"Everyone else is dead, Pittoo. We have to keep moving." The tactician at my side urgently tugging on my arm as he motions towards the next corridor in the damned Mansion.
Shaking him off, I unfurl my wings and stretch them. I'll need them for fighting. "Please, listen to me. They'll be here soon, and we can't exactly fight them off. The others-" he breaks off, his voice choking at the thought of our fallen friends.
"Don't care." I mutter darkly. Robin frowns, "It's suicide, if you get your revenge but still die..."
Stubborn mage...Why can't he just let me handle this myself?!
Gasping, I stagger backwards once memories hit with a flash. They plague me, probably some sort of PTSD bullshit that happens when you see the mangled corpses of your dead brother and mom.
"What? How did these get here?" The other three and I had stumbled upon a mess of once pure white feathers stained brown and red, their original colors just barely showing. Aside from the feathers, wooden splinters and shards of a pink gem, as well as two cracked halves of a bow, nearly identical to mine, lay near the feathers. Piles of cold ash surrounded the disarray of familiar remnants.
"The cold ash indicates that Shades have arrived and were slain long ago." Reflet analytically notes. "The feathers and remains of weaponry also-" Zelda cuts her off by gasping and running behind a pile of fallen stone to vomit. With obvious discomfort, Robin ran over to hold back her hair as she gagged, looking slightly green himself.
I bite my lower lip as I realize the feathers and blood leave a trail. "C'mon," I grumble, angrily grabbing Reflet's arm and motioning for her to follow. She flinches in surprise before mumbling a quiet, "Alright."
With each hasty step I take, panic begins to overtake more and more of my thoughts, leaving me instinctive in every movement.
Gotta keep following the trail, shit, they're gonna be okay…fuck, they're probably...no. no it's fine. everything. is. fine. we're gonna find them okay and-
"Fuck!" I scream.
The two of us stumble upon none other than their corpses. Nausea and panic start to overload my senses, leaving me helpless. I fall to my knees at the sight of their two mangled bodies. My brother lies face-down and surrounded by a pool of red-gold ichor, his wings a broken tangle. A huge hole lies in his chest, his heart obviously torn out by those monsters, those sons of bitches.
Nearby, my mother, laden in her golden jewelry and displaying no radiance lies. Her green hair stained a disgusting copper mess, probably due to the disgusting series of gashes that cover her body. I look away, not wanting to see anything else. For all the shit I give my family, I just don't want to spoil the memories I have of them. Sweet, bitter memories.
"I kill them all for this," I angrily whisper.
I groan in pain as I return to the present, staring up at the ceiling of the room we had holed up in. Robin pulls me to my feet and argues, "See? You can hardly stand. How are we supposed to stay alive if you're falling down every moment and I can't fight alone?"
I shake him off roughly. "We'll manage."
He stumbles backwards, unsteady on his feet. "We can't. We have to leave the Mansion soon, or we're dead."
Grabbing my arm, he tries to forcefully drag me away until I collapse again.
Reflet manages to pull me away, and we return to a comparatively blissful scene. Zelda stands, leaning against the wall, occasionally spitting to get rid of the taste of bile. Robin stands in the center of the hallway, clearly keeping watch for us and for the Shades.
He greets us with a simple wave, a light green tome under his arm and bronze sword at his side before being tackled to the ground by two black and gray blurs. Reflet screamed in shock before we ran over. Drawing a Levin Sword, she snarled, "Don't touch my brother," before brutally plunging the electrified blade into both thick leathery wings of one Shade. Hissing, it seemed before disintegrating into a smoking pile of ash, one that could easily burn on contact. Zelda then dashed forwards, magic igniting her hands as she pushed aside the other shade with inhuman force. Standing back, I drew my bow and managed to shoot off a wing, pain shooting up my left arm as it cried in agony. Robin then fired off a wild crescent of green wind magic, pushed back from the force as he grunted in pain in conjunction with the Shade's screaming.
Weakly, the four of us stumbled together, breathing heavily. "Sorry…" whispered Robin.
Out of no where, a trio of shades drop down gracefully, clad in seemingly royal garb. "We thank you for disposing those...tactless brutes." One says with a smile, before adjusting a silver circlet resting atop her greasy red-pink hair. "After all, they may have taken a fine meal from us." A red gem set in the metal gleams, catching my eye.
Distracted by the alluring shine, Reflet wobbles on her feet in unnatural confusion. Zelda and her brother both grab her arms to steady her. "However, ah...we do inhabit a dog-eat-dog world here." Muses another, wearing an identical crown in its dull blue hair. "We'll give you a painless end." It tries to add gently.
The third flapped its wings with intimidation once, indicating it was clearly ready to chase us if we fled at a moment's notice. Haughtily, it flipped its long, golden hair before threatening, "You'd best listen to him, or you'll answer to my magic."
At my left, Zelda blinks before swallowing down what little remains in her system. She turns and smiles before pushing us away. Throwing up a huge crystal, the blonde shrieks and throws huge flames at it, enraged.
"I have nothing to live for." She intones warmly. "Go forth and live."
"I can't leave her behind..." Whispers Reflet. She draws her Levin Sword and a yellow tome, and steps forwards. In response, the two idle Shades draw twin blades as the third continued to assault the barrier with fire.
Robin and I stand frozen, unsure of what to do.
"Get out!" Screams Zelda. "It won't-" the blue crystal shatters before she could say anything else, and almost immediately she was consumed in flame and light. Reflet turned and yelled, "You have to go, Robin! At least one of us has to live!"
Bathed in flames, we watched in horror as she closed her eyes, waiting with bated breath until a clawed hand thrust itself through her chest and pushed out her heart triumphantly.
"Go..." She whispered, dropping the singed remnants of the tome and a cracked sword.
We turned and ran as the trio behind us began to eat, leaving her body to fall down lifelessly and burn.
Robin slaps my face, bringing me back to the present. Roughly pushing him off again, I stand up and grab my bow. "We'll kill the three, and leave this hellhole." I tell him, determination burning in my voice.
He nods quietly and rearranges his weaponry, preparing to leave.