A/N: At last. Another story. And this time no references to other games/books/movies/ect ect ect. I wanted to write this because I want to shed light on Ciel, a character from another fic. You don't have to read the other fic to understand this because it barely reveals anything about her. And I'm really hoping no one reads that because it's very bad written. I'm sorry if anyone finds this ridiculously short. Sorry, I'll try to make something longer next time. Anyway here's a disclaimer copied from Ghost Ship by Master And Chief and Arbiter. Forgive me if you are reading this.
Disclaimer: I do not own MapleStory. This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of characters or events to real-life persons or events is purely coincidental. (the rest is added by me) Also I don't own the username Silverbug, a player of MapleStory Global.
Important terms you should know before you read: GMs are an organization similar to Interpol in the real world. The coordinates mentioned in the story is Ontario, Canada. Annabelle is the name of Silverbug's phoenix.
Edit: CATS stands for Communications And Transmission System, it's like my version of the iPhone.
Ciel Chapter One-Pulse
I believe in a lot of things. And because of that, there are many things I don't want to believe. One example would be Lanny's death. You know, that artist, hermit, ex-boyfriend with braided hair from last year? Fine, I'll admit, we never started, so 'pre-boyfriend'. But that's far from the point here. The thing is right now I'm staring at something I can't believe no matter how much I want to. A letter. A recent letter. In code. Lanny's code. Our code. And on the bottom line, I can clearly read the last five letters like its actual English, or French. L, A, N, Y. Double Ns. It can't be a mistake, because on the top I can make out my name, my nickname. L, I, M, E. I'm not saying he's the only one that uses my nickname. But the code, the names, and the fact that this thing is written with the brand of sketchbook paper Lanny uses, proves that it's too much of a coincidence if it is forged.
And as I read this, my mind couldn't take the truth. He's alive. For a whole year. Not in a coma or anything. And he's living well. Without me. If this wasn't a piece of paper talking to me, I would slap the memory of me back into his head. Permanently. Then something else hit me, literally and figuratively. I pull up the covers to reveal the rascal scratching at my leg and find a creature. A fennec fox named Spice, owned by Lanny before his 'death'. It jumps up and down wanting to play and trying hard to gain my attention. And in that moment, I realize I'm smiling. Something that I haven't done in a year. Maybe it's because a mere pet would sneak through hospital defenses to reach me or the fact that the one person who can give me happiness is still alive or maybe it's because the person who went in through the door of my room is my best friend, I don't seem to care as long as everything seems right in this world.
"Oh you're awake." Cathy says.
"Hi Cathy." She flips her blonde hair, revealing her gorgeous eyes to me. "It's so nice of you to visit me."
"You should thank Spice. She's the one who lead me here."
"Aww. Really." I gleam at the animal and pet her large ears causing her to sing in her special little purrs.
"Hey, what's this?" Cathy picks up the letter, scanning over it for a second before handing it back to me. "Is it from Lanny?" I open my mouth to answer, but then remember the figurative punch I received when I read that one line.
"No. It's from my friends." I lie, even though I know I'm a sucker at lying about serious things like this. "They're the ones who sent me to the hospital."
"Oh I see." She sadly remarks. "Wait, you told your friends about the code?"
"Um…." I pause to think of a convincing lie, but then realize that it's suspicious to take too long to answer. So instead I point at the water container by my bed, giving me a full twenty-three seconds before Cathy hands me a cup. And in that time, I already got a fool proof lie. "So, about that question. No, I didn't tell them that code. I made this up myself. Our little friendship code."
She nods. Then says, "So what does it say?"
"Hold on." I scan through the whole letter, staring from where I stopped, up to the last word. Then I read it again thrice to make sure everything is correct. And sure enough, no mistakes to be found (and I don't mean spelling and grammar, there are a bunch of mistakes in that department). After I mentally read 'Lanny' for the forth time, I know that Cathy isn't exactly a run-away-from-home teenager who happens to live with Lanny. Oh, she's much more than that. "It's mostly 'get well soon' stuff. How nice of them." I make a fake smile, which is easy considering the time I take practicing it.
"They certainly are thoughtful. I'm going to be at the food court. Want to join me?" I look down at Spice, who watches me curiously. Hmm, I guess I'm a little hungry.
"What time is it?" I ask. When another thought comes into my head, I add, "What date is it?"
"December 4th. It should be around twelve o' clock right about now." I've been sleeping for a whole week. Only a whole week. It comes to me as a surprise, since I did cut my wrists, didn't I? I don't really enjoy the memories that lead me to suicide, not when I'm happy, but the idea of having an out of body experience and even lived to tell the tale surprises me. Let alone coming back after seven days. And I'm barely hungry.
Wait. Am I going crazy? Or did medical science advance so much in these few days that IV shots are capable of causing fullness to the stomach. And speaking of that, where's the tube and bag thing that's suppose to be by my bed? Am I already fully healed? What's the meaning of this? "Lime." Cathy pulls me back. "You ok?"
"No, I'm fine. I have a headache, that's all."
"You need me to call a doctor?"
"It's alright. I think I just need some food. So, are we going to leave Spice here?"
"Of course not. She gets bored when left alone, so sneak her in this." She pulls out a Nike bag from under the bed. "You ready to sneak a pet from the hospital." She gives me a sly wink which makes me shiver under my skin. Because after I read the letter and understanding the truth about her, it scares me to see her act so well to the point where it isn't acting at all.
I walk out of the hospital, half expecting hovercrafts and aliens. But everything's still the same. The Lego blocks of Ludibrium are still colorful. Two towers still continue to flank the town coupled with harder-than-steel walls encircling the edges. Several children play what seems like tag in the plastic grass. Out on the grassy field are several benches spaced randomly but still manage to seem orderly at the same time. Sitting down on one of the benches, I release Spice and babied her on my lap.
After like five minutes, even though it should feel a lot longer than that, Cathy comes by with two sandwiches and bottles of water in a plastic bag. I take out the tomatoes and let Spice have it along with a piece of ham. "So…." I finally manage to say in between bites, even though I don't feel like eating. "Cathy. Tell me who you really are."
"Hmm? What did you say?" She takes a sip of water to wash everything down. Or perhaps to think up another convincing act.
"I want to know who you are." I repeat louder this time.
"Lime…. Is something wrong?"
"Stop acting. I know who you really are." As the words slip out of my mouth, I try to control my urge to scream out her secret.
"I'm Cathy." She leans closer and put a hand on my shoulder, which I slap away. I look at her bewildered expression with disgust, and I feel like I can't fight the urge anymore.
"I want the truth! I know you are a GM!" I glare at her while her pupils nervously scan around to see if anyone noticed. But her expression stays the same.
"What are you saying?" She says, pretending to be concern. "I can't be a GM." Her hand moves to my shoulders the same way as last time. Almost the same way. The difference now is that I feel the sharp point of a cold dagger poking my neck. She lifts her other hand up, flashing another dagger, and quickly embraces me in a hug. "Oh Lime. I know lots of things happened. But don't worry. I'm here for you." Then I can hear her whisper in my ear. "Go along with it if you know what's good for you."
"I'm very sorry for saying that. It must be the fatigue." I says, even though I'm positive no one is actually interested in this conversation. Cathy whispers in my ears again.
"Good. Now follow me." She releases her embrace. "I'll take you back into your room so you can rest."
"Sure. That would be nice." I walk behind her, not thinking about running or resisting. Because for one thing I would never be able to go up against a GM, and for another, I'm this close to finding Lanny. Even if I must endanger my life, I have to know where he is, no better yet, how he is.
We soon arrive at the front of my room and she gestures me to go in first. "Don't try to run." Cathy warns.
"Don't worry. I won't." I mumble back. The door closes behind me and we are alone. "Ca—"
"Lime, let me get one thing straight," She says, cutting me off, "from this point onwards, I will ask and you will answer. Understand." I didn't reply but she continues on. "Question one. What does the letter say?"
"I'm not telling you until you answer some of my questions."
"Don't negotiate. Nothing good will come out for the both of us when you're being tortured in a cell." Her voice sounds serious and heartless, making it hard to tell if it's another bluff or a real threat. "Now back to the answer. What was it again?"
"What was Lanny's mission?" I finally reply, half not knowing what I'm saying.
"Ahh, so he mentioned a mission but didn't specify what. What else?"
"Answer me! What is his mission? I have to know if he is alive."
"Ask yourself this. Why am I asking you about Lanny?" Then it dawns to me. My lips quiver to speak, even though we both know the answer. And it scares me. Tears overflow my eyes as I try to push the thought out of my head. But I couldn't! And that is the part that hurts me the most. "On a brighter note. We didn't confirm him as dead. If you are willing to tell us the contents of the letter, we might be able to find some answers."
"T…" I begin to speak, finding my voice to be stuttering. It takes me a while to calm down, but Cathy waits patiently, glaring at me without growing bored. "There were a set of coordinates. Fifty, forty-two, eighty-six and three." I review the letter to make sure those numbers were correct.
"Silverbug," The sudden mention of her GM brethren surprises me. I look up at her and spot an earpiece in her right ear. "You heard that?"… "Let's just say I have a lead on the Lanny case."… "No, I'll go alone. It started with me. I might as well clean things up."… "Grab one of those winter kits from the supply cache."… "No nothing more. See you at the front of the hospital."… "Bye." She taps her CATS and moves over to the door.
"Wait. I want to go with you. And there are still things I want to know."
"Your clothes are under the bed. Wear something comfortable and won't mind getting dirty in. I'll check you out. You have ten minutes." She leaves. I check under the hospital bed and sure enough a suitcase belonging to me is there. Inside I grab the most outdated, most unfashionable clothing (which none of them really are) I can find. A plain blouse and a pair of old jeans. I place the rest and the letter carefully inside and move out the room.
I walk outside spotting Cathy and Silverbug chatting uninterestingly. Several strangers (mostly Maplers) look at Silverbug in awe. Suddenly not wearing something a little prettier makes me feel nervous. "That took eleven minutes and forty nine seconds. You're late."
A 'sorry' is all I manage to say before Silverbug summons his phoenix and eagle. "Ok, we'll be taking Annabelle, thank you." Cathy climbs on the saddle and motions for me to sit behind her. Without complaints, Silverbug situate himself on his eagle with an irritated expression.
"Where are we heading exactly?" I ask while placing my luggage in the tough leather of Annabelle's saddle. For some reason, asking that makes me feel more uncomfortable.
"Oh, it's far." Cathy replies.
"To the north." Silverbug adds, although it sounds more like a command to his summons. With one motion, the two birds take flight toward our destination. As the wind cut through my purple hair, I wonder if I am truly willing to risk my life to find the truth. Even if the truth is something I don't want to believe.