Hello! This is my first fic, I really hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tower of God, or any of its characters.
Rachel didn't know how much longer she could take it. Every minute that passed, every second she spent in his company tested her patience. Every word he uttered made her want to leap from her wheelchair and wring his neck until the light in those wide, amber eyes sputtered out. The thought of the look that would be on his face brought a twisted smirk to her lips. However, the smirk disappeared almost instantly in place of a forced smile, which she directed at the dark-haired boy sitting across from her.
Baam was keeping her company in her room, as he had every day since they had been reunited. Rachel wanted nothing more than for him to leave, but he was always there. Any attempt to send him away was dismissed with one of his idiotic smiles, and another ridiculous declaration that he would protect her. And she always dutifully agreed to let him stay, determined to maintain the charade of friendship while it still served her purposes. And as if Baam himself wasn't enough to deal with, she also had to contend with his friends. And while each of them was unbearable in their own way, the worst by far was a silver-haired boy named Koon Aguero Agnis. Rachel had never met a more arrogant person in her entire life. He was supposedly a prodigy from the great Koon Family, which made it even harder to believe that he would be friends with a nobody like Baam. And yet, he and Baam had formed a very close friendship. Rachel knew this was dangerous. Koon was smart, much smarter than the rest of Baam's band of misfits. Rachel could tell that Koon didn't trust her, and he wielded a great deal of influence over Baam, and the rest of the regulars. This would make her upcoming task much more difficult.
Rachel had made a deal with some dangerous people. A secretive, powerful organization known as FUG. They had told her they would help her climb the Tower, in exchange for a certain service that would be named later. Rachel was reluctant at first. After all, FUG wasn't known for their peaceful methods. However, there was no way she would walk away from a chance to climb the Tower. She was going to climb, and she was going to see the stars in the night sky, no matter what she had to do to get there. And so, Rachel accepted their offer. They arranged for her to climb the Tower, set her up with some powerful teammates, and sent her on her way. And a short while ago, they had called in their favor.
They had ordered her to kill the 25th Baam.
Rachel had been waiting for an excuse to enact her revenge on Baam, and FUG had delivered one to her on a silver platter. Her heart raced with excitement, but it was mixed with an equal amount of trepidation. How was she going to do it? Killing another regular was a surefire way to get disqualified from the tests. But that paled in comparison to what Koon might do to her if he found out she was responsible for the death of his friend.
So it would have to be something they couldn't trace back to her. Poison, maybe? No, that wouldn't work. They would still know it was murder, and even though they wouldn't know it was her, Koon would suspect her. And while Koon wasn't one to act on suspicion alone, someone as intelligent as him had ways of finding proof that others didn't. What options did she have left, then? Anything directly involving her was too risky. If she left anything that could trace back to her, she was finished. Baam had an irritating habit of making allies of everyone he met, so she almost certainly couldn't enlist anyone to do the deed for her. Every possible method Rachel came up with was immediately scrapped, due to some unavoidable flaw. Rachel couldn't hold back the snarl of frustration that came to her lips at her lack of progress.
"Are you alright, Rachel?" He asked, his brow furrowed with worry.
'Oh yes, Baam, I'm fine. It was just a lingering ache from my injury. You don't need to worry." She reassured him, in a simpering, girlish tone. Talking like this turned Rachel's stomach, but she knew it would play well into her role as the injured damsel.
"Alright, if you say so. How about you get some rest, while I go get us some food?" Baam asked, his concern dispelled.
"That would be wonderful, Baam. You're so kind." She gave him another fake smile that she knew would send his foolish little heart racing. She was so used to manipulating him at this point that it was almost second nature.
As he left the room, closing the door behind him, she let the false small fade, and a look of pure distaste take its place. She waited until she heard his footsteps fade into the distance before leaping up. For a moment she just stood in place, getting used to being back on her feet after her long stint in the wheelchair. Then, she hurried over to the door, locking it. Wouldn't want Baam to walk in on me like this. she thought to herself. I'd hate to lose my secret weapon. Then again, if I told him it was a miracle, he'd probably believe it. Idiot.
After stretching her legs for a bit, she sat down on her bed, not eager to get back in the chair. After all, who knew when she would be alone like this again, with Baam always acting as her shadow? She gritted her teeth, her hands curling into fists at the reminder that this moment of solitude would be over when Baam returned. She was so sick of these fleeting moments of freedom, but what could she do? She had to keep up the illusion that she was paralyzed. Rachel knew she couldn't defeat Baam if it came down to a fight. She would have to catch him by surprise. The fact that she could still walk would be her hidden trump card when the time was right.
However, Rachel wasn't completely heartless. It's not as if she had started climbing the Tower intending to commit murder. She had to honor her deal with FUG. But her heart hardened when she remembered that it was Baam's fault she made the deal with FUG in the first place. After he stole her rightful place in the tower, what else was she supposed to do? Headon, the Guardian of the 1st Floor, had claimed that the Tower had chosen him, but Rachel knew that was a lie. Who in their right mind would choose Baam over her? If anyone deserved to climb the Tower, it was her. Baam had been nothing when she'd met him. He wouldn't even be able to speak if she hadn't taught him. He had no idea what she was willing to, what she was willing to sacrifice, in order to climb the Tower.
Just remembering her humiliation at the hands of Headon sent her into a blind rage. Before she could stop herself, she grabbed a decorative vase sitting on the bedside table, and threw it with all of her strength. It sailed through the air before smashing to pieces on the far wall. She knew she had to dispose of the pieces before Baam came back, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Hot, angry tears filled her eyes, and she gritted her teeth, determined not to let them fall. The last thing she was going to do is look vulnerable in front of Baam when he returned. She took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. Baam would be back any minute, and she couldn't let him see her like this. At least, not yet. Just as she was disposing of the last of the shattered pieces, there was a rattling sound of someone shaking the doorknob, followed by the sounds of a key being fit into the lock. She rushed back into her chair, settling into it just as Baam opened the door, holding two bowls of tangsooyook. He smiled at her, and again, Rachel was forced to put on the role of the kind-hearted, injured friend.
"I'm back, Rachel. Why did you lock the door?" Baam asked, with a tone of mild concern.
"Sorry, but you can't be too careful. You never know when your enemies might come for you". Rachel replied, her voice gentle and overly-sweet.
"Well, I suppose that's true. But you don't have to worry, Rachel. I'll protect you, no matter what." Baam he sat back down in his chair, smiling warmly at her.
He was so pathetic, it made her sick. However, for the sake of appearances, she forced a blush onto her face, and pretended to be flattered by his words, as if the very thought of him didn't repulse her to the core. They began eating their lunch, in what Rachel was sure Baam considered a companionable silence. But to her, the silence felt suffocating. At that moment, she would have given anything for an interruption. Suddenly, as if answering her silent prayer, the sound of footsteps thumping in the hallway outside alerted Baam and Rachel that someone was approaching their room. Koon Aguero Agnis burst in without warning, panting slightly, as if he had run all they way to their room. Rachel was so relieved by the interruption she was almost glad to see Koon.
"Baam, Rachel, I'm sorry to burst in unannounced, but you need to go to the conference room. Our final examination for this floor will begin soon, and you need to be briefed on it." He said, still slightly out of breath.
"What can you tell us about it?" Baam asked.
"You'll get most of the details in the briefing, but I've already devised our plan, so I can tell you a bit about your roles. You'll be working together on this one, just the two of you. I don't expect too much trouble in your area, but be careful anyways. Anything can happen in a test like this" Koon replied.
"We'll make sure to be careful. Thank you, Mr. Koon" Rachel thanked him absentmindedly, her mind already whirring, considering the possibilities.
"No need to thank me, Rachel. That's what teammates are for" Koon said. His gaze lingered on her, his electric-blue eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly in suspicion. He turned on his heel and made his way to his room, to prepare for the test. Hmmm, something seemed off about Rachel. I know Baam trusts her, but.I'm not so sure. After the test, I'll keep a closer eye on her. Koon disregarded his suspicions for the moment, and began preparing for their final test of the 2nd floor.
Baam made his way to the conference room, with Rachel wheeling herself behind him. Baam was speculating about the nature of the upcoming test, but Rachel's thoughts were of a more sinister nature. An accident during a dangerous test. She thought. Why didn't I think of it before!? It's like Koon said, anything can happen in a test like this. And afterwards, I'll play the part of a heartbroken friend, nobody will suspect anything! Once he's out of the way, I can keep climbing. I'll go all the way to the top, no matter what.
After they had been properly briefed, they met up with the rest of the regulars, and prepared to disembark on their test. Baam turned to her as they were about to leave.
"Are you ready, Rachel?"
"Oh yes, Baam. I've been ready for a long time"
And Rachel was ready. Everything was in place, and she was poised to strike. All she had to do was wait for the right moment.
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