Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Capricious Infection ❯ Act 8: Secret Admirer ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
XxXxXx
Capricious Infection
Act 8: Secret Admirer
By: Melissa Norvell
XxXxXx
“My next move is what brings us here,” the Dius explained, holding out an arm as the colors are drained from their backdrop and it merely resembled a sepia toned landscape, frozen in time. There was a slight green tint to it that was even noticeable through David’s shades. Everything was dead silent. No one could hear anything, not the wind rustling through the trees nor did they hear the slightest chirp of any bird. For once, he truly felt as if it was just the two of them. “This will be where you learn to control your powers. I have opened up a parallel universe here so nothing you do can affect your current setting. Destroy as much as you like here.”
The planet was an unstable place that did not need strange time occurrences to combat its further unrest. If David’s time powers ran rampant, they would do so in a contained area that would not deal irreversible damage to the earth as it was. Oz could not deal with his own pupil to be dooming his own paradox.
That would just be reckless.
“So wait, are we just going to wing it?” Tony questioned as he glanced to the two with a quizzical expression. He didn’t quite get what was going on, and no one was making it any easier on him, either.
Oz turned to him, “I’ll be here to teach you how to better command your weapons. Consider me your personal trainer.” Whether they liked it or not, they had to contend with him in one form or another. Hopefully this would not become an epic failure. He longed to see if this bunch of kids could be what he had envisioned. As long as they passed the test, Oz would be confident that he made the right choices.
XxXxXx
Lannad walked around outside of the school building, stepping over piles of rubble and debris as she held the black feathers in front of her face in contemplation. ‘Could he truly be here? This whole situation has a lot of loop holes. We’re supposed to stop the Messiah from awakening Chaos. However, the school was destroyed and everyone was killed. Chaos would be needed to do that. Does that mean that Chaos is already awake?’
Was that why it was so important that they master the skills of their respected weapons? Was that why Oz gave them these jobs and special abilities? That Dius had to know something, much more than he would dare admit to any of them. Her eyes narrowed, looking as if their piercing blue gaze would bore a hole directly through the feathers in her grasp as her features hardened.
“Hurry up, Lannad! We have to get to your shrine. The more time that goes by, the more people die,” Mae reminded her that time equaled a death toll right now. It was crucial that they not waste time with idle thoughts.
“Mm!” The blue-haired girl nodded, looking up from her feathers as she picked up her pace and ran after her two friends, headed for her the shrine where Chaos was held.
XxXxXx
Rezzi stood there, having absorbed all of the information that the winged man told her. Tarvos had informed her of the things that he held knowledge of, as well as his motive and function during this course of their mission. It all made sense, when she thought about it. Nothing was a coincidence: the fact that they were spared from the high school murder, the fact that Tarvos met her, the contact with capriciouscarnage, and her part in the game itself. This was sheer inevitability.
“I understand now. I think I know why we were chosen for the job by Oz,” she spoke upon hearing his explanation.
“Yes, it’s part of the reason that I’m here. Just know that you can’t speak a word of this to the others,” Tarvos warned, and if anything got out he would come after her. That was a promise and not a mere idle threat. Tarvos has a way of enforcing what he said, no matter who it was on the receiving end.
“I’m aware of that. After all, I’m the blind prophet. The things I envision, I cannot tell or someone might try to keep it from happening.” Things applied for both sides of the story. It wasn’t just that he would be found out; it was that someone may try and stop their plans from bearing fruit. Such a thing was crucial in their mission on this dying world. There was no cause for errors, no matter what magnitude they were at. “You, Tarvos, will help my visions become truths in this world.”
“If you can handle the consequences of your position, then I’ll help you out. You know the sacrifice,” the demon leveled her with a serious expression. If she accepted the terms and realized her fate, then she was already half way there.
Rezzi frowned and her gaze hit the ground. The girl’s voice was low and serious. “I am aware of that. I know it won’t be easy. We’re talking about high stakes and lives.”
A smile crept to his black and white skin, “I think, out of everyone where, you might just know your job the most.”
The blind girl turned her head back to him, “I have you to thank for that. You managed to fill me in on a lot of things, being who you are. You know, they’ll figure you out soon.”
“They’ll come to know me shortly. There are still moves to be made until the first act is complete,” his words were ominous, but now that the blind girl knew the reasoning behind them and what must be done. This was for the greater good of the planet, so she would act accordingly.
XxXxXxXx
Mae slowly slid open one of the massive, red shojo doors of the small shrine. It was eerily quiet, as if no one was there. The blonde slowly stuck her head through the small opening that she made and glanced around in the darkness. A hello in the form of a question rolled from her pink lips as blue eyes scanned the area and she cautiously stepped into the barren room. “Aparo, Sumugi, Koiza?”
Ringo stepped in behind her, standing a person’s length away with his hands stuck in his pockets. He peered through the dimly lit room. “It’s dead quiet in here.” Soon after, Lannad stepped into the room with a bothered expression riddled onto her face.
“Do you think they’re gone?” The blonde glanced back to her two partners.
“They never leave. Even if they do, it’s one at a time. Someone is always at the shrine. I feel like something bad has already happened.” Whether it was Chaos or not was a whole different story, but there was something unsettling about the shrine. Lannad could feel it down to the very marrow in her bones.
“We should look through all of the room and see what we find,” Mae instructed. If someone was somewhere in the shrine alive, then they would at least be able to get some sort of answer as to why this place was so mysteriously silent.
“Right, I’ll take the left and you go right,” Ringo coached as he pointed to their respected directions.
“Got it.”
“I’ll look outside,” Lannad offered another option. Maybe they were jumping to conclusions and the priestesses were just outside. It was doubtful, but there was always that small possibility. The young priestess headed out back, into the garden that grew herbs behind the shrine. It was also quiet, showing no sign of life. Not even a single bird flew by that spot. “Aparo! Sumugi! Koiza!” She called out to them, putting a hand to her mouth in order to amplify the sound.
She continued to search through the bushes that lay outside of the garden, and then she walked down a small, white, stone path. Along the path, a few feet away from her lay the body of a woman with the same cotton candy blue hair as she had. The body didn’t move.
“Koiza!” Lannad screamed and quickly ran to the fallen woman’s side. Upon further examination, a long, vertical cut was made down her back. Lannad fell to her knees, shaking the priestess, in hopes that she passed out from blood loss. “Koiza! Koiza! Koiza!” Her voice became more and more desperate for a response with each repetition. Tears clung to her innocent eyes as she was only responded to with silence.
It was then that she realized the horrible truth, “she’s dead, too.”
Ringo opened another sliding door to a side room. His eyes went wide with horror and fear, and an overpowering smell nearly caused him to puke. Gagging, he quickly covered his mouth. The room was covered in blood; there was not an inch of it that was not splattered in some form or fashion. Quickly shutting the door, he saw what were remains of decimated bodies. Whatever happened here put the carnage of what happened in the school to shame. ‘My god! That didn’t even look like a person.’
He had to tell the others.
Lannad managed to make her way to a river that flowed gently behind the shrine. Sometimes, the priestesses went there to meditate or collect water for ceremonies and to prepare tea. Maybe someone was here. She could only hold a small glimmer of hope that they were. As she strolled by the running waters, examining the surrounding area for a body, she noticed what looked like a purple ribbon floating by. Running ahead, she got to her knees and reached out, snagging the wet piece of fabric, “this is Aparo’s.” She said to herself as a mass of black floated by. She reached out and grabbed it, pulling the owner of the ribbon’s severed head out of the water.
Her eyes widened as they stared down the glazed over eyes of the priestess, and she let out an ear piercing scream.
Mae rose up from looking under a kotatsu, her ears picked up the faintest of noises. “Lannad!” She shouted and darted out of the shrine, crashing into Ringo. They both stumbled back. “Did you head that?”
“Lannad screamed. She said she was going outside,” his voice was frantic, and he could only think the worst. Ringo dreaded the thought of his friend running into the Messiah or Chaos.
Mae pulled her sword out of its sheath, which was attached to her back. The girl wore an angry expression, filled with fire and determination. “I’m going to cut a bitch if she’s dead! Good thing I took fencing.” She quickly ran towards the river, followed by her boyfriend.
This was too much for her to take. First, she had to watch her classmates get killed and now the priestesses she had known all of her life had been slain as well. Tears streamed down her face as she set the head of the once admired priestess in the grass. ‘Everyone’s dead here. They have the same wounds as my school mates…I wonder if they’re from the war scythe? But why? Why would the Grand High Messiah do this? Is it to take revenge for what Londa did to Chaos? If that’s true then…’ Her thoughts cut off and her eyes widened as the realization hit her, “I could be next.”
The words poured from her lips as Mae and Ringo stumbled awkwardly through the bushes. Ringo called out her name and Mae darted to her side, asking if she was okay before she saw the severed head and screamed, propelling herself backwards with so much force that she nearly fell.
“That’s tame compared to what I saw,” Ringo replied as he walked up and saw the head, lying at Lannad’s knees.
The girl rose, her crestfallen gaze concentrated on the head’s expression. “I’m alright…but everyone here is dead.”
“I’ll say. I found what was left of a body in one of the rooms. I’m not sure we could bury it if we tried,” Ringo’s voice lowered as he turned around, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes with a deep-set frown.
“Everyone here has been killed…just like my classmates,” the young girl’s voice was filled with solemn dread.
“What’s this Grand High Messiah’s aim? Why does he want to destroy the world so badly? Can’t he just go and kill somewhere else?” Mae sighed as the tip of her sword dug into the ground.
“He’s the grim reaper though, isn’t he?” Ringo turned back towards the two girls.
“Yes…He only kills what is supposed to die,” Lannad confirmed.
“That’s ridiculous!” Mae shot. “How can it possibly be that many people’s turn to die?”
“Lots of people die at the same time, but that’s usually a case of disease, famine or war,” her boyfriend deducted.
“Now we’ll never know the whereabouts of Chaos,” Mae sighed. This was all for nothing. Who even knew if Chaos was free or still bound by whatever spell that Londa cast on him?
“Aparo was the only one who knew Chaos’ true location,” Lannad glanced to her opened hand, which held the lavender ribbon. “Now we won’t ever know.”
“This is bad. We have no leads,” Ringo’s frown only deepened more upon hearing the bad news.
“No one else can even look for Chaos. They don’t know about this. I only told both of you.” No doubt the others were all training for their future battle with the Grand High Messiah. The trio of people beside the river was the only beings knowledgeable that there was a Chaos involved in the grand scheme of things.
“We should go back and explain things. They need to know,” Ringo was right. The more people they had involved, the better the search would go. Maybe one of them knew something, anything that was a small lead would be a great help to their cause.
“Let’s hurry,” Lannad clenched the ribbon in her hand as the three headed back to the position that Oz and the others had been in.
XxXxXxXx
The hills were green, with rolling, deep green grass. Rezzi stood beneath a single tree that was atop of the hill, the massive piece of foliage spilled a shadow over most of the hill and it’s wide-spread branched provided a sense of sanctity for the blind girl who rested her hands on the tip of the handle of her weapon that resembled a wood splitter. The wind blew her long, black hair. A few strands of it obstructed what little vision she had left and tickled her ivory skin, so she moved it behind her ear. ‘Is it right to be so calm while everyone else is working away? Is it strange that I just accept this as fate? That I know what’s going to happen?’ She picked the Dimension Splitter up by the handle, laying the flat end of the blade on her hand. ‘I know my moves. I know them way too well. I just feel like I’m not prepared. When is someone ever prepared for the end? I guess that I’ve slacked off.’
Her phone beeped.
“Who’s texting me at this time of day?” She wondered aloud as she plugged her ear phones into her cell and flipped it open.
You’ve been slacking off, you blind asshole.
She arched an eyebrow. “Who is this?” The girl didn’t have time to answer the text before the phone rang. The tune of Fur Elise started to play as she took her ear phones off, unplugged them and answered the phone. “Hello, this is Rezzi speaking.”
A gruff, sarcastic and condescending voice crept over the speaker. “What in the everfuck are you doing? Stop being a tremendous waste of space. Move your feet, you dumb bitch.”
“How can I do that?” She asked.
“Are you listening to that dumbfuck again? I told you our prime motive. You established alliance with me first,” the voice continued their onslaught of insults.
“Why are you so protective over that? Do you consider me your stratos?” After all, wasn’t that how human lovers acted? This guy was really being an insecure asshole.
“Cease your senseless perversion!” The male on the other line demanded. “I never claimed to feel romantic feelings for you. I’m simply trying to keep you on the straight and narrow.” Honestly, why would she even dare to say such a thing! The last thing he needed was for her to take things the wrong way.
Rezzi frowned, “I question that to a degree.”
“Your claim is denied. Stop being a fucktard.”
“Alright then, what’s my next move? You want me to make one. Do I go and use my powers-“
“No! Fuck you! You already know what’ll happen if you do,” he warned. Didn’t this girl know anything? Did she fall off of the stupid train into retardville or what? Sometimes, he really questioned the intelligence of some of the people who happened to fall into the possession of the weapons and their powers.
“I don’t understand why I even have this power. It makes little logical sense,” Rezzi sat down and cast her blurry gaze to the weapon that lay right beside of her.
“Shut up. You’ll need this power. I personally chose this weapon for you and you will use it,” the mysterious male further demanded.
“I can’t even train with it.”
“Sure you can. You can split skulls and bash heads. You can also ram it through bodies.” There were plenty of things that it could be used for if she cared to find them. Her biggest issue was that she didn’t even try. While everyone else was exploring their weapons, she was sitting off under some tree somewhere admiring the view. How lazy could someone possibly get?
Rezzi shrugged, “gore isn’t my thing. I can’t see that well to know if I caused damage. This weapon seems unfit for me. You should give it to Dante.” It seemed like something that he would like swinging around. This weapon’s power was a burden to her, not to mention she had to be very careful in tackling any kind of magical attack. The girl felt as if the weapon outmatched her skill.
“Fuck you. Dante has a weapon. This is yours. Live with the hand you were dealt and stop bitching.” He proceeded to explain to the girl the reasons for choosing this weapon for her.“ As fellow Libra we govern the very air itself. Our sense of justice reigns supreme. It’s a big fucking responsibility to have that weapon. Stop acting as if it is nothing. In the end, you’ll be swinging the blow of final judgment. Besides, you have lesser powers within it. You can train with it. Depending on what you do, it may or may not cause significant damage to your world.”
“I don’t get why my weapon has to harbor such stipulations,” She frowned. This was troublesome. It seemed more like a weapon that belonged in the hands of a master than in a novice like her. It was like playing Russian roulette. If she used too much power, then she could end her own world. If she used too little, her attack would be ineffective and in battle she could die or get wounded as a result.
“Don’t ask stupid questions. We’ve known each other for years,” Rezzi was not stupid. He knew this more than anyone. If he had doubts that she could not handle a weapon of that magnitude than he would not have entrusted her with its care. Not to mention, it had a special purpose besides being a wrecker of dimensions.
“I haven’t said anything about it. I just call you by your username. I actually don’t even know your real name, even after all these years.” It was a sad fact in itself but she was always happy just talking to him. Inquiring on his identity would be something that he gave up willingly, or at least she thought that he would when the time got right.
“At this point, you don’t need to.” Besides, he liked hiding behind his anonymity at least for now.
“capriciouscarnage?”
“What is it this time?” He could have worn that she had a new question every minute. It was honestly annoying.
Rezzi’s voice softened and became melancholy. “Will I ever see you before I go completely blind?”
With a slightly ‘tch’ in response, capriciouscarnage sighed. His voice broke its barrier of assholiness for a moment to let in a semblance of emotion. “Come on, that’s so heartwarming of a question that you nearly made me throw up in my mouth,” he muttered.
“I don’t mean to be sentimental. I would just like to see you before my eyesight gives out. Even if it’s just a blur,” she was doing it again. Even if she didn’t mean to, that sentence was about as sentimental as it came. However, Rezzi couldn’t take it back and wouldn’t even if she wanted to.
“You’re throwing those gross metaphorical human hearts at me. Stop it, it’s fucking embarrassing.” No, it honestly was. He was blushing over his communication device. Thank whatever higher powers there were that no one could see his face. It looked like a damned colored balloon.
Rezzi sighed. So much for anything syrupy in return.
“You’ll get to see me. Stop it with your fickle emotions. Get off of my ass.” It’s not as if it were easy to be in his position. This human girl would simply have to deal with whatever fondness she felt for him. It was not exactly returned anyway. It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to, but his circumstances would not permit him to grow close to anyone for the time being. That was also something she had to understand.
“You can be nice when you’re not trying to be a hard ass,” she reasoned. If he was just an asshole with no real feelings, then their relationship would not have lasted throughout the years. As harsh as he was, Rezzi knew that it was just tough love and social awkwardness.
“My ass is eternally hard. Do you hear me? No part of my posterior is soft in any way,” he shot back. As if he was something mushy on the inside. Fuck that, it was not who he was in the slightest.
“I guess we won’t talk after this for a while,” Rezzi went back to her calm tone with underlying sadness.
“It’s not like it’s the end of the world-“ He cut himself off. “That was too soon. Entirely too soon. I’m a shit-faced, muck slinger for that ill-classed joke.”
“Thank you…capriciouscarnage.”
“Rezzi…Well… You see…” Okay, enough jokes, it was time to attempt to make a serious confession. He did consider her a friend, a best human friend.
“I hope you’re right.” Considering their situation at the moment, there was room for a large chunk of doubt. They could very well be slain by the Grand High Messiah before they ever saw each other again.
“I just hope you fucking live.”
“I’ll give you gross human hearts on my down time,” she smiled as she teased him.
“…and I shall send you middle fingers.”
“I’m the one who taught you what those meant.”
“…and I shall use it against you.”
“You’re so classy.”
“My class knows no bounds. I have to get you back for showing me your human pornography.” Those were images he would never be able to free his mind from, no matter how hard he tried to purge the images from his thoughts. He didn’t want to know how human reproduced. Damn this bitch and her conniving ways.
“I take it that’s not how you procreate?” She questioned. While she was knowledgeable that they reproduced in different ways, Rezzi was unsure of how exactly the Dius reproduced. Tarvos had not told her about their methods of mating. Part of her was curious to know.
“I am not discussing this with you.” No, no, no absolutely not. This topic was awkward and uncomfortable on so many levels that it was ridiculous to absorb.
“You shouldn’t have shown me that…whatever it was giving birth and I wouldn’t have shown you my porn.” It was an eye for an eye and a video clip for a video clip. What he showed her was disgusting and horribly grotesque. Porn was the softest way to pay him back for such a thing. He was the one who started that video war with her on one of their late night excursions anyway.
capriciouscarnage deserved what he got.
“Do humans…really do it like that?” Now he was just wondering if she was trying to cop him out or not.
“Are you interested in finding out?” Rezzi teased him further before he hung up in her face and refused to dignify her with an answer. Black lips curved into a smile. “You’re so shy about this.”
Her phone beeped again.
“Oh god. What now?” She opened her phone and squinted to see that she had a text from him. Opening the text, she discovered that it was a multimedia message. Rezzi downloaded the photo and squinted to see the outline of what looked like one of capriciouscarnage’s many pictures of a middle finger.
No two were ever alike.
“I swear. I don’t get men. Alien men are twice as hard to decipher. I should just become lesbian. I’d get far less middle fingers,” the girl sighed to herself as she closed the phone.
From over her shoulder, she heard a familiar, feminine voice in her ear. “What’cha doing?”
The girl jumped and brought her hand back, catching herself a moment later upon realizing who it was. “I almost backhanded you,” she warned. Mae should know better than to scare her like that. It was going to actually get her smacked one of these days.
“Was that your boyfriend?” The blonde teased.
“If you think my boyfriend is a middle finger,” Rezzi replied sarcastically.
“Why does he always send you stuff like that? He’s such an asshole,” the girl huffed. At the very least, he could treat her like a lady and not one of the guys. That was so rude.
“He’s just mad because I sent him fetish porn.” It was a good thing that she could not see clearly what she sent. However, it made the justice dealt that much sweeter.
“Oh god!” Mae exclaimed. Never mind. Maybe she didn’t want to know anything else.
“Rezzi, can we talk? I mean…after you get done talking to your boyfriend,” Lannad spoke up, reminding the blond of their real purpose in coming back to the blind girl.
The black-haired teen frowned, “he’s not my boyfriend. Stop letting Mae’s shipping habits consume your mind.”
“He’s a…secret admirer,” her friend wriggled her eyebrows and looked at her suggestively.
“Stop it. He is not.”
“We’re supposed to be paying attention to the situation at hand,” Ringo decided to get the girls back on track. Now wasn’t the time to debate on Rezzi’s love status with anyone. They had some important news to deliver, and small talk was not an option.
“What’s up? You look like someone died.” At least his blurry expression was grave.
Lannad stepped up to her with a dire expression on her face. The girl’s eyes were brimmed with tears upon delivering the bad news. “All of the priestesses at my shrine have been killed.”
…To Be Continued
Capricious Infection
Act 8: Secret Admirer
By: Melissa Norvell
XxXxXx
“My next move is what brings us here,” the Dius explained, holding out an arm as the colors are drained from their backdrop and it merely resembled a sepia toned landscape, frozen in time. There was a slight green tint to it that was even noticeable through David’s shades. Everything was dead silent. No one could hear anything, not the wind rustling through the trees nor did they hear the slightest chirp of any bird. For once, he truly felt as if it was just the two of them. “This will be where you learn to control your powers. I have opened up a parallel universe here so nothing you do can affect your current setting. Destroy as much as you like here.”
The planet was an unstable place that did not need strange time occurrences to combat its further unrest. If David’s time powers ran rampant, they would do so in a contained area that would not deal irreversible damage to the earth as it was. Oz could not deal with his own pupil to be dooming his own paradox.
That would just be reckless.
“So wait, are we just going to wing it?” Tony questioned as he glanced to the two with a quizzical expression. He didn’t quite get what was going on, and no one was making it any easier on him, either.
Oz turned to him, “I’ll be here to teach you how to better command your weapons. Consider me your personal trainer.” Whether they liked it or not, they had to contend with him in one form or another. Hopefully this would not become an epic failure. He longed to see if this bunch of kids could be what he had envisioned. As long as they passed the test, Oz would be confident that he made the right choices.
XxXxXx
Lannad walked around outside of the school building, stepping over piles of rubble and debris as she held the black feathers in front of her face in contemplation. ‘Could he truly be here? This whole situation has a lot of loop holes. We’re supposed to stop the Messiah from awakening Chaos. However, the school was destroyed and everyone was killed. Chaos would be needed to do that. Does that mean that Chaos is already awake?’
Was that why it was so important that they master the skills of their respected weapons? Was that why Oz gave them these jobs and special abilities? That Dius had to know something, much more than he would dare admit to any of them. Her eyes narrowed, looking as if their piercing blue gaze would bore a hole directly through the feathers in her grasp as her features hardened.
“Hurry up, Lannad! We have to get to your shrine. The more time that goes by, the more people die,” Mae reminded her that time equaled a death toll right now. It was crucial that they not waste time with idle thoughts.
“Mm!” The blue-haired girl nodded, looking up from her feathers as she picked up her pace and ran after her two friends, headed for her the shrine where Chaos was held.
XxXxXx
Rezzi stood there, having absorbed all of the information that the winged man told her. Tarvos had informed her of the things that he held knowledge of, as well as his motive and function during this course of their mission. It all made sense, when she thought about it. Nothing was a coincidence: the fact that they were spared from the high school murder, the fact that Tarvos met her, the contact with capriciouscarnage, and her part in the game itself. This was sheer inevitability.
“I understand now. I think I know why we were chosen for the job by Oz,” she spoke upon hearing his explanation.
“Yes, it’s part of the reason that I’m here. Just know that you can’t speak a word of this to the others,” Tarvos warned, and if anything got out he would come after her. That was a promise and not a mere idle threat. Tarvos has a way of enforcing what he said, no matter who it was on the receiving end.
“I’m aware of that. After all, I’m the blind prophet. The things I envision, I cannot tell or someone might try to keep it from happening.” Things applied for both sides of the story. It wasn’t just that he would be found out; it was that someone may try and stop their plans from bearing fruit. Such a thing was crucial in their mission on this dying world. There was no cause for errors, no matter what magnitude they were at. “You, Tarvos, will help my visions become truths in this world.”
“If you can handle the consequences of your position, then I’ll help you out. You know the sacrifice,” the demon leveled her with a serious expression. If she accepted the terms and realized her fate, then she was already half way there.
Rezzi frowned and her gaze hit the ground. The girl’s voice was low and serious. “I am aware of that. I know it won’t be easy. We’re talking about high stakes and lives.”
A smile crept to his black and white skin, “I think, out of everyone where, you might just know your job the most.”
The blind girl turned her head back to him, “I have you to thank for that. You managed to fill me in on a lot of things, being who you are. You know, they’ll figure you out soon.”
“They’ll come to know me shortly. There are still moves to be made until the first act is complete,” his words were ominous, but now that the blind girl knew the reasoning behind them and what must be done. This was for the greater good of the planet, so she would act accordingly.
XxXxXxXx
Mae slowly slid open one of the massive, red shojo doors of the small shrine. It was eerily quiet, as if no one was there. The blonde slowly stuck her head through the small opening that she made and glanced around in the darkness. A hello in the form of a question rolled from her pink lips as blue eyes scanned the area and she cautiously stepped into the barren room. “Aparo, Sumugi, Koiza?”
Ringo stepped in behind her, standing a person’s length away with his hands stuck in his pockets. He peered through the dimly lit room. “It’s dead quiet in here.” Soon after, Lannad stepped into the room with a bothered expression riddled onto her face.
“Do you think they’re gone?” The blonde glanced back to her two partners.
“They never leave. Even if they do, it’s one at a time. Someone is always at the shrine. I feel like something bad has already happened.” Whether it was Chaos or not was a whole different story, but there was something unsettling about the shrine. Lannad could feel it down to the very marrow in her bones.
“We should look through all of the room and see what we find,” Mae instructed. If someone was somewhere in the shrine alive, then they would at least be able to get some sort of answer as to why this place was so mysteriously silent.
“Right, I’ll take the left and you go right,” Ringo coached as he pointed to their respected directions.
“Got it.”
“I’ll look outside,” Lannad offered another option. Maybe they were jumping to conclusions and the priestesses were just outside. It was doubtful, but there was always that small possibility. The young priestess headed out back, into the garden that grew herbs behind the shrine. It was also quiet, showing no sign of life. Not even a single bird flew by that spot. “Aparo! Sumugi! Koiza!” She called out to them, putting a hand to her mouth in order to amplify the sound.
She continued to search through the bushes that lay outside of the garden, and then she walked down a small, white, stone path. Along the path, a few feet away from her lay the body of a woman with the same cotton candy blue hair as she had. The body didn’t move.
“Koiza!” Lannad screamed and quickly ran to the fallen woman’s side. Upon further examination, a long, vertical cut was made down her back. Lannad fell to her knees, shaking the priestess, in hopes that she passed out from blood loss. “Koiza! Koiza! Koiza!” Her voice became more and more desperate for a response with each repetition. Tears clung to her innocent eyes as she was only responded to with silence.
It was then that she realized the horrible truth, “she’s dead, too.”
Ringo opened another sliding door to a side room. His eyes went wide with horror and fear, and an overpowering smell nearly caused him to puke. Gagging, he quickly covered his mouth. The room was covered in blood; there was not an inch of it that was not splattered in some form or fashion. Quickly shutting the door, he saw what were remains of decimated bodies. Whatever happened here put the carnage of what happened in the school to shame. ‘My god! That didn’t even look like a person.’
He had to tell the others.
Lannad managed to make her way to a river that flowed gently behind the shrine. Sometimes, the priestesses went there to meditate or collect water for ceremonies and to prepare tea. Maybe someone was here. She could only hold a small glimmer of hope that they were. As she strolled by the running waters, examining the surrounding area for a body, she noticed what looked like a purple ribbon floating by. Running ahead, she got to her knees and reached out, snagging the wet piece of fabric, “this is Aparo’s.” She said to herself as a mass of black floated by. She reached out and grabbed it, pulling the owner of the ribbon’s severed head out of the water.
Her eyes widened as they stared down the glazed over eyes of the priestess, and she let out an ear piercing scream.
Mae rose up from looking under a kotatsu, her ears picked up the faintest of noises. “Lannad!” She shouted and darted out of the shrine, crashing into Ringo. They both stumbled back. “Did you head that?”
“Lannad screamed. She said she was going outside,” his voice was frantic, and he could only think the worst. Ringo dreaded the thought of his friend running into the Messiah or Chaos.
Mae pulled her sword out of its sheath, which was attached to her back. The girl wore an angry expression, filled with fire and determination. “I’m going to cut a bitch if she’s dead! Good thing I took fencing.” She quickly ran towards the river, followed by her boyfriend.
This was too much for her to take. First, she had to watch her classmates get killed and now the priestesses she had known all of her life had been slain as well. Tears streamed down her face as she set the head of the once admired priestess in the grass. ‘Everyone’s dead here. They have the same wounds as my school mates…I wonder if they’re from the war scythe? But why? Why would the Grand High Messiah do this? Is it to take revenge for what Londa did to Chaos? If that’s true then…’ Her thoughts cut off and her eyes widened as the realization hit her, “I could be next.”
The words poured from her lips as Mae and Ringo stumbled awkwardly through the bushes. Ringo called out her name and Mae darted to her side, asking if she was okay before she saw the severed head and screamed, propelling herself backwards with so much force that she nearly fell.
“That’s tame compared to what I saw,” Ringo replied as he walked up and saw the head, lying at Lannad’s knees.
The girl rose, her crestfallen gaze concentrated on the head’s expression. “I’m alright…but everyone here is dead.”
“I’ll say. I found what was left of a body in one of the rooms. I’m not sure we could bury it if we tried,” Ringo’s voice lowered as he turned around, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes with a deep-set frown.
“Everyone here has been killed…just like my classmates,” the young girl’s voice was filled with solemn dread.
“What’s this Grand High Messiah’s aim? Why does he want to destroy the world so badly? Can’t he just go and kill somewhere else?” Mae sighed as the tip of her sword dug into the ground.
“He’s the grim reaper though, isn’t he?” Ringo turned back towards the two girls.
“Yes…He only kills what is supposed to die,” Lannad confirmed.
“That’s ridiculous!” Mae shot. “How can it possibly be that many people’s turn to die?”
“Lots of people die at the same time, but that’s usually a case of disease, famine or war,” her boyfriend deducted.
“Now we’ll never know the whereabouts of Chaos,” Mae sighed. This was all for nothing. Who even knew if Chaos was free or still bound by whatever spell that Londa cast on him?
“Aparo was the only one who knew Chaos’ true location,” Lannad glanced to her opened hand, which held the lavender ribbon. “Now we won’t ever know.”
“This is bad. We have no leads,” Ringo’s frown only deepened more upon hearing the bad news.
“No one else can even look for Chaos. They don’t know about this. I only told both of you.” No doubt the others were all training for their future battle with the Grand High Messiah. The trio of people beside the river was the only beings knowledgeable that there was a Chaos involved in the grand scheme of things.
“We should go back and explain things. They need to know,” Ringo was right. The more people they had involved, the better the search would go. Maybe one of them knew something, anything that was a small lead would be a great help to their cause.
“Let’s hurry,” Lannad clenched the ribbon in her hand as the three headed back to the position that Oz and the others had been in.
XxXxXxXx
The hills were green, with rolling, deep green grass. Rezzi stood beneath a single tree that was atop of the hill, the massive piece of foliage spilled a shadow over most of the hill and it’s wide-spread branched provided a sense of sanctity for the blind girl who rested her hands on the tip of the handle of her weapon that resembled a wood splitter. The wind blew her long, black hair. A few strands of it obstructed what little vision she had left and tickled her ivory skin, so she moved it behind her ear. ‘Is it right to be so calm while everyone else is working away? Is it strange that I just accept this as fate? That I know what’s going to happen?’ She picked the Dimension Splitter up by the handle, laying the flat end of the blade on her hand. ‘I know my moves. I know them way too well. I just feel like I’m not prepared. When is someone ever prepared for the end? I guess that I’ve slacked off.’
Her phone beeped.
“Who’s texting me at this time of day?” She wondered aloud as she plugged her ear phones into her cell and flipped it open.
You’ve been slacking off, you blind asshole.
She arched an eyebrow. “Who is this?” The girl didn’t have time to answer the text before the phone rang. The tune of Fur Elise started to play as she took her ear phones off, unplugged them and answered the phone. “Hello, this is Rezzi speaking.”
A gruff, sarcastic and condescending voice crept over the speaker. “What in the everfuck are you doing? Stop being a tremendous waste of space. Move your feet, you dumb bitch.”
“How can I do that?” She asked.
“Are you listening to that dumbfuck again? I told you our prime motive. You established alliance with me first,” the voice continued their onslaught of insults.
“Why are you so protective over that? Do you consider me your stratos?” After all, wasn’t that how human lovers acted? This guy was really being an insecure asshole.
“Cease your senseless perversion!” The male on the other line demanded. “I never claimed to feel romantic feelings for you. I’m simply trying to keep you on the straight and narrow.” Honestly, why would she even dare to say such a thing! The last thing he needed was for her to take things the wrong way.
Rezzi frowned, “I question that to a degree.”
“Your claim is denied. Stop being a fucktard.”
“Alright then, what’s my next move? You want me to make one. Do I go and use my powers-“
“No! Fuck you! You already know what’ll happen if you do,” he warned. Didn’t this girl know anything? Did she fall off of the stupid train into retardville or what? Sometimes, he really questioned the intelligence of some of the people who happened to fall into the possession of the weapons and their powers.
“I don’t understand why I even have this power. It makes little logical sense,” Rezzi sat down and cast her blurry gaze to the weapon that lay right beside of her.
“Shut up. You’ll need this power. I personally chose this weapon for you and you will use it,” the mysterious male further demanded.
“I can’t even train with it.”
“Sure you can. You can split skulls and bash heads. You can also ram it through bodies.” There were plenty of things that it could be used for if she cared to find them. Her biggest issue was that she didn’t even try. While everyone else was exploring their weapons, she was sitting off under some tree somewhere admiring the view. How lazy could someone possibly get?
Rezzi shrugged, “gore isn’t my thing. I can’t see that well to know if I caused damage. This weapon seems unfit for me. You should give it to Dante.” It seemed like something that he would like swinging around. This weapon’s power was a burden to her, not to mention she had to be very careful in tackling any kind of magical attack. The girl felt as if the weapon outmatched her skill.
“Fuck you. Dante has a weapon. This is yours. Live with the hand you were dealt and stop bitching.” He proceeded to explain to the girl the reasons for choosing this weapon for her.“ As fellow Libra we govern the very air itself. Our sense of justice reigns supreme. It’s a big fucking responsibility to have that weapon. Stop acting as if it is nothing. In the end, you’ll be swinging the blow of final judgment. Besides, you have lesser powers within it. You can train with it. Depending on what you do, it may or may not cause significant damage to your world.”
“I don’t get why my weapon has to harbor such stipulations,” She frowned. This was troublesome. It seemed more like a weapon that belonged in the hands of a master than in a novice like her. It was like playing Russian roulette. If she used too much power, then she could end her own world. If she used too little, her attack would be ineffective and in battle she could die or get wounded as a result.
“Don’t ask stupid questions. We’ve known each other for years,” Rezzi was not stupid. He knew this more than anyone. If he had doubts that she could not handle a weapon of that magnitude than he would not have entrusted her with its care. Not to mention, it had a special purpose besides being a wrecker of dimensions.
“I haven’t said anything about it. I just call you by your username. I actually don’t even know your real name, even after all these years.” It was a sad fact in itself but she was always happy just talking to him. Inquiring on his identity would be something that he gave up willingly, or at least she thought that he would when the time got right.
“At this point, you don’t need to.” Besides, he liked hiding behind his anonymity at least for now.
“capriciouscarnage?”
“What is it this time?” He could have worn that she had a new question every minute. It was honestly annoying.
Rezzi’s voice softened and became melancholy. “Will I ever see you before I go completely blind?”
With a slightly ‘tch’ in response, capriciouscarnage sighed. His voice broke its barrier of assholiness for a moment to let in a semblance of emotion. “Come on, that’s so heartwarming of a question that you nearly made me throw up in my mouth,” he muttered.
“I don’t mean to be sentimental. I would just like to see you before my eyesight gives out. Even if it’s just a blur,” she was doing it again. Even if she didn’t mean to, that sentence was about as sentimental as it came. However, Rezzi couldn’t take it back and wouldn’t even if she wanted to.
“You’re throwing those gross metaphorical human hearts at me. Stop it, it’s fucking embarrassing.” No, it honestly was. He was blushing over his communication device. Thank whatever higher powers there were that no one could see his face. It looked like a damned colored balloon.
Rezzi sighed. So much for anything syrupy in return.
“You’ll get to see me. Stop it with your fickle emotions. Get off of my ass.” It’s not as if it were easy to be in his position. This human girl would simply have to deal with whatever fondness she felt for him. It was not exactly returned anyway. It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to, but his circumstances would not permit him to grow close to anyone for the time being. That was also something she had to understand.
“You can be nice when you’re not trying to be a hard ass,” she reasoned. If he was just an asshole with no real feelings, then their relationship would not have lasted throughout the years. As harsh as he was, Rezzi knew that it was just tough love and social awkwardness.
“My ass is eternally hard. Do you hear me? No part of my posterior is soft in any way,” he shot back. As if he was something mushy on the inside. Fuck that, it was not who he was in the slightest.
“I guess we won’t talk after this for a while,” Rezzi went back to her calm tone with underlying sadness.
“It’s not like it’s the end of the world-“ He cut himself off. “That was too soon. Entirely too soon. I’m a shit-faced, muck slinger for that ill-classed joke.”
“Thank you…capriciouscarnage.”
“Rezzi…Well… You see…” Okay, enough jokes, it was time to attempt to make a serious confession. He did consider her a friend, a best human friend.
“I hope you’re right.” Considering their situation at the moment, there was room for a large chunk of doubt. They could very well be slain by the Grand High Messiah before they ever saw each other again.
“I just hope you fucking live.”
“I’ll give you gross human hearts on my down time,” she smiled as she teased him.
“…and I shall send you middle fingers.”
“I’m the one who taught you what those meant.”
“…and I shall use it against you.”
“You’re so classy.”
“My class knows no bounds. I have to get you back for showing me your human pornography.” Those were images he would never be able to free his mind from, no matter how hard he tried to purge the images from his thoughts. He didn’t want to know how human reproduced. Damn this bitch and her conniving ways.
“I take it that’s not how you procreate?” She questioned. While she was knowledgeable that they reproduced in different ways, Rezzi was unsure of how exactly the Dius reproduced. Tarvos had not told her about their methods of mating. Part of her was curious to know.
“I am not discussing this with you.” No, no, no absolutely not. This topic was awkward and uncomfortable on so many levels that it was ridiculous to absorb.
“You shouldn’t have shown me that…whatever it was giving birth and I wouldn’t have shown you my porn.” It was an eye for an eye and a video clip for a video clip. What he showed her was disgusting and horribly grotesque. Porn was the softest way to pay him back for such a thing. He was the one who started that video war with her on one of their late night excursions anyway.
capriciouscarnage deserved what he got.
“Do humans…really do it like that?” Now he was just wondering if she was trying to cop him out or not.
“Are you interested in finding out?” Rezzi teased him further before he hung up in her face and refused to dignify her with an answer. Black lips curved into a smile. “You’re so shy about this.”
Her phone beeped again.
“Oh god. What now?” She opened her phone and squinted to see that she had a text from him. Opening the text, she discovered that it was a multimedia message. Rezzi downloaded the photo and squinted to see the outline of what looked like one of capriciouscarnage’s many pictures of a middle finger.
No two were ever alike.
“I swear. I don’t get men. Alien men are twice as hard to decipher. I should just become lesbian. I’d get far less middle fingers,” the girl sighed to herself as she closed the phone.
From over her shoulder, she heard a familiar, feminine voice in her ear. “What’cha doing?”
The girl jumped and brought her hand back, catching herself a moment later upon realizing who it was. “I almost backhanded you,” she warned. Mae should know better than to scare her like that. It was going to actually get her smacked one of these days.
“Was that your boyfriend?” The blonde teased.
“If you think my boyfriend is a middle finger,” Rezzi replied sarcastically.
“Why does he always send you stuff like that? He’s such an asshole,” the girl huffed. At the very least, he could treat her like a lady and not one of the guys. That was so rude.
“He’s just mad because I sent him fetish porn.” It was a good thing that she could not see clearly what she sent. However, it made the justice dealt that much sweeter.
“Oh god!” Mae exclaimed. Never mind. Maybe she didn’t want to know anything else.
“Rezzi, can we talk? I mean…after you get done talking to your boyfriend,” Lannad spoke up, reminding the blond of their real purpose in coming back to the blind girl.
The black-haired teen frowned, “he’s not my boyfriend. Stop letting Mae’s shipping habits consume your mind.”
“He’s a…secret admirer,” her friend wriggled her eyebrows and looked at her suggestively.
“Stop it. He is not.”
“We’re supposed to be paying attention to the situation at hand,” Ringo decided to get the girls back on track. Now wasn’t the time to debate on Rezzi’s love status with anyone. They had some important news to deliver, and small talk was not an option.
“What’s up? You look like someone died.” At least his blurry expression was grave.
Lannad stepped up to her with a dire expression on her face. The girl’s eyes were brimmed with tears upon delivering the bad news. “All of the priestesses at my shrine have been killed.”
…To Be Continued