Eulogies had never been the thing for Virgil Cross, but on such a somber day, he couldn't help but listen. Today wasn't a funeral for a member of his family, but it might as well have been. His best friend's mother had died a few days prior, and Virgil found himself attending the funeral in Locksbury Virginia as soon as possible. Gunther, his best friend, they were like brothers, and so Gunther's family was like his own. It was a sad day indeed. Valerie, Gunther's sister, was delivering the eulogy, choking back tears to deliver encouraging words about their mother, even sharing an anecdote or two.
After the eulogy was over, the people attending the funeral scattered about to socialize and grab food to feed their aching hunger, but Virgil sat in his seat, clapping at Valerie's powerful words.
"I hate it when you see me like this," said the long, brown haired girl, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"You always look beautiful to me Val, you know that." Virgil rose from his seat, walking towards the podium where Valerie stood. It had been too long. Their last visit involved a tearful goodbye that neither wanted to ever think about saying. A warm embraced quickly quelled those feelings.
"Look at you, you're so grown up. I'm even taller than you now." Too long indeed.
"That's because I've been eating my vegetables." Virgil grinned widely. He had missed this contact between the two, their conversations, the way they looked at each other. It was good just to be back.
"I'm really glad you came," whispered Valerie, planting a kiss on Virgil's cheek, "Gunther's been wanting to see you too."
Had Virgil not blushed and smiled greatly thanks to the kiss, he would've immediately asked about Gunther, for them, it had been just as long. Their only contact over the years was a few phone calls every now and then, although they didn't seem to carry much weight. Virgil believed that they had grown apart over the years, and it disturbed him greatly. They were like brothers, and while Virgil didn't have any true siblings of his own, Gunther was more or less the brother that he always wanted. For that to go away now, it would be devastating.
"Do you know where he is right now? I'd really like to see him."
"Yea, he's up in his room right now. He's been working on some sort of drawing project, but he's been up there for quite some time."
That didn't sound right. Gunther had never been eccentric about anything before, nothing could ever deter his calm demeanor. Even when things got rough, Gunther was always the one with the level head, able to give any advice that might help the situation. In many ways, Gunther was the thing that grounded Virgil when his head was too high up in the clouds. But now it seemed as if a role reversal was in order.
Valerie led Virgil through the crowd of mourners, with Virgil surprised at how many people the Wheeler family actually knew. It didn't seem as if the whole entire family was social in the first place, except for Val of course. That became evident once Virgil had seen all of the younger people at the funeral, all friends of Valerie no doubt, dropping by just to show off their respect and get some free food. The true essence of funerals.
As the duo reached Gunther's room, Valerie put a finger to her mouth, telling Virgil to 'shush.' Smirking at this gesture, Virgil shrugged his shoulders, while Valerie gave him an annoyed look. Wow, he thought, things must have changed drastically in the last few years. Valerie knocked on the door gently, hoping to not disturb his brother's diligent work. The door quickly flew open, startling both Valerie and more so Virgil, who adapted a fighting stance. In the open door way stood Gunther, his fowl look soon changing to more of a welcoming one once his eyes laid upon Virgil.
"So...sorry about that. I was in the middle of something. Come in man, come in."
Virgil looked over wearily at Valerie, while she gave the same expression. She moved her head toward the room, and Virgil, giving her a complacent look, followed her direction. Expecting Valerie to come in with him, he turned to face the door, as it was quickly shut in his face. Thanks Val, he thought, thanks a lot.
Taking a look around the room, Virgil began to see what Gunther's projects were. Taped all over his wall were drawings of creatures with the body of humans, but with the heads of animals, frozen in fierce expressions. Back when they were younger, Virgil had always been the story teller, and Gunther, the artist. They'd spend days together writing and drawing out stories, capturing each others imaginations in their own medium, but Virgil had never seen something like this before, not from Gunther.
"So Virgil, how have you been?"
Gunther's sentence rocked him from his reverie, and he soon snapped his attention towards Gunther himself. Had he actually payed attention from when his brother had opened the door, he would've been able to tell something was wrong. Gun's usual kept hair was now shaken and disheveled. His normal clean attire was now traded in for a ragged old hoodie with holes littering the fabric. Surely the death of his mother had caused some stress and uneasiness, but could it have caused all this?
"I uh, I've been good for the most part." He had to shake the pictures from his mind, the way Gunther looked had to leave his thoughts as quickly as they entered. "I've got a couple of jobs lined up that I have interviews for next week, so I'm looking forward to that. And above else, single as always."
"Haha, I know the feeling man." Gunther smiled his familiar smile, and it was hard to actually see all the things that were wrong with him. Virgil couldn't believe that his friend, no, his brother had reduced himself to drawing creatues of macabre fantasy and letting himself go. The question that he didn't want to ask, had to be poised.
"I don't mean to pry man, but how are you doing since your mom died?" Gunther began to blink, his facial expression turning to that of a thoughtful one. It was obvious that Virgil's question had stirred some sort of reaction, whether it was good or bad, Virgil was already regretting the decision to ask. "I'm sorry man, I-"
"No, it's fine. I need to talk to someone about this anyway." Gunther pointed to one of the drawings, a male body with a fox head, snarling as if it was caught in a trap. Something about this drawing had struck a chord in Virgil, something he couldn't explain. "These things man, they killed my mother."
"What?" Virgil couldn't believe his ears. Had Gunther just uttered that sentence? Had he deduced his mother's death to those of creatures born from macabre fantasy? Had Gunther's imagination taken over just to rationalize his mother's death in order for him to deal with it?
"Look Virgil, I understand that it's really hard to believe, but it's true."
"No, no, no, no, no," Virgil began to repeat himself until his own voice became utterly redundant to his own ears. Gunther however wouldn't listen and proceeded to to Virgil of his theory on how they killed his mother, and what exactly these creatures were. "STOP!" Virgil yelled at the top of his lungs, putting a stop to both of their voices. Gunther opened his mouth to spout out more gibberish, but Virgil yelled yet again. "What the fuck is wrong with you Gunther!" Once again, Gunther tried to open his mouth. "No, don't say another word. I understand losing your mother was hard on you guys, but trying to rationalize her death with some fucked up drawings you did isn't healthy! We aren't kids anymore Gunther! When my grandmother died, I accepted it and moved on. Simple as that. I suggest you do the same." Virgil shook his head and turned around, intent on heading for the door. He wanted to wait a second, give his friend time to actually absorb what he said, albeit harsh, it was a well deserved slap in the face. He would apologize later, as long as the message got across.
"But Virg-"
"Fuck off Gunther. Don't tell your sister any of this bullshit, or she's gonna go insane along with you." Turning around, he opened the door and promptly slammed the door shut behind him. This was going to be a long day.
For Virgil, the rest of the day consisted of eating food with Valerie, listening to the endless stories about the Wheeler's mother, and how much the two friends had missed each other over the years. Although a reunion at a funeral had not seemed like the best of places to get reacquainted with someone, today seemed to be the perfect exception. The days events culminated in a few drinks at a bar, one of which Valerie apparently frequented to get away from the stress of the day,
"I never pegged you as one to actually drink, and enjoy it," laughed Virgil, taking a sip of his water.
"Well I never pegged you as one to go to a bar and order water."
"There ya have it, the mighty Virgil Cross does not succumb to alcoholic tendencies." Although after this morning's encounter with Gunther, Virgil had been craving something strong to make the whole exchange go away. Maybe he was too hard on Gunther earlier in the morning, using his frustrations at their mom's death on the first thing that he could project it at. Either way, he needed to apologize to Gunther as soon as he could. It was the only way to make things right.
"So almighty one," gurgled Valerie as she took a sip from her beer, "you still never told me why you left that day."
At the time, Virgil was drinking his water and as soon as the questioned dropped, he placed his bottle down and looked away from Valerie. That particular topic was something he didn't, no, couldn't talk to her about, and definitely not today.
"Looks like I struck a nerve." She took another sip from her beer and poked his arm. She wanted to know badly. "So, you gonna tell me or what?"
Virgil kept his expression tight, no smile, no emotion danced across his face. He shook his head and quickly chugged back his bottle of water. Some whiskey was sounding pretty damn great right about now.
"Please Virgil?"
"Wow you're persistent," Virgil snapped, crunching his bottle in the process. He tried not to come out sounding harsh, but some things couldn't be helped. He turned to Valerie, expecting to see her face flush with anger because of his snapping, but her face was content. "So you know, huh?"
"Gunther seems to find me more persistent." Under Valerie's forceful prodding, Gunther's secrecy never held upright. But Virgil supposed it was better than someone else telling her, especially Akumu. Had the two women ever came in contact about the situation, Valerie definitely wouldn't have been sitting next to him. "Is it all true Virgil?"
"Yea," he sighed, "it is." He was going to have to come clean sooner or later, although he much preferred the latter, the former seemed like the better option. "I didn't...didn't expect it all to go down like that. I let the stress get the best of me, and I handled it all the wrong ways. I feel so terrible for what I did to her, and I regret it every single day, I really do." That drink was needed now more than ever.
"It's ok Virgil. As long as this isn't who you are know, then it's ok." Count on Valerie to make Virgil feel better. Everything she said seemed to calm him down, even in his worst moments. Had she been there with him that day, things would've been drastically different, and this conversation wouldn't have taken place. She was a godsend.
"Thanks Val, it means a lot." A wayward tear cascaded down his face, and Valerie quickly replaced it with a kiss to his cheek. Tonight was gonna be a good night, even though Virgil would soon find the irony in that sentence.
"Come on, it's getting late," yawned Valerie, checking her watch. Virgil nodded and placed the money for the drinks and water on the counter. Leaving the bar, Virgil was content with the night's end, but he was still regretting his one sided shouting match with Gunther this morning. It wasn't fair to his friend, especially on such a delicate day. No matter how crazy Gunther's theory had been, Virgil was gonna sit there and listen to what his friend had to say, and then afterward, they were gonna do the same thing they did every time they hung out, play video games into the early morning, and sleep for most of the day. It seemed like the best way to deal with things, and the most fun. But for now, it was all about Valerie.
Instead of driving, the two decided to walk back too and from the bar, it was easier to communicate that way and less dangerous than not paying attention to the road. The full moon blared in the dark night sky, making the walk home one that would be remembered, save for the next full moon walk. But on the way home, Virgil had begun to feel off. He couldn't tell what the exact feeling was, but it was akin to when he viewed Gunther's drawing of the fox humanoid. The more that he thought about it, the fox's snarl seemed like it was directed towards him, and the more he began to get creeped out by the whole picture. But the more they walked, the more it seemed something was following them, something was watching, something was waiting.
Looking over at Valerie, it seemed his suspicions were his alone, as she seemed content with the walk, happily smiling along the way. Why had this drawing riled up such feelings of paranoia in his mind? It was one of the many questions running through his mind throughout the day, and as it seemed, more were going to be added without being answered. As he kept alone in his thoughts, Virgil seemed to miss the hooded man walking in front of them, up until he bumped in to Virgil, knocking him back.
"Excuse me!" The hooded figure yelled as he walked past Valerie and Virgil.
"Jerk," muttered Valerie as she helped Virgil regain him composure. This however, wasn't the wisest of things to say, as the hooded figure whipped his arm around to hit Valerie. Virgil however, caught his attack just in time.
"Lucky catch."
"Don't you dare touch her!" Virgil kicked forward, hitting the hooded figure in the gut, sending him staggering back. The blow look as if it didn't phase the hooded figure, as he quickly smiled and began to laugh menacingly.
"I'll do as I please, and I'll certainly not follow the commands of a Rider!" What followed next, was perhaps the most horrible sounding event that Virgil and Valerie had ever heard. The hooded figure began to shake in agony, his body glowing a faint white. His bones then began to pop and break, shifting around the man's body as his form started to become that of one of the creatures on Gunther's wall. Virgil couldn't believe it, Gunther was right all along, these things did exist.
"Definitely apologizing to Gunther later on." Virgil took a step forward, shielding this monster from Valerie. However as he did, one word began to circulate through his mind, something about this word, Rider had Virgil running for loops. What the hell does Rider mean?
His thoughts however didn't last long, as the final part of the man's transformation had come to a terrifying end. Where his head once was, a sickening 'pop' sound, complete with an explosion of blood, was replaced with the head of a rabbit, it's face feral. The two froze in fear. They had no correct way of explaining what they had just witnessed, and even then, how would they escape this mess. Here they were, staring a rabbit demon in the face with no where to go. The situation was virtually hopeless.
Thinking of the only thing that Virgil could do, he pulled Valerie close.
"Run. Run as far away from here as fast as you can. I'm gonna try and hold it off." She quickly grabbed onto Virgil, fear rocking her to the very core.
"I'm not gonna leave you!"
"Oh how the two love birds latch onto each other for safety!" Virgil snapped his head toward the rabbit demon, his eyes fierce with rage. Although foolish, he had to engage the demon in combat hoping to gain enough time for Valerie to get the hell out of there and contact Gunther, he seemed to know what these things were. As Virgil stepped forward, the Rabbit flew quickly infront of his eyes, it's foot connected solidly with Virgil's gut, sending him crashing to the ground, hard. As he tried to get back up, the Rabbit was already on top of him, his foot over Virgil's chest, preventing him from getting up.
"Ahahaha! Pinned like a mouse by a cat. How pathetic!" As hard as Virgil tried to struggle, there was nothing that would release the Rabbit's foot from his chest.
This is it, Virgil thought. He hadn't expected to bite the bullet this early on in his life, but he supposed it was karma, karma always had a way with payback. He looked into his attacker's eyes and saw the blood lust that the Rabbit demon held within those fiery globes, ironic how such a docile creature could have such rage.
Contrary to his own belief, Virgil wasn't destined to die that day. His gaze shifted from the Rabbit to a white hole in the sky, almost beckoning for him to look. From that hole flew out what looked like a white beetle, and it was careening toward the downed man. Great, Virgil thought, closing his eyes rather quickly, not only am I being attacked by a rabbit demon, a white beetle is coming to attack me! However, this was quite the opposite. The beetle flew down and attacked the rabbit demon, releasing Virgil from it's harsh grasp. Standing up, Virgil felt a tingling sensation across his waist. As he looked down, a metallic belt appeared, giving him a strange sense of comfort.
"What the-" What happened next was almost indescribable. The white beetle flew upon the belt, locking on to a predestined slot, and clicking in place.
HENSHIN!
The beetle announced it's function, quickly sending bolts of white electricity all over Virgil's body. He began to tense up, feeling anxious to the feelings of agony to come, but they didn't. A black techno-organic material began to form all over his body, the base structure for his armor. Soon pieces began to form over the body suit, shin pieces, knee cap pieces, boot pieces, all silver in color. Heavy pieces of white armor formed on his torso, forearms, biceps, and shoulders. Finally, the helmet formed onto his head, round in shape, with a gas mask as an added aesthetic. As the transformation completed, his red eyes flashed a deep crimson, while white energy waves emitted from his person, knocking the Rabbit demon back, followed quickly by pressurized bursts from his gas mask.
"Whoa." Virgil stood for a moment, taking everything in as quickly as humanly possible. One minute, he was walking with Valerie, enjoying a night time stroll, the next he was assaulted by a hooded man that turned into a rabbit demon, then the rabbit demon almost killed him, while a white beetle flew out of the sky, attaching to a belt that had somehow appeared on his waist, and then he became an armored hero. What a long day indeed.
"What a nice suit of armor!"
"At least my whole body matches!" During the transformation process, had the armor given Virgil a backbone as well? While one of these retorts was easily cataloged in his repertoire of smart ass remarks, it was easily said once backed up in a suit of armor, instead of his permeable regular form.
This insult didn't sit well for the Rabbit demon, for his face began to twist and contort in anger, a predictable result. The Rabbit quickly launched itself into attack mode, throwing himself, as well as a strongly backed up fist into Virgil's chest armor. The now armored Virgil readily winced for the pain, but the armor had protected him from the blow, the strike feeling like a light tickle. Feeling ready to hit back, Virgil swung his armored right arm back, and threw it directly into the jaw of the Rabbit demon, sending it crashing to the ground in a roll. Expecting the punch to hurt his fist, the strike was cushioned, just like the previous attack on his chest.
The Rabbit demon quickly scrambled to it's feet, moving it's head around to shake the pain from the punch. Roaring loudly, it charged at Virgil once again, this time it was faster than the last, immensely faster. Before he could react, Virgil felt another powerful punch slam into his chest, and was sent roaring back, crashing to the ground in a heap of pain. Before he could attempt to get up, he found the Rabbit demon overhead of him again. Deja vu. The rabbit extended an arm, grabbing Virgil by the throat, and lifting him up in the air effortlessly.
"Your armor is too heavy, it slows you down," snarled the rabbit directly into Virgil's visor. "When stacked against a fast opponent like me, you have a huge disadvantage, Rider." The Rabbit demon's grip tightened furiously, making it extremely difficult for Virgil to breathe. "I'm sorry to say, this will be your last hoo-"
"Virgil!"
Valerie! Ever since being pinned by the Rabbit demon, Virgil had forgot all about Valerie. He had hoped she followed his advice and ran, but that was too much to hope for. He began to usher her away, hopelessly mouthing out the words, 'Run away!' He couldn't care about himself at this point, Valerie was going to be in trouble if he didn't get out of this situation.
"Oh don't worry little princess, I'll have my way with you after I'm done squashing this bug!" Virgil's eyes flashed with rage, he couldn't let anything happen to Valerie! He began to kick and punch the creature, but the motions were exhausting his oxygen supply, and each hit lacked the power to release him. He was going to die today...
To Be Continued...