her hands from her eyes, she found herself surrounded by fluffy white clouds and oversized stuffed animals. "Either I'm having a nightmare now, or I'm inside a ten year old's dream." She scanned the room. Pastel pink and white brandished everything she laid her eyes upon. She blinked a few times, unsure if
she
was the one dreaming. "Nope. I'm definitely not dreaming." After several dizzying three-sixties later, she still had no definitive answer. "What is this place?"
"Hello. Did
you
come to play with me?"
Mana spun around so fast her hair whipped her in the face. Tucking blonde tresses back behind her ears, she turned her attention to the little girl in front of her. "Who are you and where are we?" Mana asked soothingly, careful not to frighten the child.
"You have big boobs," she blurted out.
Mana's face couldn't decide on a reaction. Gratitude? Confusion? "
I know I heard that wrong. There's no way she just said I have big—"
"Big boobie lady, will you play with me?"
Mana gave a half-sigh, half-stifled laugh. There was a first for everything, but a child telling her she was well endowed? That was a new one. "Well, can you tell me who you are and where we are first? I'll play with you if you can tell me that, alright?"
The child beamed a flashy smile at her before running away and jumping into a large pastel-pink cloud. She stuffed a hand inside before returning with a chunk of what looked like... Cloud cotton candy? "
This is like a dumbed-down version of CandyLand. This is crazy
," she thought, "
but I guess I'll have to play along
."
"Here!" The little girl handed Mana a chunk of candy-cloud, staring expectantly. She knew that face well. It was the same face she'd use when
she
wanted something.
Mana bent down, graciously accepting the child's gift. She smiled. "Thank you very much." She lifted the candy-cloud to her lips and pulled a chunk off. It was as sweet as she expected it to be, yet she felt relaxed and her mana restored. There was more to the candy-cloud than she realized. Not only did it replenish her mind, it had restored her magic circuits. The depleted mana in her body had acted as a poison, never fully mending—even after recovering from mana-contraction.
"Yay! Big boob lady is better! Now she can play," the little girl squealed, jumping with joy. A large puff of white cloud towered before them. Mana watched as a child-sized doorway opened at the base.
"
Oh boy. She wants me to crawl in there with her, doesn't she
?" Mana locked eyes with the little girl, offering an endearing smile. "Would you mind telling me who you are at least?"
The little girl looked at Mana and cocked her head from side to side, determining whether or not she wanted to give out such information to a stranger. "Firah."
"
Oh my god! She finally told me her name, but that still doesn't explain what this place is or what I'm doing here
." Mana sat on her legs, level with Firah. "
This whole place is a giant maze of pastel fluff and sweets
," she thought. Things were crazy enough already, but trying to ascertain
what
this child was only made her head throb. "Firah, if I play with you for a while, will you tell me how to get home?"
"Yes," she said with a melancholic tone.
"
Being in such an isolated place would make anyone lonely. Finally having a playdate must have been the most exciting thing to happen in some time
." Regardless, Mana felt guilty about trying to leave. Firah
was
still a child, after all.
"Tell you what," Mana said, lightly pinching Firah's nose, "I'll play with you until you get tired and then I have to go home, ok? If you tell me how to get to your world, I'll come back and play some more when I finish my work."
Firah's face lit up. "Pinky promise?"
Mana held out her pinky finger. "Pinky promise. Now, should we go have some fun, or what?"
The inside of the cloud looked just like a medieval castle: fully furnished, large paintings hung on the walls, and spacious aisles. A red carpet rolled down the center of a long corridor as large cloth banners dangled from the ceiling. Embroidered in the cloth itself was a symbol, but Mana couldn't place where she'd seen it before.
She found herself dragged down the corridor as Firah hummed the tune to an unknown song. It was impossible to get a better look at the embroidery. "The first game we're going to play is Servant," Firah announced as they entered an open kitchen and elegant dining area. Everything was so
clean
. Mana could even see her own reflection in the marble countertops several feet away.
"
I have a bad feeling about this
," she dreaded.
"Mana will be Firah's servant. You do what Firah tells you," the child demanded excitedly. "First, bake Firah cookies. I want chocolate chip!" She pointed a finger at Mana.
"
Is it suddenly a little drafty in here or is it just me
?" The steady swaying motion of a silver ladle caught her eye. Two yellow objects were reflected in the stainless steel. "Oh. I'm... in my underwear. I see. So you want me to make—"
"No! Firah has Mana's uniform in her room." She pointed to the corridor. Hesitantly, Mana followed her finger. A floating cloud-arrow was directing her down the corridor to what she presumed was "her room".
She sighed, following the arrow. "It's going to be a long playdate, isn't it?
This
is what I get for entertaining children." Several minutes later she stood in front of a door, her name engraved in the wood. "Why do I feel like this was a bad idea?"
After changing into her supposedly assigned outfit, Mana returned to the kitchen and dining area where Firah sat, fully engaged in a coloring book of beautiful women in gowns she'd never seen before. The shuffle of Mana's outfit pulled her from the book.
"Mana looks super pretty," Firah beamed. "Firah picked it out herself!"
"I'm not so sure about this, Firah."
She twirled around in a full-length mirror, donning her new maid dress. Frilly straps crossed her back, holding a white apron in place with a bow. Lace made up the trim of the skirt, falling just above the knee—black footed tights lined her legs. A pair of strappy stilettos wound their way around her ankles completing the look.
Firah began to chant. "Cookies, cookies, cookies!"
"Okaay... I get it, but do I
have
to be wearing this?"
Firah abruptly ceased her chanting. A look of sadness then anger crossed her face. She looked as if she were about to throw a temper tantrum, that of which Mana was
not
equipped to handle. "
Children are way too demanding. Definitely not having later
," she decided.
"Do you not want to make Firah cookies?"
"No, that's not it, sweetie. I—"
A deep scowl from Firah cut her off. There was no worming her way out of
this
mess. She needed damage control, but the damage had already been done. She made note not to upset small children—especially entitled little girls. "Future reference," she mumbled.
Somewhere in the large cloud-castle, a heavy door slammed shut—likely another part of the castle she had yet to see. Mana shifted her weight from foot to foot, unnerved by Firah's continued scowl. If she could remove her outerwear just by
pointing
, she didn't want to know what else this child was capable of.
"Firah," Mana treaded carefully, "let's play another—"
"No!"
"
Yep, she's definitely mad."
She cursed under her breath.
Without warning, a large document procured itself in Mana's hands. Pages began to turn on their own. There must have been at least several hundred pages of thick, parchment-like paper—all penned in ink. The pages ceased their flurry as Firah stared her down.
Nervously, Mana read the page aloud: "Page five-hundred and forty-three. Those who disobey the orders of the Crown that binds Earth and Chiipha will be subject to disciplinary measures akin to those outlined in this constitution." She paused, afraid to read any further. Damage control had failed—miserably.
"Continue," Firah demanded.
Uneasiness swept over Mana. She stumbled backwards, her heels echoing loudly in the empty chamber. Regaining her balance, she tried once more to reason with Firah, but to no avail.
Dismayingly, she continued: "If there is no current Crown to helm the throne, all duties of the throne and associated actions are relegated to the Princess. These terms are binding and non-negotiable. Disobedience is not tolerated." It took everything for Mana
not
to puke.
"
Such an unladylike term, but,"
she cleared her throat, "shit."
"Bye-bye Mana. Firah wishes we could have played more."
Chills immediately raced down her spine as she sprinted out of the chamber and into the main corridor, her outfit fluttering behind her in the wind. Loud clicks resounded through the corridor as her heels struck the stone floor. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she wanted to be as far from Firah as possible. Her mind raced through every possible scenario, but it was a moot effort. How she wound up stuck at the halfway point between Earth and Chiipha was a mystery, but the fact that there
was
one only made things increasingly more complex.
She spotted the child-sized entryway she'd crawled through earlier as she turned the corner. To her dismay, it had already begun to close—and fast. "If it's just made of clouds, I should be able to go right through it, right?" The tiny entry was now no bigger than a couple feet wide. She barreled forward as she leaned in to force her way through with her shoulder. "Here goes nothing!"
Time slowed to a crawl as she closed the distance between her and the cloud-wall. She felt like she was running a marathon on the moon, but there was no turning back. Either she punch through to the other side, or she turn around and figure out what Firah meant by "bye-bye". The latter sounded more like a death-sentence.
A loud pop stemmed from her shoulder as she made contact with the wall of clouds. Last time she checked, clouds weren't made of steel. Her momentum propelled the rest of her body forward as she lost her balance, promptly slamming into the wall with enough force to ram through drywall. She crumpled to the floor in a heap of broken bones and fading consciousness. Blood steadily trickled down her arm, forming a small crimson puddle on the floor.
Firah turned the corner moments later, but her appearance had changed significantly. She was at least as old as Mana, if not slightly older. Long legs made quick work of the distance between them, her own pair of heels ominously clicking with every step—almost like a ticking clock. She wore a casual silver gown while a translucent stole covered her shoulders.
Mana struggled to pull herself into something more than a broken heap. Her lips were stained red with blood and her breathing was staggered. She was beyond the realm of her own healing magic, leaving her to suffer the punishment of Firah's choosing. Daggers filled her stare as the two locked eyes. She felt used and cheated—lied to.
"Did you not wonder why you stopped at the halfway point between Earth and Chiipha, Mana? I thought you were smarter than that." Firah said, mockingly endearing. An orb of dark energy occupied the center of her palm. "You know, I actually did want cookies, but that's not my beef with you. That damned Goddess Omnis, or whatever that hunk of light is, is our one-way ticket to a remade world—one made in the glory of our king, Ahzef!"
Mana's eyes widened. Ahzef was still out there somewhere, but the only way for Firah to know that would be— "You're a devil. Why can't you damned things just leave all of this alone?!" The palms of her hands caught the brunt of a large splotch of blood, but she forced herself to stand despite her multitude of broken bones. "I'm. So. SICK OF YOU," she screamed before collapsing back onto the floor in tears and agony.
"Aww. Now don't be like that, Mana. Since you're going to be here a while, I might as well introduce myself officially," the devil sneered. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Mana Lhumin. I am Kuria, the Reverse World's fourth seat. Now, tell me more about your meetings with Omnis."
"Just 'cause I'm a little beat up doesn't mean you get to boss me around," Mana croaked through sobs. It was a facade, but it was only meant to buy time.
"I'm not so stupid as to believe the front you're tyring to put on, girl," Kuria snarled.
A series of dark ribbons appeared before the devil—dreadful cold seemed to emanate from their twirling fabric. Before she could react, her arms had been bound by one of the various ribbons. Another drifted forward, visibly taunting her.
"Mark my words, Kuria. As soon as I'm back in Chiipha, I
will
hun—" The taunting ribbon wrapped itself around her mouth, tying itself into a black bow at the back of her neck. She felt her life-energy being siphoned away, little by little.
"Like I said, you're going to be my prisoner for a while, but I'm not so mean as to let you suffer from those injuries you foolishly inflicted on yourself." Kuria pointed at Mana as a black flash briefly imaged her body. "There. Just like a corrupt file, you restore it from its previous data in order to repair it." A shadowy tendril peeled Mana off the floor as several more ribbons bound her legs together.
Her heart was ready to beat out of her chest. The terror and helplessness she felt frightened her. She knew she was in serious trouble and it was unlikely Brendan or Lyra had any semblance of what had happened to her. "
Is this how Lacia felt when she fought Lucifero with Aria?"
The reality sank in that her situation was much different. No one would be coming to save her, unlike Aria with Lacia.
"Like it or not, you're a very important part of the new world we're trying to create. Did you think Lacia was the only one we were after?"
Mana grew limp at Kuria's words, defeated. The hand she had so meticulously crafted since her departure from Azalea was now laid out on the table for all to see. She was tonight's big loser.
"Are you serious?! My, how humanity has truly overestimated itself. Oh well. It's just me and you now," Kuria whispered in her ear. "Hope you won't mind me digging around in your head a little." |
Chronid was small, but what it lacked in square footage, it made up for in height. The town seemed almost futuristic: LED screens plastered the face of each building, creating a cyberpunk-like aesthetic. Various news reports, pop culture trends, and the makeup-heavy faces of idols stared down from every angle—unnerving and foreign.
Eyes were glued to the screens as shouts and excited clamor filled the sidewalks and streets. Most traffic was of the foot variety and even then, despite the cramped space, it remained minimal. Stairs crisscrossed each other in helical patterns as people traversed the gemstone-embedded steps like ants. The sidewalks were far more mobile, transporting people to pre-programmed destinations. Neon arrows indicated the appropriate flow of foot traffic and small grassy medians were left untouched for those who had time to spare, meant for leisurely enjoyment.
Besides its technological advancements, what was most striking about Chronid were its multiple levels; above
and
below. The subsurface consisted of shopping and eatery as it spanned multiple subfloors, each one more prominent and luxurious than the last. From casual styles closer to the surface to urban and punk styles on the lower floors, Chronid had it all.
Above the surface, clear, glass elevators swooshed up and down, taking people from one story to the next. Like its subsurface, the town reflected a luxurious appearance from its storefronts to its bars—even the schools boasted large halls and open naves. Back alleys squeezed between high-rises, hidden from the colossal eminence. Towering into the sky, each story managed to find a new way to express the diverse culture and appreciation of Chronid while still embracing styles strangely reminiscent of Earth.
The top floor was home to various idol groups, music agencies, and medical services. Concerts were a frequent occurrence, yet noise was never an issue. Somehow, Chronid was the image of luxury despite current events. With large LED screens plastered to the face of every multiple-story building,
something
news-worthy was both expected and ignored entirely, contributing to the progressive style of the town itself. If no one cared, there was no need to instill fear and uncertainty.
***
"Lyra, enough," Brendan whined as he tried to free his wrist from her grasp. "We're here, so you can let go now."
"Not yet." She looked around, uneasy. "You have no idea the scope of what I have to tell you, but this is too public."
Brendan looked around, uncertain himself of what had Lyra so spooked. It was the middle of the day, the sun dazzling the glass and metallic architecture of the town. There was cautious, but was there such thing as
too
cautious, all things considered?
"There." Lyra pointed to a small shade tree near the edge of town, just far enough away from the center of the story that it would be impossible for anyone to eavesdrop.
"Just to be sure we're on the same page here, the girls
did
tell you about Chiipha beforehand, including myself, and the encounters with the devils?"
"Yes," Brendan said.
"Great, because I'm about to blow your mind."
A stern looked crossed Brendan's face. The past two years hadn't been a cakewalk and he was always on his toes. There hadn't been time to be otherwise.
Lyra let out a deep sigh. "How do I put this?" she pondered. "You know how Lacia told you about Kaden and the others, right?"
Brendan nooded.
"Well... they never actually existed, and I
know
Lacia is going to tell you something different, but you should hear it from me first. It's true she did just mysteriously end up here. What she told you about the power called "Aria" is also true, but it goes by a much different name.
"Remember when you asked how you should put it? I have the answer to that question." Brendan paused for a moment. "Bluntly."
"Look, I'm sorry, but this is information you need to know, and you need to know like right now. Anyways," she continued, "I had to garner an elaborate illusion to make her think what was going on was real. If she had fully awakened right then and there, Ahzef and the other devils would have been on us in seconds."
"Because something about her gift is like a signal flare, correct?"
"Yes. Until she's ready to fight at full strength, she
cannot
awaken her powers completely. Your little princess is, well, a princess. Her primary duty is to defend the boundary between Earth and the Reverse World. However," a brisk wind rustled the tree above their heads, "there is also
another
princess whose primary duty is— Can you guess?"
"To guard the boundary between
Chiipha
and the Reverse World," Brendan finished.
"Unfortunately, she was devoured by the devils many years ago and a ceremony was never held to pass the title on to an heir: One, because she was a virgin and had no children, and two, what they stole from her is the reason they're actively seeking Lacia out."
"Alright. Let me make sure I've got this right: a new Princess of Chiipha was never crowned because the one who originally held that title was devoured and her powers stolen, that and the fact she had no children."
"And even if she did, they would have been too young to ascend to the throne. She was just a little younger than we are." Lyra looked even more uneasy than before, but her face told Brendan there was still more to the story.
"Your face tells me there's more."
Lyra went from a look of uneasiness to embarrassment in seconds. "Yes, but you have to promise not to say anything until I give you the okay." She tucked locks of caramel brown behind her ears.
The tips of her ears were oddly shaped, pointed almost, something Brendan had only read about in books, but hadn't seen in person. He wracked his brain, desperate to place why her ears seemed so familiar.
"No... It's not that I've read about them..." He stared directly into Lyra's eyes. "Your ears indicate that you're part of a certain race of people, don't they?"
"Huh? How could you possibly figure that out from their shape alone?"
"It was an old folk tale passed down through the family. Granted, somehow it got so off track that the moral of the story ended up being about not sleeping when you're tired, whatever sense that makes."
"The Iliern," she whispered softly.
"And if I'm right— Wait. Did you just say—?" He grabbed Lyra's palms, exposing them to a small beam of sunlight peeking through the tree leaves."
Her palms gave off a faint crystalline sheen, exposing a series of patterns that twirled through each other, eventually forming a large makeshift star.
"I knew it. You're—"
"Shh!" Lyra hushed him. "Not here, Brendan. Besides," she looked around anxiously, "we have business to attend to here. I didn't drag you to Chronid for a vacation in case you were wondering."
"I'm aware," he said, reigning in his excitement. "After this, we need to figure out where Lacia is before the devils do and Aria is our best shot at that."
***
A small groan escaped Aria's lips. It took everything she had and then some to escape from that hell of a castle. She was almost certain they'd jumped to Chronid, but the room was dark, and it smelled of mildew and wood—not exactly what she'd been hoping for. She hadn't expected to run into Kuria after finding Mana, and the fight proved to be a costly one. Aria had used most of the mana she'd been storing; healing Mana was out of the question for the time. Unfortunately, this left her teetering between life and death.
Was it guilt she felt or an increased sense of uselessness and lack of power? Whatever the case, they both needed medical attention—Mana especially.
A warm, wet sensation covered her hand as she struggled to find something to prop herself up against, but it was no use; she was too sore to move and whatever she'd touched continued to expand. Panic overtook her senses. She feared Mana had bled out until the smell of grapes and fermented alcohol greeted her nose.
"So, it's a wine cellar... Thank god." She clamored around in the dark for another minute as her eyes gradually adjusted. The light from under the cellar door desperately tried to eek its way in, but the darkness consumed it at its source.
Without warning, the door suddenly flew open, smashing Aria in the face as she took the full brunt of the door. She held her hands over her nose, attempting to hide the gush of blood. Fresh salty tears stung her eyes.
"Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?" An angry man stood in the doorway.
"It's a long story, ok?" she said, voice muffled, "and how can you stand there and ask questions when you just bashed me in the face with a door?!" Aria retorted back.
"It's
my
wine cellar and
you're
the one who was sitting in front of the door, now get out before I throw you out!" He scanned the room, observing a busted wine barrel that now oozed red wine all over the floor. Moments later, his eyes caught sight of Mana, motionless in a back corner of the room.
Aria looked towards the man then back at Mana. The pain was so disorienting that she didn't realize Mana had thawed out. "How did she thaw?!" Aria scrambled towards Mana, wounds still fresh and bleeding.
"We were supposed to have more time," she mumbled.
Noticing Mana's disarray, the wine keeper rushed over to join Aria. "Forget what I said earlier. Right now, we need to disinfect those wounds."
"But if I wake her up, it could send her into shock!"
"Do you see the way the skin around the wounds has turned purple? It means that infection is setting in and if she doesn't get medical attention quickly, you'll have an even bigger problem on your hands than waking her up." The man trickled fresh wine over the open wounds, hoping to slow the infection, but her wounds were deep.
Mana's face twisted in what must have been excruciating pain, but she remained unconscious; probably for the better.
"Are you able to carry her legs? I'll carry her top half."
Aria tried to stand but her legs gave out almost immediately. She'd spent most of her mana and physical strength fighting Kuria and the door in her face moments earlier wasn't helping. "I'm sorry, but I can hardly even stand."
"Whatever you just went through has adrenaline pumping through you're veins like crazy. It's amazing you're both alive, judging by
her
injuries." The man stood up and yelled out the door. Not a minute later, several people in aprons appeared in the doorway as the man explained the situation.
"These young men will take you both to the hospital," the wine keeper explained.
"You guys have a business to run. Don't wo—" One of the workers picked her up, carrying her in his arms. "Y-you really don't have to."
"Don't worry about it. We're closed for the day anyways," the wine keeper grinned, glad to be of help. "I'll get this cleaned up and I apologize for the way I reacted earlier. You both just come see me when you're all healed up, okay?"
"Y-yes sir. Thank you, and sorry," Aria stammered.
***
"This town is more like a labyrinth. How does every single floor have something different from the one above it?"
"Just follow me and we'll figure it out together," Lyra said, unamused by the whining.
"Lyra, wait—" Brendan made a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, barely catching sight of Aria and Mana being whisked away up an elevator.
A voice from behind stopped Brendan mid-stride. "Do you know those two? The one with the yellow undergarments was in especially bad shape."
"Mana's were yellow," Brendan exclaimed.
Lyra shot him a disgusted look.
"You two should hurry. They're being taken to the hospital—the one at the top story of town. When you enter, it's right there on the left. I found them all banged up inside my wine cellar. God knows how it all happened."
"Thank you very much, sir." Lyra paused. "Uhh... is there anything we can compensate you for?" Large, wet spots dampened the man's knees—likely wine.
"Considering the shape those two were in and the fact that I accidently bashed the other one's face in with the door, I just ask they come see me when they get better. I came off a bit harsh," the wine keeper said solemnly.
"We'll make sure they get better, and they'll be back to see you in no time," Lyra said, trying to console him, "but we've got to go now. Thank you for your help!"
The man smiled as he waved them off.
***
The sound of crutches on tile floors wandered into the waiting room where Brendan and Lyra sat waiting. Vending machine snacks offered limited sustenance for its weary waiters, but they quickly forgot about the stale chips and warm waters as Aria rounded the corner.
"Before you ask, I'm fine. It's just a bad sprain."
Brendan was the first, and the last, to point out the mass of bandages that covered her face. Aria planted one of her crutches into his foot as he gave a look that said, "What the hell?"
"You really should know
not
to point things like that out. A girl's face is pretty important, and we don't need reminding when it's
less
than pretty."
Brendan apologized, though he wondered if
he
was going to need crutches after having his foot smashed. "Enough foot smashing. How is Mana? Did the doctors say?"
Aria's face remained unchanged as she shifted her arms on the crutches, but something bothered her. Her eyes portrayed a distant look as if she'd received bad news. She sighed and motioned for Brendan and Lyra to sit back down.
"We got really lucky, getting here when we did, but that doesn't mean she's out of the woods yet." Aria attempted to take a seat herself as Brendan jumped up, trying to help into her a chair. "She's in the Operating Room currently. They're trying to see just how much internal damage there is."
"Is it safe to assume, then, that her injuries are beyond the scope of healing with magic?" Lyra said.
Aria's mouth twisted to form a look of uncertainty. She didn't have all the answers, but the ones she did have weren't much better. "Look... A lot has happened in the last two years and while I can't say for sure if she's truly
that
in-danger, I
can
say that
I
can't heal her, right now."
"Aria. I think it's best you tell us where you've been and how you and Mana sustained such serious injuries." Brendan stood up, folding his arms. "What I know for certain is that if
you're
alive, so is Lacia and that means one of two things—"
"That Ahzef is alive or you two truly defeated the devils," Lyra finished.
Aria looked her dead in the eyes, emerald irises bore into Lyra's soul. Even Brendan was uneasy, afraid the girls were about to throwdown right then and there.
Lyra was the first to speak. "I missed you Ari," she smiled.
"I missed you too, Lyra," Aria smiled back. "Long time no see."
Brendan was completely lost. "Ari? And... you two know each other?"
"We do," Aria replied, "and I promise I'll explain later, but right now, let me catch you guys up to speed."
***
"You spared off against the fourth ranked of the Reverse World?!" Brendan was shocked. "I'm sure she was nothing compared to Ahzef, but if what you're saying is true, and Kuria didn't just play us
all
for fools, then we have a problem."
"
And
you met Chronyu?" Lyra added.
Aria nodded. "There's more, though. Brendan I've already told, but
you
don't have the full story, so buckle up." She avoided eye contact at first, afraid of Lyra's reaction. "The reason I was ever with the devils in the first place was because of the accident when I was little. I wasn't myself after mom and dad died. I was wallowing in self-pity and when I found those essays, my own selfish reasons led me to a place I should never have set foot in."
"Aria—"
She shook her head, silencing Brendan. "I thought that what we were doing was for my sake. After Lacia and I fought Lucifero, our memories melded and I was
there
, living through them." Her voice softened to a whisper. "I had no idea who she was at first, so when Ahzef brought her in, I thought— No... I
didn't
think. I could
feel
it when she was transported to Chiipha for the first time." Aria's voice trembled.
"Aria," Brendan started, but Lyra put a finger to her lips.
"I assume you guys already noticed the disturbance in the universal plane... That's because Lacia was
forced
through a gate that wasn't meant to be opened." Glistening tears flowed down her cheeks. "This all started because of me. It's my fault we're in this mess."
Lyra lifted Aria's chin, wet with tears. "None of this is your fault. You were hurting and didn't know any better. I mean, how could anyone ever blame you?"
"She's right," Brendan added. "None of us could have ever suspected the universe was filled with such terrifying, yet mystifying, things. Magic, devils, even other worlds. Hell, no pun intended, even other beings such as Omnis and Hika." He flashed a cheery smile at her. "Aria, I told you two years ago that I didn't expect you to act like anyone other than yourself. Do you remember that?"
Aria nodded. "Of course I do."
"That hasn't changed. Not once in these last two years."
Her cheeks flushed beat-red. "Brendan—"
"You're
my
world and I wouldn't have it any other way, so keep your head up." He smiled once again.
Lyra stepped out into the hall, giving Brendan and Aria some space. The day had grown into night as the minutes passed like speeding cars. Moments later, the sound of newly approaching footsteps caught her attention. She assumed it was one of Mana's doctors as the tapping of rubber soles grew closer. Hopefully they had good news.
"You're one of Mana's friends, right?" a voice asked.
She wasn't sure how to answer the question considering she hadn't known Mana for long. "Uhh, yeah."
"She had some major internal damage and we've repaired what we could, but she's likely going to have chronic pain due to the extent of her injuries. There was a lot of torn muscle, but whatever impaled her thankfully missed any vital spots."
Lyra sighed in relief. It wasn't
great
news, but it wasn't bad news either.
"We will need to keep her as an Inpatient for several days to monitor her during the recovery period. She's lost a lot of blood too, but she'll make a full recovery there."
"Can she have visitors yet?"
"Let's give it 'til morning. She needs the rest tonight, but if you want to visit then, that should be just fine."
"Understood. Thank you for all of your hard work. We know this was sudden." Lyra apologized. "I'll make sure those two," she pointed behind her with a thumb, "get the full report."
She shook the doctor's hand before returning to Brendan and Aria in the Waiting Room who must have noticed her absence.
"What happened? Is everything okay?" Aria started.
"I was actually just talking to one of Mana's doctors. Nothing vital was hit and she
will
recover, but she won't be like before the fight. The doctor said she'll likely have to deal with chronic pain, but the torn muscle
will
heal with time. Other than that, they want to keep her a few days to monitor her recovery. They'd like her to rest tonight."
"That's a relief," Brendan said, relieved.
Aria's face brightened knowing that Mana would be okay. "Once my mana recovers a little more, I think I can reverse the rest of the damage. She should be as good as new once I'm done."
"How about we get some rest ourselves?" Lyra suggested. "I'm beat and we have a
lot
of catching up to do, Aria."
Aria smiled faintly. "That we... do." She trailed off as a mysterious rumble knocked loose stacks of paper to the floor, roller beds skidding across the hallways of the hospital. The shaking lasted several minutes before eventually subsiding. "Was that an earthquake?"
"Yes, but didn't it feel... different?" Brendan said cautiously.
"You're right. It started off super gradual and died off the same way, like when a train rumbles down the tracks," Aria agreed.
"They're actually called "Phauakes" here. If anyone finds out that the gateway between Earth and Chiipha was opened," Lyra glanced over her shoulder, "it'll cause mass panic. We can't let that happen, obviously, so if someone overhears us saying 'earthquake', we could be in trouble."
"Phauakes, right..." Aria turned to Brendan, then Lyra. "Anyone have any great ideas as to lodging for the night since we were so rudely int—"
The entire hospital shook violently with astounding force in a test of adversity to the sudden forces of nature. Windows shattered, unable to hold their frame. Beds crashed into each other, and medical equipment was torn from its wall outlets. The shaking was accompanied by what Aria swore sounded like a freight train barreling straight towards her. Crashing and banging corroded the usual peace and quiet of the hospital.
If the whole building came down, it wouldn't be just the patients any rescuers would be searching for under the rubble.
"
If we die here, it's all over, but this shaking
—" A ceiling tile crashed to the floor inches from Aria, interrupting her thought.
"
It wouldn't be any fun if that were to happen, now, would it?"
Aria turned, working to identify the source of the voice in her head, but it was to no avail. "
Who are you?"
she demanded.
"
I think you'll have your answer to that if I just show you
," the voice taunted.
A dark shadow pooled under the lights between the hallway and the Waiting Room. It compounded on itself, heaps of black shadows dripping like mud from the largest mounds before finally congealing into a solid form.
"Mikaun," Aria growled. "What do you want?"
"You're enemies of Ahzef and the Reverse Royalty, are you not? I'd like to propose an idea." Mikaun snapped his fingers putting an end to the shaking. "Is that enough to trust me?"
"Absolutely not," Aria and Lyra said in unison.
"Do you really think I'd
ever
trust a devil?" Aria warned.
Mikaun shrugged. "And what if I told you I had some information you might find useful?"
"Like?" Brendan said, guardedly. "You won't gain our help either if you're going to keep us guessing."
"Help?" Aria's voice rung with confusion. "Help a devil? Brendan—"
"I'm interested in your offer, but since you seem to know so much about us already, how about you explain why
you're
here." Brendan took command of the conversation.
"Very well then." The devil seated himself in an undamaged chair at the front of the room. "I didn't used to be so apt to help you humans, but what Ahzef seeks is the destruction of
everything
—a full reset if you will. Do you remember the Searing Wounds event?"
Brendan raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Go on."
"Recall the Lhumin boy that was injured. Now, think about why there's no record of the event." Mikaun let his words sink in.
"There's no record because the elders died with the knowledge of it. Anyone who lived during that time is gone now and what remains of the record is mostly just word-of-mouth. It's been over 200 years since the conflicted ended, so why does it matter now?"
Mikaun opened his hand. A large, bound book appeared in his palm, perfectly balanced. Leather straps sealed the contents of its pages, but the book looked as if it could fall apart at any moment. The scent of acrid ink filled the room.
"This," Mikaun said releasing the leather straps, "is the official record of the entirety of the Greyriter family history."
"Not possible. There can't be a
full
record if the events of the Searing Wounds were erased from all written text." Brendan approached the devil, but Mikaun signaled for him to stay. "There's only one way to verify your claim and the legitimacy of that book."
"There's a hidden emblem on the fourth page of every Greyriter record and in order to see it, one must warm the backside of the page; specifically, the bottom-right corner." Mikaun looked Brendan in the eyes. "
Now
take it."
Brendan snatched the book from Mikaun as he gently lifted the fourth page, warming it with short breaths. It was just as Mikaun said; a small emblem faded onto the specified corner of the page.
"So, is no one going to ask
how
he stopped the phauake, or...? It only seems fair we know why you're here as well, Mikaun." Aria was cautious, but the earlier apprehension had vanished. "You never answered us."
Mikaun crossed his legs. "I'm actually here for
that
one." The devil pointed at Lyra.
Brendan looked at Aria who only reflected the same expression back: confusion. "That actually reminds me... Lyra, we, Mana and I, never got a full introduction from you. No offense, but we still don't know why you came to
us
."
Lyra sighed. "Does it really surprise you? After all, Aria and I are pretty close. That alone should give you
some
idea." She was firm, but her shifting feet told a different story.
Mikaun clapped his hands, recollecting everyone's attention. "Now, now. Don't get ahead of yourselves. I told you I had some information you might like, remember?" He smiled devilishly though it lacked malfeasance. "Oh, but we should have your friend present for this as well. Shall we pay her a visit?"
"But the doctor said—"
"Boy, I
am
the doctor," Mikaun taunted, flashing his badge. "I'm sure you're just as anxious." He smiled at Aria who subsequently shivered.
"Don't do that."
***
The hospital looked mostly unscathed by the phauake though small piles of rubble could be seen pushed against the wall. Considering the clangor of the phauake, the dead-silence of the hospital was almost eerie. Either the hospital had a slow day, or its patients slept like rocks. Aria was envious.
Aria lagged Brendan and Lyra, but she didn't mind. They were lost in conversation and seemed to be having a good time, judging by the occasional giggle from Lyra.
"They make a cute pair, but I think I like what you and Brendan had going on, back at the Hall of Memories and all." Mikaun seemed to slither up next to her.
"More chills... Ughh..." She shivered. "How do you know about that, anyways?"
"The answers you seek are not far, but I don't dare interfere much further. As it stands, you've now met three of the five of the Reverse Royalty. The fifth and sixth seat are known as the Binary Twins—they fight together versus alone."
"Why are you telling me this, Mikaun? What are trying to get out of us?" Aria leaned against the wall, taking the weight off her ankle. "I know you, for whatever reason, can't answer that, but if you're trying to gain our trust—"
"You have fifteen minutes before you find yourself in a real bind, so less questions and more listening." Mikaun helped Aria hobble into Mana's room. Brendan and Lyra were already seated.
"It's almost three-thirty in the morning and I
hurt
. This better be good or—"
"Good morning to you too, Mana," Mikaun piped. "Now, all four of you, listen to me very carefully." The devil's playful face turned serious. "An encounter with the final two seats of the Reverse Royalty is inevitable, but it doesn't have to happen right now. You have less than fifteen minutes before they show up, so I will make this as quick as possible." Mikaun closed the door and pulled the blinds.
"You're not a normal doctor, are you?" Mana said, narrowing her eyes.
"Very observant. Now then, Lyra— Or would you prefer I call you 'princess', instead?"
"Since you've gone and told my secret, I'll explain
myself
. Mikaun can pick up after I finish." Lyra shot Mikaun a look of disappointment. "Approximately two decades ago, the princess of Chiipha was devoured by the devils thus allowing them access to the boundaries between Earth and Chiipha. However, they had been brutally defeated the last time they attempted this—a Rezertia."
Aria kept a watchful gaze over Mikaun as Lyra continued her explanation. Something felt off, but she couldn't place
what
.
"There are meant to be
two
princesses, but not the kind that wear fancy dresses or that you see in movies. Their solemn duties are to protect the boundaries between Earth and Chiipha and ensure that their respective inhabitants are safe." Lyra spoke quickly, but everyone seemed to be following. "Because the princess of Chiipha was devoured, an official ceremony to crown her heir was never held, but also because the devils completely drained her of her powers—t
his
is why they are back
now
."
Mikaun checked the clock on the wall. "Earth is also missing
its
princess, but that's a side to the story you will have to hear from its rightful owner."
Lyra allowed Mikaun to finish before continuing. "As for myself... Chiipha used to be home to multiple royal families, and that's an entire history lesson in of itself, but I
am
a princess to one of them: the Ekair family." She could sense the overload of information was still processing. "I don't have the time to explain everything right now, and with time as scarce as it is—"
"I'll wrap this up," Mikaun said, checking the clock once more. "The devils were beaten back in the past, most recently just over two decades ago, as the princess here stated. Unfortunately, it was at great cost."
Aria was the first to speak. "What is your reasoning for coming here, Mikaun? Why are you providing us with this information despite being one of the devils yourself?"
"Ahzef seeks to destroy, then rewrite, the universe. That alone explains the shifts you've felt in the universal plane. I'm providing this information because, like you, I also have something to protect. Ahzef must not be allowed to succeed. If you fail, it won't be your universe alone that withers away." The devil bowed his head.
"
But I know that's not right..."
Alarm bells went off in Aria's head.
"I understand." Mana added. "I may not have all the information right now, or know what's truly right or wrong, but I do know we can trust you." She placed her hand above her heart. "I can sense the benevolence in you, Mikaun. You truly do have something that means the world to you and, just like us, you don't want that to vanish."
"By the way, how did you stop the shaking earlier? I'm mostly just curious," Brendan said.
"From the phauake, you mean?"
"Yes. You snapped your fingers and it just... stopped, but there has been almost no word on the thing at all. Not to mention how eerily quiet it is. Why hasn't there been some kind of emergency response?"
Mikaun grinned. "It's very unfortunate you came to that realization, albeit it was a simple deduction."
The devil began to split in two. One entity retained Mikaun's original appearance. The other's was much more feminine in nature.
Another "snap" sucked the color from the room as everything faded from soft hues of blue and white to darkness dimly lit by hanging lanterns along a stone wall.
"Dammit, Brendan," Aria exclaimed furiously, "You
just
had to go and address the elephant in the room, didn't you?"
"Oh, come on now, Aria. You didn't sense something was off, too?"
"If you two don't shut up and figure out what the hell just happened, we're as good as dead—now get along or
I'll
be the scariest thing you see for a while," Lyra smiled.
Aria walked to the front of what looked to be a large holding cell. She gripped the metal bars until her knuckles turned white. "We can't afford to lose this kind of time. When I get my hands on that damn devil, I'm going to blast him like I did Lucifero."
"You're going to blast
who
like you blasted me?"
Aria groaned. "It just gets better by the minute..." |
Music rang through the hallways of the school as Aria crept out the back door. Her date was a no-show and despite the best efforts of several other girls to cheer her up, she decided to hang it up for the night. What was the point of standing around in a pretty dress and her best makeup if none of the boys were going to ask her to dance?
"It's not like I was expecting much, anyways," she mumbled under her breath as she crept out the back door.
She unfolded a large bag she'd hidden in her purse and pulled the journals from the library out as she tried to make room for the dress. "I hate to fold it up, but," tears stung her eyes, "if I take
anything
with me, it should be the dress. Grandma worked hard on it, so it'll be the one memento I take."
The dress folded easily as she placed the satin-like fabric inside her bag. She'd packed a simple cardigan crop-top, high-waisted shorts, and a pair of low-heeled sandals to change into once the dance was over or, God forbid, her date was a no-show. She scoffed.
"Whatever. Not like anyone will care when I'm gone anyways." She placed her dress heels on the ground as she fumbled around in the bag for her sandals. "I never was a stilettos girl anyways. Why didn't I just wear flats?" she whined.
After another minute of painstaking rummaging, she pulled her sandals from the bag and fastened the straps. "Now then," she said, turning her attention towards the journals, "I guess I'll call this phone number and say goodbye to this miserable life."
On the innermost page of the first journal was a phone number written in faded ink. She dialed the number. The phone rang once... twice... three times... Just as she was about to end the call, a man's voice answered the other line.
"There is no turning back once you've chosen this path. Are you certain this is what you want?" His voice was mysterious but cautious.
"What I want is my old life back. Not a game of twenty questions."
"I see," the man said. "Very well then, Aria Miruna. Stay right where you are." The line died as a shiver crept down Aria's back.
Was she having second thoughts? She shook her head. "No way. I've come this far and like he said, there's no turning back."
The sea of uncertainty was deep, and she'd chosen to dive in head-first. Another shiver, stronger this time, caused her whole body to shake. She felt horribly ill. Her legs struggled to support her weight.
"I should have warned you: I tend to have a bit of an
overwhelming
effect on some people. My apologies," a voice whispered in her head. "You'll get used to it."
Her eyes rolled towards the sky. The stars were gorgeous despite the streetlamps, almost as if they were encouraging her to reach out for their light—to protect the final glimmers of hope in her heart. Outstretched to the sky, she closed her fist around a cluster of stars before falling backwards onto the asphalt. Her head erupted into a jumble of numbness. Her ears rang like a shrill whistle as dark spots occluded her vision.
Footsteps reflected off the concrete out into the empty back lot of the school. The features of a man gradually emerged into the low lamplight. "It seems this is everything you're taking to start this new life of yours." He crouched down beside Aria, now unconscious. "I would have preferred to pick your brain and learn more about you first, but I suppose you can rest for now."
The man slung Aria over his shoulder as he carried her purse and bag with his free hand. He moseyed through the lot, whistling a tune before fading into the darkness. They disappeared without a trace, unbound by observable reality.
Millee reappeared beside Brendan, clearly troubled by the sequence of events he'd just witnessed. He opened his mouth to speak before noticing Millee had changed her entire outfit. The look of disdain on his face bought him a one-way ticket to gut-punch city.
"Dammit, Millee! Take this... seriously!" he said between breaths.
"I'm the one
showing
you all of this, remember? Take
me
seriously, Brendan."
He rolled his eyes, ensuring he avoided Millee's. "The top and skirt combo is cute, really." He shifted his gaze back, examining her legwear. "But were the tiny bears for your knee-highs really the most
appropriate
thing you could have picked out?"
"Just because I want to be cute doesn't mean I'm not taking this seriously." She unwrapped a sucker and popped it in her mouth. "Want one?"
Brendan sighed before giving her a distasteful frown. "You have a hell of a fashion-sense, but there's a couple things we need to address about what just happened."
"You want to know where that man—" She pulled the sucker from her mouth. "Correction: where Ahzef took Aria, right?" She placed her foot against the wall and leaned back. The evening breeze was just enough to ruffle her skirt.
"Yes, but can you stop with all of the... subjectiveness?"
"
When this is all over, I want to go back to the way things used to be
," she thought to herself.
He noticed the forlorn look on her face. "Millee?"
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She tilted her head towards the night sky. "Anyways, Aria was taken to the very same ship she told you about.
I
was going to have you watch a few more important pieces of her past, but I think you understand the gist of things from here. What I really need you to see are these next few fragments."
She pulled what looked to be large shards of glass from thin air. Within them were a series of moving images, almost like a movie. "This is a fragment of her memory. No— It would be better to say this is part of what Ahzef tried to erase but failed to. When she
finally
broke, so too did several important pieces of her memory. He promised her that he could do the impossible." A melancholy look crossed Millee's face.
"He promised he could bring her parents back, that he could give her what she wanted most—a new life. To do that, he would theoretically rewrite the whole world, but it was all a lie." Brendan slid down the wall next to Millee.
"No peeping," she scolded.
"You know I'd never."
She giggled, continuing. "Aria is perhaps the greatest weapon
against
the Reverse Royalty. I don't claim to know everything, but what I
do
know is leverage. Why do you think Azael appeared before us in the library?"
"He knew we'd opened a link to the past and with that he had the opportunity to correct the mistake Ahzef made in putting his trust in her. My theory is he'd make her even more indentured the second time around."
"Bingo. You
might
have stood a stood a chance, but it would have been a grueling fight. You could have potentially taken Azael down, but we can't risk that." She slid down next to Brendan as she stretched her legs forward. "Unlike Lucifero, Azael cannot be revived simply because Ahzef refuses to do so. He's no fool and in order to truly defeat the Reverse Royalty, we would have to defeat Ahzef first." Her face turned serious as she locked eyes with Brendan again. "He truly thought he had Aria under his thumb, but he didn't plan on Omnis' intervention."
Brendan piped up. "Mana told me about several of her
encounters
, but just who or what
is
Omnis?"
She struck a thoughtful pose. "I think it's best you watch these final memory fragments before we get much deeper into this conversation. Remember, this is still about Aria." Millee stood up as she paced forward a few steps. "These next fragments are some of Aria's worst and will test you. Are you ready?"
Brendan stood up and gave a firm nod.
She smiled. "This time, actually do take my hand." |
Mana twirled her hair around her finger. Being locked up in a room all day was incredibly boring and to top things off, Kuria kept poking around in her head. It wasn't hard to reason why she was only the fourth ranked, though. Mana had successfully walled her mind off from the devil. Unfortunately, that came with an indeterminate departure from such a god-forsaken place.
On the bright side, her room was sizable and full of expensive-looking furniture. In times of great boredom, she'd hang her head over the side of the bed, allowing the ends of her hair to graze the floor. Other times, she'd stretch out until she could touch the ends of a red-cushion sofa with her fingers and toes, occasionally pretending the floor was lava as she jumped from the sofa to the bed.
She wasn't worried in the slightest. In fact, her magic was strong enough to ward the door off, reinforcing her perceived dominance over Kuria. Mana snickered each time she'd struggle to remove the warding which resulted in painful lashes, but the entertainment was well worth it. Watching Kuria storm off was Mana's favorite part, however, she had more important things to be doing. She realized that teasing the half-brained devil might not have been the best course of action but being locked up in a halfway point between Omnis and Chiipha wasn't getting her very far either.
"For fuck's sake, Mana. Either you're a glutton for punishment or you're really getting a kick out of reinforcing this door," Kuria said, jiggling the knob from the outside.
"I'll admit your lashes
are
painful, but seeing as I'm currently sitting on this bed, twirling my hair around my fingers... I think your struggling is a great reprieve to my boredom," she retorted wittily. "You can't break me and I'm clearly getting under your skin."
In a rage, Kuria blasted the door off its hinges. Before it could collide with the bedframe or worse yet,
her
, Mana blasted the oaken door with a fireball, effectively turning it to ash. "That makes what now? Eleven?" Her face was plastered with boredom. She raised her eyebrows as if to say, "
Is that the best you can do?
"
"You're such an annoying girl. Why Ahzef assigned me to
you
makes no sense." Kuria gasped, realizing her mistake moments after the words left her lips. She smiled wickedly. "That's probably news to you, isn't it? Since the cat's out of the bag now, I might as well explain."
"Yes, I think that'd be wise," Mana said threatingly. This could be her chance to get some information on the devils and Lacia's possible whereabouts.
"Watch your tone with me, girl. Anyways, as you've likely surmised, Ahzef is alive. As for your friends—"
Kuria dropped to her knees as a sickening crunch came from her arm as Mana twisted it behind her back. "
Where
is Ahzef and
where
," she twisted her arm further, "are Lacia and Aria?"
"You should've let me finish," the devil said through gritted teeth, "because if you had, you'd still be sitting on that bed."
Mana returned her attention to the hair twirling, paying Kuria little mind. "Would you like to put that to the te—" Something slammed into her back, knocking the wind out of her as she collided with the back wall. She gasped for air, but her lungs refused oxygen. Her arms were pinned to her sides as a sickening cold crawled over her.
"What was that? You wanted to put my word to the test, right?"
An angry, hot wind caused Kuria's dress to billow out in translucent sheets of white silk. Her ears popped as the air pressure bottomed out; gravity seemed to pin Kuria to her spot. Mana's magic flared, exciting the tiny star-shaped mark on her cheek with ferocious fury. Erratic mana chased Kuria's dreadful cold away as the room temperature soared.
Having regained her breath and composure, Mana slid back down the wall—finally realizing what had happened. Holding a limp arm, she approached Kuria. Anger welled up within her as she considered blasting the devil right then and there, but she feared her anger could weaken her control. She walked through the now-open doorway before recrafting it, sealing Kuria inside as she reinforced the warding.
"I
should've
just blasted you, regardless. Lucky for you though, I have places to be, so
I
will be on my way now, thank you." Mana spun a ring of golden keys around her wrist. "You should've hidden these better, by the way. Why would you hang them on the bedpost? My mana traces things I can't see, so I would've found them eventually anyways, but you already... knew... that." The realization struck her like a slap in the face. She flung the keys as far from her as she could, but it was too late. What she had taken for normal keys were anything but. She'd been had. "
Dammit! I was careless!
"
"I put them there because I knew you'd think they were the keys you needed to escape," Kuria's voice rose from behind the door, "but they weren't. Those keys unlock anything of my choosing and I chose to unlock— Can you guess?"
Blood spattered from Mana's lips before she could cover her mouth. "
When she reversed my post-mana-contraction, she must've just locked it away in another part of my body. That damn devil was crafting a ticking time bomb the entire time!"
Her eyelids drooped at the onslaught of nausea.
"You're only half-right," Kuria snickered as she blasted the door off its hinges again. "I
did
lock away that awful little condition of yours, but I also imbued it with a little dark energy as a fail-safe. The keys were bait and you fell for it." She dangled the keyring in front of her. "Notice how there's a key missing?"
"I
will
kill you," Mana warned.
Shadows darted across the stone floor, caressing every flaw in the uneven surface. Mana leapt into the air, attempting to avoid them, only to be caught mid-leap and slammed down with tremendous force.
"Nuh-uh. You're not leaving, and you will
not
lay a finger on me."
From Lacia and Aria's recount of their fight with Lucifero, she had assumed that the devils' shadows were confined to the ground only, that they couldn't reach an airborne target. The pain that erupted across her body told a much different story. Kuria's shadows held her ankles in an icy vice-grip as she attempted to crawl away, waves of pain rocking her body with every small movement. Broken bones would be the least of her worries. Kuria had her right where she wanted her.
"Let's make sure you don't try anything funny again, shall we?" The shadows slowly wrapped themselves around the arches of her feet, ensuring their grip. "We'll make this nice and clean. If I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath."
"Don't—" Mana groaned. "I'm not apologizing, but don't break—" A blood-curdling scream spilled from her throat.
"Ooo. That even
sounded
like it hurt," Kuria said. That
snap
was just
so
clean, though. You should be thankful I made it quick."
Deep purple and blue bruising spread around Mana's now-broken foot like the plague. The pain stole her breath away like a brisk winter wind. Torment raced across her face. Tears rained down like waterfalls as they splashed against the floor as her fingers arched the air, clawing at the smooth stones beneath their tips.
The sound of fluttering silk and noisy footsteps edged their way towards Mana. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to listen when spoken to? Now look at you. You reap what you sow I guess." Translucent white silk fluttered behind her, crouching down, examining her prey like a wild animal. "I'm not like the other three, you see. I like to
play
."
Mana's vision swam as Kuria walked her fingers down her leg. Inaudible whispers embedded themselves in her mind like a hallucinogenic fever. She recalled the broken foot she had when she was little, but the pain she felt now was mind-numbing—incomparable. It pained here even more to know that the devil was enjoying her agony.
An idea sprang into Kuria's head. She stood up, watching as Mana attempted to crawl away to non-existent safety. Entertaining, but not entertaining enough. She tapped Mana's broken foot with the tip of her shoe. No reaction. "Then how about
this
?" She gave her foot a firm kick.
"STOP!! Enough already," she sobbed, pleading.
"I quite like this begging you're giving me, but I can't say I'm satisfied yet. Hmm..." Shadows wrapped around Mana's other foot like ribbons.
Her fingers trailed traces of blood as Kuria's shadows dragged her back into the impact crater she'd made earlier. The shadows around her non-broken foot began to tighten—slowly, strenuously. She screamed, half-hoping Kuria would stop, half-hoping someone would swoop in to save her.
"Uggh. Enough of the wailing already, Mana. Hush." The devil raised a finger to her lips. We could've easily avoided all of this if you'd just listened. Did you really think that you could face me down in your condition?"
The lights on the chandeliers above began to flicker. Kuria halted the harrowing twisting of Mana's foot and turned her attention to the erratic behavior of the chandeliers. The windows rumbled with a phantom vibration before abruptly ceasing. Tension seemed to fill the air causing Kuria's shadows to retreat behind her.
Despite her worsening condition, even Mana could sense a shift. She took the momentary confusion to crawl away, finding refuge behind a large statue, though the trail of blood she left behind was anything but reassuring.
"Interesting. I wonder what this feeling is," Kuria pondered. "A dimensional shift? Some kind of teleportation perhaps?"
Dust particles floated nonchalantly in the glimmering artificial light that poured in through the arched windows. Unless the pain was distorting her vision, Mana could have sworn the dust particles had abruptly frozen where they floated, yet the chandeliers overhead still swayed back and forth.
"
Time magic
?
No
.
This is different
," she pondered. "What's going on? I've never seen such specific influence..."
A steady clock-like ticking sound drummed through the castle. Kuria made a full three-sixty, cross examining every inch of the open aisle. "So... you can freeze time, but you can't accelerate or rewind it. Now this is interesting." Kuria paused for a moment. "There is someone here, hidden. Find them," she commanded as her shadows plunged the aisle into darkness. Devilish tentacles felt around in the dark, combing through multiple spatial dimensions. "If you're here, I
will
find you," she mumbled.
"
That's kind of the point
," a female voice taunted. "
If I didn't want you to find me, I wouldn't have made my presence so obvious
."
"Are you going to make me guess who you are, or will you come out so we can have a chat?"
"
I know that voice, I think,
" Mana determined. She peered out from behind her hiding place, hoping to gain a better understanding of the conversation between Kuria and whoever else had mysteriously arrived.
"Oh, that's right. We still have unfinished business!" A r shadow raced across the floor as it wrapped itself around Mana's unharmed ankle. "I think for this one I'll just crush the bone into tiny pieces. A clean break like your other foot just isn't as much fun." With Mana firmly in her grasp again, she turned back to the matter at hand. "Her legs are next unless you'd like to—"
A brilliant whip of light struck Kuria across the cheek, searing a charred line across her face. Before the whip could strike for a second time, she side-stepped the attack as the whip struck the ground with a thunderous crack. Kuria's shadows rushed to devour the new source of rich magical energy, snuffing out the remaining light. "You were warned. Now
she
will suffer for your mistakes," Kuria sneered.
Mana inhaled sharply as Kuria's shadows wrapped themselves around her legs, wound like ribbons on a present. The sound of breaking bones filled her with fresh terror as she struggled to free herself to no avail.
"See, your first mistake was failing to realize I was right behind you the whole time." A girl about Mana's age emerged from a gate of light. Her legs donned white leggings, gold trim crisscrossing the fabric in intricate patterns. Silver sandal straps ran past her ankles as a sheer pastel-pink and white dress danced behind her, brushing the backs of her legs with each step. Lace-like white gloves ran from her forearms to a ringed point at her middle fingers.
Mana immediately recognized the light brown curls despite the blinding entrance. There was only one person who made such dramatic entrances—even in the short time she'd known her.
"How—?"
Kuria flung Mana through the air before she could complete her sentence, pinning her to the floor in icy tentacles of shadow as she landed. "I don't care
who
walks through that gateway. It doesn't change the fact that my mission was to return you to Ahzef alive. You won't be leaving my side, as much as I'd rather just fling you into oblivion," she said, addressing Mana.
A loud
snap
arose from Mana's legs as Kuria's shadows tightened their relentless grip on her. She cried out in fits of torturous pain, clenching her teeth, struggling to regain enough composure to make a coherent thought. Another audible snap came from her formerly unbroken foot—another clean break. Spots formed in her eyes as her body went limp, still caught in the clutches of Kuria's shadows.
"
I've reached my limit
," she thought as her eyelids fell over her eyes. "
In the end, I only did this to myself it seems
."
"Hold on, Mana. I made a promise I would get us all out of this. Nothing
about
that promise has changed and I
do not
break my promises," the girl shouted.
Mana opened her eyes a crack, fighting off fatigue and shock. "Then hurry, Aria... I'm fading..."
She quickly struck up conversation in an effort to keep Mana conscious. "You wanna know something funny? I found Lacia in a very similar situation as you are now when I came to save
her
. It's already been two years. Can you believe it?" She knew keeping Mana from going under would be difficult. "
How I'm going to juggle you and Kuria, I have no idea
," she assessed.
"Aria... Surely, she doesn't mean—"
"Miruna? If that's what you were about to say, then you would be correct."
"How are you even here? You should've been annihilated by the Hihoyou!"
"As should have Ahzef, but judging by your awareness of the events of that battle, you played a role in that damned devil's escape, didn't you?"
"Us devils are crafty things," Kuria said, extending an arm defiantly. She gave Aria a wide grin.
"I've noticed. Lucifero liked to play dirty, too. It's too bad he's not around to tell you how much trouble you're in. I presume he was a dream-eater which explains how he wormed his way into Lacia's head," Aria folded her arms in front of her chest, "but you... What are
you
?"
"Care to find out?" Numerous needle-like shadows pointed themselves at Aria. "I may have slipped up with this one here," she said, gesturing towards Mana, "but I'm not so clumsy I'd give away what kind of devil
I
am. I'll finish what Lucifero and Ahzef couldn't!" She launched the needled shadows at Aria who easily deflected the assault.
"At least make this fun for me, devil."
"It's that very same cocky attitude that got your friend into trouble," Kuria whispered in Aria's ear. She hadn't taken her eyes off Kuria for even a second. How did she get behind her? "I hate to ruin such a pretty dress, but I think it would look even better stained red." Kuria thrust her hand through Aria's back, piercing her stomach. Copious amounts of blood painted her lips bright red as she doubled over, heaving yet more onto the floor. Sneak attacks were the one thing she could do without.
Aria gripped Kuria's hand the moment she removed it as she choked out a short incantation. "
Reviarna
." Kuria leapt to the side, slipping through Aria's blood-soaked hands, as a blast of wind hollowed out a hole in the wall behind her.
"You'd tear yourself apart just to defeat me? You won't last long like that, girl," she snickered. A small trickle of black blood seeped from the devil's cheek before promptly healing.
"It's a little uncomfortable, I'll admit," Aria said, closing the hole in her stomach, "but just because you worked your way behind me once doesn't mean you'll have the chance to do it twice." She stood up, woozy from the blood-loss. "Shall we continue, or would you like to join Lucifero as a pile of ash?"
"Big talk coming from someone who ran away and hid for two years. Are you sure
you
want to continue, Miss Miruna?" the devil mocked.
"Mmm. 'Miss Miruna' has a nice ring to it. Gives me princess vibes, being in this castle and all."
Shadows grew from the lengths of Kuria's fingers into hazy, purple claws. She lurched forward with astounding speed, a blur of inky black as she forced Aria into a dodging-dance. Left, right, left, right. "
She knows I can track her, though... Which means it's not a frontal assault! Her main shadow—where is it?!"
Deep gashes raked across Aria's back. She cursed. "
Behind me again?! How?"
"I was right. Red
is
a good look for that dress," Kuria teased, "but I'm not through carving you up yet." The devil's form dissolved into shadow, seeping through the cracks in the floor, swiping at Aria from below.
Mana called out, taking Aria by surprise. "Send a pulse of mana through the floor and I'll amplify it!" She was breathing heavily, still wrapped up in Kuria's shadowy tentacles.
"But you're in—"
"Just do it!"
Aria hesitated for a moment longer before dropping to the ground. She pressed her palms against the cold stone, sending pulses of mana through the floor. "
I get it now. This girl is ingenious
!"
Mana took a deep breath, hair standing on-end as if the air were filled with static. She wiggled an arm free. Pressing her own palm against the floor, she released her own amplified mana wave. If their mana was compatible with each other's, the mana waves would resonate. "Magical sonar. Pretty cool, right?" she smiled weakly.
"It would be if I could find this stupid devil. She's still below me somewhere..." A cold wind whipped Aria's dress into a flurry. "I'm not afraid to show a little skin, devil," Aria shouted. She followed Kuria's trail of dark magic, but she felt sluggish—like she was wading through waist-deep water combined with the mental fog of jet lag. "
She's after Mana still! Dammit!
" She had to warn her, but it was all she could do just to form coherent thoughts.
Kuria's shadow briefly bobbed above the surface like the dorsal fin of a shark. "You might think you have me bound— Actually, you do," Mana said, "but I still have enough fight left in me to burn your shadows away." The shadowy tentacles relinquished their hold. "Not a fan of combustion?"
"She's burning her binds away. That girl is something else, I swear," Aria said, shaking off the mental fog.
Eyeing the red carpet that lined the length of the aisle, Mana had a thought. "
Kuria has repeatedly avoided that carpet. This better work or I'm dead.
" She put her split-second plan into motion. Shakily, she used her arms to lift her abdomen off the floor. "Aria, I'm going to reinforce my legs with mana. I just need you to—" Sudden nausea and disassociation struck her like a blast of hot air as she dropped back to the floor. Kuria was mere feet from her now, but the nausea was potent. "
I can't just lay here! Move dammit!
" She lifted herself off the floor once more as her vision swam. Hand to her mouth, she pointed to the carpet and then to herself. "
I'm going to vomit
," she thought.
"Yeah, I got it." She lifted Mana with a rush of wind, moments before a large spike shot through the floor where she'd been lying. She gently placed her on the carpet. "It can't be that easy, though."
"It is," Mana said with a swallow. "She can only surface in an open area that's unobstructed by other objects. This carpet acts as a barrier. See?" She pointed to the lights on the ceiling. "She uses those lights to create artificial shadows because she doesn't have an actual shadow of her own. Therefore, because it's not a true devil's shadow, it can't penetrate multiple surfaces—no matter how thick or thin."
"I should have snapped your neck instead of your foot," Kuria said as she reemerged from an inky pit in the floor, dissatisfied. "You figured out my secret, but that doesn't change the fact that you're both at the whim of my mercy," she jeered.
"Aria, your back," Mana cried out. The gashes she'd received from earlier were bleeding profusely—the paleness in Aria's face made it clear she'd lost a lot of blood. "It's like they're corroding..."
A needly shadow grazed Mana's cheek as she barely managed to avoid the attack. "Pay me no mind, Mana. Keep your focus," Aria said, now breathing heavily.
Kuria's devilish form raced forward once more as Aria's eyes darted along with her lightning-quick paces. She thrust her arm forward, palm connecting with Kuria's chest. "Got you," she whispered. A blinding eruption of heat and light engulfed the devil. "You're a tricky one alright."
A black mass shot from the dazzling beam as it collided with a nearby statue now in a heap of rubble. The shadowy mass piecemealed itself back together until Kuria had fully reformed. "That was a nasty spell. Where did you learn something as troublesome as that?" Kuria hissed, smoke still rising from her body.
"You're persistent," Aria said, disappointed. "For your information, I didn't 'run away'. After Lacia and I became separated, I scoured the ends of the Earth trying to find her." Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead—a sign she was overwhelmed. "In that time, I stumbled upon my old home. As you may well know, the Miruna clan was one of the great mage families. My family in particular was responsible for the some of the most powerful, yet devastating, spells in the history of magecraft."
"What's your point?" Kuria snapped.
Aria ignored her. "As a little girl, I was told to stay away from books my mother had written." She opened the palm of her hand as a bound leather book appeared before her. "Do you know what this is, Kuria?"
"I'm not startled by a small book of spells. You gave it your best shot and that's commendable, but I think it's time we—"
"This is the Grimoire of Segashino—one of the greatest mages to ever live," Aria said as she gave Kuria a cold stare.
"You're bluffing. That Grimoire was destroyed when Lucifero defeated Saint Miruna centuries ago. I personally ensured nothing of that Grimoire remained after I burned it to cinders. How is it that
you
have it?!"
The pages of the grimoire began to turn on their own, casting Aria in a pale-purple glow. Her hair flurried behind her as mana poured into her body from all angles. Mana watched in awe as the gashes on Aria's back began to shrink.
"You can negate the poison from my claws, but that doesn't change the fact that I was able to land such a devastating blow to you," Kuria remarked.
"
Mana, I don't have the strength to beat her in this condition
," Aria telepathized, "
and I can see your post mana-contraction has been exacerbated. So, I propose an idea
."
"Does your idea start with 'running' and end in 'away'"? Mana whispered. "Neither of us can beat her right now. Like you said, my post mana-contraction is hindering my ability to perform complex magecraft and with all of these broken bones—"
"Interesting conversation you're having over there, but I'm afraid neither of you are leaving." Arrows rained from the ceiling, strategically pinning Mana and Aria's clothes to the floor, immobile. A large wall of ominous dark clouds rotated around Kuria's finger as large hailstones fell from within the growing mass. "This might hurt." Her words were jarring, yet they contained a hint of glee. An infusion of dark magic turned the falling hailstones into several-inch-large icy bullets.
Aria threw up a wall of light to shield from the oncoming volley. "We're not running—hear me out," she explained. The Grimoire floated over to Mana. "Take a look at this spell. It's small, but if we condense a large enough amount of mana into this, it should grow unstable. Basically, this spell requires the caster, or casters in this case, to harness the power of a star." Mana skimmed the page. "As it grows increasingly unsteady, its power is amplified, though we face greater risk of recoil damage," Aria explained.
Cracks began to emerge in their defensive shield. It wasn't designed to withstand a constant volley of attacks. "I have to be in perfect condition for this, Aria. I'm struggling just to fight the nausea back right now."
"Let's fix that, then. I learned
several
things in the two years I was gone, and
this
is one of them." She pressed her hands against Mana's stomach and gave a firm shove. A dark mist scattered from her body as Aria ionized the cloud with a supercharged blast of pure light. It was a good thing Kuria's arrows kept Mana anchored. She might have accidently sent Mana flying, otherwise. "How do you feel?"
"Way bette—" Mana's eyes grew to the size of golf balls. The sound of tearing flesh and splattering blood resounded through the castle. Time seemed to devolve into a crawl as she watched fate unfold before her eyes, unable to move.
"NO! You couldn't have—" Aria stared on in horror as a splash of dark red dispersed across the floor.
"Oh, but I did, Aria. I recall telling you not to underestimate me like Miss Lhumin there. You girls just refuse to listen." A large, black heap shot out from behind Kuria, absorbing all remaining light like a vacuum. Everything fell into darkness—not even the tiniest morsel of light could escape. "I'll let you in on a little secret," the devil boomed in the dark. "Unlike Ahzef or Lucifero, I can freely change my form into whatever I please, but—"
"You talk... Too. Much." Aria's voice was harsh and filled with rage.
Kuria smiled. "Looks like I caught you red-handed, huh? Get it? Because your hands—"
A biting chill hung in the air, causing even Kuria to shudder. Frost crept its way around Aria. The stone floor was the first to freeze, becoming a skating rink of black ice. An icy blue crept its way up the cloth banners while the encroaching frost formed crystal-like patterns. No corner of the castle remained unscathed by Aria's icy rage—even the tips of her fingers had grown red from the cold.
"I
live
in the cold, girl. This is
nothing
to me," Kuria sneered. "Maybe you should be more focused on the enemy in front of you. I won't kill you, but I'm going to make you wish I had."
"This is nothing yet," Aria whispered, a white cloud erupting from her lips. The cold was unabating—numbing. She was the spellcaster, but the chill ran so deep she couldn't stop herself from shivering.
Cold was a deadly force and Mana had no means of fighting it off, but there was a silver lining, despite the odds being stacked against them. "I think I can slow her bleeding if I make her cold enough. I might even be able to put her in a state of cryogenic sleep—
if
I can end this devil quickly enough," Aria said, making eye contact with Kuria as she finished.
The cold continued to expand as frost began to climb the walls, plunging the entirety of the aisle into a deep-freeze. Ice magic was beautiful—it's cold otherworldly. Still, it was a better option than unleashing a raging inferno in such a confined space. She put herself and Mana at risk regardless of what she chose to do. Countless scenarios tore through her mind, but none of them were the solution to the problem.
"The blue shading of your lips tells me you're having a rough time. How long do you think you can maintain such a powerful and reckless spell?" Kuria started towards Aria, but the frost was relentless. "I see. You might very well pull it off after all... At the expense of your life," she exclaimed.
"Enjoy your icy prison for a while, you monster. I have business to attend to." The frost crept up the devil's body, turning her devilish-white skin to a pale blue. A final volley of shadows arced out from behind her only to drop to the floor like deadweights, immobilized by the cold. "Any last words for a while?" Aria said shivering.
"You're crafty. I can't wait to dissect you later, but I'm patient. How long can you maintain the spell, though?" Kuria hissed as the frost froze her solid.
With Kuria temporarily out of her hair, Aria turned to Mana. "I don't know if you can hear me right now, but," she gulped, "I'm going to put your body into a deep-freeze. It's the only thing I can do to save your life right now. I'm so sorry..."
Mana lightly grasped Aria's chilled hand, sputtering blood. "It's my—"
"Don't talk. You're losing more blood than your body can afford to lose and the more energy you expend right now, the faster you're going to—" Aria bit her tongue, afraid to address the elephant in the room.
Mana had been impaled by multiple metal rods. Kuria hadn't been throwing her shadows around for no reason, but by the time Aria realized it, it was already too late. She had been slicing the chandeliers, turning them into wicked, cylindrical swords. One had pierced Mana's abdomen, luckily avoiding any major vital areas, but the last two were a bothersome amount more gruesome. One had pierced her thigh and, judging by the amount of blood she was losing, it had likely pierced an artery.
Removing any of the rods would be problematic, though. The final rod was especially worrisome, having inserted itself at an angle between her neck and shoulder. Judging by the angle, Kuria must have tried for her throat but was knocked off-course.
"There's only one way I can save you," Aria said, addressing Mana, "but it's going to take time which is why I have to place you in cold-sleep. This is the best I can do for the moment." She held her hand tightly as frost crawled down her arm. "Sleep well. I don't have time to explain, but I swear on my life I
will
save yours." Mana's eyes closed as she fell into a deep, cold, sleep. Frost snaked its way around her body—an icy shade of white.
She'd pulled a fast one on Kuria with a simple parlor trick. It only
seemed
like she could manipulate time. Her magic was good for more than just combat—she'd been able to fool the fourth seat of the Reverse World, but if she really
could
control time, she could have frozen Kuria in time—not ice. She'd have plenty of time to reflect on that later though.
Gently, Aria lowered Mana's hand, allowing it to rest at her side. "Alright. This is the only time I'm going to ask you for help, got it?" Aria muttered under her breath. "Save her. Please. I'll pay the price, whatever you want—it's yours." She closed her eyes as the icy battlefield around her temporarily faded away. Everything hinged on her negotiating skills now.
Aria's consciousness slammed into a material body like she'd been slingshot by some unseen force. Thankfully, she knew where she was. She tried to open her eyes, but the air was so dry they wouldn't stop watering forcing her to keep them closed. Likewise, several questions rose to the forefront of her mind, but they would have to wait for later. Penance for power poised her lips.
"
I enact a high price for what you're asking of me
," A disembodied voice snapped.
"I understand that. Like I said—
anything
."
Aria's eyelids fluttered as the voice crept closer, whispering hot breath in her ear. "
What are you willing to sacrifice? All to save another human—a creature of which you detested just two years ago."
Without hesitation, "I will give my memories. There is nothing I can do with such pain and remorse. Do you know how many times I've wished I could just forget? You can have them all. I've started a new life and I'm happy now. My only wish is to forget the pain of the past and if that means sacrificing those memories, they're all yours."
"
Ahh, no, that won't do, I'm afraid.
"
"What?"
"
While they are quite tasty, what you are really asking of me is the power to defeat the devil before you, is it not
?"
"No! That's not—"
"
Give me a piece of your soul. That will satisfy me for some time."
"My soul? But— What kind of an effect will that have on
me
? I mean, souls are kind of important, are they not?"
"
Are you asking for my help or are you here to waste my time?"
Aria's face shifted from seriousness to confliction. "I—" She gnawed the inside of her cheek. "
I don't believe I have the power alone to defeat Kuria—not without Mana, but can I really just give away a piece of my soul like that?
"
"
What is your decision?
the voice demanded.
"
I don't have a choice
," she realized. "If I die by Kuria's hand, there will be no safe place left in the universe. The people I've come to love as friends will see their lives needlessly snuffed out—all because I was too selfish to pay the price required of me. Take whatever you need."
"
A wise decision. Open your eyes, Aria Miruna. You have passed
."
Aria's eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing hazel eyes as grey as the fog before her. For whatever reason, her eyes had stopped watering. Wiping the tears from her eyes, "What do you mean I've passed? Passed what?" she asked, confused.
The fog thinned just as her eyes cleared, allowing visible passage of a large serpent-like dragon. "
You were willing to sacrifice something so vital as a piece of your soul, willing to sacrifice every last memory you owned, to save not only your friend,
but the whole universe,"
the serpent telepathized. "
That is more than enough payment
." The scaley giant coiled around Aria, still coming to terms with what the dragon had told her. The dragon lowered its head, staring intently into her eyes. "
Open your hands.
"
She did as instructed. A red and green flecked scale dropped into her palms. It was warm, brimming with a mystical energy, yet there was a sense of loneliness imbedded deep within its core. "There must be something I can offer you in return for this," Aria said awe-struck. "A dragon-scale... From a god no less—"
"
I do not require further payment or offerings
." The dragon gave a heavy sigh. "
I have imbued the last of my power into that scale. I am tired and have lived a long, long life. It is unfortunate I cannot see your battle through to the end
,
though
."
"I thought you were the god of time, though? Chronyu?" Aria's amazement vanished, replaced by an impending sense of melancholy.
"
You are half right, Aria Miruna. Though I am the one who commands time, I am not a god, by your terms. Time itself is not without its limits. It has been a lonely life, confined to this infinite maze of empty space
." Chronyu lowered its head, now level with Mana. "
I will grant you the last of my power as you must now be the one who rules time.
"
The dragon-scale rose from Aria's hands. A dazzling array of reds, greens, and deep blues danced before her eyes as the scale shattered into thousands of miniscule fragments, each piece morphing into a pellet of light as they shot into her body one by one. Was control over time itself really something she could manage? How does one "rule time"?
"
That power is only in its infancy as you are its new wielder. It must grow and mature as you do. Do not be reckless and abandon common sense. It is easy to alter the flow of time, but it is a monumental task to restore the flow to its appropriate stream if you misjudge its power.
"
Aria was stunned. She stared at the palms of her hands in disbelief. Power over time itself—a power like something you'd hear in a story. "Yet here I am, the successor of time itself," she whispered to herself.
"
With great power comes great responsibility. Have faith in yourself and continue to seek growth. In time, you will find time. Good luck, Aria Miruna.
" Chronyu laid its head at Aria's feet and closed its eyes. "
I wish I could have made at least one friend after all these millennia, but I am pleased you are the successor to my power. Yes. Now I can rest.
"
Her heart broke. Comprehension eluded her. The dragon seemed so genuine. "Chronyu,
I
will be your friend. I will remain here until you take your final breath," she said tearfully. "I understand how it feels to be alone. Allow me to do at least this much, as a friend."
"
Thank you. I would like that. It has been a long life, but I am glad this is how it ends—knowing that my time is in good hands
..." The dragon's breathing slowed.
Aria smoothed her hand over the scales on Chronyu's head. Mixed emotions rebounded through her heart and mind, but they weren't hers. She closed her eyes, embracing the emotional spillover. "Life must have been so lonely. No one deserves to be cooped up like this, all alone, without even so much as a friend. How can our universe treat such a gentle creature with such disdain and abandonment?" She shook her head.
The dragon's scales began to turn colors like leaves in the fall: yellows, browns, and rusty oranges. Chronyu had taken its last breath. Time was cruel and relentless—that was the reality of it, but she was sick of watching her friends fall like dominos. Lacia was still missing, and Mana was critically wounded while Brendan and Licht were trapped on Chiipha and Earth respectively. Chronyu's soul had been hardened by loneliness and she could tell it dreamed of escaping such lonely confinement.
"Would you like to come with me?" She could feel Chronyu's soul withering away, longing for its last chance at freedom—an escape from a hell where it could only look on. "I will happily bring you along. There's a whole wide world out there. I mean, there's technically more than that, but I think you knew that long before me."
Aria placed a hand on Chronyu's body once more. A luminescent orange light enveloped the dragon, temporarily halting decay. A fiery vortex sprang up like a geyser, but the flames were cool and pleasant to the touch as she allowed them to be absorbed by her mana. She took a few steps back, beholding the mighty sight of Chronyu one final time.
"Perhaps this isn't so much of a goodbye as it is a new day dawning," she said. "You have a beautiful soul, Chronyu, and I promise it will get to see worlds you two always dreamed of." A gate of light appeared before the dragon's body as the final few scales were whisked away in a spectacular display of golden fragments. "Let's go finish this fight and bring everyone home now," she said addressing the new companion in her heart. "Those memories I so conveniently tried to erase are more than just painful reminders of my past. Thanks to you, Chronyu, I think I can finally come to terms with who I have become." She took a moment, permitting the melancholic emotions to wash over her before stepping through the shimmering gate.
Flames swept through her like wildfire, burning away the last seeds of imprisonment that had sealed her heart away. Golden steps of light floated in the air as they wound around an ornate stone pillar. The scenery was beautiful; pink and orange clouds concealed a setting sun. If she were an artist, she would paint the picture in front of her, though she decided just a mental image would do.
The backs of her heels made a small
pang
as she jumped from stair to stair. It felt like a dream. She landed perfectly center on each as if something were guiding her along—some unseen force. Time was different in this space. It flowed faster than on Earth or Chiipha, yet she felt like she was
gaining
time—there was a lot left to learn about this new power, apparently.
She looped her way around the side of a large floating island to discover it was constructed of the same loamy soil and amiable flora as Earth. It was a heartwarming reminder of what life used to be like, but also a painful lesson of a home she once took for granted. Despite her mixed feelings, she took one final leap onto the earthy plane while the sweet aroma of damp soil and various floral life helped calmed her nerves. She couldn't remember the last time she'd taken a moment just for herself. For the first time in a long time, she felt like
time
was on her side.
The stone pillar she saw earlier stood proud, free from blemish or scratch. Upon further inspection, it seemed to be an altar of sorts—likely something used to worship a deity, but why was it here? A stone tablet rested at the base. Out of curiosity, Aria picked it up and began to read aloud:
"
Here is where we pay homage to the one who watches over us. Here is where we pay homage to the one who provides. Here is where time rules over us, unabating and fair. We find comfort in our darkest nights through the one who soars above us in the endless skies. To you, the one who holds our time, we gift this offering
."
She gently placed the tablet back where she'd found it and began to examine the pillar further. The dark stone was cool to the touch and smooth like granite. "It must be at least twice my height," she said in awe. Walking around to the backside of the structure, she noticed small divots, just big enough for a foot, entrenched in the stone. As she began climbing, the final line of the tablet played in her head:
"
Whomever you may be, wherever you may be from, please accept our most prized possession as it faces the sky, graced by the glow of our star.
"
The holes stopped short of the top as Aria peaked over the edge of the hollowed-out acme. There in the center lay a bracelet, ornamented with a series of lustrous sky-blue stones. She reached a hand over the bracelet, scooping it up before sliding it onto her wrist as she climbed down. It reminded her a lot of the bracelet Lacia had on after her fight with Lucifero.
"I believe this was meant for me. I just wish I could thank whoever left it here, the bracelet being a prized possession as the tablet stated." Realizing she'd spent more time than intended, Aria quickly scanned the vicinity for any other signs—anything that might aid her in any future endeavors. After determining she'd scoured everything down to the last inch, she took a deep breath—one last whiff of a life she'd left behind. As if on cue, another shimmering gate opened; this one depicting Mana and Kuria's frozen bodies. She was relieved to see that Kuria had remained frozen, but Mana would need immediate medical attention once she was thawed.
"
If I don't have to use this power yet, it may be of benefit to save it, in case things don't go as planned
," she thought. "Ok," she exhaled, "now or never, Aria. You made a promise. You can't break it now."
She stepped through the newly opened gate and grabbed Mana. "I bet I can turn back time on these wounds," she mumbled to herself, "but I think it's high time we both got the hell out of here. I'm spent and Kuria won't stay frozen forever." A bright flash of light and thunderclap later, they were gone—free from the devilish influence of Kuria's dark aura. "
I guess we did run, after all,
" she thought. |
The car was a heap of jagged metal and shattered glass so mangled it was a miracle anyone survived. Aria's parents were ruled deceased almost immediately after emergency services arrived. She understood little of what had happened—her body was in complete shock.
"Gone? But I was just— We were talking about—"
"I'm afraid they passed upon impact. It's a miracle you escaped with so few injuries," the ambulance attendant said. "Aria, was it? Why don't we take you to the hospital—just to observe you overnight and make sure everything's alright?"
She shook her head. "No. I just want to go home. We're going to make cookies and—"
The EMT pulled her in and gave her a firm hug—the reality of the situation finally hit her. She sobbed like a small child. Hot tears warmed her cold cheeks. Her heart was in pieces and her mind was a jumbled mess of terror and adrenaline; she didn't know where to begin or, really, how to piece her life back together in the slightest. Everything had been taken from her in an instant.
"
I know I'm only witnessing what happened, but it feels so real
.
When she left the mall that night, I had no idea this is the hell she would be living in...
" Brendan looked on, witness to a past only Aria knew.
He watched as her once color-filled world washed away with the rain and crimson stains on her hands. The life in her eyes was gone—a hollow shell all that remained. No one said life was fair, but this was excessive, he thought.
"
How do you take the lives of her parents, but spare hers?"
He walked over to the heap of scrap metal that was once a car. "
This must have been immediately after the drunk driver hit them, but I don't see the other vehicle. Was this a hit and run?"
"Aria?!" an elderly woman shouted. "Oh, Aria... This never should have happened..." She walked up to the ambulance where she sat, receiving treatment for a couple of small cuts and bruises on her face.
"Are you her grandmother?" the EMT asked.
"Yes. Thank you for taking care of her. I can't imagine what's going on in her head right now." She took a breath. "My daughter and son-in-law..."
The attendant shook her head, face full of dismay. "I'm very sorry, ma'am."
Aria's grandmother remained stoic. "Don't be. We can't change the rules of fate. What's most important right now is getting this girl away from here. I'm not sure she's even aware of what happened."
"They won't let me go home..." Aria's voice was monotone, but her words were scathing.
"The doctors will run a few tests tonight and make sure she's alright physically, but I'm afraid mentally..." The EMT's face was full of doubt.
Brendan walked up to Aria. He knew she couldn't see him, but he wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her he was going to make everything alright. "
How did we go from shopping and dinner to this monstrosity? Why doesn't this make sense to me?
"
The scene abruptly changed. Now, Aria was in bed with the curtains drawn, hoping to block out as much light as possible. She rolled over on her side, away from the door, buried in thick, weighted blankets. In her arms was a family photo and a stuffed bear—likely a favorite comfort object.
Clothes were strewn across the foot of the bed and much of the floor turning the bedroom into a treacherous maze of underwear, tops, and socks of varying lengths. On the desk were several magazines and old books, all opened face-down as if she'd tried to distract herself from reality and gave up. Her bed seemed to be the only place she found any kind of solace and her stuffed bear the only thing she wanted to talk to. Her room was a depiction of her current mental state.
"
This is why she never came back to school and why I couldn't reach her. No wonder the teachers were so secretive about Aria—they knew the whole time.
" Sniffles came from beneath the mountain of blankets. "
She's crying,
" Brendan realized, "
and there's no one around to comfort her
."
Her phone let out a tiny
bzzt
; a notification dimly illuminated the dark room. The screen displayed a multitude of missed calls, text messages, and voicemails. She was popular and avidly social, but many of the text messages lacked substance. Most were just a simple, "Missing you!", or "Is everything okay?" Specifics of the accident were scarce, she understood that, but no one had even bothered to ask what happened or where she was.
A soft knock came at the door. It was her grandmother. "Aria? Brendan is here to see you. He even brought your favorite snacks."
"Tell him I'm not here," she mumbled. "I... don't have the energy for people right now." She paused, fighting back tears. "Even him."
Her grandmother sighed. "I'll tell him you're not feeling well, but you will have to come out eventually. This is hard for both of us, dear."
Aria remained silent, her only response the soft sound of moving sheets as she turned over in her bed. Brendan listened as her grandmother was forced to turn his younger self away.
Aria's cold shoulder stung, but he didn't understand the reason back then. He listened to the soft clunk of the recliner in the living room where Aria's grandmother spent most of her time sewing. She was hurting just as much, having just lost her daughter, Aria's mother, but she put on a brave face for her granddaughter.
"
How is it you cared so little for anything else? This is a side to you I've never seen.
" Brendan turned towards the door then back to Aria. "
It was wrong of me to feel guilty, like somehow something I did caused all of this. I let my own self-pity swallow me whole. I should have kept coming back until you answered the door.
"
***
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Aria remained in her bed for a majority of the time, getting up only to use the bathroom or for a drink. On the night of the second day, she grabbed an empty suitcase and began to pack. She would start slow, fill the suitcase, dump it all out, and start over. Brendan lost count of how many times she'd break into tears after repeatedly emptying the suitcase.
"This isn't what I wanted for myself, my life. What did I do that was so awful to deserve this?" She kicked the open suitcase across the floor in frustration. "What am I doing? I can't even decide if I want to curl up and die or try to move forward. Nothing makes sense anymore." She sank to her knees, defeated.
She threw herself back onto the bed and shoved her face into a pillow for over a minute before deciding there were better ways to go about giving up. A pile of clothes slid off the bed and onto the floor from her haphazard return to its sheets. She stared at the new pile, lost in thought until the corner of a plastic card glinted in the light—an old library card. It was riddled with scratches and the barcode had faded some, but it looked like it was still in usable condition.
"How did
you
get there?" she wondered aloud. "I haven't seen you in years, yet here you are now, right in front of me." Aria glanced at the clock on her nightstand: 6:15pm. "The library closes at seven— If I go now, I can make it in time to find a new book or two... Maybe that'll help." She threw on a sweater and some sweatpants before walking out the front door with a promise to return home before it got too dark.
Brendan followed along. It felt... strange, walking in the shadow of the past of the girl he loved. He hadn't forgotten what the whispery voice told him, about this being his most harrowing trial yet, but something told him he wasn't the trial's primary target. Moreover, it seemed it would be Aria, but what would be so harrowing he'd yet to discover.
The April air was still warm thanks to the fringes of sunlight that lingered on the horizon. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalk, casting an artificial spotlight upon the first weeds of the season as they forced their way through the cracks in the cement; they'd likely be sprayed or pulled before long.
"
I can feel the air, the ground beneath my feet. I feel like I'm here, with her, yet I still feel so far away.
" Aria's voice snapped Brendan out of his amazement.
"A weed: that's what I feel like right now. I don't belong anywhere and I'm just a bother," she mumbled. She kicked a rock down the sidewalk—an unlikely, but welcome, companion. "I need to just uproot this life and start over. Someone pull
me
up like a weed."
She reached for her phone in her pocket, but realized she'd left it on her desk. It wasn't like she had anyone she was desperate to talk to anyways though. The thought of Brendan flooded her mind causing her to stumble over a curb ramp. She was fortunate enough to regain her balance before faceplanting into the cement. It wasn't that she
didn't
want to talk, she did, but there was no one to talk
to
about any of it. Psychiatry sounded like a nightmare and school was the last place she wanted to be, somewhere she would have her personal space invaded without consent.
Her relationship with Brendan wasn't just surface-level—she had honest feelings for him, but she refused to involve him in any part of her messed up life. Dragging him down with her wouldn't be fair—she refused to involve
anyone
she loved in something so harrowing.
The last few days were nothing but guilt and depression; she repeatedly blamed herself for the accident. She lived, they didn't. What else was there to say? Her grandmother would come by her room every so often to let her know that, when she was ready to talk, she'd be there. That was the problem, though. She
didn't
want to talk about it, any of it: the accident, her miraculous survival, even Brendan.
"
If I could grab my younger self by the collar and drag him back to that house, I would. I claimed to love her, but I couldn't even bother to come back to try and make an appearance.
" He walked past Aria and seated himself on the front of the library steps. "
What would it take to reach out and hold her right now?
" he wondered.
She slapped herself once on each cheek which turned out to be a terrible idea—her jaw was
sore
. Wincing as she walked up the steps to the library entrance, she headed for the fiction and fantasy section but decided to surprise herself in the bathroom mirror first.
"
Do I look as awful as I feel
?"
An audible gasp escaped her lips. Her hair was full of knots, unable to decide which direction it wanted to go, a large scrape on the side of her neck had scabbed over, and the bruises under her eyes made her look like she'd lost a boxing match. She backed away from the mirror before regaining enough composure to think straight.
"You came here for a reason, Aria. Get a grip, fix your hair a little, and try not to get Child Services called on you." She splashed her face with cold water, adding a little to her hair to tame the matted mess. "That's what being curled up in bed for nearly a week will do to you, I guess. I'll... uh... fix myself up when I get back..."
Before she could react, the bathroom door swung open, startling her. A girl, about her age, walked in. Aria scrambled to hide herself in a stall until she left, but it was too late—they'd already locked eyes. She started to cry; social interaction was the last thing she needed right now.
The new girl looked around nervously. "Hey, don't cry! Let's do this..." She draped her jacket around Aria's shoulders.
"Huh? Why?" she sniffled.
"You look cold, first of all, and second of all, this jacket has a special story to it. I was in a similar situation to what we're in now once, and a girl about our age did the same thing for me: she took off her jacket and draped it across my shoulders. She said, 'A little goes a long way. If you ever find someone in need, I hope that you pass this jacket along to them.' It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me."
"That's so strangely sweet," Aria said, half crying.
"It'd be weird for some random stranger to just hand their jacket off to you without introducing themselves first though," she laughed, "so, my name's Lyra."
Brendan was posted up outside the wall to the bathrooms as he heard Lyra introduce herself for the first time. Astonishment hit him like a brick. Aria never mentioned how she met her, nor had she ever described the relationship they had in any detail. He suddenly understood why Lyra's death was so impactful. He listened on.
"It's nice to meet you, Lyra. My name is Aria." She loosely held the jacket around her shoulders. "I'm sorry we had to meet like this. It's just— I—"
Lyra shook her head. "If you're not up to the task, you don't have to tell me
anything.
I'm just glad I could help in the little way that I could." She gave Aria a reassuring smile. "I know this is sudden, but how about we exchange phone numbers? I just have this feeling that meeting you was supposed to happen. Of course, you can refuse!"
"I feel the same. I can't really explain it, but I'd be happy to, amidst everything else that's currently going on."
Aria gave Lyra a bear hug as thanks for her understanding and the jacket before promising to text her later. Finally, a real friend. She took another minute for herself before venturing out into the library.
"
I almost wish I could explore all three floors of this place,"
Brendan thought as he watched Aria wade into the sea of books. "
There are desks for studying, couches in the back for a comfortable place to read, and even semi-private rooms for even more peace. This place is incredible."
Rows of books passed like speeding cars as Brendan struggled to keep pace with Aria. There was a special section in the back corner she used to visit when she was little, always filled with some of the most unique finds. She once found a book about flower language where she designated "the withered flower" as her first and foremost favorite. As she grew up, she found interest in things aside from the library: boys, clothes, and more flowers. She still loved her secret corner hidden in the books, but she didn't have much use for fourteenth-century recipes and ancient poetry that riddled the shelves this visit.
"
If there's still an entire other half to her past, then this must be where she comes across the essays she mentioned two years ago.
" The lack of mention regarding how she ended up with the devils themselves remained Brendan's biggest question. "
So, what exactly happened after you find those essays?
" he wondered.
She flipped through the pages of a supposed forgotten playwright's autobiography before digging into the shelves for something with a little more substance. A small smile lined her face for the first time in days as she let out a small giggle.
"Who would ever name their child Rimran Timseth?" She read the title on the front cover of the book, as if the author's name wasn't bad enough: "Why People Thought the Earth was a Balloon: An essay by Rimran Timseth." She couldn't help but feel like whoever Rimran was, he'd wasted his life writing a several-hundred-page thesis trying to explain how the world wasn't a balloon and why people thought it was. "Yeah, you're going back on the shelf."
Rummaging around a little more, she came across a loosely bound leather notebook. Inside were a series of essays, this time written by D. Stemmer, whoever that was. The journal smelled like it had been sitting there for years, unopened, as the inky pages festered. Though it had faded in many places, the ink remained just legible enough that the essays were still readable.
"
These essays... I feel like whoever D. Stemmer is, the world didn't want their work to see the light of day. All of this feels so planted to me—this entire situation: the accident, the essays..."
Brendan couldn't help but notice the lack of discussion over the identity of the drunk driver and potential lawsuits for liability and driving under the influence. "
Why is no one talking about this? What ever happened to the police report?
Someone or something buried this, deep.
"
A series of shadows danced in the back corner of the library, relishing the dim light. Brendan ignored it at first, figuring it was probably just a couple of patrons, but the shadows became increasingly agitated, striking eerie poses. He watched carefully, intently, as they grew. Aria was now fixated on the mysterious essays, oblivious to the enigma that lurked behind her.
Eyes as red as rubies pierced Brendan like an arrow, sending shivers down his spine, but it was a shiver he remembered well. His eyes widened in shock. "Now I understand what happened," he said aloud, though it seemed no one else could hear him. "Looks like it's time to dance with the devil. Isn't that right, Azael?"
"You do not fear me, Greyriter boy? The second in command of the Reverse Royalty, only mere steps behind our king?" Azael's form continued to grow as the shadows of featherless wings and bony fingers inched up the walls. "Do you not wonder why, after all this time, I am only just now presenting myself to you?"
Brendan didn't waver. His irises sparkled like stars in the sky; the look of determination proved he was prepared to defend Aria—past, present, or future. "No, because I
know
why you're here. You just didn't plan on
me
being here. You just want to watch Aria get sucked into your lies; those essays were never written by an actual human—
you
wrote them."
"Perceptive, as Mikaun said," Azael's shadow continued to expand, "but you're missing an integral piece of information."
"It doesn't matter what kind of information I'm missing because there never
was
a way to bring the dead back to life. You played on the emotions of a poor girl who'd just lost everything. Is it because you're actually afraid of her?"
Azael hissed insidiously.
"See," he said, locking eyes with the devil, "we continue to complete your little puzzle game the more time passes and here's the next piece
you
missed." Brendan manifested a series of documents also bound in a leather journal. "The Searing Wounds event, something Licht never got to fully explain, was more than just an accidental conflict between two mage families." He opened the cover to the first page.
"What is this? A history lesson?" the devil growled.
Brendan began to read: "The Searing Wounds event, as the surviving members of the Lhumin and Greyriter families have come to know it, was more than just an accident. The world may come to tell the story of a conflict between two magical families, yet the truth remains far more complex. This was an attempted Rezertia led by the devils of the Reverse World against the princess of Earth."
Azael launched a shadowy hand towards Brendan, attempting to entrap him in icy despair. "Excuse me," Brendan said, clearing his throat, "I wasn't done yet." A powerful field of mana repelled the attack with ease. "You devils have played games with our minds too many times now; this past and these memories will play out as they're supposed to and I will not allow you to interfere further."
"Then consider this a warning, Greyriter," Azael growled. "When we meet in the present, you will know fear unlike any other you've known before. You can't keep yourself and the girl safe forever." The devil's form began to shrink as its shadow coalesced into a smaller form. Devilish laughter boomed like thunder. "Her heart is as cold as the ice around your—"
An arrow of light struck the devil's shadow, nailing it in place with a metallic
clink
sound. "Another mage?" If that were the case, why couldn't he sense their presence? Another arrow pierced Azael's shadow dead-center.
"Let the boy finish," a woman's voice spoke. The devil growled menacingly as Brendan spun on his heels at the sound of his newly unannounced company—and hopeful ally.
She was cloaked in a peculiar garment of lavender and red; the top was that of a shrine priestess, yet it had its obvious differences. Sleeves nearly draped the ground like curtains and an oversized hood shielded much of her face from view; her red lips stood out like roses in the snow, however. The skirt of the garment was an even length and came to about mid-thigh, allowing her legs to don a set of opaque white stockings. One was held up by a garter belt as the other, adorned by a similar white stocking, was held up by a ribbon.
Gleaming arrows were nestled snugly inside a series of small pockets that resembled the barrel of a handgun. Before Brendan could even blink, she had already begun to nock another arrow. "Please continue," she said, squaring her next shot.
He cleared his throat. A quick glance back at Aria reassured him she was safe, or as safe as reading a devil's journal gets. He returned his attention to the woman before him and then Azael.
"It has been said time and again that history is written by the victor; that is true in this sense as well—we were horribly defeated. Our only saving grace was that Chiipha's princess at the time took up the fight with us, but even together, the two princesses were still outmatched. We were able to flee at the behest of Chiipha's princess. Sadly, she took her own life to prevent the devils from acquiring her power. Earth's princess was utterly defeated, humiliated, and then killed." Brendan looked up from the journal for a moment.
"Please, read a little more, if you would," the woman coaxed. "There's more for you to learn."
He nodded but decided to address Azael before continuing. "See, I know that you are the most unique. Azhef has the power to give and take life, the Binary Twins fight together, Kuria can transform as she pleases, and Lucifero gains strength by eating dreams, but you," his mouth curled around the final vowel, "you can transform past and present realities so long as there is no written record, am I correct?"
The devil roared, sending shockwaves through Brendan's body. The mysterious woman grabbed him by the collar, simultaneously pulling him backwards as a large shadowy hand clawed the air in front him, barely grazing his clothes, now torn in the front.
He continued upon regaining his balance. "However, if the record
does
exist and can be manifested, that power is rendered obsolete. Once it has been presented, you can no longer alter that specific reality's past or present. It's frightening," he admitted, "but not something that can't be countered."
Azael's chuckling tore through the library. "You fail to understand one thing, Greyriter. I can erase your entire reality with just a single word."
"Absolutely not," the woman stated. "He has a written record
here
." A journal floated before her, and something was being furiously scribbled down inside. "You will not be exerting your will so long as I'm here. Everything has been recorded in this very journal. The only thing you can do is manifest your true self and attempt to subdue the two of us."
Her red lips formed a smirky smile. "But you can't do that here as this isn't a true reality anymore. This is the past, one that wishes to be forgotten so desperately." She nodded at Brendan, his queue to keep reading.
"To our surprise, however, the devils left something behind—a human child. We did not know who her mother was, sadly. That night, we decided to name her Aria, in reference to the stars above. We were fortunate, but the child even more so. We knew she was special, but we also knew the devils would not return for some time to come."
The woman recounted several key details. "Two decades ago, the princess of Chiipha was forced to submit to the devils during a subsequent attempted Rezertia. Like Earth's princess during the Searing Wounds, she was also humiliated and then mercilessly killed. Earth was without a princess at the time; a specific ceremony had yet to be enacted, therefore the duties could not be inherited." She put a finger to her lower lip in thought. "Really, it was more like the future princess's mother was too ill to enact the duties required of her, hence why the ceremony could not be performed. Mind you, this was quite some time ago, if you recall."
Azael's shadow began to shrink once more, this time without interference. "You think you understand us, but you are far from understanding just how close your world is from annihilation—reconstruction without the need for dreadful humans." The devil fled, leaving only a couple haunting lines.
The woman turned to Brendan as she extended a hand. "He won't be back for a while. Besides, there is much we have to talk about later." She glanced over at Aria who was stuffing the journal inside her sweater—a bold attempt at sneaking it out of the library. "Her too, but for now, I think we should fast forward. Wouldn't you agree?"
He grabbed her hand, warm and buttery soft. "It may be unkind of me to say I was dragged into all of this, but I'm not sure how else to put it. If I fail to understand the girl I love, we won't win this war."
"Good answer," the woman said cheerfully. "Let's begin about two years from now."
***
"Happy sixteenth birthday, Aria," her grandmother smiled. "You've come a long way. Is there anything you wanted to do?" She handed Aria a neatly wrapped gift, placing a golden box on her lap.
"Thank you, Grandma, but no, not really." Her hands caressed the smooth paper. "Really, all I want to do today is to be here."
She nodded. "I understand. Then, let's do something only a grandma can." She winked at Aria who couldn't help but crack a smile.
She began unwrapping but stopped midway through; her fingers gripped the edges of the box. "Grandma, you know I love you, right? I've changed a lot in the last couple of years—"
"I know, sweetheart. Trust me, I raised your mother after all; you have her same stubborn streak." Aria looked nervous—her fingers fumbling at the edges of the gift. "Don't worry. Your parents are looking over us right now, I'm sure. They're probably just as anxious to see you open that and I have a feeling it's going to help ease your mind a little."
"Well, I just wanted you to know... I know I haven't been the," she paused, trying to think of a word, "
easiest
thing to deal with, but thank you for putting up with me." She unwrapped the rest of the gift, revealing a white cardboard box filled with tissue paper. Taped to the inside was a small plastic baggie, but she figured she'd save
it
for last.
"Well, what is it?" her grandmother asked delightedly.
Aria lifted a soft-lavender dress from the paper; a gradual fade to black towards the bottom of the skirt emboldened the silky fabric. A second thinner, lighter skirt softened the harsh tones, embellishing the dress with a more refined look. Aria stood up as she held it out, her eyes running through every stitch and seam they could find. It was incredibly well-made and unlike anything she'd seen or worn before.
"The cold shoulder look too, huh? Someone
really
wants me out of the house," she laughed. "Or... they want me to go to prom this weekend." She smiled at her grandmother.
"Looks like you caught me." She threw her hands up. "I've been working on that for quite some time now. Slowly at first, but I knew it would make for a great birthday present someday. You've grown into a wonderful young lady, Aria. Really."
Tears filled the corners of her eyes, but she held them back; there was still more inside the box, after all. She removed the taped baggie first. Inside was a small bracelet paired with a yellow crescent moon that dangled from a metal chain—just one of multiple accessories. Several yellow stars made up the rest of its contents and with the bracelet's adjustable strap, she didn't have to worry about it being too loose of a fit.
"There's still one more thing I have left to give you, but you have to close your eyes, ok?"
"Ok, ok," she laughed, laying the dress in its box. "No crazy surprises, though. You hear... me..."
Her final gift was a hug, something which she never thought had any real significance; they were just two people pressing their bodies up against each other, but this one was different. Her grandmother hugged just like her mother did. Whenever she was upset or needed a shoulder to cry on, it was always her mother who came to the rescue—she had forgotten what that felt like.
"Shall we move on?" Brendan nearly jumped out of his skin. He was so entranced by Aria and everything he'd seen he completely forgot about the mysterious woman he'd just met. "There's still more to see."
"Err... Yeah, let's go."
The mysterious woman smiled at Brendan. "Take my hand."
"Take your—"
The floor dropped out beneath their feet, leaving only empty space where an entire living room had been moments earlier. Brendan's stomach dropped, half-expecting to plummet to the ground at breakneck speed, but he remained standing.
"If you'd taken my hand, I could have negated that falling sensation you just experienced."
"Ok, but you gave me like two seconds to process that. You could've told me we were going to be
standing
in the sky," he said tapping a foot on an unseen floor.
The woman covered her mouth with her sleeve as she giggled. "
He hasn't changed
." She turned her attention towards the city below. "You see that building right
there
?" She pointed to a large structure, much bigger than any of the surrounding buildings. Behind it was what must have been a sports stadium.
"That is the high school Aria currently attends in this past, Miruna High, but it's from this point on that things get rather dark, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean?"
A puff of cloud floated under Brendan's feet, briefly obscuring his view of the school. He followed its shadow as it rolled across the ground below until it was torn apart by the wind. Shivers rocked his body even though he stood in the direct path of the sun.
"Yes, it gives me chills, too, Brendan." She grabbed his hands. "To answer your question—"
Another gust of wind whisked her words away. She moved a hand to secure her hood, but it was too late. Blonde streaks of hair flew back in the breeze, sunbeams transforming them into hues of shimmering gold as they caressed the backdrop of the sky. She gasped before turning away, hiding her face in her hands.
Brendan wasn't sure if
he
gasped or if it was the wind. He was so nonplussed he almost didn't believe who stood before him. The brief glimpse he caught of her face before she turned away trudged up the memory of a long-forgotten friend.
His voice was full of bewilderment. "I thought
maybe
, but to see you standing here, before me..."
"No, no, no, no." She squealed in dismay. "Don't—"
"What are you doing here, Millee? How—"
"Brendan" she cried out, "it's too soon for you to know, so stop asking!
"No, I think it's time for an answer, Millee. Tonight is the night of the prom, isn't it—when Aria ran away."
"I—"
"I always knew something felt
different
about you. I thought
maybe
you could use magic, but I never saw or felt you use it, no matter what kind of situation presented itself," he paused before taking a step closer to her, "but I think I understand now."
"You don't."
"I know you better than you think."
"You
really
don't."
"And maybe I
don't
, but," Millee inhaled sharply at his words, "I
do
know that you're incredibly talented, smart... and that somehow, you were Lyra. She was never an actual person, was she?"
Millee exhaled, slowly. "You're right. You've grown, Brendan, but there's still more to the story that you're missing."
"Is there, milady?"
She spun around faster than Brendan could blink. Her amber eyes and plump lips told him exactly what she was thinking. She was terrible at hiding her emotions, or her thoughts, for that matter.
"How did you know?" she whispered.
"Because it's
you
, Millee. The day we were all gathered in the cafeteria, you jumped as soon as you knew something was up. Why erase everyone's memory of you, though? Everything else is beginning to make a little more sense, but there's so much about you that remains a mystery."
"It was to protect you, but you got involved anyway, with those two girls and Aria," she shouted as her lips quivered. "I have to be the intermediary because I know Earth's princess isn't ready for any of this! Do you know how scary that is, knowing that at any moment, the life
I
knew could be gone in an instant?" She lowered her voice. "Do you know how the last Princess of Chiipha died?"
"She was a victim of the devils too, right? They stole her powe— Wait." The realization hit him like a truck. "A new ceremony was never held after her death, but that can't be right... You're the—"
She cut him off. "I had to embellish a bit, but I thought maybe it'd scare you off and you'd just... go home, but now you're more motivated than ever! How am I supposed to deal with that?!"
Brendan took another step forward. "Millee, tell me the truth. How long have you—"
"Been the princess of Chiipha? Four years—approximately two and a half before the Reverse Royalty began their pursuit of
Earth's
princess again." She groaned. "Look, Brendan. In order for you to understand
my
story, you first have to understand Aria's. We're moving on."
"Millee!"
"
We
," she pointed at Brendan and then herself, "are not a thing anymore."
The scene changed again before Brendan could react. Millee had already vanished as well. "She must've cursed me with terrible luck around women, too," he muttered. |
"You—"
"Me!" Lucifero said joyfully.
"I
know
I obliterated you. How are you here?" Aria drilled.
A musty odor curled around the bars of the cell; things were bad enough, dealing with the devils. The walls were soaked, and the cell floor was frighteningly cold which only added to Aria's woes. If the devils didn't kill her, the encroaching mold probably would.
She snuck a quick peek towards Brendan who was deep in conversion with Lyra. Their body language indicated some level of disagreement though she had no idea what they could be on about at a time like this.
"I'm sure you're familiar with the whole 'cats have nine lives' thing." Lucifero grinned. "For us devils—"
"Enough, you blabbermouth, before you say too much. This is why you were better off staying dead." Mikaun's voice emanated from the shadows. "Don't listen to him. He's an idiot, hence why you were able to snuff him out again."
"
Again? So I was right after all. Saint Miruna did win his fight against Lucifero, but how many lives do they have, exactly?"
she wondered.
"My brother is also an idiot," a pompous female voice said.
Aria had heard enough. Lucifero was back in action and Mikaun was— She couldn't think of a word to describe something like Mikaun.
Devil
was truly a perfect fit.
"What I don't understand is why you'd warn us about yourself, choose to help us, and then bring us here." Aria caught the piercing gaze of glowing eyes in the dark. She shivered.
Heated whispering erupted from the back corner of the cell only adding to Aria's frustration. Before she could turn around and yell at the two bickering idiots in the back, a loud
slap
arose from Brendan's cheek.
"
Men,"
Lyra groaned telepathically. "
Aria
,
I need you to buy us another minute. Just keep those three busy.
"
"
No pressure, Lyra
," she replied sarcastically.
Mikaun piped in again. "You're a smart girl. I see no reason for us to answer your questions, Aria. You can put two and two together."
"Since we're all here now, how about your sister introduce herself? I have a right to know who my captors are and everything, do I not?" Buying time wasn't her strong suit, but she was great at conversation. "Oh, and Lucifero?"
"Yes, dear?"
She threw up in her mouth a little. "Would you mind giving us a little space? Since I already know
you
so well, I'd like to get to know the twins a little better. I won't hunt you down right away when we get out of here if you do. Deal?"
Lucifero's laugh boomed through the dark corridors, bouncing off concrete walls into a labyrinth of dark corridors. "Very well then. If you really think you'll live long enough for another fateful encounter, then I look forward to our rematch."
"Yes, it will be quite... blistering."
"
Wait for him to disappear then grab Brendan. Hold him tightly
," Lyra telepathized. "Y
ou'll know when
."
Aria pressed for conversation once again. "I mean, I
guess
you don't have to tell me," she said, addressing the twins, "but I just thought we should get formalities out of the way first, before we try to kill each other, you know?"
"I kind of like you, Aria." Mikaun's sister stepped out of the shadows revealing long, dark hair. Red eyes bore holes into Aria's soul. "I go by Herlit. Technically, I'm ranked higher than my brother over there, but Ahzef has designated me as fifth despite proving my strength."
"Why is it you think you're stronger than me?" Mikaun retorted. "Ahzef ranked you fifth because you have too much of a temper. Look at me; nice and cool."
"You're also an idiot," Herlit gritted.
A warm hand pressed against Aria's back. A rune ingrained itself in her mind—a teleportation spell. It was basic magic, taught at the elementary levels of instruction, but this spell was
loaded
. Mana poured into her veins like a river; she felt as weightless as a cloud.
The spell was designed so the caster could freely teleport any object that bore the rune, so long as they could clearly picture the location they desired to transport the object. It was a spell rarely used for human teleportation due to the vast amount of mana required to teleport a person.
Aria's eyes widened at the realization. "
Lyra, you can't
!"
"
I've already imprinted the rune in Brendan's mind as well
."
Mikaun and Herlit continued to argue over who was the stronger devil though it seemed to have devolved into a contest of who was Ahzef's favorite. "Yeah, well, Ahzef told me I was doing a good job, picking up your pieces, dear brother."
"Oh yeah? Why do I have a hard time believing that?"
Aria turned to face Lyra who had fallen to her knees. The mana-consumption for human teleportation was more than most could handle. Lyra's title as princess gifted her large reserves of mana, but not even she could manage the amount needed to teleport
three
people. She looked exhausted but her determination was stronger than steel and
someone
had to make it out or their efforts would all be in vain.
"
Lyra—
"
"
You can't change my mind, Aria. Brendan already tried and he ended up with my handprint on his cheek
."
"
But how are you planning on getting out? You're the Princess of Chiipha! It takes two to tango, you know.
"
"
I've already passed my duties down to the next in line, after I'm gone. Once you regain your bearings after you land in Chronid, head to the far northern point of town. Use the image I've given you.
"
A new image flashed into her mind—a small out-of-the-way town. Stone and plaster houses made up much of the residential areas, but the northern front of town seemed quite lively. Bright lights, food stalls, and what looked like a large outdoor theater.
"
You'll know where to go when you get there.
"
"Enough of this!" Herlit shouted. "What are we going to do with
them
?" she pointed towards the cell.
"Maybe if you'd get out of my face, we could figure something out!" Herlit backed off. "Now then, what say you, dear captives?" The devils turned their attention to the cell, but Aria and Brendan had vanished.
"Huh? Where did the other two go?!" The twins shouted simultaneously.
Only Lyra remained in the cell, spent of all mana. Her skin was whiter than paper as she laid across the cold stone floor, limp. A small smile lined her lips. She'd accomplished her part, but the rest would be up to Aria and Brendan.
Mikaun entered the cell first, thoroughly examining Lyra's body. The devil shook his head.
"Crazy girl. She sent herself to an early grave. For what?"
"She wasn't dumb enough to not have an heir," Herlit said. "Report to Ahzef. I'll chase the other two down."
Mikaun nodded.
***
"How could she just— Just end her own life like that?! Oh my god..." Aria was visibly shaken.
"Aria," Brendan said, wrapping his arms around her, "there wasn't anything else we
could
do. Lucifero, who you and Lacia struggled with, is clearly back and in top shape. Meanwhile, here
we
are, straggling, trying to find some consistency in all of this."
Pale moonlight transformed Aria's skin into a pearly glow as she stood underneath the starry Chiipha sky. Brendan's arms felt... comforting. This was the first time they'd truly been
alone
. How long ago was it that they'd come face to face in that strange other world, after having relived the most tumultuous days of her life?
"Aria?" Brendan's voice rang in her ears even as she inadvertently tuned him out.
Here they were, alone in a strange new world with no idea how to get back home, "
If there's even a home to return to
," she thought. She shuffled her feet, expecting to feel the damp touch of dewy grass on her toes. To her surprise, sand rushed into her sandals instead, the fine particulates scrambling to find a place they belonged as well.
She recalled the place she'd been thinking of when they teleported, but wherever they were now wasn't at all what Lyra had shown her. Sand and rocky outcroppings spanned for miles as starlight illuminated the surprisingly verdant moss that hugged the bedrock, adding a touch of color to the faded browns and yellows. The occasional spiny desert tree dotted the sandy landscape. They looked parched yet their bristles remained as green as the mossy bedrock.
"Where are we...?"
"Aria, heads up!"
Brendan tossed her a large fruit of some kind. The outer shell was tough to crack, but the insides were filled with sweet water and citrusy juices. She never understood how
anything
grew in a desert; the foreign fruit only confused her further.
"How about we stop putting off what happened back at the Gila gate? There's no one around but you and me and I know you're just as anxious as I am to figure out what happened," Brendan said as he laid back in the sand, arms crossed under his head. He gazed up at the starry sky.
"Brendan... I don't know..." Her voice was shaky. "We're stuck in the middle of a desert in a world we know nothing about. We teleported somewhere we've never been and it's starting to get cold. Why
now
?"
"Because, we have to figure
us
out before we can figure anything else out. You were
gone
for two years, remember? We all thought—"
"No, you're right. As much as I hate feeling like I don't even know myself, I feel like I know even less about you, Brendan. We never got to catch up... after the accident." She turned away, afraid to face the boy who'd given her so much hope. She knew this wasn't the time to get emotional, but she couldn't help it—life hadn't exactly been easy.
"You don't have to blame yourself for what happened. The accident was just that and there's nothing that's going to change what happened, but I swear to you I still lo—"
"Do you, Brendan? Do you
really
love me? How can you even begin to understand what I've been through?" She turned to face him; her eyes swelled with tears. "I know you say it's not my fault,
everyone
said that, but I haven't even told you the whole story yet. No one knows what really happened."
The air around Brendan and Aria filled with static, discharging into the atmosphere. Dust glittered in the air like fireflies: fiery oranges and even an occasional white grain that resembled snow. It was like diamond dust, but more beautiful. The dust acted like a conductor as it made contact with the ground, creating a luminescent floor of soft orange and white. It was unlike anything Earth had to offer.
What was a dull bed of arid brown had been transformed into a sea of color. Grains of sand were picked up and deposited by the wind, generating make-shift waves on the desert floor. The light briefly dimmed before a rhythmic crescendo back to full luminosity.
Brendan sat up, awe-struck by the falling sand. He opened his hands, allowing it to accumulate in his palms. A light tingling sensation ran through his fingers like a winter's chill but more... electric. Even separated from the rest of the ground, the sand remained illuminated. Like snow, it continued to fall until the desert was completely awash in hues of orange and white. The hair on his arms stood on-end as if it were being pulled by an invisible force. He brushed them down only for them to shoot back up like weeds in a poorly groomed yard.
Brendan's ears grew warm; faint whispers tickled his inner ear. "
The girl is right, Brendan. You do not know the full story
." He bolted upright in surprise. "
If you cannot understand the girl you claim to love, your journey will end here
."
A veil of sand began to swirl around Aria, briefly obscuring her from Brendan's view. The veil expanded outwards at a frightening pace, evolving into a ferocious sandstorm that seemed more like wildfire. Lightning crackled overhead, spawned by the positive-negative charge of the ground and atmosphere.
"I'm trying, dammit! This affects both of us," he shouted into the raging sandstorm, "but just who or what are you? How do you know what I don't?"
The whispers came again: "
What she has told you is only half of the story. In order to receive the half you do not know, you must be willing to understand the pain she carries and why
."
"I've been prepared to give my everything to
be
her everything since the beginning. Whatever obstacles may obstruct my path, whoever tries to stand in my way, I will not break my promise." He shielded his face from the stinging sand, trudging forward through the raging storm. "
If my heart's a mess, what is hers like?
" he wondered.
"
Like a bird must first learn to fly before it can leave the nest, a heart must learn to love before it can be complete. If you are truly compelled to save that girl, then go. The fate of your journey to come hinges upon the success of your trial
."
A small window opened in the rush of sand where Aria sat, holding her knees to her chest. Fresh tears dampened the sand at her feet. Brendan slogged his way through the fresh dunes as he called out, but his voice was caught in the wind. He gritted his teeth, frustrated not just because he couldn't reach her but by his own inability to understand the girl he loved.
"
I can do better,"
he thought. "
Lyra sacrificed herself to save us and all I could say was 'there wasn't anything else we could do.'"
The whispers had grown into a mature woman's voice—a familiar one. "Brendan Greyriter: this will be your most harrowing trial yet. I pray that you find success."
Sand continued to pile up as the storm grew increasingly ferocious, leaving Aria to fend for herself, sand swirling around her, creating dunes of sand feet high. Her thoughts crept into Brendan's mind: "
I wish I could tell him the whole story...
"
"I'm going to fix this, Aria. I promise." He wrapped his shirt around his face to guard from the stinging particulates.
He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he stood at the turning point of Aria's life: the night of the accident. |
In a House in the City of Binoca:
a woman screams as she seems to get smaller and smaller. It seems she gets sucked dry by an unknown force, it's dark and not easy to see what happens exactly but as the screams stop, we just have silence and the woman seems to be gone.
Later that night:
the police arrive at the crime scene to find the sucked-out corpse on the ground, she seems to have no blood in her body and all that is left are the organs and her skin which seems to be dry as a bone.
The Police are clueless because they can´t find anything that helps to solve the case, so they look out of the window, where the woman was standing before and all they can see, is Castle Binocul and the Moon that shines upon it. The policemen look at each other and without hesitation, they immediately know what the next step has to be.
30 min later:
a tall man with a cylinder on his head and a red cape enters the house, he looks around and notices the corpse, or what's left of it. The policemen are all looking at him patiently and waiting for an answer to the mystery.
But the Count just turns around and leaves the house as if nothing has happened. The head of the police runs after him, hoping that he says something to help solve the case. With a horrifying look on his face, the Count says:" Why does it have to be witchcraft?" I don´t want to be involved in this."
He refuses to elaborate further and leaves. |
Part 13: The Revelation of Awakening
A dark-haired man entered a dimly-lit lab room, speaking into the mic of a phone. "The cold-blood-draws yielded more success than I realized. Not only is patient 009 gifted with a very special power, but she is also the key to something I never thought possible."
The man swiftly walked over to a small side table and picked up a medical clipboard. He seemed overjoyed by the contents of whatever was pinned to it. After several moments of examination, he placed the clipboard back, exchanging it for a small Neriolite that pulsated an amber color—steady at first.
"By infusing patient 009's cold blood into a Neriolite, the Neriolite becomes a direct gateway to these other worlds—entire other dimensions. However, if one is crushed and then consumed, an incredible power is gained—effects of which are unclear, but there is reason to believe patient 009 can be revived with this power." A loud splash jarred the man from his recording as unsecured carts and trays began to slide around the room. "It looks like after two years we're finally setting sail again."
Lacia woke with a start, kicking blankets and bed sheets onto the floor. How long had she been asleep? Panicked, she made a move towards the door, but stopped short of trying the handle.
"Mana and Aria... The Hihouyo! Oh my god!" She scoured the room for a set of clothes, realizing the medical gown she had on wasn't exactly appropriate public attire. "I've got to tell everyone I'm ok. I'm sure they're worried about—"
Seagulls wailed as water sloshed outside a small port window. Loose objects pitched to one side as terror overwhelmed her mind in seconds, chills running up and down her spine. She could've
sworn
she'd disembarked the ship with Aria after the flash-freeze—she distinctly remembered the knife hidden in her sleeve, her broken foot, and Aria's terrible sense of directions. How was it that, after everything they'd done, she was back at square one? She took a breath, trying to calm her nerves before examining the rest of the room.
The port window above her head offered the same limited view and the shades by the hall window were drawn for privacy. Multiple crimson stains dotted the mattress—likely her blood from the old arrow wound. It was like someone was expecting her eventual return; even the room retained the heavy stench of bleach and various other chemicals.
"No, no, no... This can't be happening!" She ran to door but was sent flying into the back wall after attempting the handle. "Dammit," she cursed, rubbing her back.
A
plop
from the front of the room caught her attention. She crawled over to investigate the source of the noise, discovering a fallen calendar that must've been knocked loose when she hit the wall. At first glance, it seemed only a couple of months had passed since the Hihouyo, but something still wasn't adding up. If she and Aria had successfully eliminated Ahzef, she wouldn't be back on that ship. If they had been unsuccessful, neither of them should even be alive.
"If the Hihouyo failed, but I'm still alive..." She paused, mulling everything over in her head. "Does that mean Ahzef was eliminated? But if that's the case, then why am I
here
?" The air conditioning roared to life knocking a piece of paper to the floor at her feet. The scribbled black ink was barely legible:
"
Note: After recapturing patient 009 after the Hihouyo, patient showed no vitals for approximately five minutes. Patient has responded well to multiple rounds of treatment from self-Neriolite-infusion. Full recovery expected soon.
"
Lacia's hands trembled—patient 009 was
her
moniker. "So, it's true. I
did
die, but now I'm back on this ship again," she whispered, "and something is keeping me from leaving. They're serious this time." Her whole body began to shake.
"You know, that first note was dated two years ago. There are more on the back if you'd like to be nosy," a familiar voice spoke. "Surprised to see me again?"
Lacia spun around faster than a top. "Ahzef! How?"
"In the end, you and Aria were just a tad too late."
"What do you mean 'too late'?
"It'll be easier to show you rather than trying to explain everything. Normally I'm not so apt to share such things, but it doesn't matter since there's nothing you can do," the devil chuckled.
"Answer me one question first," Lacia said, shaking. "Why did you revive me? You have what you need, do you not? What reason is there in bringing me back?"
Ahzef's cold eyes burned holes into her soul, the expressionless look on his face equally as unnerving. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge; bed springs gave a light groan under the new weight. Tilting his head back as if he were contemplating the meaning of life, the devil sighed.
"You have a very special power and if you're dead, that power is unobtainable. Judging by our previous encounters thus far, you still don't have proper control over it."
"Are you talking about Hika and the Aurei? What does
she
have to do with all of this?"
"Let me finish, Lacia. You see, the Aurei are indeed a part of the equation, but your friend Mana has also been blessed with incredible power thanks to a certain someone who I'm sure you've met by now." He directed his gaze at Lacia. "By using the Aurei, I can form a new Halifer and by using you as bait, Aria and Mana will undoubtedly come to find you."
Lacia's head swam. Of course he was going to use her as bait. All signs pointed in the direction opposite of her favor, but perhaps having Lucifero attack when
he
did was beneficial. If Ahzef had waited until now to enact the final phase of his plan, did that mean he'd never expected Aria to switch sides in the fight? The one person he put his trust in the most.
"
I may be trapped on this ship for now, but that doesn't mean I'm out of options completely, yet."
Recalling the voice in her head from that day on the deck, she made a plea. "
If you're the voice I heard that day, I'm asking for a miracle now. If you're the Omnis that Ahzef is talking about, then clearly, you're far more capable than he is.
Please.
"
Ahzef continued to drone on as the steady rocking motion of the ship lulled Lacia into a trance. Her eyes grew heavy as she slumped against the wall. Colors melded together like molten glass, stripped into white. Ahzef's voice was drowned out in the spiraling maze before her, like falling into a kaleidoscope but one devoid of all color as she continued to fall through empty space.
"
Listen to me, Lacia. You must find a way into Chiipha where you must rendezvous with Lyra. She will lead you to Mana and Aria. Time is very limited and—
"
"And the one chance you have to undo all of my hard work cannot be allowed to happen," Ahzef's voice boomed. A shadowy hand enveloped Lacia, yanking her departed consciousness back. "You're
my
prize, girl, and your leaving in the middle of our conversation wasn't very ladylike."
"Don't give me that crap," she groaned. "Don't
ever
whiplash my consciousness back like that again." She felt like she was treading water before leaning into a nearby trashcan, violently ill. "
Just kill me now, again,
" she thought, too ill to do anything more than white-knuckle the poor bin.
Ahzef cleared his throat to speak. "You have no one to—"
"Say it. See if I don't burn that tongue out of—" Her face grew whiter than the tile floor as she returned to her business with the trashcan. "Just kill me," she moaned between gasps of air.
Ahzef walked over to Lacia, bent over the vomit-filled trashcan that now resembled anything but, and rubbed her back. "If you puke your guts out now, it will be a very messy body you return to because I won't be cleaning you off before reviving you." He continued to rub her back. The gentle motions helped to ease Lacia's whiplash-induced nausea. "Better now?"
Weakly, she lifted her head, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Why didn't you start with that?"
"Because you need to know your place. I could have just as easily pulled you back without the whiplash, but you seem to have a tough time when it comes to learning new tricks."
"Learning new tricks? What am I? A dog?"
"Not yet, but if you'd like to be after—"
"Forget I asked." She trudged past Ahzef and curled up onto the bed. "I hate playing games with you devils and I
especially
don't like
you
. I'm going to sleep."
"Oh, but we're just getting to the good part, you see. Allow me to show you just how much I've been working on," Ahzef sneered.
"Like I said," she turned over, preparing to reiterate her previous statement, but she found herself alone in the center of an empty city. One moment she was ready for a coma-like nap, the next she was in a strange city with no explanation as to where she was or how she got there.
Grey clouds filtered overhead, heralded by a strong breeze—too strong. Traffic lights rocked back and forth, eventually breaking free from their perilous predicament. Entire city blocks began to buckle as the ground shook. A strong gravitational force eroded the city bit by bit to reveal a hellish sight hidden below: rivers of red and orange all flowing into the same singularity.
"Those are a sample of the leylines within the Earth. The richer the mana, the richer the color."
"Hika?! Where have you been?" Lacia rebounded with joy as the Aurei took her human form.
"We can go over this later. Right now, I think you should look up."
Lacia tilted her head back as cracks crawled across the sky like a shattered mirror, growing steadily larger. Holes formed in the center, blotting out the sun and plunging the sky into a canvas of stars. Infinitely more stars filled the inky canvas as the sky continued to shatter like glass; even the satellites above were clearly visible, some raining down in streaks of fiery torment and screeching metal as they barreled into the ground.
"Hika— What?"
"This is the world Ahzef has envisioned, and this is how it will begin: by destroying it first. We still have time, but not much. I've spent the last two years asleep, waiting for you to wake as well," the Aurei explained. "Now look to the horizons."
To Lacia's right, the moon had grown to fill the eastern sky. Chunks of lunar debris rotated around a still-intact larger body as the dust in the atmosphere created an ominous yellow-white haze. An occasional lunar chunk would strike a radio tower or skyscraper, leaving only a charred pit where the offending structure had been.
In the western sky, the sun began to retreat from the Earth. The fading fringes of warm sunlight grazed Lacia's arm before slipping off like butter, failing to find the one thing it could latch onto. She watched as the star that had graced the Earth with its beauty and warmth began to pulsate, like it was being squeezed. The sun seemed to sigh before erupting into a brilliant supernova, throwing the Earth into ever-increasing darkness and permanent cold.
Lacia fell to her knees in utter shock and disbelief. Could such chaos really be her fault? Was she just that weak? Even if that were the case, she steeled her nerves—the fight wasn't over yet.
"The residual heat from the sun won't last much longer. I can open the gate to Chiipha, but I will require that lingering solar radiation. However, I believe you need to address
that
first." Hika pointed Lacia in the direction of the exposed leylines.
A small pedestal rose from the center of the leyline convergence. It towered into the sky, scraping the inky canvas before disappearing into the lunar haze above. Lacia blinked spots from her eyes; she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The pedestal continued its climb into the heavens—an unstoppable force that rivaled even humanity's greatest architectural achievements.
She peered into Hika's eyes. Nodding, they started towards the pedestal-turned-tower. From a distance, it seemed like nothing special, but as they approached the base, Lacia realized how wrong she was. Sand poured from the top down, drenching Lacia in a grainy shower of fine particulates. She shielded her eyes with her hand as she took in the immense size of the structure before her, surprisingly solid despite its frail appearance in the dim light.
The fleeting rays of sunlight cast a minimal glow on the tower, transforming it into a shimmering red spire. What looked like a large tower of stone in the dim twilight was instead a dizzying tower of sand that wound into the atmosphere. Like a sandcastle, she felt the entire thing could come crumbling down with one wrong move—an unnerving thought even as she firmly punched the exterior.
"Ow! Yeah, I'd say that's pretty solid," Lacia whined, nursing her hand.
"So, you punched it?"
"And what would you have done. Hm?"
Hika tried to keep from laughing. "Lacia. Please tell me you're a little smarter than that," she exclaimed, in stitches.
"Whatever," Lacia pouted. "How do we get... in?"
The bracelet on her wrist began to glow. Up until now, she'd forgotten about it entirely—a shameful admittance, but it was the truth. Life had been a whirlwind and this technical second one was no different. Her head hurt just thinking about it all, but the bracelet on her wrist was the small reminder she needed; she was in command, and this was her war to fight.
For the first time, she thoroughly examined the red stones that encircled the band of the bracelet. Beyond curing her headaches during her time with Lucifero, it hadn't offered much in the way of anything, yet it now glowed so bright the sky turned a deep shade of vermillion. Lacia found herself transfixed by the beauty.
Hika whistled in amazement. "Now
that's
an outfit, Lacia."
"Huh? Hey," she narrowed her eyes, "Why did you whistle at me like some creepy guy, first of all, and second," she stared at Hika in clear confusion, "
What
?"
"Look down if you don't believe me."
Pointed tails of gold and turquoise formed a silken skirt, resting at the back of the knee. Opaque white stockings caressed her legs, held up by metallic-gold garters, hidden by the skirt tails themselves.
"I knew light did a lot of things, but I didn't know it made clothes," Hika teased.
"It would be easier if I at least had a reflection, because if I'm not wrong..." Lacia lightly tapped a gold ring around her middle finger, white light manifesting up her arm, brimming past the elbow. A set of white gloves appeared, riddled with ornate patterns and weaves that crisscrossed each other like contrails from a jet plane.
"Lacia— Did you know this entire time?" Hika scrambled to decipher the markings along Lacia's arms. "These are markings from a very influential family, but they vanished without a trace thousands of years ago." Hika held up a piece of broken glass so Lacia could see her reflection.
A band wrapped around her midsection, forming a large white bow in the back. Her sleeves hung down in sheets of white and turquoise as she twirled around. "This kind of reminds me of those formal dresses from— Oh my god.
Everything
makes sense now." She held a hand to her chest; a turquoise flower blossomed just above her breasts. A series of thin straps crisscrossed her neck in a dizzying spiral
"Your last name isn't actually Amana, is it?" Hika watched as an embroidered emerald necklace draped itself across Lacia's chest. On the side, etched in small script, was a single word. Hika smiled. "Well now, Miss Iliern— I mean, milady." She smiled. "This changes things."
"Yeah... This changes everything. Ahzef's plan just backfired big time." She brushed a hand through her hair, stripping it of its platinum hues, replaced by a sun-kissed blonde. "He wanted to show me something, but I don't think he meant to show me
this
."
"Even more reason to regroup now, but this tower..."
"This tower is just a replica of an ancient temple used to worship a certain goddess, but it's here
now
which means, with the proper offering, we can borrow her power and—"
"Get to Chiipha that way." Hika finished Lacia's sentence. "What do you want to do, then? There's no guarantee any of this will work."
"Don't worry. I've got this, Hika. I need you to be in top shape for whatever lies ahead of us, but we do need to get to Chiipha as soon as possible." The edges of the city were beginning to crumble away like they were being eroded by some greedy malevolence, hellbent on devouring anything in its path. The temple, unwarded, would fall quickly.
She raised her bracelet to the sand, opening a path into the main entryway. Inside, a set of stairs hugged the edges of the walls as they wound their way to the top. Despite their sandy composition and appearance, the steps were solid; they would offer a speedy climb to the pinnacle.
Lacia took a step inside, ready to begin the multiple-story-climb to the top floor. Her feet sank into the sand like waves washing away the shoreline. There was no time to stop and think, but she needed an offering still—something of worth, but what? Maybe the goddess wouldn't be too sour considering no one had made an offering in the last few-thousand years, though she doubted the formal attire and a pretty face would be considered fair payment.
"Hey, Hika? What do you think about—" She stopped mid-sentence, acutely aware of a growing ache in her chest.
"What's wrong?"
"My side... It's like I can't breathe." Lacia dropped to one knee, clutching her side with one hand. "No— Now now!"
"Just a little insurance policy. You didn't actually think that, in the event I accidentally lost you, I didn't have a backup plan, now did you?"
"Ahzef you bastard," Hika shouted, "I'll finish what we started a long time ago." A golden halo encompassed Hika now bathed in illustrious light.
Ahzef remained unphased, perhaps more unimpressed than anything. "Yeah?"
"God, you irritate the hell out of me." She grabbed Ahzef by the neck as they soared into into the sky, flashes of dark and light as they continued their crazed clash.
She unleashed a searing blade of light that tore through dimensions as she dropped the saber on Ahzef followed by a volley of blazing arrows. The ensuing fight was dogged by enormous surges of rich magical energy; Hika's prominence struggling against Ahzef's sickening cascade of sin. She steamrolled into Ahzef, yet her movements were full of grace and splendor.
"Hika," Lacia gasped, "stop! You'll incinerate the oxygen in the air!"
Her words fell on deaf ears. Hika boiled with rage as she launched a Hihouyo so condensed with energy the ensuing blast knocked Lacia to her feet.
"
She's going to kill me if she's not careful
," she thought. "
Lucky me she didn't unleash that right next to me
." A white-hot pain seared across her chest as she stumbled to her feet, watching Hika volley attack after attack against Ahzef. "
And I say I'm hurting
.
I can't imagine what Ahzef is feeling right now
." A faint rumble bore through the tower as small handholds appeared in the wall next to her. Was the tower telling her to keep moving?
The roar of Hika's raging pursuit plagued her ears, but it was the motivation she needed. "No time for gazing at my feet—not while Hika is up there risking her life. She grasped the first handhold with an iron grip as she climbed the sandy steps to the top—one after the other.
"But of course he had a damn 'insurance policy', though. I don't know what I was expecting," Lacia grumbled as she continued her climb. Any moment now, Ahzef could sweep her off her feet and lock her away in that tiny room, free to enact his grand plan without the hassle of her hindrance. Just the thought alone terrified her, but she wasn't about to become the princess locked away forever. This wasn't her fairytale to live, nor would she let it become one.
There were still several stairs between her and the altar but she still had nothing to offer. Something in the back of her mind told her she wouldn't need one, though. "Please tell me your name," she pleaded. "Surely you can do that much for me. I want to do this the right way, but I can't do this if I don't know who I'm to worship."
A disembodied voice resounded through the temple as Lacia collapsed on the top stair. Roiling in waves of pain, blood poured from her lip as she bit down, hoping to counter one type of pain with another. Through gritted teeth she pulled herself up. It was all or nothing and she wasn't leaving without
something
. If she gave up now, the world she knew would be turned to ash before her eyes—a reality she refused to accept, no matter how fervent her pursuits to stop Ahzef. A large explosion rocked the temple from the outside as the sounds of fighting abruptly ceased which meant one of two things and she wasn't willing to find out which.
Bright flashes left spots in her eyes leaving her momentarily frazzled. There, against the back wall, was an altar. Water flowed from a stone fountain into a pool at the base overshadowed by a modestly sized pillar draped in various hues of green and blue moss. She blinked again, the spots in her eyes having cleared. The same markings that patterned her arms slowly etched themselves into the pillar in front of her—a fierce orange burning itself into the white stone, line after line.
"What am I supposed to do? I can't read any of that," she said, glumly.
"
Did you forget?
" Hika's voice echoed. "
You are of the Iliern bloodline.
"
"Hika!" Lacia shouted. "What happened? Where's Ahzef?"
"
Hika does not have the time to explain. Ahzef is coming and you must read pillar.
"
Lacia turned back to the pillar where several new lines of script had been etched into the stone. It looked almost hand-written.
"
Try again."
Lacia turned to face the pillar once more, surprised she could read the engraving. She read aloud:
"
Homage to the great. Homage to the mighty. Beneath the starry sky above, we worship the protector. Bathed in the pool of time, we submerge ourselves in the water of life and death where we are renewed by the grace and eminence of our creator.
"
"Oh Laciaaa," Ahzef's voice boomed through the temple. "Where are youuu? We have much to go over still."
"
Keep reading
," Hika chided. "
Hurry.
"
Unease burrowed its way under Lacia's skin as she continued:
"
By the grace of our goddess, we grow and walk the path of life unafraid. Hand in hand with you, we banish the evil before us.
" A new line etched itself into the stone beneath what she'd already recited... And it seemed to address her directly:
"
You must follow the tide and find me in the depths of despair for I am not what you think.
"
The rustle of bare feet on sand caressed Lacia's ears as she turned towards the sound, fully expecting to find Ahzef peering over her shoulder. Her eyes rested upon a figure as dark as night, black goop oozed from its twig-like ribs as it stumbled towards her. If this were a nightmare, she was living it and it scared the hell out of her. A boney hand shot towards her neck at lightning speed, but it was deflected by an unseen force.
"
What is that thing, Hika
?"
"
That is Ahzef. Hika did her best, but Hika could not finish Ahzef.
"
Lacia swore under her breath. "Looks like it's me and you then, Ahzef. You look a little worse for wear. You sure you're up for this?" she said smugly.
"I'm tired of these stupid games, girl." Ahzef closed his bony fist and squeezed.
Each finger seemed to fold into its bony palm at an agonizingly slow rate. Lacia's chest tightened as the first finger completed its sickening, inward curl like some kind of twisted game—Ahzef's insurance policy.
"You'll like this one," the devil teased, curling its second finger inward.
"Not so fast." Lacia raised her hand to the open sky revealing dozens of glimmering lances. "I have an insurance policy of my own." She performed a chopping motion with her hand unleashing a volley of lances into Ahzef's bony shadow-form. The devil crumpled into a heap of bones and black mist as the light ripped into its body, banishing whatever dared to approach.
"
You are my princess. I will not allow such evil to defile my altar nor my holy grounds. Do not fear what is to come, Lacia.
"
A paralyzing chuckle dispersed from the pile of bones, rattling. Lacia froze in fear, unable to speak. Her lips refused to form the words she needed, and her feet remained planted, despite the sandy floor underfoot. The lances were her last resort having consumed the last of the mana she could spare. Ahzef's pile of bones reformed as they clinked together like a toy skeleton, shadows filling the empty crevices and holes.
"That wasn't half bad, but now it's my turn." A bony hand shot forward again, ramming against the same unseen magic barrier, but Ahzef's last attack had done its job. The devil's bony fingers were the first to breach as they tore the remaining barrier away like paper.
With, the last of her energy, Hika sprang into her human form, catching Ahzef's hand with her own two. She was aware she could only buy a miniscule amount of time but allowing Lacia to fall to Ahzef would mean the end of everything.
"Dying here will be a small price to pay to protect Lacia. I will not let you through!"
"Fool! I have more than just my hands to use against you two," Ahzef declared. "You will die for nothing, Hika!"
Lacia fell to her knees. What could she do? She was spent: no mana, no tricks up her sleeve—nothing. This was it. The proverbial precipice of defeat. She closed her eyes as she clasped her hands in prayer. Turning back to face the altar, she quickly found herself tangled up in the heavy fabric and droopy sleeves of her dress. There was nothing to break her fall as she splashed into the pool behind her, turquoise weaves tumbling over the side.
"Good girl," Hika chided. "You're not the brightest, but that's definitely one way to figure out what you were supposed to do." She relaxed her hold on Ahzef's hand as the devil's bony fingers pierced her abdomen like knives—straight through to other side. "Now that she's gone," Hika grabbed Ahzef's hand with an iron grip, "I can complete
my
role. Good riddance, you rotting piece of sh—"
Her voice was drowned out by an exponential eruption of heat and light, rivaling that of supernovae, leveling everything in sight and as far as the eye could see. The ensuing shockwave cleared the lunar dust from the atmosphere, returning the hazy yellow skies to a mixture of blue and black, dotted by distant stars.
Cold, but refreshing, yet deadly. The current pulled Lacia deep into a series of underwater caverns, lined with gold and emerald. Still, she wasn't a fish and she'd been under nearly a minute, caught in the watery clutches of something she feared would drown her instead of saving her. Drowning wouldn't be a pleasant way to go out, but how could she keep the thought from her mind when her lungs were screaming for air?
She was ejected into an expansive chamber as the current finally released its hold. Regardless, time was still ticking, and she needed air. Swallowing the last tiny pocket she'd contained within her cheeks, Lacia turned around—frantically searching for a way out of the watery maze.
A faint glimmer of light broke the water's surface well above her as she forced every last molecule of oxygen into her lungs. Her muscles ached with each stroke, and she was beginning to sink faster than she could surface. She could lose the dress, but that would take too long, even if it was weighing her down. Time was not on her side.
"
But when is it ever?
" she thought. "
All that, just to drown in some foreign underwater cavern.
" She struggled with one final stroke, but the cold water had sapped her strength and oxygen remained out of reach. "
A watery grave is better than no grave at all I guess
."
She closed her eyes and allowed her hand to float ahead of her, hoping by the grace of some God she would be saved. Her back hit the chamber floor, expelling the last oxygen her lungs could cling to. As the bubbles rose towards the surface, she couldn't help but smile. No one ever said fate was fair, but it didn't seem right everything had fallen on
her
shoulders: the pains and bleeding, the abduction, Lucifero... the list went on. Now, here she was, laying against the floor of an underwater chamber as she watched the final seconds of her life tick away.
As her arms finally came to rest at her sides, they hit something... unnatural. Her eyes shot open as she turned herself around to face what she'd felt. Maybe an underwater door? At this point, she'd take just about anything.
She didn't need a watch to know she had been submerged for over two minutes. At best, she had thirty seconds. However, she knew she could black out at any moment.
Faint light flickered from the surface, illuminating a golden chain and what looked to be the plug to a bathtub drain. As she anchored herself above it, adrenaline pumped through her veins, lending her the strength needed to break through the fatigue and cold.
With a muffled
pop
the plug came free, followed by a chorus of clicking and whirring. Before she knew it, she was being sucked down alongside the water again. The water rushed into an opening just wide enough to fit through, rushing into the small space as it began to close, but the new, smaller, chamber was already filled with water.
Without warning, bright orange lights illuminated the cramped space—no bigger than the interior of a small sedan. She hit her head against a side wall, drawing blood, but there in front of her was a large button that read
WATER EXPULSION.
Vague, but it would have to do, considering her lungs felt as if they were about to burst.
With haste, she pushed the button, a fresh influx of oxygen forcing the water from the cramped space, but this presented a new problem—she was no longer weightless in water. She plummeted several feet unable to break her fall as she landed on her hip. A painful crunch ensued. Her body felt numb from the shock as she sat there, dazed and immobile.
Now that the water was gone, she was able to thoroughly examine the interior of the small chamber.
"I wouldn't try to move if I were you, princess. You were supposed to use the rungs before expelling the water," a male voice came.
Breathing heavily, "If I hadn't almost drowned after falling into the main pool," she stopped to catch her breath, "I wouldn't have been so apt to push a button that expelled all of the water." She looked around for the source of the voice, catching the emerald-green eyes of a young boy who was hanging out of a door just above her head. "And... Princess?"
"Stay there. We'll come get you. Just don't move or you could hurt yourself more."
"What do you take me for? Some kind of sadist?"
Lacia was escorted down an expansive hall lined with the same engravings that lined the sleeves of her dress, now in a sopping wet heap in a bag on her lap. The same jewel-laden ornamentation she saw in the water was engraved in the walls and floor; white marble reflected the green and gold onto the ceiling.
"I appreciate the sentiment, really, but you didn't have to strap me to this wheelchair. I'm not going to fall out. I'm not
that
clumsy..."
"We are here to ensure that you come to no further harm, princess. Please excuse any unorthodox measures."
Lacia frowned. "Yeah? What are you going to do next? Wrap me in bubble wrap?"
Several looks of confusion crossed the various faces that had emerged from their rooms to witness the commotion.
"If anyone should be confused here, it's me. First of all, you keep calling me 'princess'. Second of all, I almost
drowned
and I still don't know where I am. Third, I've never seen people with such... interestingly shaped ears, and what are those markings on your faces?"
"Full of questions I see. All those years away and you're as annoying as ever," a deeper male voice chuckled. "I can't blame you for forgetting, what with that memory block and all, but it seems it's beginning to come undone. So, allow me to refresh you."
"This just gets crazier by the day, I swear," she mumbled, avoiding the gaze of the new figure before her. "Wait," she turned her head in revelation, "is that you, Kilhan?"
"See? You're beginning to remember. Now, let me jog that memory a little more. Lacia, you are part of a race of humans thought to be long-extinct—the Iliern. Our longer ears are proof of that. The markings you asked about are granted to those who have obtained seniority status."
"Hika mentioned that I was part of the Iliern bloodline before I fell into the pool at the temple, but I didn't know what she was talking about..." Lacia paused for a moment to think. "So why don't I have those same ears and what is deemed 'seniority status'"?
Kilhan took over the reins of Lacia's wheelchair. "Everyone else can go about their business as usual. I will tend to Lacia, er-hem, the princess from here. We will celebrate her return later."
Several Iliern shuffled about, struggling to get a better view of Lacia before returning to their duties as normal, grumbling as some disappeared behind closed doors. Kilhan wheeled Lacia into a room of her own, softly closing the door behind them.
The room itself was enormous—certainly fit for a princess. A silk shawl encircled a large bed in the center of the room, lined with red and white throw pillows and a gorgeous red comforter. Next to the bed was a bookshelf full of fairytales, young adult novels, and various other works regarding the history of the Iliern. In the corner opposite the bed stood a small desk and chair. White papers were neatly stacked atop the surface of a type of wood she'd never seen before.
Elsewhere, piles of plushies filled various shelves and cushions, forming makeshift walls of soft, colorful creatures, however, the room remained windowless—to be expected of an underwater labyrinth.
Against the back wall was another door, partially cracked open to reveal an expansive private bathroom ordained with multi-colored towels, a large mirror, and plenty of makeup to that of which she questioned what girl ever needed so much.
"We've updated your room through the years, hopefully to your liking. We don't engage in much contact with the surface... for reasons."
Lacia wheeled her chair over to the bookshelf, pulling a graphic novel off. "You guys really think I'm into this kind of thing?"
She read the title off: '
Lukos and Tobern: Forbidden Love
.'
"I really do appreciate all of this, but I really don't have an interest in boy's love romance novels. I don't think I've
ever
really enjoyed these," she said, face flushed as she quickly replaced the book on the shelf.
"My apologies. I can have those removed if you'd like."
"No, no! That's okay! They... can stay." Lacia turned her chair around so Kilhan couldn't see her embarrassment.
Kilhan pulled the chair from the desk and placed it near the bed. "Alright. Let me give you a little history lesson, Lacia. It may not jog your memory completely, but there will be some new information I think you'll find useful."
Lacia turned the wheelchair around and placed her hands in her lap. She wasn't big on history in school, but a lot had changed in the last two years. "Those who choose to ignore the past will only be forced to repeat it in the future."
"Indeed. Now, listen carefully. You've been called 'princess' several times by now and I can tell you're noticeably confused so let's start there." Kilhan procured a book that seemed to appear like magic. He turned the pages in a flurry of ink and images before finally coming to one in particular. "Look familiar to you?"
A beautiful young woman, about Lacia's age, struck a passionate pose wearing the same dress Lacia had been wearing at the temple with Hika—turquoise greens and shimmering whites. In her hand was a golden lance of light, but it was significantly more imagistic than any of the lances Lacia had been able to summon, though this was a watercolor painting after all.
"Am I supposed to know who this is?"
"I didn't expect you to know, but I thought I would try anyway." Kilhan closed the book in his hand. "That woman... was your mother."
Lacia sat as still as a mouse. It wasn't hard to put two and two together: the dress, the Iliern, and her mother. "She looked like she was
my
age in this picture," she said, thumbing back through the book as Kilhan placed it on her lap. "Eaukea Iliern... Wait— What about my—"
"Father?"
Lacia nodded.
Kilhan returned to his chair, placing a pillow in the seat for a more comfortable experience. "Your father was a kind man— I'd met him several times. When Eaukea crossed paths with him, she just couldn't let him go." He chuckled. "Your father, Liukaus, was a mortal man, but Eaukea just couldn't resist. She told him everything and that eventually led to your birth several years later."
Lacia was laser focused. This was the first she was getting to hear about her actual parents and wasn't having to live with a false impression of someone she thought she knew. Upon the realization that most of her life had been a complete lie, she couldn't help but wonder about Mana and everyone else—Aria especially.
"Unfortunately," Kilhan continued, "after she gave birth to you, your mother fell incredibly ill and was forced to transfer her royal title onto you, her daughter. There were many risks associated with this, however, because you're only half-blooded."
"So, she was the princess at the time, but because she was so sick, she had to transfer the title on to me? What about me being half Iliern made it so risky?"
"In order for you to gain awareness of the unseen world around you and increase your magical affinity, your mother had to give you
her
blood—enough of it to replace the half-blood of your father. You were a newborn and Eaukea was horribly ill. To make matters worse, we had never performed an Iliern blood transfer."
"What happened to my mother after that? And what about my father?"
"We'll come back to that later. Right now, you need to understand the duty of the title you hold, Lacia. This isn't like the princesses in the stories you were told as a child."
Lacia's face remained unchanged. She'd certainly had her lack-of-thought moments, but from what Kilhan had told her, she'd already assumed that being 'princess' didn't mean fancy dresses, luxury lifestyles, and pampering. However, she didn't exactly think it meant being attacked by devils, either, but this was her trump card after all. The devils didn't know who she was, really.
Kilhan cleared his throat. "Your mother was known as the 'Maiden of Stars'. She loved to swim up to the surface to lay under the stars at night. Her magic was the primary reason for the name, though." He pointed to the photo in the book. "You see, she was gifted with a very special type of magic called "Hokoyoun."
"That sounds eerily similar to my own Hihouyo, but I guess that's to be expected." She laughed. "After all, I wouldn't have been able to use it without help from my mother, in a way."
"Correct. Unfortunately, this next part you may not like, but I ask you take it all in with an open mind."
"I didn't
like
being attacked by devils and having to uproot my entire life, but here I am. I'm not afraid of what you have to tell me."
Kilhan sighed. "Yep. Your mother was just as stubborn as you are. Fine." He sat up in his chair, catching Lacia amid her imagination. "As princess of Iliern, you are the one who is tasked with securing the borders between the Reverse World, Earth, and Chiipha. Earth and Chiipha are magically-rich because of something called a Yewn, a metaphorical key that allows the wielder access to unrestrained power."
"And you think this is what the devils are after?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. While the Yewn is certainly attractive, it is impossible to obtain. That is, or it was. Your primary duty is to guard Earth, but the princess of Iliern is supposed to work in tandem with a similar princess from Chiipha."
"And what happened to
her
?"
Kilhan's face drained of color. "She was consumed by the same devils you now flee from, and no ceremony was ever held to officially replace her. Your mother found herself locked in that same frightening battle, but this was a time when the devils were much,
much
more powerful. You've been lucky to escape up until now, but—"
Lacia cut the restraints on her wheelchair, freeing her legs and upper body as she fell onto the bed. Sliding across the silky surface, she flung herself off the bed and wrapped her arms around Kilhan in a large bear hug.
"Before you scold me, I want to say thank you for this. I've lived my entire life as a lie for the last twenty plus years. Hearing you tell me about my mother and father has eased my mind a little bit, but what will happen to Chiipha if there's no new princess like me to guard the border between it and the Reverse World? I'm not strong enough to protect even
my
home right now."
Lacia released Kilhan from her surprise bear hug as she fell back onto the bed. She thought she had a lot to think about
then
. Considering everything she'd just been told, she almost wished she hadn't been. The responsibility to protect her world from the devils was a mighty task in of itself. Without an assist from Chiipha, it would be impossible to protect one without sacrificing the other first.
"How many people died when the princess was, uhh, you know... And how long ago did that happen?"
Kilhan shook his head, refusing to provide any further elaboration on the grisly details. "Do you understand how dangerous this role is you must command? If the devils are able to steal your own magic, your gift, they will be able to form the Yewn. If that happens, there will be no way to stop them."
"I understand that," Lacia said exasperated, "but how do I learn to maximize the power I have? What if it's not
enough
?" She attempted to follow Kilhan before he left, but a growing ache told her she was better off staying where she was. "Kilhan," she demanded, "When you come back, I want to hear more about my mother and father, ok?"
Kilhan stopped in the doorway as he turned to give Lacia a small smile. "I'll tell you everything you want to know, but for now, you need to let your body rest. You will meet the same fate the princess of Chiipha did if you push yourself." He snapped his fingers, extinguishing the lights in the room. "Goodnight, princess."
"Goodnight, and thank you again, Kilhan." The room door closed with a swoosh of air, leaving Lacia to ponder her thoughts until sleep came. "
I'm not some fragile flower
..." |
Count Binocular, a very young-looking man for his age of 80 years, sits at home in his comfy armchair looking at the fireplace in his gigantic living room.
He thinks about what happened last night, with a frowning look on his face, he stands up and goes to a weird-looking emblem on the wall. It starts glowing red and opens a hidden door, the staircase goes down into a secret room of his. You can see a giant holo table and a wall with cameras which seem to cover the whole city, it makes sense for him to have this kind of equipment given his status as a detective in Binoca. He opens a file with a certain picture in it, the picture resembles some sort of crown but it's not really clear what exactly it is.
The Count takes a last look at the file and seems to have an idea of what he has to do.
His hand slips into his pocket and he pulls out a phone and calls a number he had in his contacts. The Name Pascal Ziluke can be read.
Personal File #23
Senator Pascal Ziluke: A fine gentleman with very high intelligence and tactical knowledge, he is the Senator of Binoca and plays a really big role in the English senate. Another known fact is that he has control over the Police of Binoca, it´s said that they will follow him blindly.
"Pascal, it´s me, I need your help" Count Binocular says
"What a pleasure to hear from you my friend how can I help you?"
"Did you decide to help us?" He replies with a scratchy voice
"Yes I´ve decided to help but let me explain the plan first. How about we meet up at the Coffeeshop?"
"Sounds good, see you in 20 min" the Senator replies and hangs up.
Count Binocular leaves through the Main entrance of his gigantic castle and takes his "Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire", an very old car for this decade, and drives towards the city which you can reach in about 10minutes by car.
Vehicle File #1
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire: this car is very old, he got it from his father, he loves to drive it and everyone who sees him in it thinks it's pretty cool that he still uses it so he enjoys the attention but he will never let anyone else drive it.
Landmark File #1
Castle Binocul: A very old castle which existed since 1420 and was used by the King of Kingstown until the first Count of Binocul took over the city and renamed it into Binocul, this Count was one of his ancestors Luke Binocular I. and played a huge role in the development of this city, it's said he used this Castle for his human experiments and stored a lot of mythical artefacts in it. He took out the whole English army that was placed in Kingstown on his own, the file says its Ṯ̸̤͓̹̠̮͈̭͈͂͊̂͘͜h̸̨̼̤͉̘͑̑́̉̃́̈́͐̈̊̉̆̈́̊̀̀̀́̊̀͝͝͠ḭ̸͎͙̀̃͂̂́̽͑̉̉̽͛͒̉̈́͋̈̀̒͒̑̓̉̒̚̚͠s̵̗̮̃̔̃̉̚ ̸̛͖̼̲͈͓͕̟̠̪̫̙̦̩̾͊̑́f̵̨͓͙͇͔̜̳̭̯̰̯͓̞̰̫̞̳̣̜̥͕͈̦̜̘͌̉̌͆̓̆̃̂̏͂̒͛̓͊͠i̶͓̤̻̺̼̬̪͂̐̊̆̈́̆̐̆̅̈́͐̄͝ͅl̵̡̜̹̖̣͍̮̙̱̦͖͍̞͙͕͖̬͓̯͕͕̜͚̱̫̺̙̉͑͂͗̈́̄̄̌̓͊̀̇̈́͐̈́͛̿̽̀̅̀̕͜͝ȇ̵̛̛͖͑̀̀͑̿̿͂͌̀͛͛͆͒̅̏͑̈͛̏̉͑͝͠͝͝ ̷̜̙̯̲̤̆̀͒͊̽̉͑͋̿́͐̅̐́̊͘͝i̵̧̬̫̝͈̾̓̏̄͗͐̂̾̀̅̆̉̽̋͛̀͋̑̀̏̿̚͠s̷̨͖͖͈̰̺͕̲̫͔̯̽͛̆̈́͒̅ ̶̹͇͂̔̀̽͘ͅp̴̡̧̝͈̹̺̫͕̰̟̫̼̗̬̤͈͙͔̦̲͉̺͖̘͚̋̔̐̓̈̾̅́̿́̀̀͂̈̇̈́͘͘͠͝͝ͅȑ̶͖̦̭͙̦̳̣̬̦̖̟̱̥͓͎̱̪̃̒̐̎͒̆̑͊̂̉͂̾̋͆̋̀̾͂̇͐̕̚̕͜͝͠ỏ̸̭̱̬̙̰̳̌̒̍̔̌̈́͂̕h̸̢̡̰̯͖̠̟̯̼̝͔̬̺̟̙̬̦̖̫̻̟͉͉̞̝͌̈̏͒̇̽̈͒͐͆̂͑̕į̵̢̛͔̦̙̙̮̦̐̑́̌̈́̄͗̄̀̂̏̏͘͝͝ͅb̶̲̣̞̲̦̦͓̪̖̱̻͕̏̊̓ͅͅỉ̶̢̨̢̡̥̰̰̳͍̩̼͉̜̖̯͔̳̞̫͍̗͓̞̰̘̱͇͙̅͌͗͗̓̀̈͒̽͂̌̈́́̿̏̀͘̕t̶̝̟͉͇̬̼̝͖̪͙̫̥̩̰̔͛͝ẽ̴̲̮̺̞̟̠̫͚̜̓͐͒̋͗̃̔͂͆͌͑̇͂̇͑͜͠͝ͅͅd̵̢̡̛̪̭̙͎̬̦͓̯̳͕͈̈̏̊̓̓͒́̋̂͛̚͜͠ ̵̛̛̲̝̰̩̰͇̪̙͚̣̲͈͙̖̲̤̮̪̘̲̥͖̯̲̇͒͐̓̍͘͜͠ͅt̷̢͚̩̖͎̖̰̼̬͓̟̳͔̖̗̥̟̝̳͔̩̤̔̔͆̈́̊͂͂͌͆̃̌̈͊̀̋̈́̾͂̚͘̕o̶̧̭̺͚̱͔͇͆͋̆̃̽̾͆͋͒͑̈̈́̋̈́̐͆̐͜͠ ̶̦̰̞͍̬͈̘̟͍̟̈́̽̅ͅr̸̢̙̞͖̭̣̮͎̤̠̦͈̱̝̝̭̹̝̯̦͑̐͗e̸͖͇̘̕ą̸̧̡̛̦̠̗͚̺̬͚̟̻̠̱̠̦̠̹̳̖̞̖̐̑͊̓̒̇̈́͛͜ͅd̷̡̡̡̻͔̻̻̣̲̣͎̪̞͇̗̫̝̝̳̞̱̻̞̃̕ ̸̨̡̙̬̳̤̠̻̗̹͚̝̗͚̳̫̯̘̺̰̗̳̩͈̰̋̋̾̇̌̑̇̅̎́̓̑͊̎̕̕̕͘f̴̡͈͓̠̳̩̞̯̟̠͖̻͖̂́̀̑̽́͑̃́̾̊́̃͗̍̅̆̋̎͘̚̕͘͜͜͠ù̸̞̻͇̪̗̘͙̦̝̦̭̬̮͚͚̪̟̪͇͎̭̠͚̺̲͌̃͜͝ͅr̴̨̧͉̖̩͈̦̗̯͈̬̙͔̥͇͍͙̰̲̖̰̲͖͔̖̻̊̊͂̓̔̐̒̎́̐͆͂̉̉͌̆͒̆̌͋̐̂͋̓͘̕͝t̶̨̡̨̧̮͔̬͕̲̮̺̭̯̭̠̪̦͓͖̣̦͕̗͕͔͋̍̀̂̀͐̾̓͜ẖ̵̢̱͔͍̙̞̜̈̂͒̌͛̀̉̀̿͂͂̃̑̅̑̇̓͐̎̚͠ͅe̷̡̡̨̧͓͎̱̮̦̝̗͕̜̩̫̤̭͒͋͊͋̓̄̇̐̾̂͝ṟ̷̡̢̜̩̗̱̹̲̝͔̝͇̦̜̩͕̙̠̞͓̞̥̖͈͊͂͜͜.
As he finally arrives in town, he meets up with Pascal and discusses the incoming operation.
"You see... I want to help but I can´t do it alone, I know where we should start.
"Did you hear about "Jesus Crown of Thorns" it´s said to awaken a power in whoever wears it and this power is said to be more powerful than me, you or all the other enhanced special forces you have." Count Binocular explains with excitement in his voice.
The senator questions this theory:" My friend... you know this is just a story people tell and fact is that, if it exists, no one has ever found it."
"My family researched the location of the Crown for a long time, and I think it might have a clue where it could be, I'm closer than anyone from my bloodline ever was".
"You know I trust you completely." Pascal says, "I will help but at first explain to me why exactly the crown has something to do with the cases with had the last weeks."
"The crown is also said to have the ability to locate whatever power you seek, so we could locate that Bloodsucking bastard and put him into "Ralucor"." The count explains.
The Senator's eyes open wide and he says:" now you have my attention, what do you need?"
"As I mentioned before, I need a team of skilled soldiers."
"Yes, I can give you the 23rd police battalion, you know they are the best." Pascal answers.
"No!" I want the 1st special division"
"The first special division?? Have you gone mad? Why do you need them? Doesn't a normal Battalion work?" He questions the Count as if it was a cross-examination.
"My ancestors went on ceratin expeditions to find the crown and they all got killed by a higher force, one survived and that was my dad. He told me there is no way a simple man like me, despite my powers, can defeat whatever it is that chases you when you search for it. He said it looked like an angel and it could create spears of light strong enough to pierce through a tanks shell."
Pascal answers with his eyebrows raised:" Ok I understand, I still think you've gone mad but I believe your story. You will meet with them tomorrow at the airport, Armygate 4. And I will come with you!"
"You may join us but be aware, it will be dangerous and you will die, I can assure you that."
"Noone can kill me that easy, my friend." The Senator says with a smirk on his face.
"If you insist, I won't say anything against someone who wishes to die." He laughs and goes out the door.
The Senator, still sitting at the table, notices that the Count ordered an XXL Breakfast Menu for 50 pounds and didn't pay for it. he slowly stands up and leaves without paying. The moment he closes the door, he starts running towards his car and drives away with horrendous speed.
The waitress notices the unpaid bill and starts to cry because she didn´t get a tip (she works in this coffee station to make some money to pay off her college debt)
Later that day the Bill gets sent to the Count's castle, they knew who he was because he is way too famous in the city. He opens the letter and shouts some swear words.
The Senator also ordered the XXL Breakfast Menu and now he has to pay for it all.
Artefact File #1
Jesus crown of thorns: It is said that Jesus put all of his power into the crown before he got crucified. Because of the godly power that now was in this artefact, Jesus got a new Power that fused from his existing ones, following his now new ability which was the Power of resurrection. After one of his disciples used the crown and got powers too scary for Jesus to handle, he locked it somewhere secret where no one can ever find it.
He had to kill his disciple, who wanted to overthrow the roman emperor with his newly gained powers, Jesus didn´t want him to take the land with violence and ended his friend's life.
Army File #23
The 23rd Battalion: A group of 10 skilled Soldiers, trained to kill the strongest of lifeforms, until enemies with special powers appeared, they killed 2 of them following the battalion to disband because some of them were too scared to die against those newly awakened beasts. Now the battalion only has 5 Soldiers left, mostly used for assassination Tasks.
Army File #101
Special division #1: The first special division is a group formed of 6 humans with inhuman abilities. No one knows how they got them but they may have inherited them through their parents. Why nobody has heard of powered humans before is simply because the new generation can't keep their mouths shut and they had to show their power on the internet.
Ancient Lifeforms File #1
Jesus: He is very famous so there is not much to say about him.
It is speculated that after his resurrection, he had to kill one of his disciples (Mentioned in Artefact File #1) and had to live with that burden until he died. When he had to kill 2 more of his friends, who had just gotten their powers, he wandered off into the ocean because he couldn't live with his sins anymore. He died committing suicide and was resurrected over and over again and drowned a thousand times cursed with a power he didn't want to have. He couldn't stop the infinite circle of pain because he was trapped in the ocean and his body got dragged by several sea creatures into the depths of the ocean, where his body exploded from the immense pressure that was down there. Until his death, he had no idea where his friends got their powers from.
Jesus had the Power to manipulate liquids (turn water into whine, or whatever other liquid he wants) (walking on water...)
Ancient Lifeforms File #45
Mysterious Angel: Count Binocular´s father once had to flee from a battle with him, he got chased by it and it nearly killed him with spears of light. He believed it was a Guardian of the crown and it was not the only one that exists.
Power: probably manipulating light
There won't be that many files anymore, there was just a lot to explain in this chapter so I will create an extra chapter with all of the files in order and I will update it with every new chapter. |
The stone-cold floor of the bell almost felt comfortable by now- Ethrial had slept on it so many times he had gotten used to it and grown attached to it. The morning sun peeked through the barred window of the room as Eth heard the usual noises of the jail begin to swell. This was what he didn't like so much about prison- everyone was always in too much of a rush to wake up.
We're in prison, for the meteor's sake! It's not like we have anywhere to go. Just let me sleep in peace.
A loud bang on his cell door aroused Eth from his mental whining. His eyes trailed up the iron frame of the door to make contact with his favorite 2-meter tall warden.
"Hey, how's it going, Nik? Get a good sleep?"
"Quite contrary, actually. Inmates in the east wing were rowdy all of the night. Big brawl that I broke up. Not fun." The warden's strong Raiid accent afflicted his speech like a disease, but Eth didn't mind. Nikola Krutsky was like a big brother to him, always caring for him and making sure he was alright while he was in prison. He was always very happy that Eth was so nice to him, but he constantly acknowledged that their friendship, in and of itself, was a problem, because that meant Eth was in prison
way
too much.
To be fair, he was.
Eth was a thief. That was his entire line of work, and all that he really knew how to do. He had never been to school, learned a single spell, or even learned to write. But he did know how to swipe a purse- and that's what kept him alive. That, Nik said, and being in prison so often that he gets most of his meals from there.
For the past four days Eth had lounged around lazily in his cell, doing everything from making up battles between two different colors of pebble on the floor and doing push-ups until he could barely breathe. There wasn't much else to do, so why not? It's not like it was a long stay- he would get out today if Nik had ruled in favor of his good behavior, which he had. Eth was only in here (this time) in the first place because some other thief had thrown a satchel of money into his arms and ran off. (Which, in all fairness, he had started to run away with, too.)
"Eth, your stay is up. Come with me." Nik opened the cell door, and Eth stood up, making his way out of the room. He began to follow Nik as he took him through the many winding halls of the prison.
"Why is this place so big, anyway? It's not like you're ever gonna catch all the criminals in
this
city."
"I... do not know. It's larger than the Krux penitentiary. It should not be. Maybe the King simply did not like Kruost?"
"Likely. Apparently he wants to burn us down, but it's too cold here to do that. Fire spreads like cold butter." A home
had
burned down recently, but that was an attack by the Estarian army on a prostitute's business. The flame was barely able to consume that house, much less the rest of the city.
"I do not see why he would want to do that. Our city provides the stone that makes up all of Ester." Being the capital of the entire nation, Ester certainly would not want to lose its main source of building material. Kruost's incredible marble-filled mountains were too valuable to Ester to be wasted. "Well, enough of that. We're coming up on the exit."
"Let's make a deal, Nik. If I'm not back in here by tomorrow, you owe me twenty bronze coins. And if I'm caught, I owe you twenty." Nik wore a thoughtful expression, before turning to me with his mammoth grin.
"I will make that deal with you. Remember, I can tell the city guard that you're around!"
"H-Hold on, can this be a
fair
bet? I don't want to be followed around by people seeing my every move."
"That is a good point. I will play the game fair. See you tomorrow!" Nik laughed heartily at his own taunt, to which Eth could not prevent a smirk from cracking open on his own face.
Nik is a good guy. He might be part of the prison system, but he's a really, really good guy.
Eth walked out of the gates and onto the street, where he nearly slipped on a frozen puddle before regaining his balance with a nearby lantern pole. This was normal for Kruost- it was still in the late summer months and already the city had had its first snowstorm. A finger's length of snow had piled up everywhere the eye could see two days prior, and people were working to clean it up even though the temperature remained below freezing.
Eth's clothes weren't nearly equipped to deal with this weather- a torn beige tunic and white shorts would not prevent any weather-based ailment. He would have to buy some new clothes, if he could steal some money. But for now, more pressing matters were at hand than Eth's risk for frostbite. His stomach roared with the intensity of a lion, and he swore he saw a few people glance his way. No one held their gaze in Kruost for long, though. It was the Kruic way- "Eye contact, death contract" was a very common phrase in these parts.
He eyed a cart rolling by in the street, full of frozen fruits waiting to be eaten. Unfortunately, as a Kruite without Kruic heritage, he didn't have access to the ancestral magic many people had in the city, and as such couldn't easily warm the fruit with electricity as many others often did. He could, however, smash it and eat it like candy, though, a trick he'd gotten used to over his years of nabbing foodstuffs. He glanced around, looking for the city guard before putting his plan into action. There was one guardsman, clad with white and sky-blue armor, but he was preoccupied with relighting a lantern that was a bit too high up for his electric tendrils to reach.
Eth pounced on the opportunity, sprinting across the street and avoiding any patches of ice on the ground. He reached his hand into a wooden box on the cart and pulled out a reddish-orange fruit, laden with frost and a bit of dust. He bolted away from the cart just as quickly and hid behind a wall, hoping no one had seen him.
"Hey! Guard! Thief, thief!"
Well, this prey isn't going down so easily.
Eth leapt into the shadows of the alley he was nestled inside, running from the glint of white and blue he had seen on his tail.
"You there! Drop the item and I'll let you go! I've not got time for this!"
"And I've 'not got time' for being damn hungry! Piss off!"
Ugh, meteor's grace, that dude seems like a good guy. A shame I have to escape his clutches, and so rudely at that.
Eth ran into a sprawling wide market near the entrance of the city and slid under a passing cart. The ice allowed him to glide like a swan under the spruce chassis of the cart with ease. Something tumbled from the top of the cart as he came out from underneath, falling perfectly into his free hand.
Another fruit! When does my luck run out?
He pushed himself off the frozen cobble and got back to his main goal- escaping the guardsman.
"Get back here, fiend!" The guardsman let out some sort of guttural growl, and purple tendrils ran out from his fingertips like miniature lightning, making a musical buzzing sound in the process. The ends of the tendrils barely grazed the back of Eth's knee, temporarily locking his leg and tripping him. Eth rolled out of the way as the man tried to tackle him, still trying to get his leg to move. He hit his kneecap with the frozen solid fruit in his hand and immediately jumped back to his feet, running off into another alley.
"Oh, what a shame! If you hadn't chased me, maybe I would've only taken one!" Eth flashed the second fruit in his hand at the guardsman, who still lay on the ground after attempting to take him out. The armor he was wearing was seemingly too heavy to let him get up. He sneered, and tried to reach Eth with his tendrils, but he couldn't reach far enough.
"Damn it, you scoundrel! Pray Krus's mighty meteor smashes your skull in!"
"Nah, I don't think I will. Thanks!" Eth sunk into the darkness of the passage, looking for a door or window to sneak into. After a little bit of time, he found one- a rusty old iron door, freezing to the touch. He tried the handle, and it surprisingly gave way, allowing Eth access to the room. He swiftly snuck inside and locked the door, giving himself a temporary place of shelter to eat his plunder.
Whoever lives here is a dumbass. Not locking your door in the city of thieves?
Thanks, though.
Eth threw his first fruit at the old wooden floor, and it exploded, sending tiny crumbs flying everywhere. The meat of the fruit split into five even chunks, cracked as a rock by way of hammer. He picked up a piece and tentatively gnawed at it until the nectar-sweet flavor diffused into his tongue. He could barely resist consuming the rest within three seconds.
"When I get rich, remind me to buy these fruit specifically," he said to himself aloud. Before cracking open his other fruit, he decided to venture around the room he was in. It seemed to be a cozy old clothing stone, with dim little lanterns still burning off of Reman oil. It perplexed Eth why they didn't use Reman oil for city street lanterns too- it lasted for months even in small quantities, so it could last the city years if they actually invested in it. Maybe it didn't burn as bright as the magic the guardsmen used to light them? Eth couldn't say.
He found himself staring at a small circular clothing hanger. He couldn't resist the urge to step inside and hide in the tent of clothing- he, despite being a thief, was still a teen, and it wasn't like anyone was around to see him. He pushed the clothes aside and jumped back in terror- a skeleton was nestled where he intended to sit.
After a few seconds of deep breathing, Eth checked the clothes that the skeleton wore- apparently it was the shop's owner- the badge on its vest said as much. Oddly, the badge also had a name on it- "Eth", just like his own name. There was, creepily enough, no last name, either. Eth (the living one) also had no surname.
Eth, which was a nickname for Ethrial, was not a common name by any means- in fact, Eth had made it up for himself when he was nine. He had no surname because he had no parents, though he sometimes liked to imagine he would marry someone and invent a surname to give to his children, starting a bloodline of his own. He didn't want this theoretical bloodline to be ended by this skeleton, though, so he slid the clothes back into place and tried to not think about the eerie corpse.
Though it was a small shop, it had all sorts of different styles and types of clothing available. Eth was tempted to grab some lingerie as a joke, but his moral code won the battle and he decided against it. What he did grab was a puffy parka with a grey leather surface and an alpaca-fur lining. It was worth 400 bronze coins, which thankfully he didn't have to pay, since the owner was dead. He slipped it on over his dingy tunic and felt sweaty, due to being inside the warm building, but knew that to be a sign of protection against the subzero gales of Kruost.
He tied the sleeves around his waist and instinctively went to the main counter of the store, searching for where the profits were held. After all, it wasn't like the owner was going to use them. He found a basket full of bronze, silver and even gold coins, but felt a shiver down his spine as he reached for them. Sufficiently paranoid, Eth went to check on the owner's body again. To his relief, it was still very much dead, and to a degree he didn't even notice last time- in its skull was a huge indent, placed as if the man's head had been crushed by a falling steel beam. He wondered if someone had killed this man and hidden his body in the clothing rack. If so, he applauded the move.
Back to the counter he went, putting coin after precious coin into his parka's luscious pockets. After the basket was empty he decided to try on a few pairs of pants, as all he wore at the moment were a pair of ripped greaves. A dark green pair of snowpants fit him perfectly, and he stuck with them. Content with his findings, Eth began to walk out of the building. Before he made it to the exit, though, something grabbed his boot.
He screeched like a maiden and leapt in fear, only to discover he hadn't been grabbed- he had simply tripped on a board on the floor. He bent over at the waist and held his right hand over his chest, panting from the amount of adrenaline in his blood. In his stooped position he noticed something peculiar about the board- from underneath it came a faint, warm glow. With hesitation he gripped the board and ripped it off of the floor, revealing a dimly lit stone tunnel lurking below. Curious, he tore more and more boards up until a stairway down came into vision.
Not wanting to go down into something potentially dangerous with any regrets, Eth popped the now-thawed second fruit into his mouth- it wasn't quite as sweet as the first, but the bitterness mixed with a strong tart scent was enticing. Ready to embark on what was probably just a journey into an old cellar, Eth stepped down the staircase and squinted as he descended, his eyes searching for light. |
He paced around the room, giggling as if he was a child given a present. An expression of glee had spread across his haggard face, which concerned his cabinet all the more.
"Your majesty," one of the seated men spoke, his voice slightly shaky. "If you could just calm down-"
"Aransect!" He slapped the man across the face, instantly setting him ablaze. The man's agonized shrieks were drowned by unhinged laughter. "You! All of you!" The king shoved the flaming man through a window, shattering both the window and the man's chance of survival as he fell like a meteor to the ground below. A sickening thud echoed from outside the window-turned-balcony, and other members of the cabinets started backing away in fear.
"H-Have it your way, sire..."
"All of you! How many days have I performed the revival?" One member counted on his fingers for a second before looking back up to the king.
"170 times, Your Majesty. Including today."
"And how many times has it succeeded?" He giggled to himself eerily.
"Um, Your Highness-"
"ANSWER ME!"
The king's bellow nearly deafened the men standing closest to him.
"...Zero. Zero times, Your Highness."
"Then tell me..." He grabbed a spell book from his pocket, a royal version which had spells no mere mortal could conjure or fathom. He flipped to a page which contained all of the information needed to cast a revival spell. "Is the reason my son is still dead me? Is
my
magic, the strongest in history, defective? Or is it... something else? Perhaps, just perhaps, it's the
cabinet
who conjured this
defunct
spell. Does that sound right? I think it does."
By the time the cabinet realized what was happening, it was too late. The king wrote a word on a desk near him with his vial of ink, and as it solidified, he picked up the dot of the i and threw it at his cabinet. The first explosion killed one, maybe two members- when the drinking glass exploded too, they knew it was the end. One by one, the members exploded from the inside-out, smearing blood across the ceiling like scarlet paint. Organs splattered against the wall, and bone shards shot around like bullets. By the end of it, nineteen pairs of legs were strewn across the floor. The king was not satisfied.
"Who's left?" He tried to peer through the red mist, but couldn't see anyone. He knew he had 20 cabinet members, and all of them were present. Did one of them not drink the spell?
"William van Mareaux." A raspy voice rang from the ground- the king glared in that direction and spotted the last man, bleeding mortally on the white marble floor. "You're a traitor. You're the reason this country is so full of
filth.
You're
scum.
" The king didn't know what to say. Not once in his life had he ever been slandered at all, much less this vehemently. He would take the highest pleasure in killing this man- his prophet- known only as The Ethereal One.
"Your life is entirely pointless," van Mareaux said, his voice scalding and improper. "You lived and died as a thorn to your country, only delivering useless prophecies that did nothing but trouble your noble and graceful king with senseless worry!"
"You
asked
for the prophecies! What does that say about you? I-" The Ethereal One jolted, and suddenly his body was still. Was he dead? The king would be sad if so- he wanted to be the one to choke his pitiful life from his body. But his eyes flashed open, glowing green, and suddenly the king wished he
had
bled out.
"Beware the enemy- they number two
They will try to take the garments from you
And if they do- let's suppose that they do
They'll take the entire kingdom from you
Protect them well
Only time will tell
If you end up letting your guard down
And if you do- suppose you do
Those two will finish you and take up your crown."
William van Mareaux quickly crushed the Ethereal One's skull with his boot. "No more," he whispered to himself. "No more prophecies. No more cabinet. No more obstacles in the way of reviving my dear son."
As rolling crashes of thunder ricocheted off of the valley's walls, the normally relaxing torrent of water pouring onto the roof seemed all too distressful. An unfamiliar sense of unease washed over eight-year old Kana, who by all accounts should have been able to sleep through this storm. She lived in Platinum Ridge, after all- she should be akin to the weather in which she herself grew up. But something was off.
Kana sat up in her cot and focused her blurry eyes on the ceiling. Nothing seemed to be leaking, which should've been obvious, since the homes in Platinum Valley were the strongest in the world. She wiped her eyelids and twirled a lock of hair in her fingers- it wasn't static, so she wasn't going to be struck. It had happened many times- due to the tin roof, her family's home was often the target of the gods' mighty thunder. Thankfully, the house stood strong, though no one knew how.
Sure now that she had just startled herself awake in some sort of nightmare, Kana stretched her legs and stood up. She couldn't tell through her window the time of night, but she suspected close to daybreak. Pulling her nightgown down, she slowly creeped towards her door, not meaning to disturb her family's slumber. On her way to the exit she accidentally stepped on a wooden doll, and she covered her mouth to prevent herself from yelling in pain. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away- she was going to be a big girl.
As she cracked the door open, she heard the echo of rustling and whispering downstairs. Did her parents wake up early like she did? She tiptoed down the spruce wood steps and peeked her head around the corner, eyes scanning for life.
She locked eyes with a grizzled old man, covered in matte black armor, who held a bloodstained knife and a box of riches.
The man next to him held her lifeless younger brother, and the other two men carried each of her parents, both with dark red water oozing from slits in their necks. The man holding the knife placed the box down on the living room table and lunged at her, baring his teeth like a wolf. Kana couldn't move- her entire body was frozen in shock, not even allowing her to run up the stairs, dodge out of the way, or even take one step. The knife flashed a glimmer of white into her eyes before plunging into her chest.
Kana screeched in agony, but no sound came out. The pain of the wound stung not unlike a bad paper cut, but she was unable to breathe. As she fell to her knees, the man wretched the knife from out of her chest, and something akin to red wine spewed out of her sternum. She could all of the sudden breathe again, but when she took in air, the pain immediately infested the rest of her chest cavity, radiating out like a drop of juice in water. The paper cut that once was now felt like someone had reached into her rib cage and began pulling her ribs apart. Every moment was agony- quickly her breathing turned into coughing up that same red wine. Soon she couldn't take in air at all.
Despite only being eight, Kana knew what this was- death. She had hunted deer with her father, and they had oozed this same substance as they twitched on the forest soil, breathing their last. Everything added up in her head. She was being killed. Her parents and brother had already been killed. And it was all because of the men with the black armor.
The little girl tried to think of happy thoughts of seeing her family in heaven, but the pain was so intense she couldn't focus. Her hands and feet had gone numb, and she was fading out, but the pain in her chest remained. She normally enjoyed being alive, but now, living was a curse- unadulterated torture. She prayed to her god that she could just go to heaven already, and escape from her current vexatious reality. And as her vision went dark, she silently cried, hoping to see her family soon.
She was finally going to die. |
Finally, after about two minutes of clinging to a metal rail as he walked down the arduous passage, Eth saw a shimmer of light.
This has to be something big, right? What normal cellar goes down forty stories?
He approached the light, anticipating something mystical. Something legendary. Ethereal, even.
It was just another iron door.
Damn it!
Larger and more secure, the door seemed to leak light from inside, but there was no way in. Baffled and frustrated, Eth, understandably, began whining.
"Now I have to walk back up all those stairs with nothing! Damn it all!" He slammed his fist into the chilly stone wall, vibrating the tunnel and causing something to creak behind him. He turned to see that the door, which he had assumed locked, had cracked open slightly at his aimless punch. "Nevermind, then," he blurted, taking back his needless complaints. He gripped the wrought iron handle and pulled the door open, giving way to a large chamber.
The chamber, laden with all sorts of royal decoration, was flooded with a warm glow from orbs floating near the ceiling.
I'm not certain of the spell, but that's definitely Esten magic. I've seen it before.
Where the hell am I for Esten magic to be in use?
Kruost and Ester were rival cities- since the very beginning of civilization in Alphorica, the lands in which all known people called home, Kruost has had a burning hatred for those who resided in Ester. Even from the times of Krus the Valiant, the first man to obtain the power of the meteorites, both factions were warring with each other. It was to the point where, even with there only being three meteorites in all of Alphorica, two of their essences belonged to opposite sides of a conflict spanning about a day's horse ride.
Eth was reminded of a book he had stolen from a library a long time ago. According to said book, Krus the Valiant was struck by the meteor itself and absorbed its power directly, putting all of the meteorite's essence into the hands of Kruost's to-be founder. Another meteorite crashed near the castle grounds of Ester, and so the old king had it ground up into a powder and dissolved in water. The meteorite turned into a sort of ink- the king then diluted the ink into an entire pool of water, birthing the Ester inkwell. All legiriors, or users of Esten magic, took vials of ink from this great pool to use for their many spells. Eth didn't quite know how the magic worked, but he knew it had to be written and then thrown, based on the depiction in the book.
How do you throw writing?
Krus the Valiant's children had the magic that he did, as did their children. The process continued until a lot of the Kruost population had the magic, though in weaker quantities than Krus himself. Only Kruic people could be voltriors, the term for people with Kruic magic. Voltriors and legiriors had never been allies since their magic itself dawned, likely due to both magics being ethnically bound to two groups that despised each other. That was about the extent of what was printed in the book- Eth knew nothing past that. He also didn't know why there were any Esten spells cast within the city limits of Kruost.
What legirior could have gotten here anyway? And what's with all the Estarian decoration?
Eth spun around on his toes, taking in the grandeur of a place like this beneath the cracking, icy roads above. It was warm, though that may have been due to the magic of the orbs and not that it was too far down to be affected by the cold. After all, there was a huge permafrost layer under the grassy plains outside the city.
He wondered about the purpose of having such a grandiose chamber so far underground, and connected to a clothing shop, at that. He snooped around a bit before finally finding what the whole chamber was dedicated to- a small glass display box, inside of which were two scarves and a pale glass orb, not unlike the ones above him, though without any glow.
Eth removed the glass covering of the box and laid his fingers on one of the scarves. He slid his hand across its surface, feeling its velvet smoothness on his skin. He found it odd that the scarf, though certainly expensive, was so
normal
. He expected to grab it and for it to light him on fire, or grant him magical abilities, or to teleport him to somewhere else... but no. He wrapped it around his neck and felt a bit warmer on the inside, but other than that, nothing changed. He inspected the scarf and found a small golden-threaded crest embroidered into the fabric. The crest resembled the crest of the city of Ester, and matched the crest of
van Mareaux
exactly. He considered taking the scarf off and burning it, but his common sense kicked in and told him that if he were to burn it underground, he'd smoke himself out.
He took the other scarf and examined it, discovering that it had a different crest on its surface. He had no idea what this crest was, though it seemed similar to the crest of Rema, a sprawling spiral shape with curls across its branches. Rema was nowhere near Kruost, though, and he would have to cross all of Uverbarrow and reach the Loch Taimeaux Salt Flats to get there. There would be no feasible way to take the scarf there in his condition, if that was even what he was meant to do. He put it in the pocket of his new parka for safekeeping.
Finally, Eth held the orb in his palms, curious of its purpose. He shook it around a bit out of temptation, knowing that there was nothing inside of it. Surprisingly the orb began to glow a greenish hue, vibrating with energy. He peered at it for a little bit in awe before noticing that his hands were getting just a little bit too warm for comfort. He snappily looked for somewhere to place it down, but it got too hot too quickly, and he dropped it, wincing in pain. It clanked against the hard marble floor and rolled to a halt some three strides away from him. The air around the orb wobbled and waved as if in contact with the sun itself, and the stone underneath the orb started glowing red from the heat. A faint whistling sound began to come from the orb, and Eth instinctively ran behind a pillar in the chamber, sensing that something was about to explode.
It did.
After a monumental
boom
rattled the earth around him, Eth peeked out from behind the pillar, which was now bejeweled with chunks of glass from the orb. He scanned the room and found a cloud of smoke in the middle, inside of which was a dark figure.
"Damn it, William, I shouldn't have given you time to hide. Are you here to continue where we left off? Except, maybe without the exploding drinks and the massacre?"
"What?" Eth couldn't help but blurt aloud. He gasped and shrunk behind the pillar again, but felt the gaze of whatever this thing was fall upon him before he could hide.
"Oh. Who...
are
you?" No longer sensing animosity, Eth turned around the pillar once again to find that the figure had emerged from the smoke clothed in royal dressings- a gold-encrusted white cloak with a green crest of
van Mareaux
on its breast. It seemed to be a man, and his eyes glowed a pale shade of green.
"Um...
what
are you?" Eth hesitantly retorted. Though intentionally sarcastic in his tone, genuine fear made its way into his tenor-pitched voice.
"I am The Ethereal One. I... ahem,
was
a prophet in King William van Mareaux's cabinet some 18 years ago. I'm not sure he even has a cabinet anymore... regardless, I don't know how on earth you summoned me if you aren't the king, but nice to meet you?" He seemed more confused than Eth was about the whole ordeal.
"Ah. Well, I'm Eth. Ethrial... no last name included. I
also
don't know how the hell I summoned you, so we agree on that, at least."
"Where exactly are we? Are you even aware of that?" The man stroked his short beard and looked around at the chamber he was in. "Still hasn't changed since last time," he mumbled.
"This is the basement of a clothing shop in Kruost. Or at least, that's how I got here. And, side question, what are you? Like, are you a ghost? A spirit? Some deity? What's the deal?" The Ethereal One seemed unready to answer Eth's barrage of questions.
"A ghost, I believe. I was killed by your oh-so-perfect king William van Mareaux." He sneered as he said the name, and Eth laughed at him in spite of the situation.
"This is Kruost, mate.
No one
thinks the king is a good guy, no matter what he does."
"Apologies. I was thrown off by your... wait, that scarf! By the meteor's grace, you're wearing the King's Garments! How- ugh, what a headache... I guess I have to explain a lot to you, then. Not now, though. There are other matters that take priority."
Eth sat in silent agony, dealing with a problem he'd never faced before. He worked up the courage to ask the question...
"Your name is way too long. Can I call you something shorter?"
The Ethereal One, who's name was, in fact, tedious to say, scratched his chin, pondering the question. "Well... I would, on normal occasion, go by Eth, but I imagine that presents a problem to you?" Solemnly Eth nodded.
Of course the easiest solution has to be invalidated by a name I made up when I was a kid.
"I had a name before my coronation- Shielger. Hans Shielger. Does that work?"
"Indeed it does, Shielger. Now, if you don't mind explaining why you freaked out about me wearing a scarf...?" Eth's curiosity poured out of every orifice of his body. It was clear to The Ethereal One, recently dubbed 'Shielger', that this kid wasn't going to be satiated with a surface-level answer. Eth watched as his already green eyes glowed even brighter in response to his question.
"At what depth dost thou desire I go? For hours upon hours can time flow. And with those hours, on sunset scarlet, the search begins for those with the garment." Shielger fell to the ground, his ghostly body not making any noise even as his frame slammed against the floor.
"Are you alright? That seemed painful."
"As painful as having your skull crushed? No." Shielger was back to the person Eth had known before, which was comforting and off-putting at the same time. "That was a shitty prophecy- oh, do mind my language. I'm sorry, kid."
Kid? I'm not a kid!
"Who are you calling a kid? I'm eighteen, at least. I think." Shielger completely ignored Eth's rambling.
"That prophecy just asked how in depth you want me to go in my description of your situation. We could be here for hours. And apparently there's someone after you? I'm not entirely clear on what that last line meant. It's your choice, though."
Eth thought upon how much he'd already questioned this poor ghost. It wouldn't be right to make him talk more. Plus, with people on his tail he himself should probably turn tail.
But curiosity killed the cat, as they say, and satisfaction brought it back.
"Yeah. Tell me everything." |
Aria struggled to open her eyes. She felt like she'd been shot full of anesthesia, unable to discern reality from a medicated hallucination. Bed sheets trapped her legs between the soft cotton as she tossed and turned before kicking them off. Pillows were knocked from their position against the headboard, the only thing keeping her from slamming her head against the solid oak.
Her whole body shivered amidst a cold sweat. The air conditioning was unabating as it crawled across her soaked skin like death, no longer shielded by the comfort of her sheets that lay in a heap on the floor.
"Brakes..." she mumbled through her stupor, "hit the brakes... Tree... Car..." Her face twisted in terror. "Car!"
She shot up in bed as she rammed the headboard with a loud
crrrack
causing her to bite her lip. Blood poured down her chin from the newly sustained injury, staining her mouth a bright crimson. She sat with bated breath, anticipating an onslaught of pain as she tried to stem the flow with whatever she could find. Several painful minutes later and she had a blood-smeared face and spotty red sheets.
The bloodied bedding and lip were more than enough for a good cry as Aria burst into tears. "Is this really what I wanted? Am I making the right decision here?" she sobbed.
"If one mistake was all it took to throw in the towel, what would we learn?"
Aria jumped. "The voice from the phone... W-when did you get in here?"
"Unimportant. Tell me," he said, eyeing her, "are you prepared to throw away this old life for good?"
Aria stared back. "Yes. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of being the girl everyone looks at and says, 'But you have such a pretty face. How could you possibly know what it's like to suffer?'
The man closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, that's quite unfair. We all have our struggles." He pulled a clipboard and paper from a plastic bin by the door. "Might I see a finger real quick?" She looked at him, confused, but reluctantly agreed. With a small prick, he drew fresh blood from her finger. "Please sign your name
here
, initial
here
, and sign
here
," the man said, tapping each dotted line as he skimmed through the pages.
"Why the finger prick though?"
He ignored her. "This contract ensures you agree to all the terms and conditions of this document."
She felt like she'd been breezed over. "Can't I read it first? Plus, I need a pen. I don't have anything to write with."
"You want to be rid of this old life, do you not?"
"I mean, yes, but—"
"Then please sign where I just indicated—in blood."
"In blood," she echoed.
"Yes."
Not a moment after the clipboard left her hands, a deep violet marking etched itself into the skin on her back.
"You can use the mirror on the wall if you'd like to see your new contract crest. When you're ready and fully dressed, come see me in the hall."
"Fully... dressed?" Aria's cheeks flushed bright red. Her eyes shot forward, but the man was already gone. "A warning would have been nice..." She stumbled out of bed and walked over to the mirror, craning her head around to see the new crest.
A large diamond-like polygon sat perfectly on the midsection of her back. It looked like a giant tattoo, just less-required maintenance. The polygon seemed to ripple when she twisted back and forth. If the crest weren't so obvious, she'd probably forget it was even there. She turned to examine it from the other side.
"Mmm... Need more light." Her feet pattered against the tile floor as she flicked the light switch on the wall before returning to her place in front of the mirror.
Rows of smaller polygons spiraled around the larger, main polygon, growing with each new row. The first encircled the main shape, each row thereafter encircling the one before it, wider.
"The way it spirals around like it does almost reminds me of a firework after it's shot into the sky." She twisted around to the other side again as the light illuminated four small cubes, one at each corner. "These almost make it feel
confined
, like some kind of seal." She flexed the muscles in her back a little more, taking in every detail.
In the center of the large polygon were three numbers: 005. "Probably not a big deal, but why zero, zero, five? This is starting to feel like some kind of creepy experiment." She shuddered. "Ok, clothes now since someone decided only underwear was an acceptable fashion statement."
***
"I'm not sure I understand. You're going to do what?" Aria's voice was shaky. "I— I don't know about
actually
deleting specific memories. That sounds super risky." She stopped. "Look, I thought about it and all I really want are my parents back. That alone would make me happy..."
"And you will, but if you have memories of the same thing, different copies, it could cause a mental decay. You've heard of the Grandfather Paradox, correct? This is the same thing, just without the time travel."
The man tapped Aria's forehead. "Just like that. Now tell me, what is it you were doing here again?"
She opened her mouth to speak, certain she had a legitimate reason, but nothing came to mind. "I'm... not sure, to be honest. I
think
it was for an internship of some sort? I can't seem to remember..." A gut feeling told her she was in over her head, but she couldn't put her finger on why.
"That's right," the man exclaimed. "Sorry for startling you. I've had trouble with my memory lately, too."
"Are you certain? I don't even know what the internship is for and I'm only sixteen... What— What would I be interning for?"
The man walked over to a series of filing cabinets. The smell of manila folders and printer ink wafted through the air. A moment later, his head re-emerged from the drawer as he waved a folder through the air like a prize. Aria Miruna was neatly printed across the front. Grinning, he walked over to Aria who subconsciously began a backwards retreat.
"I don't know, Mister. Call it intuition, but I don't think I'm supposed to be here," she said, stumbling backwards. Confusion and fright plastered her face. "
My intuition is also telling me I shouldn't have said that
," she thought.
"Well, I have all of your application files right here in this folder," the man said, shuffling through the papers. "Besides, it's not like you're of much use to anyone else." He promptly ceased the paper-shuffling. "Whoops. That wasn't supposed to come out."
Aria snatched the folder from his hands at lightning speed as she sifted through the papers. The folder was surprisingly heavy. If she really filled out such an application, wouldn't she have remembered? Panic set in as she shook with anxiety; she felt her heart might beat out of her chest at any moment.
She stopped shuffling, hands now visibly shaking as she locked eyes with the man once more. Neither blinked until Aria threw the folder in a flurry of white paper—blanks.
She bolted. Each passing second felt like eternity. There was an exit door right
in front of her—if she could just get outside... Adrenaline pumped through her veins like a drug; everything
but
time felt like lightspeed. Her shoulder hit the push bar at the same time her face collided with the metal frame of the door. She crumpled at the base, dazed, and confused by the impact.
Desperation crept into her movements, frantically swiping at the door, unable to push it open. She realized she'd dislocated one of her shoulders after hitting the door—the other arm had gone numb from falling on it.
"Fine," she said. She painfully lifted herself off the floor, uneasy, but steady-enough to push the bar and open the door with her hips.
Peaks of sunlight poked through the crack in the door; her escape was only inches away. Just as soon as the sun illuminated her face, she found herself being pulled back inside and, moments later, on the floor again. Her skin pressed against the cold tile, generating waves of icy shock. She struggled to reorient herself, but something held her down. She whipped her head around and was immediately greeted by a hard
slap
in the face. The adrenaline pumping through her veins incited a furious rage. A powerful gust of wind sent the man flying down the hallway, unphased, as he landed on the tile like a figure skater on ice as he came to a graceful stop. An unnatural grin spread across his face.
"Would you look at that? I landed right next to your room." He sounded far too pleased. "Why don't you come join
me
!" he emphasized, motioning like he was pulling something towards him.
"What are you talking about?" Aria demanded. "My roo—" She flew through the air with monumental speed as she cratered through the wall next to the man.
A cloud of plaster and dust poured from the human-sized hole she'd created. She gasped for breath. The impact knocked the wind out of her as she lay in the rubble, switching between dry coughs and desperate wheezes.
"This will all be wiped from your memory later as well, but I'll introduce myself while you're still conscious." The man bowed in front of Aria, still gasping for breath. "My name is Ahzef. It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Miruna."
"Bite— Me—" she said through shallow breaths.
"You're suddenly so foul-mouthed. Let's fix that," Ahzef said.
"Wait," Aria pleaded with a little more vigor. "What... are you going to do with me? Why am I... here?"
"You signed a contract, remember?" The clipboard from earlier floated before Aria. "Signed in blood and everything." Ahzef snickered.
"Did you—"
"Erase your memories? I sure did. You wanted to be rid of this life, you said. Your parents were killed in a horrific car accident, and I am truly sorry, but this contract makes you
my
property now. Your past is no longer relevant." He let his words sink in. "You
have
no past."
Aria tried to lift herself out of the rubble but found herself pinned down by something she couldn't see. "Car accident? Property? My
past
?" She squirmed a little more.
Ahzef snapped his fingers as black shadows slithered out from behind him. Vaguely resembling the tentacles of a jellyfish, they wrapped around Aria's limbs, enveloping her in a frosty hold. "I can mold these to my liking, too. After all, they
are
shadows." He pulled Aria from the crater in the wall. "I really don't even have to use these against you, just so you know."
"What
are
you?" she wheezed.
Ahzef pulled his sleeve up to reveal a wristwatch. "There's still time, but I will be re-erasing your memories after this. Eventually, you'll break—they always do." He rolled his sleeve back down. "I am a devil, the most powerful of the Reverse World, but I am not without compassion."
"A... devil? Like out of a fairy tale?" Aria sneered.
The devil grabbed the doorhandle of the room next to him, dragging Aria out of her hole. She read the nameplate outside of the door as she slid across the tile: Aria Miruna – 005. Her stomach sank as she felt the shadowy tendrils momentarily tighten and then abruptly loosen their grasp around her limbs. She soared through the air, avoiding another wall by mere inches.
"At least I didn't go through it," she said, relieved.
The room was spacious but lacking in decoration. Medical cabinets hugged the wall closest to the door and a small nightstand was posted next to the bed. A bathroom door hid around the corner, thankfully adorned with toiletries and a shower. Small porthole windows dotted the length of the wall closest to Aria, but the room remained relatively dark despite the luminous daylight, casting a lonely feel across her new living quarters.
"The last laugh always goes to me," Ahzef whispered in her ear. He tapped her forehead again, harder. The light left Aria's eyes as her head fell back onto the pillows. "No takebacks, Aria."
The scene changed, leaving the ship behind as a pit formed in Brendan's stomach. How could something so sinister have gone unnoticed for so long and why was Aria the key to the mess they were in?
"She may be what kick-started all of this, but that's not her fault. How could I ever blame her for something none of us expected?"
Colors faded back into focus as a new scene emerged from a second memory fragment. Aria stood outside her room. She ran her fingers across the placard outside the door, tracing the letters of her name with her finger. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she entered the room and immediately plopped down on the bed, screaming into her pillow. She kicked her legs up in the air: back and forth.
"I can't keep this up. If he really wants to open some kind of crazy, other-dimension-y thing, why doesn't he do it himself?" Aria groaned. "This internship was way beyond my qualifications." She lifted her face from the pillow and stared at it, lost in thought.
Brendan took full account of the room in the meantime. He tried to open the cabinets first. Unsurprisingly, his hands phased through the metal handles. He peered through one of the portholes, but all he could see was pitch dark. There was no doubt they were still on the ship as he could feel the steady rocking motion, though he wondered where exactly they were. On the door was a large schedule planner and torn remnants of a map.
"It seems that on Mondays and Fridays she's supposed to report to the Medical Examiner's office. Tuesday and Thursday are Operating Room duty and Wednesdays are for special seminars with Ahzef..." He put his hand to his chin in thought. "This map though... Why tear it up? And
who
tore it up?"
The sound of approaching footsteps seized Brendan's attention. He jumped back just as the door flew open, striking the wall with enough force to leave a hole in it. Ahzef stormed into the room forcing Aria into a haphazard scramble onto her bed
.
The terror that filled her face was so animated Brendan thought she might break a window and dive into the dark water. With each step, Aria's back edged further up the wall until she sat with perfect posture, pillow pinned against her chest for protection.
"Explain to me why I found 008 in their room with a sheet tied around their neck," Ahzef barked. "There will be consequences for wrong answers." His face was beet-red, and his hands were balled into angry fists.
Anxiety riddled her body with its toxic outpouring of confusion and panic. She knew that even
if
she told him she didn't know, no matter how truthful it was, he wouldn't believe her. It was a lose-lose situation and there was no way around what seemed like a hopeless scenario.
"I wasn't anywhere near 008 yesterday or Monday," she stammered. "I came straight back here after labs last night and I did the same thing after seminar today!" Ahzef ripped the pillow from her arms. Tears promptly cascaded down her cheeks. A shadowy tendril wrapped itself around her ankle, pulling her from the bed as Ahzef lifted her head up by her hair.
Brendan watched on in horror, knowing that if he involved himself in something he didn't belong, he could derail everything he'd worked so hard to right, but he couldn't sit idly by and let Ahzef proceed to batter Aria either, though.
"Aghhh! Dammit!" He pulled at his hair in frustration.
"
Your strong desire to protect that girl is peculiar. You realize you are witnessing the events of the past, yet your heart burns so intensely, so passionately, just to protect her."
With a sudden flash of light, Brendan found himself in an empty white room, alone. The floor was littered with lavenders, but their petals had been stained crimson like blood. He took a step forward, squinting, as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. Taking another couple steps forward, he realized it wasn't empty after all.
Several dark marble sculptures stood proud amongst the backdrop of white. One depicted a warrior in mid-stride, sword in one hand, shield in the other. Another portrayed two small children, hiding behind a woman in fear—most likely their mother.
Brendan opened his eyes a little wider. What he thought were originally only three sculptures turned out to be
four
. The third was made of the same black marble as the first two, but it seemed almost iridescent. He walked closer, hoping for a better look.
"It's just as I thought. The way the light hits the marble when I move washes the sculpture in a rainbow hue. White is the reflectance of
all
color and black is the absence of color, so how..." He ran a hand along the smooth surface, surprisingly warm to the touch.
"Ah. I get it. It's not that you're made of black marble at all. The only reason you're reflecting other colors is because," he imbued his mana into the sculpture as the stone gradually returned to its milky-white state, "you were clouded by uncertainty just as I was."
He took a couple steps back to fully examine the sculpture in all its glory. A young woman, about his age, he surmised, stood poised in an elegant stance. Her hands were clasped against her chest and her eyes closed as if she were in prayer. He moved around to the back.
"Whoever sculpted this one was a master. The way the marble folds and dances around her body is incredible. Certain colors seem more reflective in specific areas though."
Greens were more reflective around what seemed to be a dress of sorts, yellows highlighted her wind-blown hair, and a shimmer of red glinted at the wrist. By the woman's side was a lance that rested against her leg. It seemed to be adorned with several ribbons, wrapped elegantly around the shaft and end of the weapon, but something was written on the one around the shaft.
In my final stead, I pay my homage to the one I worship and the one that protects me in this time of trial. It is through this grace that I have been allowed to walk the path of life and face the darkness before me. I am the colors in the dark.
"The darkness before me," Brendan recited. "That must mean..." He turned his attention towards the fourth and final sculpture. It was in considerable disarray compared to the other three, almost as if someone had decided it wasn't worth the upkeep. "It's Ahzef, after all. Can't really blame them for skimping on this one." Brendan took in the sight of all four sculptures, still impressed that such intricate detail was able to be crafted into stone.
One final addition to the room made its presence known; the sound of trickling water became the prominent focal point. There, in the center of everything and nothing, was a stone pedestal that rose from a floor of water.
"Water?" he said before realizing he'd been wading ankle-deep the entire time. "This gets more interesting by the second." He walked up to the pedestal. The top was flat and smooth like a sheet of metal.
Water poured from the top, cascading off each side like a tiny waterfall. In the center of the pedestal was a chalice embedded with a marvelous display of gemstones along the cup. The chalice itself was made of a mixture of silver and gold. The stem was primarily made of silver; gold wrapped around the cup and base like a skirt.
Brendan was bewildered. "Never would I have imagined I'd come across the very thing that wars have been fought over, the thing that was supposed to be no more than a legend: the Holy Grail."
"
Your heart remains troubled, but it is on the right path. I present myself to you for one reason only: to aid you in your coming battle.
"
He came to the sudden realization that he didn't have the whole story. A relic such as the Holy Grail wouldn't present itself before
him
of all people if it were only the devils they had to be wary of—something that rivaled Ahzef... or stronger.
"Will you tell me, then... Who is the
real
leader of not only the devils?"
"
You are the only one to ever ask me this question since our creation millennia ago. Very well then.
" Without mincing words, the grail answered his question. "
Ahzef leads the devils and Reverse Royalty now, but you face a far greater threat that is not Ahzef. There resides a being filled with tremendous capabilities; it has merged continents, devoured galaxies, and is responsible for the deaths of billions since the dawn of humanity.
"
"I take it we've yet to come across whatever it is you speak of, then."
"
Indeed. The last time this monstrous evil was defeated, Saint Miruna sealed it away. Thereafter, he was revered as a god. He destroyed not only Lucifero—he was victorious against the primordial evil: Nertiia.
"
"You don't mean...
The
Nertiia? The primordial goddess of creation and destruction from the Amalon empire.
That's
what we're up against? The same empire ruled by King Enkresh?"
"
Yes, but that is all that I can tell you. You must return to Aria Miruna's past and discover for yourself the history that awaits you."
The grail began to glow. "
Grab my stem and return to the girl.
"
Brendan did as instructed. Mana overwhelmed him like a fog, shrouding everything in a rich blanket of magical energy and raw power. The white room vanished as Brendan found himself back on the ship. What was once a silver and gold chalice was now a blade crafted from the purest mana he'd ever regarded, laid across the palms of his hands. Its blade was as sleek as one forged by a master craftsman, but instead of steel, it was antediluvian mana.
Placing two fingers to his lips, he recited an incantation: "
Trulis ete dar vilder. Hii no kami wah ler nofsher, itsuun ardon evaal
.
From the darkness comes truth. My soul shall become my sword, guided by our collective will.
" The words took physical form as he traced his fingers along the edge of the blade, placing each word along a path from hilt to tip. He felt a sudden surge of affirmation as strength flowed through him. His own mana amplified, basking him in a halo of pure light.
Aria's cries jolted him back. "Let go! I swear I didn't—" A decisive
slap
emanated from Aria's cheek leaving a sweltering red handprint in its wake.
"If you're telling the truth then explain why this note is in
your
handwriting and why it was found in
your
clothes." He read the crumpled piece of paper aloud: "The only way to escape this floating prison is through death. Just end it. Ahzef has no use for you."
"I didn't wr—" Azhef's shadowy tendrils slammed her into the floor, eliminating any chances of a counter argument. Tile fragments launched into the air from the force of the impact as blood spattered from her mouth. A stout kick quickly ensued, forcing her deeper into the crater.
"If this is truly a memory fragment, that means this is separate from the rest of Aria's memories, but that also means it exists outside of the parameters of the present until it's reunited with the rest of her memory." Brendan held the blade between his hands, running his fingers across its surface.
He recalled the sandstorm and Millee's voice. "I seek to protect my friends and those I care about. I don't need a greedy wish or power so great it rivals that of a god. Nah." A smile crossed his face. "I finally understand this trial isn't just about understanding what makes Aria who
she
is—it's about discovering who
I
am through
her."
"That's the correct answer, Brendan," Millee applauded. "I know you want to cut Ahzef down where he stands, but if you engage him in the past, it could have profound effects on the future." The memory ceased its replay. "Aria's mind
has
to break here. This fragment is too interwoven into our current present," she explained, holding up a finger. "By the way, how is it
you
have
that
? I thought the grail was just a myth."
"It's kind of a long story, but there was this white room filled with marble sculptures. Lavenders were littered all across the floor as well, but their petals were crimson red."
"It's interesting you mention crimson lavenders because there's an old saying that talks about finding peace within the conflict." Her mind went into overdrive. "Brendan, do you know what that flower symbolizes? That flower represents peace. Its petals being stained red almost undoubtedly represents the blood that splatters their petals in war."
"Like an ominous foreshadowing, you think?"
"I do think we have our work cut out for us. Sorry for interrupting you, please go on."
"Don't worry about it," he said reassuringly. "But yeah, about the sculptures I mentioned earlier, there were four of them: one looked to be a warrior of some kind, and the second was of a woman—two children hid behind her. He went on to explain the third statue of the woman, the iridescent marble, and the lance and its inscription. He saved Ahzef's crumbling statue for last.
Millee was now heavily invested in the details of the white room and its sculptures. "I believe the woman you just described was of Earth's princess. The first two sculptures were likely meant as a homage to those who helped her along her journey." She looked up. "Anything else?"
"Yes, unfortunately," he said with nervous laughter. "Let me preface first. Do you recall learning about the first civilizations on Earth? Specifically, Amalon."
She gave Brendan a questioning look. "I know enough; they were a polytheistic culture. I recall a legend about a goddess that was so revered people were literally sacrificed just to try and appease her—that, and the name of their king, Enkresh."
"This goddess... Was her top half that of a human and her bottom half that of a serpent? Much bigger than the other gods and goddesses?"
"Yeah. Half human, half serpent and
really
big." Her eyes narrowed as surprise crossed her face. "But why?"
He sighed. "That's Nertiia, the primordial goddess of creation and destruction, and
that
is what we're up against." He took a breath. "You mentioned King Enkresh as well, but did you know he wielded the Holy Grail during their battle?"
"Yes, now that you mention it. I assume it was the grail that told you all of this, so let me fill in some missing details. King Enkresh had a rival, Kugil, but they weren't enemies. After Kugil died, his soul was returned to the world of the living," she explained. "King Enkresh didn't fight Nertiia alone. In fact, Kugil fought
with
him which is how they were able to subdue her the first time."
"I've heard stories about Enkresh and Kugil, but I wasn't aware that after Kugil's death he returned to life."
"More specifically his soul, but yes. If you'd read the assigned readings in class, you'd know this," she poked. "There's a lot that the history books
didn't
record either though, so it's fine. As a matter of fact, Kugil's return to life isn't mentioned anywhere
except
in ancient Amalian manuscripts. Only after his soul found another inhabitant was he fully revived and able to fight alongside King Enkresh. This wouldn't happen for another ten years after his death."
Brendan looked as if he'd had a euphemism. "You know this means that either Ahzef is bluffing about being able to revive other devils or he's siphoning off of Nertiia. That doesn't exactly explain the Hihouyo, though," he realized. "It seems that, somehow, this all connects back to Amalon, but so many questions remain—especially about the Reverse World itself."
"You're right. Aria is still alive even though the Hihouyo failed which contradicts the sacrificial toll the spell takes
if
it fails." Millee scratched her head. "Honestly, it's fifty-fifty, but I agree. There
is
still a lot we don't know."
"For starters, we don't even know where Lacia is and if she's alive, but—"
"If
Aria's
alive, she's our best shot at figuring out what happened that night," she said. "Speaking of, shall we continue? The sooner we're finished with this, the more time we have to finish this conversation. Time still flows in the present."
"Good point," Brendan said. "Let's continue, then."
The second fragment melted away as a third and final fragment began to shine. This time, Brendan stood in a fully illuminated lab room. Computer monitors aligned in rows spanned the back half; large television screens were securely mounted to the walls in the front.
Aria stood around a large holographic table. Displayed on its surface was a detailed map of Alurian latitude and longitude. In the upper right corner, a satellite feed revealed live footage of a small gas station, nestled just off a highway.
"I assume you've done what I asked?" Ahzef's voice called. "I'm sure you understand the importance of this task."
"Yes. I've traced the landing spot of the neriolite, as requested," Aria said. She bowed out of the way as Ahzef approached.
"And the position of the girl?"
"I don't have an exact lock on her position, yet. Apologies, sir."
Ahzef shrugged. "Only a minor inconvenience," he said as he dragged a virtual keyboard across the screen. "You've done more than enough. I'll have Cherri prepare for her arrival. You're free to go."
Brendan crept closer to the table, anxious to get a better view of the satellite feed. Unsurprisingly, it was the very gas station where they'd lost Lacia two years prior to the present. He surmised the current fragment was relaying the events from just before her capture. Having seen enough, he decided to follow Aria back to her room.
With one hand on the wall, she made her way down the hall as sleep began to dominate the remaining waking minutes she faced. She jiggled the door handle, attempting to remove the final obstacle that stood between her and her bed—a monumental task for her sleep-deprived body. Her eyes rolled, but she mustered the fleeting energy she still had, miraculously finding the cottony comfort of her bed as sleep stole her final waking moments.
Brendan took in the familiar sights of her room, though not much had changed. The crater in the floor had vanished, but other than several different sets of medical attire, everything else remained unaltered.
"You can erase the physical trauma, but the mental pain never leaves you. It's something that is etched into your soul. Ahzef may have broken her bones and fragmented her mind, two things I'll never forgive, but," he stooped down next to her bed, whispering softly, "the way he broke your heart is something I'll make him suffer for just as much as you did."
The unlatching of a lock reverberated through the hall several doors down from Aria. The clatter of shoes and rush of a wheeled metal cart promptly followed suit. A couple hard knocks at her door announced the arrival of a guest.
Aria managed to utter a combination of, "Open bed," and, "Sleep in door."
Cherri poked her head through the small opening. "It's time to change— What the hell happened to you?"
"Huh?" she said, fighting between sleep and wake. Cherri entered the room as she held a small mirror up to Aria's face. "Oh. Ahzef has had me in the lab for the last three days. The only sleep I've been able to get was a ten-minute nap when he wasn't looking." She briefly sniffed her clothes. "I haven't showered since before lab either."
"Your hair's a mess, too," Cherri added. "Go take a shower and I'll help you with your hair when I'm done with the girl. Ahzef got lucky. He found her alongside the neriolite."
"Lucky him," she mumbled. "Are you sure you can cover for me? I'm supposed to be on duty later tonight."
"Yes. I've got it covered. Go— Get cleaned up. I won't take long."
Aria's voice was endearing. "Thank you, Cherri. I really appreciate this."
"I'll drop by when I'm finished," she said as she waved Aria bye.
The conversation was brief, but it was a gold mine of dynamics between the two young women. Brendan was particularly focused on Aria's gratitude.
"I know Aria, and manners aren't exactly her strong suit. The way she thanked Cherri was interesting and very unlike her."
He concluded two things: the memory erasure by Ahzef had infringed upon elements of her personality, and the relationship between Aria and Cherri was deeper than he understood. Aria was a social butterfly for as long as Brendan had known her; much of that changed after the accident, but she wasn't the type of person to refuse generosity.
"Lyra, or should I say, Millee, was a prime example of her refusal to deny someone else's kindness towards her, but it still bothers me she duped me
and
Aria like that." He walked towards the door, surprised to find he could squeeze through the small opening Cherri had left. "So then, that should mean Cherri is in room 009." The sound of a roller bed turned the corner. "Speak of the devil."
He caught sight of Lacia, tormented by what must have been a horrible nightmare. Matted hair stuck to her sweat-drenched forehead; he'd never seen someone look so close to death before in his life. His heart sank. He felt responsible for failing to protect Lacia and Mana, having been the most adept of the three at the time; to find out that Lacia had become a plaything for Ahzef made him uneasy. The bed carted past him with no regard, Cherri at the helm as she wheeled Lacia into an empty room.
"009 is secured. Taking blood samples now," Cherri spoke into a small device.
"Very good. Thank you, Cherri, but where is Aria?" Ahzef questioned.
She waited a few seconds before responding. "She said she wasn't feeling well, and I can confirm she didn't look good, sir."
"Alright, well as long as 009 is in our possession, I suppose I can allow some fluidity with your schedules."
"Thank you, sir," Cherri said before slipping the device back into the pocket of her pants.
She finished positioning Lacia's bed, subsequently securing an electronic armband around her wrist. Blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate were displayed across the center of the screen. 009 scrolled across the top like a banner.
"God, you look worse than Aria," Cherri muttered. "I know I said I'd take over for her, but I really hate dealing with other people." She raised the guards on the bed, locking them in place.
The device in Cherri's pocket beeped. Ahzef's voice came through the tiny speaker. "When she's cold enough, bring her to the lab and I'll do her cold-blood draws."
She drew an infrared thermometer from a side cabinet. "Understood. The thermostat has been lowered, but she's running a fever. Her body temperature may not drop for a while..." Unless she was reading the thermometer wrong, Lacia's body temperature
had
dropped despite the fever. "Hang on. She's feverish, but her body temperature reflects hypothermia rather than infection."
"Please bring her to the lab immediately then. I think we've stumbled upon something very fascinating." The device fell silent once more.
"Are you for real right now? I
just
got her in here. What does he want me to do with the blood I already took?" She groaned. "I walked into this one, I guess." She rolled Lacia out of the room and came face to face with Aria. "I'm almost done and then I'll stop by your room, ok?"
"That's fine, but something doesn't feel right, Cherri," Aria said nervously.
"What do you mean?"
She pursed her lips. "Mmm... I don't know how to describe it, but it's kind of like when you're in a thunderstorm and you can feel the pressure drop.
Something
is happening."
Cherri placed a hand on her hip as she looked Aria up and down. "You're probably just exhausted," she said, pushing her bangs up to check her temperature.
"I'm serious, Cherri," she pleaded. "What we're doing, it doesn't feel right for some reason."
"I think it's your fever talking, Aria." She angled a thermometer at her forehead before turning it around for her to see. "You're running over 102 Fahrenheit. Go back to bed. We can do your hair another day."
"But— Cher!"
"Look, Ari." She leaned in. "There's no doubt this is some super sketch stuff, but crossing Ahzef would be a mistake. Go back to bed."
Reluctantly, she hauled herself back to bed. "I get that, but I still don't feel good about this," she said, stopping just outside her door.
Cherri sighed. "It's been four years and you're still like this. When will you learn, Ari? Questions are your worst enemy here." She pointed Lacia's bed back up the hallway. "Get some rest. I'll be back to check on you later." Lacia and Cherri disappeared behind a set of double doors leading back to the lab.
"This is news," Brendan said. "Lacia reacts
adversely
to neriolite, the same stone we talked about back at Madam Lucero's shop." The puzzle in his mind finally had one more piece. "But no one knows
why
she reacts adversely. I get the feeling this is a Millee question, too."
He walked back into Aria's room to find her scribbling away on a sheet of paper, a drawing of some sort. A large sphere near the top was labeled
Earth
and the one next to it was labeled with a series of question marks. Below the two was a rectangular plane that had been lightly shaded. Several labels were attached to it:
Underworld, Dimension X, Reverse Earth
.
"Cherri knows
something
, but
what
? Their conversation sparked something in her otherwise she wouldn't be drawing this," Brendan said, crouching down to get a better view. "She's got Earth right and I'm sure the sphere next to it is Chiipha. More than likely, this rectangular piece is the Reverse World, but how did she find out about any of this?"
The third memory fragment pivoted. This time, Brendan found himself inside an operating room. At the helm was a man he didn't recognize. He assumed it was likely the surgeon. Off to the side was Aria, a surgical mask, gown, and gloves adorning her hospital-like attire. Despite her collected appearance, her mind was probably in overdrive.
"
I knew it
!" Brendan jumped at the sound of Aria's voice... except she hadn't said anything. He quickly realized he was hearing her thoughts. "
Those ragged journals were good for something after all
."
"She still remembers the journals, but not the accident or why she's even here in the first place. Just how precise was Ahzef in erasing certain memories?" he wondered aloud. Based upon Aria's own realization, he didn't have to guess who was on the operating table. "There was something about Lacia that had Ahzef so fascinated."
Aria's thoughts continued. "
Her wound is from a foreign object that she had zero access to on this ship, which means that what I felt yesterday wasn't from a fever. Her physical body remained here, but her soul left and inhabited another version of herself.
"
"Retrieval nets and scope, please," the surgeon called.
Aria handed him an endoscopic device and a small concave net with a metal handle. "
She definitely didn't go anywhere here on Earth. It's far more likely she crossed a dimensional parallel to another world entirely.
"
Brendan watched as her brows furrowed in thought for a moment before they shot up like she'd been pinched. "
That's it! I remember what that place was called, in those journals. One of the essays talked about a place parallel to Earth called Chiipha, but I never would have thought travel between the two worlds was possible!
"
Without warning, Millee's face came within inches of Brendan's as her hair dangled to the floor. She hung upside down from the hanging lights like a child on a set of monkey bars. "Hello again! Hope you didn't miss me too much."
Brendan closed his eyes and shook his head with a smile. "We're going to have a serious talk about this little-girl-behavior of yours when all this is said and done."
"Did you just call me a little girl? I'm a radiant twenty-two years of age, thank you," she retorted.
"Yes, and I love that for you, but how about you explain why you dropped in?"
"Oh, yeah." Her face reminded him of a child who found themselves stumped on a homework assignment. "I came to tell you there's one more pivot coming but be careful about venturing too far out of the memory sequence. While you do have
some
free roam, too much moving around could alert Ahzef to our presence."
"Late to tell me the important things as always," he sighed. "Alrighty then, let's suppose he figures us out—that we're digging around in Aria's past. What happens then?" Brendan smoothed his hand over the grail, now sheathed at his side.
"We'd have no choice other than to fight. But, Brendan," she cautioned, "Ahzef is much more powerful than even I realized. Using the power of the Holy Grail might be the one advantage we have, but don't fall back on it." She twirled down from the light. "Legend has it the grail can be anything of the wielder's choosing but choose wisely. We don't know what kind of effects such power could have on you. You're not Enkresh or Kugil," she warned.
"Understandable, but let's say we
don't
win. What's our plan B?" he asked countering her seriousness.
She looked him straight in the eyes. "Brendan. There is no plan B." He opened his mouth to speak but Millee put her hand up. "Let me put it to you this way: if plan A fails, plan B is praying for a miracle." She snapped her fingers to stop the memory fragment once more.
"From what I've gathered over the last two years, the devils are after something that requires the power of Earth and Chiipha's princess. If only we knew
what
," he said in response to Millee. "Ahzef wants to rewrite the world, Mikaun wasn't lying about
that
, but that's not the end-goal, so what is?"
"Your friend Licht is far more versed in
this
than me and I believe he has a certain book that might just have the answers we're looking for."
The hair on the back of Brendan's neck stood up. Without hesitation, he constructed a large shield of mana, its orange glow ironically soothing. "I know you said no plan B, but we have company," he said, voice suddenly solemn.
"What are you talking—"
A barrage of dark energy blasted the mana shield as multiple orb-like objects attempted to burrow their way through to Brendan. The orbs exploded with tremendous force as they collided with the shield's barrier. He struggled to maintain its form, sliding backwards across the floor, simultaneously trying to regain his footing. Despite the haphazard construction, the shield held—for the moment.
"I can take maybe
two
more of those before this shield starts to crack. Tell me you've got something, Millee," he warned.
"Working on it, but I'm a bit low on mana after teleporting you and Aria," she yelled back. "What we need is a change of scenery. We can't fight here, or we run the risk of corrupting the fragments!"
Brendan gritted his teeth as he temporarily discharged the shield. A spear cloaked in shadow whizzed past his head, just grazing his ear. The reliance on sensing Ahzef's bloodlust only worked so well. Millee was right. They needed space, more than what the tiny operating room could offer. He ran his fingers through his hair as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes.
Millee couldn't help but laugh. "You boys and your long hair. You never know what to do with it." She jumped up, quickly pinning his hair back with a spare clip. "Now find us somewhere else to be and I'll find a way to get us there!"
"Oh yeah—that's
way
better. Thanks, Millee." He smirked.
An idea crossed her face. "Brendan, use a mana tag. When I move, I'm taking Ahzef with me, but I won't be able to bring you with me right away. The mana tag will allow you to follow us using your own mana."
He nodded. A tiny light-arrow stuck in the fabric of Millee's clothes. "Done, now go—head to the Chiipha desert where Aria is," he exclaimed, as he activated the tag. "It's going to be a minute before this thing is ready. When I arrive, I'll take him to the field Lacia described. It'll provide ample space and good footing."
She nodded as she attempted to provoke the devil. "Hey, Ahzef," she shouted. "Let's say we take this party somewhere else. What do you say?"
"You're full of yourself, girl. Return Aria to me and I'll let you both off with a painless death." He walked through the open doorway, but his appearance differed from what Brendan had seen earlier in the memory fragments.
"Tch. So... It looks like we were worried about the wrong you," Brendan said. "No bother."
Ahzef lunged towards Brendan at such velocity Millee couldn't keep up, but it wasn't the devil's speed that astounded her—it was Brendan's masterful focus. His eyes followed every move the devil made. The boy that stood before her had so much newfound confidence and the way he held himself was so graceful and full of poise, she almost didn't recognize him. His mana soared, flourishingly elegant and rich.
"You're too slow." Brendan held Ahzef's bony fingers back with just a finger of his own. He grabbed the devil by the throat, slamming him into the ground as he followed up with a stout kick to the chest. "
That
's for Aria and she's
not
your property," he seethed.
A booming chuckle thundered from Ahzef's throat. "I felt that! Very well! Let's—"
Brendan unsheathed the grail for less than a second, somewhere around the time it took for Millee to blink. A rush of wind forced her stockinged feet to slide across the floor and into the back wall. The overwhelming force of Brenda's movements displaced so much matter around him the air crackled.
"Mille, now!" he shouted.
Rich magical energy rustled her hair, heralding the conjuring of a powerful spell. She clasped her hands together and began to utter a chant. She would have to summarize the rest of the third fragment later.
"
Tipartia
nu purseti
.
Reveal the present to me.
"
Colors grew to vibrant hues before washing away to stripped down versions of white and grey. With a loud
crack,
Mille and Ahzef vanished, temporarily leaving Brendan behind.
***
After what felt like eternity, Mille dug her toes into the warm Chiipha sand. "Thanks for the assist, Brendan," she said. "Though I regret intervening the way I did." With a loud
clap
,
the same battering sandstorm from before subsided, revealing dark thunderclouds overhead.
With the sudden recession of the sandstorm, Aria poked her head over the top of a sand dune as she locked eyes with Millee.
She rolled her eyes. "I know what you're thinking, and I'll explain later, but for now... I'm sorry."
Caught between the crossfire of her past and future, Aria came to a crossroads: keep running from the past or charge head-first into the future, no matter how uncertain it may be. Brushing the sand from her clothes, she made her choice.
"These tears of pain and sadness won't define my life any longer." Fire burned in her eyes. "The future I seek is one without
you
," Aria said as she addressed Ahzef. "I'll become the heroine of my own story and that starts with making you beg for the mercy you won't receive."
"You go, girl!" Millee quietly cheered.
"Ha! Does the pitiful little girl I picked up, so
desperate
for a do-over, think she can match me, the Reverse Royalty's strongest?" Ahzef broke out into hysterical laughter.
Brendan gave Ahzef a strong pat on the back. "Man, that was a good one, huh?" he said, matching Ahzef's fit of hysteria.
The devil leapt back, somehow oblivious to Brendan's presence. "When did you get there?" Ahzef growled. "I was on my way to wring that boy's neck, the one attempting to safeguard your
other
princess, but since you decided to meddle where you don't belong—"
"You're so full of helpful information," Brendan joked, interrupting Ahzef. "It's too bad Aria's about to blow your ass to pieces." His voice was as sharp as a knife, giving Aria and Millee goosebumps. He bowed out of the way, making room for Aria.
"Lyra— Err... Millee, I expect an explanation after I turn this devil to ash. Until then, will you and Brendan lend me a hand?"
"Ask him yourself, Aria," Millee winked. "Unfortunately, I'm low on mana. I won't be much help. I need to use what I have to find the rest of the group."
"We'll hold him as long as we can, Millee. Don't worry," Brendan said.
Aria nodded. "Someone needs to find the other three, you're right," she realized. She looked Millee straight in the eyes. "I'm a lot stronger than what I was two years ago; we'll buy you as much time as you nee—"
Brendan grabbed Aria's hands before pulling her in for a long-overdue hug. "I'm sorry I'm left you alone back then, but I will gladly fight by your side now—no matter who or what stands before us." He looked her in the eyes. "I'll make it up to you with an all-expenses-paid shopping spree. Promise."
Aria tried to stifle her laughter, instead coming out as a snort. "I'm still your favorite little spender. That makes me happy," she smiled.
"You guys are too cute. Thanks for letting me see that," she smirked. She turned her attention back to Ahzef. "I hope you're ready, you monster," Millee warned. "As Chiipha's princess, I have a duty to protect Earth's until she's ready. This is your only warning. If you or Azael interfere with me again, I promise you'll wish you hadn't."
"Such big words for such a little girl," the devil taunted.
Millee shot him a death stare. "Aria, Brendan. I'm putting my faith in you two until. If you find yourselves in trouble, just ask for me. I'll hear you, no matter where I am, but try to buy as much time as possible."
Aria released herself from Brendan's embrace, bringing Millee to the ground in a tackle-hug. "You'll never know how thankful I am for that day at the library. Get everyone back for us, you hear me?"
Salty tears splashed onto Millee's cheeks. "Is this the part where I tell you don't cry?" She patted Aria's head. "Don't worry. I've got this!"
Aria sniffled. "Thanks, Millee. Don't forget, when you get back, you have a lot of explaining to do," she said, smiling through tears.
"I know. You'll get the whole story, I promise."
Aria pulled herself off Millee, returning to Brendan's side as she waved bye. Brendan nodded, giving her a thumbs up.
"Good luck, guys." She disappeared, off to collect the rest of the group.
Brendan unsheathed the grail, feeding mana into it until it was the length of a broadsword. Sand billowed out in all directions as the grail took shape. "If we get rid of you, we put an end to Nertiia's revival, but first, venue change."
"Right here is just fi—"
Brendan grabbed Ahzef by the throat, sending him flying in what he assumed was the direction of the field. "It's over there somewhere, at least," he laughed. "I just need out of this desert."
"You're telling me," Aria said. "Anyways, you're about to see a side of me I
know
you haven't seen. That devil is
mine
." |
A flurry of crisp leaves brushed against the student body president's tear-stained face as she marched through the inner courtyard of Ravencroft Highschool, made a sharp turn at the fountain, and continued on towards class 1-B. She removed her glasses and wiped her eyes as she pushed her way past the other students in the halls, ignoring their awkward glances. She stopped in front of class 1-B, adjusted her shoulder bag, took in a deep breath, and exhaled a low growl before she opened the sliding door so hard it almost came off the tracks when it banged against the stopper. Everyone in the classroom stopped eating their lunches and fixed their gazes in the girl's direction — all — except one.
In the far corner of the classroom, one black-haired girl lazily flipped through a manga despite the commotion. Her two friends sitting next to her snickered to themselves as the newcomer to the classroom pushed her way around the desks until she was standing right in front of the girl reading the manga.
Flip.
The black-haired girl just turned the page, not even so much as glancing at her teary-eyed visitor.
The teary-eyed girl clenched her fists. "Y-y-you... Y-you... YOU SELF-CENTERED — EGOTISTICAL — BACKSTABBING — BITCH!"
The whole class gasped.
Flip.
The black-haired girl turned another page in her manga.
"W-WELL? AREN'T YOU GOING TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU DID IT, HUH? WAS ALL THAT TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU CARE A LIE?"
The black-haired girl briefly glanced up from her magazine. "Oh, hello Annie. What brings you here?"
Annie's face morphed into a cold glare. "Doooo NOT play dumb with me, Yuna."
Yuna closed the manga and turned in her desk towards Annie. "Play dumb?" She said in an exagerated tone. "Annie, you are the one making a fool of yourself in front of everyone by spouting baseless insults at me." Yuna pulled a small flat box from the shoulder bag hanging from her desk, opened it up, and removed a pair of disposable chopsticks from one of the compartments before breaking them apart with a tiny snap. "I'm afraid if you need something from me you are going to need to be more specific. Care to enlighten me what your problem is?"
Annie bit her lip and looked around the classroom. "I-I... I..."
"Yeeeesss?" Yuna plucked a piece of omelet with her chopsticks from her bento and popped it into her mouth.
Annie turned away from Yuna and promptly left the classroom sobbing to herself.
"WOW Yuna," said Yuna's redheaded friend. "You didn't even need to defend yourself, you scared her away with your presence alone."
"I know right?" said the brunette sitting behind Yuna. "So what's your next move, Alana?"
Alana played with her red hair in a flirtatious manner. "Wellllll... I'm going to give Zach about two weeks to totally get over Annie and then I'll swoop in and make my 'first' move. What do you say to that Kylie?"
The brunette snickered. "I say keep me posted about all the juicy details. Although, what if they get back together in those two weeks? What then?"
"They won't get back together," Yuna said picking through her lunch. "Trust me."
"My god," Kylie said. "What did you do to Zach?"
"A good magician never reveals her secrets," Yuna said with an evil smirk.
"Thanks again for helping me out with this," Alana said. "I was worried this would have had a completely different outcome. Everything should work out now, that is unless you plan on stealing Zach all for yourself."
Yuna flicked the little dice charm on her shoulder bag. The two small cubes with the letters A and J on each of the ones faces clicked together as they swung back and forward. "Huh? Heck no, big sweaty jock is most definitely not my type."
"Then what is your type?" Kylie persisted. "Jeez, I swear, you draw in glances from sooooo many guys and you completely blow all of them off. I mean, I'm glad you do because I would hate to have to compete with you but you must be attracted to some... one..." Kylie peered at Yuna, who hid her face with her bangs. "OH. MY. GOSH. You already have someone don't you?"
Yuna popped another piece of her omelet in her mouth.
"I can see you blushing under there," Alana teased. "Come on. Give us something."
Yuna swallowed and cleared her throat. "It's complicated."
"Oh-ho," Alana said. "Is he already seeing someone else? Well, that shouldn't be a problem for you."
"No."
Kylie gasped. "Did he reject you?
"No."
"Then what? You can't just say it's complicated and leave it at that. Give us a little more." Kylie crossed her arms waiting for an answer.
"It has nothing to do with petty high school drama," Yuna said squinting her eyes, "You two may like the thrill and excitement of moving from guy to guy but I just think it is absolutely exhausting. There is more to life than being constantly reminded about how sexy you are or how beautiful your smile is. So I will make this absolutely clear. My love life is NONE of your business."
Kylie and Alana frowned.
"Sorry Yuna," Alana said. "We just want to know your secret is all. How do you keep yourself so together? You know?"
"I keep my priorities straight, that's all."
"For someone who is so skilled with dealing with people you sure are a stick in the mud," Alana said with a pout causing Yuna to raise an eyebrow. "I-I mean. You are cool don't get me wrong. What I am trying to say is..."
"Just leave it be, Alana," Kylie interjected. "So, I overheard my dad talking to one of his fellow detectives. It turns out they found another body in an apartment not too far from the hospital. What does that bring the count up to, ten?"
Alana covered her mouth. "Ewww. Do you need to bring this up while we are eating?"
"Similar to the others then?" Yuna asked.
"Well... the location of the bodies varies a little bit, but most of them were found at home in bed. The state of them has all been varied too. Some stabbed, others hit with a blunt object, and at least one of them was set on fire but this last one was mutilated beyond recognition like it was crushed by a steam roller. The one connecting factor is all of them were determined to be asleep at the time of their deaths. What's REALLY weird is there is absolutely no sign of anyone else being anywhere around the crime scene at the time of their deaths OR any other signs of damage. Like the one found burned in bed. The body was burned but the bed was completely untouched. My dad is amazed at how well the killer is at covering their tracks but this is like on another level."
"Can we stop talking about this please —"
"One second Alana." Yuna interjected, "Is there a connection with age and gender?"
"Not really, all victims ages range from teens up to people in their thirties. As for gender, it's an even split I think — five guys and five girls. At any rate, it is probably not a good idea to stay out too late and to make absolutely sure you lock your doors."
"Ok class. Lunch is over," Mr. Lawless as he entered the classroom with coffee in hand.
"At any rate," Kylie whispered. "Be careful on your way home. Speaking of which, there's a new frozen yogurt shop that opened in town. Maybe we should all go there together after school."
"I am totally down for that," Alana said with a big smile.
"Sorry, I can't," Yuna whispered, "There's something I need to do on the way home. Tomorrow?"
"Fine," Kylie said with a pout.
*****
The trolley rolled down the track, heading for downtown.
Yuna sat in silence staring off at orange and yellow leaves on the trees moving past her field of view as her mind drifted. On her lap was a small gift neatly wrapped with a bow on top. Yuna ran her finger across the bow and sighed. She looked back out the window again and her blood ran cold.
Across the street from the trolley tracks an apartment building with a police barricade around it. Police and people in white full-body suits were moving about the building. Yuna stared on as the scene drifted past. She felt a sudden chill before being startled by the trolley's whistle blow.
"Ok, everyone. We are now at Ravencroft General Hospital Station. If this is your stop please disembark now," said the conductor.
Yuna fixed the hem of her uniform skirt, grabbed her gift and her shoulder bag, and vacated her seat. She stepped out into the station which was a cold concrete corridor underneath the hospital. Yuna tightly covered herself with her blazer, before stepping on the escalator to the hospital lobby. She made her way through the lobby to the front desk.
"Ummm... I'm here to see Arthur Jones."
*****
"HOLY CRAP! Labyrinth Legacy isn't supposed to launch until the end of next week!" Arthur said, pulling the last bit of wrapping paper off of the game case. How did you get this, Yu?"
"Hello, did you forget my dad is a game designer? He was on the production team for this one and managed to get an early access copy for me to give to you." Yuna smiled sheepishly. "Last time I visited you were talking about how excited you were about the game so I kept it a secret that my dad was on the team for this project."
"Thanks! You're the best! Unfortunately, my console needs to charge so I will have to try it out later tonight," Arthur said placing the game case on the table next to his hospital bed. "But that doesn't matter because you and I have so much to catch up on. You haven't visited in a while. How has your first year as a high schooler been? Have you made any new friends?" Arthur sat up in his bed and folded his hands, his black skin made a stark contrast against his light blue hospital sheets.
"Yeah, I made two good friends Alana and Kylie. We like to hang out after school every now and then. You could say the three of us form the popular group of Class 1-B."
"Huh, that's not like you." Arthur tilted his head and raised an eyebrow behind his glasses. "You were always the shy type back in middle school. What changed?"
"Guess I found my confidence is all." Yuna shifted her weight onto her other foot.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, everything is fine."
"How has your mother been. Is she getting better? I know she took your grandfather's... passing... very hard."
Yuna broke eye contact with Arthur and looked over at the window at the sunset. "No, she's been drinking even more lately. I can't even remember the last time I have seen her sober these days."
"Oh... I'm sorry. Is your dad doing ok at least?"
"He is dealing with it the best he can but I can tell it has been weighing on him more and more every day."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," Yuna said turning back to Arthur. "It will be fine. Besides, I came here to see you. How have you been lately?"
Arthur held his hand flat and teetered it back and forward. "Eh. It has been so-so. They still haven't been able to diagnose my condition. Although, it's not progressing as fast as it was anymore. So at least there's that. Unfortunately..."
"Yes?"
"The doctors are not even sure if I will make it till next Summer."
"What?" Yuna walked over to Arthur's bedside so that she was right next to him.
"They estimate I have about six months if that."
"I-I don't believe this. I thought-"
Arthur shook his head. "They don't know what is causing it. My body is just shutting down for no reason. Some days I feel perfectly fine and other days I feel like I was hit by a truck."
"There has to be a reason. The doctors will find that reason and they will fix it."
Arthur smiled. "Hehe. You're cute when you worry you know that?"
Yuna stepped back. "I'm serious AJ."
"I know you are, Yu." Arthur laid back in his bed. "And so was I the last time you were here. I am still waiting for an answer by the way."
Yuna stiffened up. "AJ... you know how much you mean to me... I just."
"Can't date a dude on his death bed?"
"It's not that simple."
"Sure it is. You are afraid to get too attached and that when something happens to me you will be left alone." Arthur shrugged. "I can't say I blame you. Unless of course you just don't find me at all sexy in this hospital gown."
"AJ... please don't put me in this position."
Arthur frowned. "Are you seeing someone else then?"
"No... I just... can we not talk about this?" Yuna stepped away from Arthur and crossed her arms. Arthur stared at her, surprised by her sudden hostility.
"Ok then," Arthur said. He looked outside at how dark it has become. "You should hurry on home. Your parents will be worried and the news says it hasn't been safe outside lately."
Yuna looked out the window and then back at Arthur. "Yeah..." Yuna started walking back to the door. "Hey, I'll text you when I get home, ok. I hope you feel better."
Just as Yuna left, Arthur got a glimpse of the dice charm on Yuna's bag. "I'm already feeling a lot better," he whispered as he played with his dice necklace with the initials YS carved on them. |
Yuna pushed through the gates of the Serizawa residence and closed them behind her, locking them in the process. She ambled down the cobblestone path towards a Japanese-style house, a very unprecedented sight in Ravencroft. The house itself was made up of four sections which all came together to form a perimeter the enclosed an inner courtyard. Two sections of the house were single-story while the other two sections were two-story. The house itself has become a landmark in part to how unique it looks but also impart due to Yuna's grandfather, who thought it would be a brilliant idea to bring a piece of his home country to Ravencroft when he decided to start his video game development company here.
Yuna removed her shoes after entering the front door and began heading toward her room-
SMACK!
"WREHE WERZE YOU?" Yuna's mother staggered back; Yuna rubbed her red cheek.
"Visiting, Arthur in the hospital. I told dad that—"
"I dont' cazre what you told dadq. I said ki awtedn you home right after schlool." Yuna's mother dropped her beer can and fell to her knees. "Ther'es a kellir oubt thbere. Doo you wtna to dkie?"
"I made it back before it got dark and I stayed where it was well lit. I'm fine, mom."
"Whow his Arter doing?"
Yuna let out a sigh. She was used to her mother's temperament shifts but it was still annoying. Ultimately she decided to just give her mother a simple answer to avoid provoking her. "He's fine."
"G'ood. Biecause imma goinrg to beat the hell uto obf the bastyard for tempting mty daughter!" Yuna's felt a sharp pain in her wrist as her mother started dragging her down the hall.
"Hey! Let go!"
"No! You need hto abe punished-"
Yuna's hand was released and Yuna's father pulled his wife away from their daughter. "It's ok honey. I'll punish Yuna. I need you to go see go make the bed. I just finished washing the sheets... again..."
"Orke..."
Yuna's father started guiding his wife down the hall, making sure to keep himself between his wife and Yuna. He turned back to Yuna and mouthed, "Go upstairs."
Yuna nodded and quickly made herself scarce.
As soon as she got to her room she removed off her school uniform and shivered. She then realized the window was open. She quickly closed it and shut the blinds, though she couldn't remember opening it in the first place.
Knock. Knock Knock.
"Just a minute." Yuna slipped on her green pajamas and tossed her uniform in the hamper. "Come in."
Yuna's father, Kota Serizawa, slipped quietly into the dim bedroom with two pork belly and rice bowls and chopsticks, and set it down on Yuna's kotatsu, a low table with a heated quilt around the edge. Kota sat down on his floor cushion and Yuna joined him on the other side. The two said nothing and began to eat their dinner. The wind picked up outside, rustling the leaves in the maple trees on the property.
"I got a call from school today. Something about a girl claiming you are spreading rumors. Care to give me your defense?"
Yuna picked at her food. "It is kinda hard to explain..."
"Try me." Kota set his chopsticks down.
"There is this guy on the basketball team, Zach. He is... was... dating this girl Annie. Well...he cheated on Annie with my friend Alana. So Alana was afraid the truth would get out and wanted to cover her tracks. So she asked me to help her. I talked to Annie who said she was already having relationship struggles. So I decided to put those struggles to the test and-"
Kota's face shifted to one of shock and disappointment.
"Hey! I didn't DO anything with him. I just... may have flirted with him causing him to make advances toward me. I secretly recorded those advances and threatened to show the recording to Annie unless he broke up with her. Well... he did. Guess he cared more about his image than her."
Kota folded his hands and placed them against his forehead. "I get that you were trying to help a friend, but have you ever considered how it makes Annie feel?"
"She made the mistake of dating a sleazeball. It's not my fault."
Unfortunately, that is the same sleaze ball Alana wants to make another pass at.
"If anything she should be thanking me for getting him to break up with her."
"That is one way to look at it, but Annie doesn't know the truth and you are protecting one of the people involved."
"You aren't going to blow the whistle, are you? I haven't actually done anything. I just threatened to expose Zach —"
"By manipulating him."
"So what? He's a jerk."
"There were better ways to handle this. If anything, you should have just stayed out of it. You never use to cause drama before. Do you think messing with people's emotions is some kind of game?"
Yuna looked away.
"Well?" Kota said.
"At least at school I have some control of my life-"
There was a crash from downstairs. "Oh no..." Kota said. He picked up the dishes and made his way to the door. "If you keep being manipulative like that soon you won't have any friends left."
That's not true. I will still have Arthur-
"What does Arthur think of all this?" Kota asked.
"I-I didn't tell him."
Kota just shook his head and closed the door behind him. There was another crash from downstairs.
Arthur.
Yuna smiled to herself thinking about him.
"Oh crap! I forgot to text Arthur that I made it home!" |
First half: I am Dying
Strange... Even with my blurry vision, I can see clearly.
The classroom's creamy white wall is no longer that pure, red has been splattered all over. The warm blood spilling from my mouth and the cuts on my body streams towards the pool on the floor where these are scattered: pieces of flesh, an eyeball, strands of hair, fingers, and an arm.
I am dying.
...Dying?...Why is this happening?
Inside this enclosed classroom, I can hear my classmates' shouts repeating—echoing. It varies from one another, a muffled cry, a loud outburst, and a normal weeping. I listen to the sound that came from all of it and it's really painful.
But I know that they are not grieving for me. After all, some of the words I can make out are insults, most of them are curses, all aimed at me.
So...who are they crying for I wonder?
Then, in the classroom of chaos, loud and clear, resolute footsteps resound. I manage to move my neck and look at the person approaching me. It is a female classmate, my only friend, Hanashima Miya.
Is she going to help me...? Then...what is that thing for?
Hanashima is holding a
red
machete as her feet tap on my blood on the floor.
Tck, tck,
the sound is stifled by the liquid, however, it is echoing awfully loud. Before I knew it, all the sounds before has ceased.
I feel all eyes gazing at us. She
raises
the machete.
Are you...too...going to hurt me? Are you going...to kill me?
I open my mouth, and I struggle to speak, yet no words come out.
"...I guess they were right... Kanagawa-kun, you are trash," Hanashima whispers while her tears drip from her face, which has the most terrifying expression of all people that I have seen in my whole life. "
I need to kill you.
"
The only hope I have is gone. No one is going to save me.
Why!?
Why do they have to do this? Why do I have to die? Why did she betray me? Why? Why? Why?
They always bully me. They do what they want, punching, kicking, and stripping my clothes in class. In all of these situations, I felt like breaking. But because Hanashima is there, she is there that—
I am about to get stabbed.
She is swinging the machete down with bloodshot eyes, aiming at my neck.
...It is very, very slow. Like it is playing frame by frame.
In that instant, my mind recalls everything.
I see...
...
So that's how it is. |
Katsuma Pharaoh is going to hell.
She rings in another customer, and another. Their faces blur together, she thinks. They all do. She checks her watch. Closing time is long-gone, and she's working overtime.
The last customer in line. Katsuma sighs with relief and scans his books. He says some words she doesn't hear. Rather, she hears them, but she doesn't comprehend.
"Mmhmm," she says vaguely. "That'll be $10.99."
The man is bewildered. "It should be 9."
Katsuma looks up. The man seems young— early twenties, about her age. That he would be in a bookstore this late at night confuses her. His dark skin is drenched in sweat. He's been running.
"Are you sure?" she questions.
He nods. "Just scan them again."
She scans them again, more carefully this time. The total comes out to $10.99. Again. "Dumbass," she mutters.
"What?" the man snaps.
"Nothing. Your total's still $10.99. You gotta pay, bud."
He fishes through his jean pockets. "I swear them books cost nine. I did the math, 'cause I only got a ten."
Katsuma gives up. "Just gimme the ten." She knows the books cost $10.99, she's sure of it. She just doesn't think the extra dollar is worth fighting for. And perhaps her generosity might come around.
The man passes her the ten, and she slides the books to him. "Thanks," he says, clutching them. As he runs out the sliding doors, Katsuma hopes she never sees him again.
She sighs, fiddling with the ten in her hands. No one will mind if she just pockets it, right? She considers it a tip for her generosity and stuffs it in her back pocket.
Katsuma flips off the lights. The custodians will clean the store up later, she tells herself. She slides the door closed behind her and walks to her car in the frigid night.
She turns the keys.
Sprrrt!
The engine doesn't turn on. She kicks the car and tries again. Still nothing. She groans and looks to the sky in frustration.
Huh. That's weird. The stars are brighter than normal. She tries her keys again. Nope, it's not happening. She looks to the sky again— the stars are brighter still. Actually, it looks like they're approaching. The dark sky is getting lighter every second.
Katsuma throws the keys in her car and runs back to the bookstore. She knows something's wrong. She hasn't done drugs in years. Is she just hallucinating?
She peeks through the window. No, she's not hallucinating. The stars have come so close she can see they're not stars at all. They're angels, swooping through the streets, grabbing people by the wrists.
The end of times. Armageddon. The Rapture.
But if this is the Rapture, where are the demons? Katsuma asks herself silently. She feels a tickle on the back of her leg. From the shadows of the aisles, shadowy claws trace the form of her calves. Not what she'd imagined.
If I'm being judged, I'll accept my outcome, she thinks. The demons lick at her legs and tear her from the window. She submits. She knows what she's done.
She feels the warmth beneath her feet. Ah, yes, the warmth. Searing, scalding, just as terrible as she'd imagined. She braces herself for her endless torture, closing her eyes.
But it stops.
She opens her eyes and looks around. No demons, no angels. Not a sound. So I
was
hallucinating, she thinks. The silence is deafening. She just
has
to know what's happened. She opens the doors and steps out again to see.
Outside, it's soundproofed, but what a spectacle it is. All colors blind her eyes. Red, orange, yellow, of the cars crashed into one another. Green of the malfunctioning traffic lights, blue of the fading sky, purple of the night behind it. What is all this?
She runs over and checks the cars. No one is hurt— only because no one is there at all. The only human in sight is herself. Was it real, after all?
The eerie silence gave way to a majestic boom. She listened intently.
"Fear not, ye who remain. For he who would slay his compatriots for salvation's promise will be given such! Ye who remain, prove thyself to thine Heavenly Father. Only one shall attain his worthy salvation!"
She can't help but let a smile spread on her face. Her final chance at eternal life, and all she has to do is kill the rest? What challenge is there to that?
Katsuma Pharaoh refuses to go to hell. |
A lute strummed softly in the darkness accompanied by the voice of a woman singing a song in some unknown language.
Yuna's vision cleared up in time to see her hands reforming from dust — though — they weren't her hands. Both of her hands were covered by a pair of gloves, one green, and one red. She felt a cold chill on her arms and belly only to find that she was no longer in her pajamas. She was wearing a sleeveless,medieval-styled tunic that came down and opened up just above her belly button. The tunic's collar had spoke-like flaps that came off it like points on a leaf, the spokes alternated between red and green around her neck. Her legs were now covered in black tights with a leather belt that wrapped around her waist with big coattails which covered her backside and ended just above her knee-high boots. Each boot had pointy toes and also was green and red but was opposite the pattern of her gloves. Yuna heard a jingle and realized she was wearing a jester's hat with four prongs handing over her shoulders, two in front, two in back. The prongs ended in bells that would jingle every time she moved.
"W-w-w-hat the hell is this?"
Yuna looked down at the floor and saw she was standing on a square space with the emblem of a bull. The space was part of a walkway made of more spaces with pictures on them that went way down, cut a hard right, and kept going creating a massive square. Scattered all along the walkway were statues of various people in robes, armor, and weird hats. The middle of the square was filled with fog, and within that fog was the looming silhouette of a fortress far off in the distance.
Is this... a giant game board?
Yuna attempted to move down the walkway but bumped into an invisible wall just as she was about to set off her spaces. "What the..."
"Ah-ah-ah," Nodem said waving his finger. He still looked like Yuna's grandfather but now he was wearing a purple cloak with the hood pulled over his head, his indigo eyes glowed from within the darkness. "In order to move spaces, you first need to roll. In fact, I have your dice right here. See, they even match your character's color scheme." He pulled a pair of black six-sided dice from his sleeve. The dots on one die were red while the dots on the other die were green.
Yuna gritted her teeth. "W-what did you do to me? What is this place?"
"THIS," Nodem grinned, "is my end of the bargain — MY GAME. Welcome to
Race to the Citadel
!" Nodem held his hands up and twirled on one foot.
"This can't be real..."
"Oh, but it is." Nodem held up his finger. "The game is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is make it to the Citadel in the center of the board and you get your wish. Of course..." He tilted his head toward one of the statues on one of the squares down the walkway. "This is a RACE to the citadel. You will meet other adventures on your journey. Whether you are friend or foe is entirely up to you and the other players."
"O-ther p-play-ers?" Yuna tensed up. "Do you have other people in this game?"
"YES INDEED I DO!" Nodem laughed. "What's a game without some good ol 'cut-throat competition OR valiant cooperation." He pinched his chin as he thought to himself. "That reminds me. You are the last player to spawn in so I need to place my Guardian on the board." He snapped his fingers.
Down the walkway behind Yuna, on one of the tiles marked with bullhead, another statue appeared. This statue was noticeably bigger than the others and looked like a man combined with a bull, holding a war hammer.
"I'll explain the most important rules to you here and now but the finer ones I'll let you figure out on your own..."
Nodem prattled on, but Yuna wasn't listening. She just stared at the strange renaissance fair clothing.
This HAS to be a dream... none of this can be real...
"HEY! EARTH TO CLOWN GIRL!" Yuna looked at Nodem who was tapping his foot. "I am trying to explain some basic rules here so you actually have a shot at winning this thing. You do want to help Aurthur?" He sneered. "Don't you?"
Yuna frowned. Her thoughts ran wild, but ultimately she slowly nodded her head.
"Good. First things first." Nodem took Yuna's hand and placed the dice in them. "You need these to be able to move around the board and IF your role doubles you may move again up to half of what you roll was. Obviously, you move the number of spaces equal to your role HOWEVER you may go either direction on the board. You with me so far?"
Yuna nodded.
"Now, the most important part of Race to the Citadel is this." Nodem held out his palm and a small deck of cards formed from tiny polygons. "This is your deck. Each character class in the game has one catered to that character's playstyle." Nodem drew two cards from the deck. A green card with a little wand emblem in the corner and a 2+ on it as well as a red card with a sword emblem and a +2. "These are mana cards. One is a magic card the other is a mele card. Your character class, the Jester, has the ability to use both, although there are four mana card types in the game, you may only use these two types.
"He drew a third card which had four colors on it all taking up a fourth of the card. The sections of the card had a green wand, red sword, blue shield, and a yellow bow and arrow. This card had a +3 in the middle. "This is a wild card. For dual-type characters like you can become either of your mana types when played, for single-type characters it may only be played as that player's single type."
Nodem pulled two more cards from the deck with pictures of a Jester on them. On each card, the Jester was in a different pose, but Yuna didn't get a good look at them. "These are character ability cards. Every character has cards like this special to them and they all do different things depending on what cards are played with them buuuut I let you figure these out on your own." Nodem placed the cards back into the deck and shuffled them before offering them to Yuna.
Yuna's hand hovered over the deck. She looked at Nodem whose smile was gone from his face.
"Take — the damn — cards."
Yuna touched the deck and it shattered into polygons. "I-I didn't —"
"The cards are now in your inventory. You may access them again at anytime. Which brings me to my next and final word of advice." Nodem pointed at different spaces on the board. "The spaces with the crossed swords are encounter spaces, on those spaces you draw from the encounter deck and fight whatever monster you happened to pull. The spaces with the little houses on them are towns, I'll let you figure those out on your own." He pointed at the space Yuna was standing on. "Lastly, the spaces with the bullhead icon are guardian spaces. The guardian has a chance to spawn on any of these. It would be wise of you to avoid these until you are ready."
Yuna just stood in shock. Everything just sounded like complete and utter insanity.
Nodem sighed. "I'll tell you what. The first move is free. I'll rig the numbers so you will roll and enemy encounter and then you can test out how the game plays." Nodem took a few steps back. "With that — the stage is yours" He snapped his fingers and he shattered into polygons.
Yuna was now left alone — in the dark void of space — standing on a giant game board — with nothing but the sound of a lute strumming somewhere from within the void as a woman continued to sing softly in a unknown language.
She lifted up her hand and stared at the dice, before clenching her fist around them and hurling them off in the dark void of space.
There was a pleasant chime sound and the stars off in the distance morphed into a constellation in the shape of two dice. One dice face had a two and the other had a four.
Suddenly, the paths lit up six spaces in either direction.
Yuna stepped on one of the adjacent squares; the squares in the other direction of the board, including the one she was just standing on, went dark. She continued to walk down the game board path past a stone statue of a knight before finally ending up on the last space in the line. The space had the crossed swords over a picture of a cornfield. There was another chime; a deck of cards appeared in front of her. The deck had a crossword on the back of the card on top.
Yuna reached for the card on the top deck. Her skin grew goosebumps as she gingerly drew the card. The picture on the card was of a man or thing in dark clothing standing in a cornfield. It looked like — Yuna tensed — it looked like someone made a scarecrow out of a body bag. The text on the card was all blank aside from the name inscribed on top: Crop Guardian.
"What a stupid way to describe a scarecrow..."
The card vaporized from Yuna's hands before she began sinking into the space she was standing on.
"Hey! Nodem! What is th —"
Yuna was swallowed by the game board.
****
Yuna opened her eyes to see she was back in her room —
Except, it wasn't her room. The furniture was all in the correct place but everything was decapitated. The wall to her left was completely destroyed. Not only that but the style of furniture looked medieval. It looked like some larper's fantasy. She made her way over to the gaping hole in the wall and looked out.
It was twilight. The sun was just below the horizon and the sky was dyed in deep oranges and purples. All around the derlect house was a vast cornfield that stretched on for miles. In the distance were large silhouettes of ancient-looking windmills spinning slowly amongst the painted-looking sky. Yuna stepped out on a pile of debris next to the collapsed house. She slid down the pile and stumbled just as she made it to ground level. She once again looked out into the field. There were numerous silhouettes of scarecrows scattered amongst the yellowed cornstalks.
She just now noticed in the corner of her vision there was the word Jester in fancy English letters with the number ten next to it. Bellow that were numbers counting down: 30, 29, 28....
She wondered what the numbers meant. She looked back into the field —
One of the scarecrows was gone. Yuna's toes curled in her pointy Jester boots and she took a few steps back —
There was a soft wheezing sound coming from behind her followed by the rattling of a chain. Slowly Yuna turned around; her blood became ice cold.
Ambling toward her was a man covered in tattered black cloth from head to toe. There was a zipper that ran from the top of his head down the middle of his body with bits of hay poking out as well as — a single beady, bloodshot eye peaking out where the zipper crosses his face. The thing took its gloved hand and pulled out a sickle hanging from a chain out of his tattered coat. It slowly continued to amble towards Yuna, wheezing every step it took.
"STAY BACK!" Yuna raised her hands.
Then.
A long pointy sword materialized in her right hand — a rapier.
The countdown in the corner of Yuna's vision continued on. The numbers seem to get faster the closer the thing got: 12,11,10....
The thing was now so close to Yuna she could smell its foul odor of rotten flesh. Yuna ran back towards the house, opened the door, slammed it behind her, and threw down the latch. She began to back away from the door, the thing outside kept wheezing and jingling that horrible chain as it stumbled up towards the house.
5, 4, 3, 2 —
The sickle came crashing through the window and flew right towards Yuna. She tried to move but the thing wrapped around her like a serpent before she was yanked through the air and out the window towards the stalker. She was then hoisted up in the air, the thing had its hand around her neck.
Yuna gasped for air. She could small the putrefied stench of what she could only now describe as a walking corpse.
The thing wheezed before it slammed her hard against the ground.
Yuna felt a crack as she rolled against the grown. She tried to stand but a sharp pain in her back caused her to fall to her knees. In the corner of her vision, the number ten next to the word Jester changed to five.
Oh my god... it's a health bar.
The monster rattled its chain and let a ghastly roar prompting the words "Crop Guardian" to appear over its head.
I am actually fighting a monster in a tabletop RPG game...
The counter in the corner of Yuna's vision reset and began counting down from sixty.
It attacks every sixty seconds...
The Crop Guardian took a step towards Yuna, dragging its sickle and chain. The countdown started to get faster.
And the closer it is to me the faster the countdown...
Yuna trembled, the bells on her jester costume jangled as she stood up despite the intense pain. She raised the sword in her right hand causing five cards to appear on the left side of her vision.
The cards!
Yuna looked at her hand, the Crop Guardian continued to walk toward her. She had two +2 magic cards, two +1 melee cards, and a Flashbomb card for a total of five cards.
The crop guardian raised it's weapon as it prepared to attack; Yuna tapped her hand against the Flashbomb card causing a bomb with a lit wick to appear in her left hand. The Crop Guardian swung its weapon. In response Yuna, body moved on its own, tossing the bomb at the guardians head.
BANG!
There was a flash of white light. Yuna stumbled back, when she looked up —
The Crop Guardian stepped out of the smoky haze with no visible damage.
"WHAT! NO WAY!"
The countdown clock reset and the walking bodybag once again started to amble towards Yuna.
Yuna brought up her cards again.
Four left...
Yuna began selecting cards at random, both magic cards and — the melee cards went dark. She couldn't select them.
"How do these work?"
The cards vanished just as the crop guardian charged once again with its sickle raised in the air. Yuna was terrified but her body moved on it's own. She rolled out of the way of the crop guardians' attack and swung her rapiar which fired off a beam of bright light which impaled the crop guardian from behind leaving a big hole in its center. Bloody hay fell out of the hole and onto the ground. The Crop Guardian wheezed and slowly turned towards Yuna.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?"
Once again the Crop Guardian ambled towards Yuna in slow ominous steps.
Now Yuna was running towards the house again.
There has to be something around her that can help me, anything.
She hopped over a fence and reached for the door, but when she tried to open it, it wouldn't budge.
Damnit, I locked it from the inside.
She looked over her shoulder to see the Crop Guardian stumble over the fence, it stared at her with its bloodshot eye, as it tried to get back to its feet.
With her back to the door, Yuna waved her left hand causing her last two cards to materialize, she selected both of them.
The Crop Guardian was now looming over Yuna. Her right hand thrusted with the rapier but the monster swung its arm at her, sending her through the door, and rolling across the floor.
Yuna was laying on her stomach, her ribs ached, as she gasped for breath. She looked up and saw her health meter drop to 1. The Crop Guardian ducked its head down as it stepped inside the house. Yuna got to her feet and waved her left hand —
I'm out of cards, I'm dead...
However, a deck of cards did appear floating next to Yuna, causing her to blink in disbelief.
I can draw!
Yuna drew from the deck with every ounce of energy she had left. "Yes! I drew a +3 Wildcard. I —"
THUNK!
Yuna felt a sharp pain in her chest. She dropped her rapier with a clang. She brought her hand to where she felt the pain and bumped into something with a metallic clink. When Yuna looked down she was horrified by what she saw.
The Crop Guardians sickle was embedded deep in her chest. She gasped in horror but could not suck in any air. She tried to scream but couldn't. Blood oozed from the wound. She looked up at the Crop Guardian which yanked hard on the chain pulling the sickle free from Yuna's chest along with something red and squishy. Yuna fell to her side. The last thing she saw before her vision went black was her hp drop to zero.
****
"My, oh my," Nodem said.
Yuna was hunched over holding her chest. She opened her eyes and looked up to see she was once again on the giant game board in space. Nodem stood playfully spinning a game card with his fingers. He still looked like a shriveled old man in purple robes, but he no longer wore Yuna's grandfather's face. His indigo eyes widen with glee.
"You were so full of energy and now look at you," he said, "Where is that sass from earlier?"
Yuna felt tears well up in her eyes, her chest was in so much pain she couldn't even speak.
"Listen and listen well. THAT was a free turn. You see these?" Nodem waved his hand prompting three green flames to appear in the space above Yuna. "These are your lives. Every Time you die, one of these flames goes out. You die three times here and your soul becomes property of Nodem, understand?"
"Iwmwpppf..." Yuna remained hunched over.
Nodem knelt down next to her. "A word from the wise to the foolish — perhaps you should actually read the cards before playing them. They say around these parts it could mean life or death. Hahahaha." He stood back up and presented the card in his hand. It was the Crop Guardian card Yuna drew from the encounter deck. "This monster card could have been yours if you won, but now it's mine, and I think I'll place it right here." Nodem placed the card on the ground and it vanished into the board. "Should you or any other player land on this space then the Crop Guardian will be waiting right here."
The old man yawned. "Anyway, that's the end of your turn. I'll tell you what. Because I know how busy life can be I'll make it so you can take your turns in your sleep. That way you can go about your day to day routine in reality in the day and come play with me at night in your dreams. How does that sound?"
"Fffffwwwwuuuu..."
"Sounds like a "Thank you Nodem" to me. Until next time, Yuna Serazawa. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
****
"Ahhhhhh!"
Yuna sprung up, everything was dark. She leaned over and flicked on her nightstand light. She breathed a sigh of relief to see she was in her own bed —
Yuna felt a sudden pain in her chest and looked down to see her mint green pajamas were soaking wet.
She unbuttoned the top few buttons of her pajamas and gasped in horror to see a ragged, bloody hole in her chest. She stifled a scream just as the bloody hole closed itself up, absorbing all the blood from her pajamas. Suddenly the pain was also gone.
Yuna stumbled out of bed. She nearly fell over, but she caught her bedroom door frame, and stabilized herself. She made her way down the hall to the bathroom and flicked the lights on. She looked in the mirror at her ghostly white face. Yuna began to tremble and her white face changed to green.
Yuna dashed over to the toilet, opening the seat just before her stomach heaved. |
The next morning, Lily saw Andrei on her way to their school. She catch up with him and was about to scare him."Lily, stop with the pranks. I hate it"."Andrei, you're very alert with your surroundings! Awesome (≧▽≦)"Lily clings on her boyfriend's arm but Andrei shoved her away."Why are you so clingy?! I need some space okay?!"Lily couldn't hold her feelings anymore."Why are you so unfair??!! I'm your girlfriend! And these days, you never hang out with me. Your alibi would always be "I'm busy " and I believe that. But, can you make some time for me ? I really missed you.....""........ Please don't disturb me for now, I'm still very busy. I'm sorry".Andrei kisses her forehead and walked ahead.Lily couldn't understand her partner. Did I make him angry? Did I made something wrong? Why wouldn't he tell me? She was left behind and decided to go to school by herself.*After the School Activities*"Andrei, can you come over to my house? I want to watch a movie with you"."Not right now, I'm busy...... I'll tell you if I'm free"."Ummm.. okay. I understand".Lily was devastated. She wanted attention so much from her lover. Then she came up with a plan. Lily noticed that her boyfriend always go somewhere so, she decided to follow him.When Andrei went off, Lily was behind, silently following him. She was very careful not to make any noises and unnecessary movement while following him."This is so hard but I want to know why he is so busy".After following Andrei for minutes, she saw him talking to a girl. Lily's curiosity risen and went for a closer look. This girl is so pretty and slim . She look at her lover and saw how he stares at the girl. |
Second Half: My Memories and My Nearing Death
I have thought of suicide many times before.
Leaving the house, I started walking to school. On the way, there was a road that had the most traffic in this area. I was planning to try it again today. I stood before the road waiting for a car moving at high-speed to appear, and it did.
It was approaching rapidly, seven meters, four—it passed me.
As I expected, suicide was impossible.
I would have died if I jumped in front of that car but I didn't dare to do it. No matter how many times I tried, I always failed.
Dragging my feet to my destination, I found myself lingering before my classroom which had a push/pull door, which was unusual in Japanese classrooms. Even though I didn't want to enter this place anymore, I still held the knob of the ajar door, knowing that something would fall, and pushed it.
Crack!
The egg fell on the floor and broke. Then I was punched in the face and was knocked down.
"Who told you to dodge that, huh!?" the class leader, Arakita, shouted as he kicked me in the stomach.
"...I d-don't have a spare uniform...so..."
"So what? Do you think you have the right to spoil our fun, eh? You are a clown. Got it?" As soon he said that, the snickers of my classmates changed into laughter.
He kept on kicking me, and my uniform was already dirty. I closed my eyes. He would soon be bored and stop, until then, I need to endure.
However, he didn't and I was kicked in the face instead, forcing my eyes to open, only to see the same devils dressed in human clothing. Their pairs of eyes were as if they were looking at a being worse than livestock. Their mouths were curved in a crescent as they laughed at my misery.
The usual events played today as well.
My classmates continued to bully me and the teacher would always ignore it, continuing her classes like normal.
Only after classes would I meet my only salvation. On the rooftop, Hanashima Miya would be there.
"Kanagawa-kun, I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you back there!" Hanashima said as she bowed her head.
"It's okay... I don't want you to be...bullied as well."
Tears fell. She was still bowing her head but there were droplets of colorless liquid falling on the floor. "...I'm really...really sorry."
"..."
Hanashima lifted her head and began to wipe the tears from her eyes. "...I need to make up with you somehow. How about ice cream? I'll treat you."
She would always be like this. Always regretting when she can't do anything, always there supporting me. I even thought that if she was not here, I would probably have been broken long ago.
Our house was practically the same as the school. When my womanizer father came home drunk, my mother started an argument with him. I tucked myself in the corner and made myself smaller as possible to not catch their attention.
"How many women were you screwing with? 3, 4? It must have felt good, right?"
"Shut up."
"Don't come home anymore! All you do is get drunk! Did you think I do not know that you have other children!?"
He did not speak anymore and locked the door of his room. She continued ranting loudly, accusing of things he probably did and some he probably didn't. My father didn't care about us anymore, and my mother was always mad, taking most of her anger on me when he was not around.
When my father finally hit his limit, he opened his door and punched her face many times until she bled. I watched it happen again.
I watched him hurt mom again. But there was nothing I could do. I could not stop him. He would soon stop when he's had enough.
But no matter how long I waited, his fist never stopped. Her loud deafening cries weakened and her nose was broken. His fist was bloodied with my mother's blood but he didn't stop. He dragged her by the hair and slammed her head to the wall.
He was killing her so I tried to stop him but I ended up being punched and knocked down as well. He straddled me and kept on bashing my face.
"You useless garbage, I never wanted you and that whore as my family!"
Amidst it, Mom managed to speak a few words.
"I'll get you arrested! I'll call the police! I'll put you and your women and children all to prison!"
My father suddenly stood up and kicked my mother in the stomach.
"You piece of shit! You whore! Don't you dare!"
I didn't know how or where he got that. Maybe I missed it since my vision was blurry but he was holding a black machete with a pointed tip all of a sudden. He swung it down, and the floor that was smeared with some blood earlier had now become pure red.
"Mooommm!"
What the hell is happening?
"Shut up! You good-for-nothing garbage." He approached and punched me in the stomach. Next was kicking and lastly, he grabbed my hair to look at my face.
Mom died. He killed her...
"You know, I killed her because she was like that every day. If you won't shut up then," He pointed the machete into my eyes. "I'll have to kill you too."
Immediately, I shut my mouth.
"Actually, you need to die too."
Kill. He is going to kill me... I am going to die. No, I don't want that. I don't want that. I don't want that. I don't want that. I don't want that...
XxxXxxX
I see... I became mad, didn't I?
I went around the house in the middle of the night, searching for something. When the morning came, I took out all the stuff in my bag and put inside a chain, padlock, and the machete that took my parents' lives.
I arrived at the classroom late for an hour but I did not open it and I chained the knob of the door to the window and sealed it with the padlock. Ignoring my classmates' chatter, I walked to the other door of the classroom, entered it, and locked it from the inside.
The other side of that door is the front of the class, and there my teacher was looking at me bewildered.
"Ma'am "
"K-Kanagawa-kun, you are late toda—"
"Kanagawa, you worthless pig! What the hell did you do with the door."
Paying no mind to my classmates, I opened my bag and pulled out the machete.
...So...I...killed them.
The teacher was cowering in fear, but unperturbed, I swung the machete with my right hand, two, three times, and completely severed the teacher's head.
"Kyaaaaahhh!"
I picked the head and then threw it into the wall, smearing it with red.
"Someone...someone help us!"
"Kanagawaaa! You bastard!" Arakita yelled as he approached.
I slashed the helpless Arakita many times until his body fell to the floor. Even after dying his eyes still looked at me like I was worthless so I gouged his eyes and flicked them toward the rest of my classmates.
They all flinched back, but some of them were looking intently at the door I locked. I then pushed the teacher's table to the door and finally...
The slaughter started.
I wonder.
I grabbed a girl by the hair, pulling it until some came off, and then beheaded her.
What was I thinking when I saw them glaring at me, when I saw them frightened, and when I saw them getting killed by my own hands?
Fingers were flying after someone tried to block my slash.
What did the mad me think, I wonder?
"Kanagawa-kun!"
Hanashima...
"Kanagawa-kuunnn!"
Throwing an arm that I cut off, I replied. "...Hanashima, look I killed them... Isn't that amazing?"
No, it isn't... Hanashima... What are you thinking right now, Hanashima...? She is...already crying...
I ignored her and kept on killing until someone stabbed me with a cutter and another with a scissor. Seeing that, all of the strong-willed students in this classroom ganged up on me.
A student carrying his chair rushed and hit me with it, knocking me down. My head hurt, and my vision was turning around. I closed my eyes, and opened them again.
—That was everything that happened.
I am now lying on the floor with the machete swinging down. Soon it will reach me.
I wasn't betrayed, I betrayed her first...it makes sense.
Aahhhh... At the very least...my death...Hanashima, my only friend, will be the one to kill me.
Hanashima Miya, the only person who has truly cared for me, the only one I can trust, the person that I want to be friends with even if I have to fight the whole world.
We have spent a lot of time together, we laughed together, and we even knew each other's secrets. She was always there supporting me and regretting when she couldn't do anything to help me. She was the reason that I had been able to endure anything. I had been living until now because she was there.
She is the most important person in my- life. My reason for living. My raison d'etre.
How ironic.
The only person who kept me alive all this time will also be the same person who will take my life.
But...being killed by Hanashima...the one and only Hanashima Miya...
Don't you think that...it is also...beautiful?
After enduring all this time, I do deserve...this much reward...don't I?
Hey...tell me...
I deserve this much reward...don't I?
- --- ----- End ----- --- - |
"He looks so happy. I wonder who the girl is".Lily was having fun looking at her boyfriend's smile when the girl asked him."Andrei, when will you end your relationship with her? She's bothering us. Besides you took the dar e seriously, I even thought that you really fell for her".Lily's heart beats faster. What was the dare? Why is this girl asking these things to my boy-"Nah, I don't love her at all. She's pissing me with her cringy messages. It's blowing up my phone"."Oh really? How rude!!""Yeah, not only that! She keeps clinging on my arms, I feel disgusted"."When are you going to break up with her?""Well, since she's also been a good friend of mine, I'd want to break up with her on our anniversary"."Eww, anniversary with her!! HAHAHA".And then, Andrei pulled the girl closer and kissed her.Lily can't take the pain. She is hurt so much. She can't believe that Andrei would do this to her."This is why I hate being attached to people".Andrei and the girl walked away and Lily came out from her hiding spot. She ran as fast as she could, so she can reach her house and cry for everything. When she reached the door of her house, she immediately run to her room, locked herself and cried."Andrei, you jerk!!! How could you do this??!! I thought you were sincere and now....... Why am I crying?! After all none of these are true!! This relationship is dare!!!!"Lily keep comforting herself then, she heard her phone ringing."Oyy Lily, you wanted to watch a movie, right? I'll come over tomorrow... Don't bother me anymore, I'm turning off my phone".After seeing the message she got, Lily decided to go with the flow. Their anniversary is two months from now so, she still have 2 months with Andrei. |
*TIME SKIP*
After the School Activities, Andrei walked up to Lily.
"Lily, let's go".
"Oh, Andrei, You didn't forget? This is some kind of miracle hehe".
"Stop blabbling, let's just go".
"Okay (◍•ᴗ•◍)"
Both of them walked together towards Lily's house. The brunette girl feels down knowing that this moment will not last long.
"I just want to be with him. But he doesn't love me".
When they reached Lily's house they took their shoes off and wear the slippers.
"Andrei..."
"Hmmm..??
"What movie do you want to watch?"
"I don't know. Maybe horror or action?"
"Let's watch an action movie! I'm not into horror hehe".
" 'kay"
Both of them sat on the couch while watching the movies. Lily was really into it.
ANDREI'S POV
As they were watching the movie, he looked on Lily who was to focused on the TV screen. He began staring at her on the face. He noticed her beautiful eyes, pointed nose and her pink kissable lips. He couldn't help himself. He is blushing intensely. What's wrong with me?
He looked away so that Lily won't catch him staring on her face.
The movie ended and they were both satisfied. They stretched their bodies to get rid of muscle stress.
"Andrei, that was fun . I wish we can do this again".
Andrei just stared at him and smiled. He held his girlfriend's hand subconsciously.
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that".
"It's fine. We're in a relationship after all".
Lily smiled at him. Her innocent look make his heart flatter . But he didn't feel this way before.
"So weird. Why do I feel like this? I'm not in love with her!" |
His thoughts were interrupted when they heard a loud thunder."Andrei, did you bring an umbrella? I think it's raining heavily outside""No, I forgot"" You can stay here for the night. I don't mind"Andrei was surprised. He didn't expect Lily's offer.*But I don't have an umbrella and it's also very dangerous, maybe I should stay here*"Andrei?? Are you okay?""Uh, yeah. I guess I'll have to stay here""You can sleep with me in my room. I don't want you to sleep on the couch"*What?! No way! I don't want to!*"But if you insist, I can bring you a pillow and a blanket here ""Uhmm.... I guess I'll sleep in your room. I'm not used sleeping on the couch either"Andrei was shocked with her response. He keeps being mesmerized by Lily's smile. He's not his usual self. He didn't care about her at all. But even though, he felt comfortable with these feelings."That's a relief. It's really dark in here when I turn off the lights""Of course it would be dark. Let's go upstairs now . I want to sleep""Okay, I'll just prepare the bed"He waited outside Lily's room. He can still hear the rumbling sounds of thunder. The weather is really bad."Andrei, come in now"He stepped inside and is amazed how her room is so tidy."You can borrow my older brother's pajamas. There in my table""Okay"He walks towards her table and wears the pajamas. Lily is already on the bed when he turned around. He walks to the bed and lied beside her."Andrei, are you comfortable? I can sleep on the floor if you want""No, it's your bed. You must sleep here"Suddenly, Lily hugged him tightly and he couldn't resist. Her hair is nearly on his nose and he can smell Lily's scent. He blushed and smell it again. He can't help himself and hugged Lily too."Andrei, tighter please..""Hmmmm..."He hugged Lily tighter and kissed her head. He knows that this is the first time he had done these things to her.*And it feels so good* |
LILY'S POVLily just arrived in her house. It's been a long productive day but she didn't feel tired. She felt like she can do everything without resting. Then suddenly, she remembered Andrei. She took her heart keychain and stared at it. She can't stop smiling."Even if you're not here, you will always be in my heart"She giggled and went to her room. She changed her clothes and cooked food. After that, she ate dinner and cleaned the kitchen. When everything is done, Lily went upstairs to rest her body for a while and watched a movie. But before that, she took out her phone and saw a message from an unknown number. She unlocked the screen and check out the text. She can't believe what she is seeing right now. Lily clutched her chest and tears in her eyes starts to flow."A-Andrei......"She keeps on rubbing her eyes to make sure she's not dreaming. She thought Andrei really changed for her....she thought everything is fine...she thought......"I thought he really loves me... I wonder if he feels what I am feeling right now..."She cried and cried for one whole night. Her mind keeps on reminiscing all those good times she had with Andrei. Everything was fine just then but why does it have to end like this?She takes a look again on the picture and remembered that she was the same girl she saw with him before.They were lying on the same bed, and barely clothed. She knew something happened between them. She threw her phone out of angered and disappointment.
"You broke me again, Andrei....." |
Lily is staring on her phone after she called Andrei for the 20th time. It's already 9 pm but he hasn't texted her yet. Lily tried to call him again but still, it turned to voicemail ."Andrei, where did you go?!.. Please text me or something!!!!"She couldn't calm herself. What if something happened to her lover?She picked up her phone again and tried texting him. Her hands are trembling while pressing the letters on the screen."Andrei, are you home? Please reply as soon as possible. You're worrying me so much. I love you"."Andrei are you okay? Please call or text me".*30 minutes later*"What's with this guy? He's been giving me a cold shoulder when I try to talk to him".It's already 11 pm when Lily heard her phone ring. She stayed up late just to anticipate the reply from her beloved boyfriend."Oyy..Lily, stop blowing up my phone! I told you earlier that I'm busy!!""I just wanted to know that you're fine. You didn't text me if your already home.... I'm just concerned about you....""Come on, don't be so dramatic! I'm always fine. If you do this again, I'll never talk to you!!"Lily was dumbfounded. She never expected that."Oh....okay. I won't bother you anymore. Just call me if you need something"."I said I'm fine! Don't you know how to read??! Ughh, you're pissing me off!!"After their conversation, Lily still cannot process what just happened. She was hoping for descent replies from her lover. Does he not love me anymore??"You're just thinking that!! Andrei loves you. He wouldn't date you if you mean nothing to him".Lily sighed as she pulled her blanket and went asleep. |
ANDREI'S POVThe next morning, Andrei was awaken by the soft taps on his shoulder."Andrei, wake up. It's almost 10"He got up and looked at her . Lily's hair is still dripping wet. She just took a shower. He smiled at her and suddenly....."Oh, shit! I'm late for school!!"He immediately jumped off the bed and went to the bathroom.Lily follows him."Andrei, did you forget?"He looked at her with a confused face."What?""It's Saturday today"Lily smiled.Andrei realized what day it is. He is too embarrassed and can't look at her."Andrei, it's fine. Everyone can forget dates, too""S-shut up""What do you want for breakfast?""Scrambled eggs""Okay. Just take a bath and come downstairs. I'll be making it"He entered the bathroom and took all of his clothes. He walked towards the bathtub and soaked himself with the cold water."This is refreshing"On the other hand, Lily is busy making their breakfast.LILY'S POVShe is making scrambled eggs and toasted bread for their breakfast. Lily still cannot get over what happened last night. She keeps smiling to herself like crazy.*Andrei is so warm. I want to hug him again*Then, her tears flowed on her face. She remembered what Andrei said about her to that girl from the other day.*I wish I didn't have to witness that. I wish I didn't know that Andrei is just playing around*Then she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. She immediately wiped her tears ." Oh, you're done taking a bath. Take a seat, I'll prepare your eggs""Lily""Yes??""After this, I'm going somewhere. I'll be busy again"Lily knew that her lover is going to the girl. But she can't stop him or else he will get mad."Oh, okay......."ANDREI'S POVAndrei bid goodbye to Lily and left her house.He's going to May.When he reached May's house, he knocked at the door and fixed his collar.The door opened and he saw May in a lingerie."Oh, hey Andrei"She said with a seductive voice."Hi, is that what you're going to wear on our date? It's to revealing""Oh no, I was going to change clothes but you knocked at my door so....""Is that so? Get ready now, we'll be going at 10:30""Noted Sir, come in first""Thank you" |
*TIME SKIP*After May got ready, they got out of the house and went to the nearby cafe. They sat near the window and enjoyed the beautiful view of the seaside."Good morning Ma'am and Sir, what's your order?""Uhm can I have cassava cake please? Andrei, what do you want?""Uhh, maybe chocolate cake. That's all""Just wait for your order, it'll be here in a minute""Thank you"The waitress walked away leaving them alone Andrei's mind is blank and keeps staring at the table."Andrei?"May's voice caught his attention and he looked at her with a shocked face."I'm sorry. What did you said again?""I was talking the whole time and you weren't listening""Sorry""Anyways, you told me yesterday that Lily wants to watch a movie with you? How did it go?Andrei don't know how to answer May's question . He's thinking of some reasons to satisfy her."Uhhh.... it's very....uhhh""What? Did something happen? tell me""Uhmm..."He decided to tell her the truth but...."I slept in her room yesterday""What?! But why? I thought you didn't like her""It's raining heavily last night and I don't have my umbrella! How could I possibly go home?!""Woah, I'm just asking you. Way to aggressive"He's really pissed now . He wants to go home.*I think I just wanna stay in bed and wait for my death*Then, a waitress come at the table and putted down their orders."Sorry for waiting. We're only two on duty so... It takes time taking up all the orders""We don't mind at all. Just do your job, everybody will understand 。◕‿◕。""Thank you Ma'am and Sir. Enjoy (^‿^)"Andrei smiled at the waitress and began eating his cake."So, Andrei. Can you tell me more about what happened last night? I'm curious"He looked at her. He just want to eat peacefully, why can't anybody grant him that?He sighed and begin to talk."We watched a movie, slept and that's all. Don't you dare ask me again""Oops, sorry"They finished their food and Andrei walked May back to her house."Can you stay here? I want to hug you tight (^‿^)"She attempted to hug him but he shoved her away."Not now . I'm too tired. Maybe on Monday?""Sure..... Take a rest . And don't forget~""What?""2 months to go, and we'll have our peace"Andrei's eyes widened when he realized that he's gonna break up with Lily on their anniversary.He's heart ached. He don't know why. He's in love with May for more than 2 years. By the time he confessed to her, May told him that she would say yes if he's going to date Lily for a year.He didn't want to do it cause he don't want her to hate him but, he's desperate to have May by his side. And now, he wants to regret everything."Yeah gotta go now. Bye" |
MONDAY 5:00 PM, AFTER SCHOOLLILY'S POVAfter the club activities in school, Lily decided to go home, when Andrei walked up to her."Lily""Hey, Andrei! Ah, I brought your hoodie. Here!"She gave the hoodie to him."Thanks""Ummm...Andrei, can we walk together?"He looked at her and smiled."Sure, but I won't be coming over. My Mom just texted me, she said that I need to get home as soon as possible""Can I ask why?""She's just being a Mom. She panicked when she heard the news that there's a gang who beats innocent people to death""I've heard of that gang. They're so brutal"Lily steamed with anger because of the gang.It eventually stopped when Andrei giggled."Alright, let's go before it gets dark"Both of them walked out of school. Lily wasn't looking where she is going and tripped along the stairs."Ouch!!""Lily, are you okay?!""I think I twisted my ankle. Ahhh! It hurts! Fuck!"Andrei raised her jogging pants. He gently tapped it, with his finger and see Lily's reflexes."Ouch, Andrei!""Wait for me here""Where are you going?""I'm going back to school. There is a first aid kit there. Just behave, I'll be back"She did what Andrei told to her. She didn't wait long because he showed up before a minute passes.Andrei opened the kit and took out the bandage. He wrapped it around Lily's sprained ankle and secured it with a tape."Is it still hurting?""I feel better. Thanks a lot"Suddenly, he crouched and his back is facing Lily."Andrei, what are you doing?""Ride on my back. I'll take you home""But, what about your mother? She said you nee-""I said I'll take you home. But if you insist, you're not be able to do your club activities for a week or worse for a month""What?! No way!"She immediately climbed on his back. Andrei stands up easily."Lily""Yes?""Do you even eat?""What do you mean?""I can barely feel your ass. Too flat"Lily's eyes widened and she's blushing out of embarrassment."What the fuck, Andrei! You're such a pervert!"Andrei laughed so hard that he's bowing his head down."Fine, fine. HAHAHA! Fuck, my stomach hurts! HAHAHA"Lily slapped him lightly on his back. After that she put her arms around the other guy's neck."Let's go. I want to rest. Continue laughing tomorrow""Okay, hehe(≧▽≦)"They walked home. |
*10 MONTHS AGO*"May, I have something to tell you...""What is it? I don't have a whole day for you to speak up, nerdy""HAHAHAHAHA" May's gang laughing at him."Come on, don't be a coward! We still have someone to beat up" said by the other deliquent.He doesn't know how to put up his words. But he really wanted to confess."I-i....I-like y-you...""Are you gay ? Why can't you tell it to her directly? You know our leader is very precious""Yeah, right. I'll beat you if you keep stuttering"Andrei calmed himself and let out a deep breath. He's desperate."I like you. May"The whole gang of May went silent. They looked at each other with wide eyes. A few seconds later, they began laughing at him ."HAHAHA you're kidding, right?""I like this guy! He's funny HAHAHAA MY STOMACH'S HURTING""You like me ? How bizarre"Andrei gulped."If you want me to be yours, act like us then"The whole gang became silent once again. They were listening carefully to their leader ."What do you want me to do?""You're gonna do everything for me?""Yes""Everything?"Andrei think again. He wanted to withdraw but... it's now or never. He's going to do anything for her."Yes, I'll do whatever you want me to do""Good dog! HAHAHAA" said again by her gang."SHHHH! Quiet. Here's the deal, nerdy. I'll say yes to you if...."Andrei is nervous. He looked like he showered with his own sweat."Only if... you date your childhood friend for a year. I heard she really likes you, that's the reason why you're avoiding her HAHAHA""B-but...""I thought you're willing to do anything I want. What a coward....""Come on, it's only for a year. It won't hurt her " added by someone in the gang."Can I ask a favor?""Hmmm?""Can I have one night to think about it?""How dare you ask that to our leader!""Shhh... okay, if that's what you want. If you can't do it, never talk to me or I'll break your skull"*TIME SKIP*The next morning he made up his mind. He's going to do it. He sounded selfish but I know Lily can understand. She's a good person.Andrei flirted with her and they dated until the present. Lily never know the dirty business he's been doing.Sometimes she just pisses him so much that's why he scowls at her. But, when he and Lily started dating, he had the best time of his life.(A/N : Andrei didn't develop his feelings yet . He treats Lily as his best friend that time)~END OF FLASHBACK~ |
A chilly breeze kissed the tip of Yuna's nose. She moaned in her sleepy stupor as she reached for her phone to check the time — it wasn't there. Under her covers, her hand moved up and down the side of her bed probing for it but she came up with nothing.
It must have fallen onto the floor.
Another icy breeze brushed up against her cheek.
I thought I closed the window...
Yuna sat up in bed and leaned over to turn on the ligh t—
Her light stand was gone. She looked around her room-
Her room was gone. She blinked her eyes over and over again, letting them adjust to the darkness but she was in disbelief of what she saw.
Stars surrounded Yuna's bed, twinkled amongst swirling, dark red nebulas in the deep void of space. The nebulas shifted from dark red to purple and then to blue before going back to dark red in slow pulsing intervals.
"T-this is-s a dream." Yuna touched the side of her mouth where her mother scratched her, feeling slight stinging pain. She looked at her finger and saw a tint of red from her split lip. Everything felt so real.
Yuna frantically looked for a way out and in response, checkered titled platforms rose from the darkness next to her bed forming a sparse bridge. At the end of the bridge was a large building looming in the darkness.
Hesitant, Yuna hovered her foot over the first platform before applying her weight to it. It was cold against her bare skin but the platform held firm despite the fact it was floating in space with no visible support. Yuna grabbed her hoodie from her bedpost and zipped it up over her pajamas before fully stepping off her bed onto the first platform. She looked down and saw clusters of stars swirling in a far-off galaxy. Yuna began to tremble but she clenched her fists and stepped onto the next platform. The building in the distance became closer and closer with every platform she hopped to. Until she finally arrived at a staircase that ascended up to a pair of large wooden double doors. The metal sign next to the door read,"Ravencroft Senior Citizen Home - Visiting hours 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Monday - Friday."
Yuna reached up and traced her hand over one of the metal door knockers-
CREEEEK!
"Jeez!" The door slowly opened; Yuna to jump back.
From behind the door, the twangy sound of a harpsichord could be heard echoing off the walls of the corridor. The instrument made a fast rhythmic progression, moving from soft pizzicato to a strong staccato as the mysterious player played their aggressive melody.
"What the hell is going on here?"
As if in response to Yuna's question, the harpsichord's melody became playful, as if to invite her in. Yuna took a step towards the door and the twangy instrument played a chored. She took another step and the instrument played another chord. Yuna picked up her pace, but the harpsichord keep playing chords to match her steps until she was standing in the middle of a big beautiful lobby which reminded her more of a palace rather than a retirement home. The door closed behind her with a clatter and a click of the lock. The harpsichord changed to a much slower rhythm and was joined by deep booming cello. Together the instruments formed a serene medieval-sounding ensemble.
Yuna looked around the lobby, a crystal chandelier hung over her head and the walls were covered in art pieces and masks from various cultures. From where Yuna stood there were two hallways, one to her left and one to her right as well as a staircase directly in front of her. At the top of the staircase was another set of doors that had a sign that said "Game Room" with dice and playing cards chiseled into the decorative wood. There were candles all over the lobby neatly hanging on the walls in glass containers. When Yuna stepped to the left the door to that hallway shut with a bang and the candles around the door blew out cloaking that side of the room in pitch darkness. When she stepped to the right the door and candles repeated the same actions. Then the rest of the candles in the room went out, leaving Yuna under the sole light of the chandelier.
Suddenly.
The chandelier's light shifted to a deep blue. Then the candles all reignited in sequence up the staircase, their blue flames swayed back and forward to the medieval music coming from the game room beyond.
Yuna's toes curled when she placed her foot on the first wooden step. As she made her way up the stairs the candles behind her dimmed two by two until she was once again standing in front of a big ominous door in the deep blue gloom. She tentatively reached for the handle and tried to turn it but it wouldn't budge. She tried harder, jiggling the handle and putting her weight against the door-
"Frick!"
Altogether the music stopped and Yuna stumbled into the room as the door gave way against her weight. When she regained her composure she was actually disappointed by what she saw.
The room she was now standing in look like any normal retirement home game room. A room with comfortable wooden chairs and folding tables. Nothing about the room was unusual or luxurious as the rest of the building so far-
"Grandpa?" Yuna slid her feet across the rough carpet floor, inching closer to a darkened silhouette in the center of the dim room. There, sitting at one of the game tables was an elderly man with bleach white hair hunched over a game board setting up the little pieces.
"Grand-" Yuna stopped on the opposite side of the table from the old man who looked up at her with kind eyes. He was dressed in a button-down shirt and a sweater vest, typical of an elderly gentleman — but around his neck — a noose that had been cut just a few inches from down the length of the rope, hung like some kind of sick, twisted fashion statement.
"Ah. Yuna, so nice of you to join me." The old man wore a sweet little smile. "Care to have a seat? I already prepared the board for our rematch."
"A-am I d-dead?"
The old man was taken back by the question. "No... I don't think so..."
"But y-y-you are d-d-dead. Y-you ha-have b-b-been d-d-dead for o-over a-a-a y-year n-n-n-ow."
"Huh?" The old man looked down at the noose. "Oh! This? I have must have forgotten to take it off. Does it bother you?"
Yuna wasn't sure how to answer that question. She just stood there staring at what she could only conceive to be a ghost sitting across the table from her. However, the man very much looked exactly like her grandfather. He wasn't transparent or pale or sickly like one would expect a ghost to look. He looked like a healthy old man, which is much better than the last time Yuna saw-
"There," the old man said removing the noose from his neck. "Now have a seat. I want to test your skills to see how worthy you are," he said motioning to the chair.
Yuna sat across from the old man. The room around her seemed to grow darker, the ceiling lamp hanging above the table the only source of illumination. On the table was a game she was familiar with, a game called Camelot. She use to play it with Arthur and taught her grandpa when she use to visit-
"You have look on your face as if you are finally remembering. And I thought MY memory was bad. I told you I would win one day didn't I?" The old man said with a grin. "Time to show you how much I have improved since last time, Yuna-"
Yuna slammed her hands down on the table. "Alright, enough with the charade. I know you are not my grandpa."
"Yuna? I..."
"My grandfather neeeever in my whole life referred to me as Yuna. He always referred to me as little missy." Gritting her teeth, Yuna stared daggers into the old man. "Now... I'm going to ask you this only once. Who. Are. You?"
The old man simply chuckled. "I bring you here and you think you can sit there and make demands of ME? Hahahaha." The old man's irises turned a dark shade of indigo. Gone was the gentle smile of a sweet elderly person and its place was a twisted grin of some strange inhuman creature. "Looks like I underestimated you. Fine. My name is Nodem the Administrator, but you may call me the Game Master or simply The Master, whatever suits your fancy."
"Game master?"
"I have traveled far and wide across this universe and countless other universes studying the very idea of games." The Game Master folded his hands and squinted his indigo eyes. "You know that nearly all cultures play games, but have you ever wondered what exactly makes a game work?"
"Are you going to get to the point or not?"
"No love of theatrical spectacle huh?" The Game Master leaned his head back and stared down his nose at Yuna. "Rules. All games are made up of rules. The very thing that makes up the backbone of society all starts with children playing tag or red rover or hanaichimonme or what have you. Seriously, have you ever stopped to think about that?"
Yuna folded her hands and rested her chin on them. "What? The fact that children make up games with rules and the whole goal of the game is to play within those rules?"
"Exactly!" The game master spread his hands with a childish grin. Yuna raised her head off her hands and glowered in disgust. Though this thing used her grandpa's face its mannerism was nothing like his. It gave Yuna the creeps.
The game master produced an open palm. "The very essence of a game is the limitation - the rules. Rules make the challenge and the challenge makes it fun. Even after a child grows up and becomes a member of society rules are what shape that functioning society, but at some point, to them, the rules are no longer fun challenges to play with. They are just inconvenient trivialities to most, but that doesn't make them any less important now does it?"
"No," Yuna said plainly.
"Now within a society, there are those who play within the rules of what is normal and socially acceptable but don't outright break the rules-"
"If you are going to make the cliche analogy of "life is a game," then I think you are mistaken," Yuna moved her lips to the side in irritation.
"Oh? Skipping right to my point huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"Continue that thought," the Game Master said waving the front of his fingers toward Yuna. "You may find that our philosophies are as different as you think."
Yuna sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Sure life has rules, hell, the very laws of nature have rules, but to say they are a game is to say we actually have control over what happens. We as humans DO NOT have control. If that were true then the man whose face you are wearing would still be alive, my mother wouldn't be a drunken monster, and my best friend would not be sitting in a hospital room waiting for the grim reaper to come knocking on his fricken door."
"Choice and circumstance, huh?" The old man twirled the noose in his hand. "We MAKE choices in REGARDS to our circumstances, but ultimately our choices do NOT completely determine the outcome. That bit of chance IS what makes life a game, the chance you will win in life and the chance you will lose. Of course, some will choose to lose on purpose..." The game master slapped the noose against the palm of his hand; Yuna's blood ran cold in her skin. "But... that choice was still theirs all the same.You seem to have this notion that there are some things in life that have already decided, destined as it were. What if I told you you could
break
those rules just this once. What if I told you that that one desire you have, that one wish, could become reality? Would you be willing to give your life for it?"
Yuna stirred in her chair.
One rule-breaking wish?
"Of course, in the spirit of our conversation, there will be a couple of conditions. First, for simplicities sake, your wish can only affect the destiny of one person, whether it be you or... someone you love, perhaps."
Yuna curled her fingers against the table.
"The wish itself must be tangible. I will not be making you into a god. Besides, life actually can get quite boring when you are all powerful."
Yuna nails continued to dig into the table.
"Second, you need to beat my game." The Game Master tilted his head trying to see Yuna's eyes under her bangs. "So my dear. With those two conditions in mind. I'll ask again. Would you be willing to give your life to gain what you desire?"
Yuna slowly raised her head, gazing directly into the Game Master's indigo eyes.
"Yes... I would..."
The Game Master's face morphed into a yellow toothy grin. "Excellent." He folded his hands once again. "Now, because I went through all the trouble of getting this setup. How about we play a quick match. After all, I hear you are pretty good at this game."
Yuna looked down at the Camelot board. At a glance it looks like a chessboard, but with a number of distinct differences. The main square of the board was ten by twelve three with additional rows on each of the player's side of the board. The additional rows were made of ten spaces then eight spaces with the last row directly in front of the player is only two spaces. In the middle of the board, each player had two rows of troops which were just two spaces across from the enemy troops. The front row of troops was six across with four pawns and a knight on each end. The back row of troops was eight across with six pawns and a knight on the ends just like the front row.
The game plays out in turns. Each player can take a turn to move one of their pieces by either moving to an adjacent space or jumping another piece. Pawns are only allowed to jump either your own pieces or your opponent's pieces but can't do both in the same turn. However, once a pawn has jumped over a piece it can keep jumping as long as there are pieces to jump over, if those pieces are enemy pieces they are destroyed. Knights on the other hand have the special advantage of being able to jump both friendly and enemy pieces in the same turn. The goal of the game is simple, either annihilate all the enemy troops or get two of your own troops onto the two spaces on the far side of the board also known as capturing the castle.
Yuna marveled at the game set. Her pieces were tiny detailed carvings of little soldiers with spears and knights on horseback made out what looked like emeralds. The enemy pieces on the other hand seemed to be made out of rubies. The board itself had a wooden base and the spaces looked like they were woven with grass, the alternating checkered patterns resembling a mini battlefield. The two sets of species on either end of the board were raised and made of stone, like tiny castles. This was a much more luxurious version of the game than the one she has played with Arthur when they were kids.
"Alright, I'll take you on Mr. Nodem," Yuna said with a smirk.
"Visitor gets the first move my dear," The Game Master said mirroring Yuna.
Yuna jumped one of her front-row pawns over the pawn behind it, placing it in the back. The Game Master moved one of his back row pawns so it was now next to his knights. Yuna repeated her same action with another pawn in her front row and the game master repeated his action but this time on the opposite side of his troops.
Each player continued to move pieces around until they each had their own formations. Yuna's troops were split down the middle with two clusters of seven - five pawns and two knights. She had her formation set up so there was a three-space gap between her clusters, just enough so if an enemy troop moved in range a knight could destroy it. The Game Master on the other hand formed a wall that spanned almost the length of the board, the pawns making the ends and the knights towards the middle.
"I see you are taking a defensive position." The Game Master moved a pawn.
"If you are trying to get into my head it won't work," Yuna moved a knight to the back of one of the clusters.
"Hehe." The Game Master moved another pawn. "That strategy seems familiar somehow... You didn't use it the last time we played-"
Yuna glared at the indigo-eyed freak and moved one of her pawns.
"My, my such passion," The Game Master said moving one of his knights into position. "Do you think Arthur would be proud to see you using his formation?"
"SHUT! UP!" Yuna moved jumped a pawn with her knight so it was now in front of the cluster.
"Hehehehe." The Game Master sneered. "It seems you don't have your boy-toy's touch in more ways than one." The Game Master hopped one of his knights down his train of pawns and then over Yuna's knight and two of her pawns before stopping in front of his wall of pieces. Yuna's knight and two pawns popped into crystalline dust with glass-like shatter before a breeze blew the dust away. "So disappointing."
Yuna's eyes were hidden in the shadow of her bangs.
"Oh come now, my dear." The Game Master said, drumming his hands on the table. "The battle has just begun and you are sulking. Is it because I mentioned Ar-
Yuna looked up at the Game Master with her own twisted grin. "Gotcha." Yuna jumped one of her knights from one cluster of pawns over to the other cluster then up The Game Master's line of pieces before ending at the far end of the chain.
POP! POP! POP!
One after another the Game Masters pieces began to explode into dust until he only had four pawns left, scattered from each other on the board.
"You should have paid closer attention," Yuna said, still wearing an evil grin. "When you make a chain for your knights to travel on, the enemy can also use that chain. It is better to make small chains rather than big ones. Even if you manage to nab a few of your opponent's pieces, if your opponent is ready for it then they can turn the tables in an instant. Although it looks like I wasn't able to wipe you out entirely. If you want to try to re-group and make a dash for my castle then you are welcome, but with no knights, I doubt you will last very long."
The Game Master eyed his four remaining pawns and then looked at Yuna. He didn't seem at all shocked, in fact, he seemed pleased. "This is exactly the kind of person I thought you were underneath. Always thinking a few steps ahead." The Game Master clapped his hands and the rest of his pieces turned to dust. "You win this round."
Yuna breathed a sigh of relief. She was kinda disappointed, her matches against Arthur use to go much longer and tended to end with both of them with only two pieces left.
"Now," The Game Master said. "Time for your reward."
"Yes, I want yo —"
Before Yuna could voice her desire a tiny figurine appeared in front of her in a flash of light. Yuna picked up the figurine and held it in her fingers. It was a tiny green stone carving of a Jester. It was in a stance as if it were winding up to pitch a baseball. The Jester wore a cap with four prongs splaying off and had a little bomb in one of its gloved hands. The detailing was so perfect it almost looked like an actual person.
"What is this?" Yuna said with a hint of irritation. "Didn't you say I got a wish for beating you?"
The Game Master waggled a finger at Yuna. "I said you get a wish if you beat MY game. Camelot isn't MY game."
Suddenly, the Jester figurine burst in an explosion of light causing Yuna to blink in suprise. She pointed a finger at the Game Master. "You-"
Yuna's finger began to crumble, then her hand, then her arm. Soon her whole body began to turn into dust. Yuna let out a scream which end in an echo as her dust was carried off by the wind.
The Game Master waved playfully at Yuna's dust cloud as it was blown out of the room. "Welcome to my world, Yuna Serizawa. HAHAHAHAHA!" |
*TIME SKIP*Andrei reached their house about 6:10 PM. He opened the door and his Mom was waiting for him.He looked at her from head to toe. A few seconds later, his father came.*Why are they wearing a party hat?*"Andrei, why are you late? The foods gotten cold""I told you to come home early, so why is it already 6:10?!""Because the time is moving?..."His parents looked at each other and then looked at him."He has a point, Darling...""Yeah... Oh I forgot to tell our son about the occasion today~""What is it? You guys look weird...""You know, we just heard the news, and...""Have I told you about the gang who beats people?""Hmm. What about them?""THEY GOT ARRESTED!""THEY GOT ARRESTED~"
Then his father took out the party popper and popped it. His mother got a little trumpet and blew on it. Andrei covered his ears cause they're too loud."You guys.... threw a party...just for that?""Yeah! I mean, everybody can have their peace now. They can walk in the neighborhood without worrying anymore. See?""Yeah yeah..""Come on, son we prepared a lot for this. We need to celebrate!"Andrei smiled at them.*I didn't know my parents are bunch and of weirdos. But I'm so lucky to have them. They're the best parents ever*"Let's go! I'm hungry"After they finished eating, Andrei went into his bedroom and slammed himself on the bed.He takes out his phone from his pocket and there were many notification of Lily's messages. He opened and read the contents.From: Ugly Lily❤️"Andrei!""I have something to tell you! Eiiii~!!""You know, I just watched the evening news and...Remember the gang who beats innocent people? OMGGGG!! THEY WERE ARRESTED!!""Like Omg, I'm so happy!! And I want to celebrate this so I baked a cake and designed it with flower meringues and for the message I wrote ✧World Peace Once Again ✧, and I took a photo of it. Wanna see it?"*Ugly Lily ❤️ sent a photo*"Isn't it nice? And, I reserved two slices for you. I'm going to bring it tomorrow! See you, I love you Andrei😍😍"Andrei can't stop himself from smiling with Lily's messages, she sounded childish but for some reason he loved this side of her."It has to be celebrated coz the number of criminals decreased!""Is that so? Actually my parents also celebrated it. They look so funny. They even bought a party popper and party hats which are way too extra"He suddenly realized that his parents and Lily have a lot of similarities."Really? That's fun!🤩""But, my Mom didn't bake any cake and you just said you made one so... I kinda crave for it""Want me to bring three slices for you tomorrow?"That would be awesome♡♡" |
He walks himself to his house. When he reached the door, he saw his Mom and Dad on the couch."Andrei, where are you last night? We've been worried sick!""Sorry, I was with a friend last night and the rain suddenly poured heavily.... I forgot my umbrella""You could've texted us! Please, please, please, don't wander off without our permission!""We just heard the news last night, there is a gang that beats innocent people to death. Be careful, Andrei""Of course, Mom. This won't happen again"After the conversation with his parents, Andrei locked himself in his room and slammed his body on the bed.He let out a heavy breath and got up again. He changed his clothes and went back to bed.He is about to close his eyes when his phone ringed . He checked it out and saw Lily's text. He's heart skipped a beat. The message goes like this."Hey, Andrei. I'm sorry if I disturbed you but you left your hoodie here. Are you going to pick it up?"He tapped his phone to reply out of excitement. He can't help himself. All he want to do right now is to talk to her." It's fine and I'm in my room right now. About the hoodie, can you keep it? I just got home. Maybe on Monday, I can pick it up"" Do you mind if I'll wash it for you? Cause my detergent smells like vanilla, in case if you hate that scent"Andrei's face lighten up and replied to Lily immediately."No, I don't mind at all"* I don't mind if my hoodie smells like you ♡*"Ok. See you on Monday, Love you"Andrei tapped his phone screen to reply "I love you too" but he won't sent it. Suddenly, his Mom entered his room and he accidentally pressed the send button."Oh shit! No, no, no! How to erase this?!""Andrei, is something wrong?""Uhhh, nothing's wrong . It's just uhhh...""Hmmm?""Uhh, my classmate accidentally left his uhh book and I have it so... I panicked hehe"He was trying to convince his Mom with his lies when his phone notified a text message."Come on! I know it already, you don't have to say it. You know I'm the shy type hehe(≧▽≦)"He smiled at his phone and replied to the text."Shut up. That was for my Mother. I forgot I was texting you earlier so I accidentally replied""Oh....Okay, continue your work now. Sorry for disturbing you. Please don't be mad"" I'm not mad and I'm not busy now. I have something to fetch earlier so I told you I'm busy...""That's a relief. Have you eaten yet? It's already 6:30 pm""I was about to but you texted""Oh, sorry. Eat now, I'll text you later byeee"He grinned wider and his Mom thought her son is crazy."Honey, who's that?""Just a friend. Uh is dinner ready? I'm hungry""Oh yeah, I almost forgot the reason why I'm here. Yeah, dinner's ready. Come downstairs""Yeah yeah...."He can't stop smiling. His feelings for Lily is something new. He never felt this way to anyone, not even May. |
*1 Week After*LILY'S POVAfter having breakfast, Lily is ready to leave for school. As she opens the door, she saw Andrei standing in front."A-Andrei??""Good morning 😊"She was shocked to see him. Because he never go in her house with his own will."Why are you so shocked? Don't you want to see me?""N-no that's not it. I'm just surprised"She notices these past few days, Andrei has been acting weirdly. But better than before."Let's go now or we'll be late"He let out his hand. She cannot understand what he's doing."What's that for?""You don't want to hold my hand? I washed my hands thrice..."Lily holds Andrei's hand and smiled at him.*It's very soft. I want to hold hands with you forever, Andrei....*They got out and walked together to school.*TIME SKIP*ANDREI'S POVAfter their class, he received a text message from May."Andrei, can you come over to my house tonight? I have something to tell you"He almost forgot about her because of Lily. What's weird is that he doesn't feel overwhelmed."What time will I come?""7:30 PM""Okay. I'll ask permission first"He proceeded to search for Lily's contact on his phone.To: Ugly Lily❤️"Lily""Yes? Do you need something from me?""No, I don't need anything. I have to meet a friend tonight so, I cannot walk with you after school. I'm sorry"He needs to lie again so that she won't know. He wants to finish everything with May. He's ready for the consequences that will happen, especially with Lily. If she will learned what he did to her, I hope that she will forgive me."It's alright, I understand. Please take care of yourself. Love you, Andrei ♡♡""Love you, too...and I mean it ❤️ Bye"His heart skipped a beat after replying to her. He put his phone in his pocket and goes to the washroom.*6:30 PM*AFTER THE SCHOOL ACTIVITIES"Andreiiiii!!""Yes, Lily? Do you need something?""Nope. I just want to give you this"She showed Andrei a heart keychain but it's only half."Where's the other half of it?""I have it! Hehe(≧▽≦)"Then, she showed the other half of the keychain to him. He felt butterflies on his stomach.*So cute*"Oh, did I bother you? It's already 6:45! You said you have to meet someone""You didn't bother me and thank you for the gift. I really like it"He gave her a sweet smile before they split away.While walking to May's house, he keeps on staring at the keychain that Lily gave to him.He remembered the very first time he saw her. |
Then Andrei's Mom entered his room. With her motherly instincts, she had observed that her son is often smiling on his phone."Andrei, who's that?""Nothing, just a friend... What're you doing here Mom?""Oh yeah, I just want to clean up a bit and your school bag seems to be unwashed for a several months now so... would you mind?""Not at all, Mom. My bag is at the corner"ANDREI'S MOM POVHis Mom took his school bag and unloaded it, she came to Andrei's hoodie and smelled it.She remembered that he wore that hoodie last Friday. She's wondering why it smells like vanilla."Andrei?"Andrei is still on his phone, chatting with Lily. He didn't heard his mother calling him.She's to curious and at the same time concerned about her one and only son. So she tiptoed to the back of Andrei and peeked on his phone. She had a bad eyesight and cannot clearly see their conversation. So she leaned closer and he still didn't notice.*Is my son dating someone? He's not coming home early these past few days...*After leaning closer, she got to see the name of the chatmate of her son. She gasped silently with her eyes widened. She run out of the room that caught Andrei's attention.*Why is she running?*She immediately run downstairs and went to her husband who was in the kitchen washing the dishes."Robert!"Robert, Andrei's father, got scared of the yell and shouted in reply."Oh my goodness, Sierra! Stop scaring me like that!""I have something to tell you about our son!"He took off his gloves and faced his wife."What is it?""I think our son has a girlfriend""Really? How did you know?""I got a chance to peek slightly and I saw the name of the girl""TELL ME THE NAME!"Sierra covered her husband's mouth and whispered."Don't shout, you idiot! He might hear you!""Sorry! Just tell me the name already"Sierra took a deep breath and looked directly onto her husband's eyes."Her name is...""Ugly Lily"They both went silent and looked at each other."Are you sure that's her name?""Of course! I leaned very close to his phone without him noticing me"Robert clapped his hands at her."You're so awesome. I can't believe I actually married a superwoman (。♡‿♡。)""😌""But... that girl has a weird name""Yeah..but maybe it's just her nickname but...who would give a nickname like that?"She scoffed."But you know, I trust him. He's a big boy now. He can handle himself. All we need to do is to guide him properly...""You're right.." |
"Wassup, bitch!""Hey...""You feeling down? Want some ice cream?""I'd love to...but I have something to tell you""Spill it""I just saw Andrei giving Lily a piggyback Ride""What?! That little slut, I'm gonna kill him!""Woah, chill! You don't want to end up in jail, do you?""✌️""What happened next?""I don't know... I just cried suddenly. Andrei looks so happy with her.... I'm so jealous""Okay, let me clarify everything... You love him right?""Yeah""Then... WHY THE FUCK DID YOU ASK HIM TO DATE LILY BEFORE YOU?!! CAN'T YOU SEE HE'S FALLING FOR HER ALREADY, DUMBASS!"May couldn't find any answers for Cristine's question. But she's thinking deeply and remembered something very familiar."I'm just trying to protect myself... I don't want anyone to leave me again"Cristine sat down with her best friend and rubbed her back."I know... But that's not the point here. Look Andrei confessed to you because he liked you. You told him to date someone else to prove his love for you and said yes! Did you get my point?"May looked at her and......"No, I don't""Seriously 😒""But..."May looked down. She don't know how to put up her words..... But if she doesn't tell anyone about her feelings, nobody's gonna have a clue about it."I know I got carried away by my emotions when he confessed to me and told him to prove his love for me by dating someone and now, he's falling in love with that person""I want to make up for all of my wrong decisions... I want Andrei for me...only""Then?"May took a deep breath."I'm gonna tear them apart"Cristine stood up and clapped her hands at her. She had a huge grin on her face."Girl, that's the spirit! You're actually thinking HAHA""What do you mean?""All this time, you just realized it now. Think about it, it's been 10 months since Andrei did your task...."Cristine frowned and rested her arms on her waist."STOP STARING AT ME BITCH!! DO SOMETHING!""Okay, okay. I'm still thinking""I have an idea!""What is it?""What about....blah blah blah"Cristine whispered into May's ears. She seems to be liking the idea of her best friend.(A/N: May's Gang don't really beat people. They only use that term to intimidate students) |
ANDREI'S POVAndrei noticed that Lily has been very clingy with him for the past few days. It's already been 4 days to be exact.Before, he'll be pissed with her attitude, but now he wants to hug and cuddle her all day."Andrei""Yes, Lily?""It's Saturday tomorrow. Can we go out?""Where do you wanna go?...""At the park, maybe? I want to have a walk with you..."" You wanna go there at night?"*That'll be more romantic hehe*"Of course! Hehe😘"And they continued to cuddle each other.~5 hours later~LILY'S POVLily sat up and looked beside her to see her boyfriend. She touched his hair and caresses his cheeks.*You're so handsome. I want to see your face everyday. I like how you pretend to love me, because at least I got a chance to touch you. But I don't wanna be a burden anymore. After tomorrow, it's Sunday and our anniversary*Lily tried not to sniffle. Her tears are flowing heavily on her face.She kissed Andrei's forehead, wiped her tears and went downstairs. They are in Andrei's house.She saw Aunt Sierra in the kitchen and tried not to look at her or else she'll notice that she's been crying."Lily, are you hungry?""No, Auntie. I just want to drink water and I'll go back to my house. Andrei is still sleeping and I don't want to wake him up""Oh, okay. Do you want to eat first before going?""No Auntie, but thank you 😊. I'll get going now, bye!"She waved her hand to Andrei's Mom. While walking, she felt the cold breeze touching her skin. It made her face even gloomier and wrapped her arms around herself.A few moments later, she saw a person's figure in front of her . She doesn't think it's a girl cause the shadow is tall.Then, someone called her."Lily" said by the stranger.This gives Lily chills to her spine. With that deep and cold voice, she felt scared. |
*TIME SKIP*ANDREI'S POV~Sunday 5:30 PM~Andrei is getting ready for the evening walk with Lily.After dressing himself, he ate a small dinner and bid goodbye to his parents.*God, this is the best day of my life*He was walking to Lily's house. When he reached the door, he knocked a few times before Lily opened the door for him."Wow"She is wearing a beautiful black dress with a gold heart necklace around her neck. She's also wearing a light make up that highlights her beauty and makes her more attractive.He can't stop staring at Lily...."You look gorgeous......."Lily blushed a bit."Yeah, you too...you look very handsome tonight"They stared and smiled to each each other. It was a awkward moment but they feel so comfortable."Let's go?""Yeah, sure.."Andrei holds Lily's hand. It was really soft...They went first to an water park to see the beautiful sea animals and, then go to a restaurant to have a dinner. After that, they went to an arcade to play game and won a lot of tickets. They exchanged it with a pink teddy bear and he gave it to Lily.They went to a lot of places and lastly, they went to the park to enjoy the starry night.~9:00 PM~They were walking on the bridge when Lily pulled out her hand from Andrei.Her face looks so sad and is about to cry."Lily, are you okay?""Do I look okay, Andrei?""H-hey, why are you like this?"Andrei felt so nervous...."What day is it today?""Sunday, our anniversary...""Yeah, it's our anniversary...."Lily took a deep breath to relax herself and looked at Andrei directly. Her tears are falling."Wait, don't cry! Did I do something wrong?""Yes, you did something wrong!"He is shocked and speechless. He can't remember what he did to make Lily upset."W-what d-did I do??""This relationship...this relationship is your mistake..." |
Andrei let out a smile on his face. He really hate her when they first met each other but now, he can't even stand a day without seeing her.He continued to walk until he reached May's house. He knocked on the door and waited for a couple of seconds before May finally opened it."You came..""Yeah, you said you have to tell me something. I have something to tell you too"May tried to hug him but Andrei shoved her away."Nevermind. Just come in. I cooked something for you""I won't be staying here for so long. Just say what you have to say""I know, but can you sit down first?"He sat down on the sofa while May is in the kitchen, grabbing drinks and food."Here"She offered him a newly cooked meat bun and juice. Andrei accepted it and started eating.May is just looking at him like he's the only guy in this world, which gives Andrei a little discomfort. He swallowed his food and spoke."What're you gonna say?""Why are you so cold? You didn't text me for one whole week. What happened to you?"He didn't answer. He's building up his words, when she spoke."Please break up with Lily"Andrei choked and quickly grabs his juice. After that, he glanced at May and looked down."I'm sorry but it's too late for me to do that. I know that this will hurt you but... I'm in love with Lily"She stands up with an angry look."No! I said you'll breaking up with her. You're mine, Andrei!! Only Mine!"At this point, May really looks so scary. From a chill persona to psycho. But Andrei can't bare the pain, if he's going to loose Lily that easy.He stood up and shouted back."It's my decision if I'm going to break up with her, but I chose to stay cause I love her. I'm sorry! I didn't know how it started but all I want to do is stay by her side and-..."Andrei's vision starts to get blurry. He can't see May's face clearly and it seems like everything is moving."Love her...with all...of my-"MAY'S POVAndrei dropped on the floor and is in deep sleep. She picked him up and dragged him along the stairs, being careful not to bump his head.When she reached her bedroom, she laid Andrei down and undressed him."I'm sorry, Andrei.... But I don't want anyone to have you, even if it breaks your heart"Then she kissed his lips lightly. After that, she goes to her wardrobe and wore the red lingerie. Then, she combed her hair before lying down beside her lover.She took out her phone and takes picture of her and Andrei on the bed."I might regret doing this but this is the only way, I can get rid of Lily... I love you so much, Andrei"She kissed him again on the cheeks and got up. She changed to her pajamas and she also put Andrei's clothes back. After that, she laid down beside him and hugged him lightly. |
LILY'S POVIt's already 6 AM when Lily woke up. She had a hard time getting out of bed because her body felt heavy from crying overnight.She knew she had to stop being with Andrei. She can't let him go easily but she doesn't want to feel any pain anymore.Then she decided to remove Andrei from their friends group chat .Lily removed Andrei.Mike: "Wait, why did you remove him?"Ryan: "Yeah, is something going on between the both of you?"Lily: "Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm going to add him back as soon as I'm done with my personal business here"Shiela: "What do you want?"Faith: "Lily, it's time for our club activities, why aren't you here yet?"Lily: " That's what I'm going to tell you. I'm not feeling so well so maybe I'm going to be absent today. If Andrei asks anyone from you, tell him I'm at my grandma's house"Syd: Why would you lie to him?"Ryan: "Yeah, I thought you guys were in a relationship? Is everything okay?"Lily: "Were okay. At least he is"Lily: "Now, if you respect me as your friend then do what I told you!"All of her friends agreed.Lily: " Good. Thanks a lot guys ♡♡. By the way, unsent all our messages so that he won't have a clue"All of them unsent their messages and Lily added back Andrei to their group chat. Then she left the group.After she cleared everything with her friends. Lily blocked Andrei's phone number. She was about to cry again but she holds herself."You need to do this. You're too pretty to chase after that guy"Then she pressed the block button on his phone and sighed with relief.*This is so hard*But, she can't hold her tears anymore and starts crying again. All those happy moments were temporary. She never thought of this situation.6:30 AMANDREI'S POVHe's already inside the school when he noticed that Lily is still not there. He called his friend, Ryan""Ryan""Good morning, Andrei!""Where's Lily?""Oh, she'll be absent today cause she's with her grandma""How did you know? Did she texted you?""Yup!""Why didn't she let me know first?"Andrei's heart starts to beat faster. He took a deep breath to relaxed himself and smiled at Ryan.*What's with this feeling? Is something going to happen? I wish not☹️*He goes to his classes while still feeling uneasy. |
~TIME SKIP~I've never been this happy in my entire life. May learned to let go of me and started her new life with Troy. My other friends are also dating, but Syd.... let's not talk about him.We are in the park because we're having a picnic with the other guys. I called my lover who is watching Mike and Ryan playing with each other."Lily.....""Yes, Andrei?""I love you.....""I love you, too"Then we leaned forward to kiss each other's lips. She smiled sweetly to me and I feel like my face is burning....."Ryan" called by Mike."Yeah""I love you, no homo""I love you, too no homo""What the hell is wrong with you two?! We all know that you're dating! Can you stop adding "no homo" in your cringy sentences?! Ugghh""You're just jealous cause you have no one to date" said by Mike to Syd."Ohhhh.... STRAIGHT BARS!""I hate you all!""Cut it out. You're so noisy""Guys calm down! We're supposed to enjoy not fight""I know right. But our precious Syd is bitter. Let's refer him to someone""Uhm... May has a friend. She's tall, beautiful and single...""Wait, really? What's her name?""Cristine""Do you have her number?""No, but I can ask May""Can you?👉👈"I called May let her ask Cristine to come to the park. After a few minutes, we saw a tall figure coming towards our place."Hey Cristine""Yow, why'd you call me? Something wrong?""Well, you're single, right?""Yeahhhhhh, it's been tough! Boys are afraid to me...."Syd just came back from the toilet and is running already. He's still catching his breath."Is (breath) she.....here (breath) yet?""Yeah""Uhmm..Hi?"Syd looked at the blonde girl. His eyes sparkled with joy."Uhhh hi....hehe""My name's Cristine, by the way. What about you?""Uhhh.... I-im S-syd...""Why are you stuttering?""C-cause y-you're s-so p-pret-tty""You think so?""Yeah? You're hair r-really l-looks g-good on you...hehe"Cristine blushed a little and Syd is scratching the back of his head. I smiled and looked at Lily."Okay, stop flirting.... You can talk in private later. I'm hungry!"A/N: I apologize for the late released everyone 😩, I got busy with my school activities 🥺. Anyways, just a few chapters and Loving You Had Consequences will end. Stay tuned everyone (≧▽≦), thank you for supporting my first novel. Love you (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ |
"Lily, Andrei was hit by a delivery truck. The police said that the break was not functioning and the driver accidentally turned where he is standing""What room he was in? I want to see him""Room 2B"Lily quickly ran to the stairs and climbed until second floor.She searched and found it. She was trembling as she holds onto the door knob. When she got in, Lily saw Andrei sleeping on the bed. There were many tubes on his body. He had a cervical collar around his neck and many wounds on his face."Oh my god......"She bent over to look at Andrei's face closely. She caressed his cheeks softly and holds his hand."I'm sorry......"Lily's voice is hoarse. She's crying again."This is my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone..... Please wake up"Andrei is still unconscious. It's very quiet and can only be heard was the ECG beeping sounds. After a few minutes, she fell asleep.*TIME SKIP*Monday 5:30AMLily woke up from her sleep and saw Andrei's parents cuddling on the couch. She smiled to herself."I'll get ready for school, okay? I'll be back..."She kissed him and went out the room.~FAST FORWARD~When Lily was already in the school, she entered in the club room, all of their friends are there, sitting on the floor. Mike and Ryan are crying while Faith is trying to calm them down.She immediately knew that Andrei got into an accident. She's trying to keep herself from crying to cheer up everyone."Hello, guys...."Lily....""Yeah?""He's gonna be okay, right? He's going to fight....."Lily noticed that Syd's eyes started to water. She pays his shoulders and smiled.
"He's a strong man. He's going to live" |
"Why are you guys so noisy?""They can't do that, Ryan! Where are they? I need to talk to them""I found them at the waiting area"Lily was about to hold the door knob when some nurses came in suddenly."H-hey...What are you doing?! Don't touch him!"Lily is pulling the male nurse's uniform to prevent him from removing any tubes on Andrei."Stop it! He's not dead! He can't be dead!"She is crying with anger. Ryan is also pushing away the nurses. The others are still dumbfounded but they helped protecting Andrei's body.But then, Lily heard someone calling her."Lily....."She looked at Andrei's Mom. Her eyes are red from crying too much and also his Dad who's trying not to cry."Why did you agree with this? You can't give up on your son, right?!""It's also been hard for us! He's our one and only child. And as a mother, I don't want to lose my beloved son...."Sierra continued sobbing. Robert cannot contain his tears anymore."After the doctor said that he has very little chance of waking up, we decided not to let him suffer anymore""Lily....."Sierra holds her hands."I know that it hurts, but as his mother I feel much worse than you. I gave birth to him and I can't possibly bear the pain of letting him go easily. But he needs to rest......""B-but..... I haven't said sorry to him yet!"Lily hugged Andrei while crying. She buried her face on his neck and hugging him tightly."Andrei, please wake up... I'm sorry for leaving you that day..... I promised myself to make it up to you so please....wake up. I need you, I love you"Everybody stopped moving and stared at her. Even the nurses, they are also crying."Andrei! Wake up!"Lily is shaking Andrei's shoulder gently and buried her face again on the latter's neck .
"Please...... Don't leave me....." |
One month had already passed but Andrei is still not awake. Everyone is concerned about him but doctors said they still have the observe him for the meantime.On the other hand, Lily is sitting alone in the park. She pressed her hands together and silently prayed for her lover."Please, wake him up. I need to make it up to him. I still didn't apologize to him, for leaving him alone. Please, please, I'm begging for your mercy......"Then, her tears started to flow again and immediately wiped it.After praying, she went back to the room and sat beside Andrei's bed. Ryan, Mike and Syd are on the couch, busy with their own businesses.Lily touches his hair and kissed him on the forehead. After a few minutes, she started to feel sleepy and asked the 3 guys to check on Andrei for a bit..Along the way, she met Troy."Hey, Lily...""Hey, what are you doing here?""Uhh actually, I'm with May and Cristine . May is still with her own doctor and I'm buying food for us""Oh...okay. But who's Cristine?""She's May's girl best friend. They met in the middle school""Ooohhh.. Is May going to visit Andrei?""I don't know, maybe I'll ask her... Wait, are you busy? You should get going. Sorry for disturbing you""It's not a big deal. I'm just getting a coffee. I'm going ahead then, bye - bye!""Bye! See you later!"They wave goodbye to each other. Lily smiled to herself. She never thought she'd actually make friends with them.After she got her coffee, she found an empty seat and sits there while drinking her coffee.Then, she walked herself to get some fresh air and to avoid the stress.When she went back to the hospital, it was already 10 PM because she had a dinner with May, Cristine and Troy. She silently walked into the room and finding Ryan hugging Mike.She covered her mouth to keep herself from shouting cause of to much gayness. She smiled widely and layed down beside Andrei. She kissed him and slept.~FAST FORWARD~Lily awakened with some gentle taps on her shoulder. She looked beside her and saw Ryan with a nervous face.Everyone is still asleep cause it's still 8 AM."H-hey what happened?""L-lily... I just happened to overhear this but...""What? Tell me what wrong..."She stood up and looked at Ryan with a concerned face."I saw Andrei's parents talking to the doctor. The doctor said that there were no signs of improvement in his health....and he also said that it's better if we'll take off the apparatus from Andrei's body.....""What?! They can't do that!"Lily shouted that made everyone awake. |
~FAST FORWARD~5:00 PMEveryone had already gone home, while me and Lily throws our litters in the trash can."Hey""Do you want to come over?""Yeah, sure"We walked together while holding hands. We were silent and no one dared to start a conversation. After a while we reached my house and my parents welcomed us."Hey, how's the picnic? Did you have fun?""Yeah, we really enjoyed it" said by Andrei to his mom."Mom, she's going to spend the night here. Is it okay for you guys?""Sure, no problem! I want my future daughter-in-law to get used to here hehe""E-eh?""S-stop it, Dad"I blushed furiously and looked at Lily. After sometime we're in my room, she is at the balcony staring at the sky.I walked up to Lily and gave her a hug from the back, that made her jump up a bit."You scare me haha"I sniffed her neck and kissed it. I rested my chin on her shoulder and looked up."Did you remember when you invited me in your house to watch a movie and stayed there for the night cause it began raining?""Yeah. That was the best day of my life, cause I got to hug you, hehe""It's the best day of my life, too....""What do you mean? You're also dating May that time right?""Yeah. That night, I wasn't expecting that my life will begin to change direction. I didn't know myself that time and..... while both of us are sleeping on the same bed, I was at peace"I stared at Lily."Then, I gave myself sometime to think about my feelings for you. I began to feel butterflies in my stomach whenever I talk or see you. I didn't know how deep is my love for you but there's a lot of things that you made me realize all through out this relationship, that love means no limit, love never fails and true love knows no boundaries. We experienced a lot of challenges in our relationship, I thought that it's really the end. At first I treat you like a trash and I even have a relationship with another girl. I didn't expect that you'll still forgive all of my sins and stay by my side until now. Thank you.......Lily's eyes begin to tear up. I wiped the teardrop on her face and hugged her tighter."Thank you, too Andrei...... Because of you I learned how to wait. I learned how to be strong. Because of you, I experienced how it's like to be in love.....the happiness, the pain..... Thank you for everything......I caressed Lily's cheeks and kissed her forehead. We both looked up and stared at the night sky."The moon is beautiful isn't it?"I stared at Lily who's smiling at me."Yes..."I touched her hair and slowly lean on her. For a moment, I feel like I'm in heaven. We kissed each other's lips passionately for a while like it's only the two of us in the world. We parted our lips and a sweet smile appeared on our faces. Lily rested her head on my chest.
This is what I've been waiting for.....
Our relationship may not be the best but, we can always work it out cause we have trust. You can love anyone and don't be afraid to be judged, it's your life and live it your way.....
~THE END~
A/N:
Please accept my apologies everyone for releasing the new chapter late. I had other commitments which ended up taking my time.Anyways, Loving You Had Consequences has finally ended 🥳 Thank you for supporting my first novel until now (≧▽≦)Please keep supporting me in this journey and look forward for my next novels in the future. Btw, I'm already working on it. I just need to organized the story more hehe (≧▽≦)Thank you again, Love you ( ◜‿◝ )♡ |
He's still walking around the park, with his tears flowing down through his cheeks.He keeps looking at the sky. The clouds are dark and thought that it might rain later, but he didn't care.He found a bench and sat there. He covered his face and cried even harder. Suddenly, the rain poured down."Lily....."Andrei kept saying Lily's name and didn't dare to move from his seat to take a cover."I'm sorry for what I did to you. I want you back...."A few moments later, he stood up and started walking slowly along the sidewalk. He didn't mind his wet clothes and being cold.Suddenly, a loud honk from a big truck was heard.THIRD PERSON'S POVI was driving a delivery truck to deliver some goods. I thought this travel would be peaceful, but I was wrong.I was deaccelerating my speed because of the traffic. But, the break is not working. I keep pressing my feet on it as hard as I can.I beeped and beeped so that I can give warning to the surroundings. Everything was out of my control and accidentally turned the steering wheel....Did I just......I got out of the truck and saw someone laying on the ground.He was surrounded by a lot of people. Subconsciously, I bent over and checked the victim. He's covered with his own blood. I asked someone to call an ambulance.LILY'S POVShe got home before the rain started. She went to her room and locked herself.She cried very hard while hugging the teddy bear that Andrei gave her at the arcade."I just need my time, Andrei...""I want to heal first. And then, we'll start again..."When she's in the middle of breakdown, she received a call from Auntie Sierra."Hello? Auntie....*sniffle""Lily....."Auntie Sierra is crying and she got worried even if she's crying too."H-hey what happened?""It's Andrei....Andrei's mother continued to cry. Lily's tears halted and she got nervous."W-what happened to him? Is he hurt? Where is he?""Come here at the hospital. He g-got hit b-by a......"The latter failed to continue her sentence when she cried harder. Lily is breathing heavily and immediately ended the call.She got dressed and ran out of her house without any umbrella. All she was thinking is Andrei.*This can't be happening! I still need to make things right for us. I just need time! Please, don't do this to me, Andrei....*She ran as fast as she can, even if her knees began to swell again. She's already near the hospital.When she got in, Andrei's parents are waiting for her."Auntie, where is he?"Sierra can't say anything due to crying. Robert just keep rubbing her back to calm her down. |