4th May, 11:55pm
Road sat quietly in her room. She should have gone to bed hours ago but something was keeping her up, maybe even keeping the rest of her family up as well. She hugged a stuffed teddy close to her chest as she watched the clock tick.
"5 more minutes…" She thought to herself. This happened every year but it would still make her anxious of what will happen; it was different every year for one particular person so they couldn't really make preparations for the next day. The other was easier however, they just left him alone.
The clock suddenly struck midnight; she hugged the teddy closer as she waited for the chimes to end. "3…2…1…" An angry and somewhat terrified scream suddenly filled the empty halls, followed by the sound of a gun being fired several times. Just like clockwork.
"Here we go again…"
..:~~:..
The Noah Family ate in silence, they all knew today would be difficult and unpredictable, especially for one certain person. The twins hadn't come down for breakfast, chances were that Devit wasn't even on the Ark anymore; it was for the best in a way. Jasdero was probably still in his room, he's not himself on this particular day, rather than be hyper and cheerful, he was now lethargic and quiet. But a lot easier to deal with. Devit was difficult, very difficult, last year he pretty much slaughtered a small village and they practically had to force him back to the ark before his actions alerted an exorcist. It was hard to tell what he will do each year.
Every Noah reels on the day that they entered the final stage and killed a loved one, but they would normally just not be themselves, nothing more, nothing less. But for the twins, it was different; they didn't kill their loved one, their kill was taken from them before they had the chance and the effect it has had on them, especially Devit, has been dire. As he inherited more of the genes, the trauma of his kill being taken has caused him to act this way on the anniversary of it. To gain some sort of satisfaction, he slaughters others in order to fill the void.
The Earl stood up, "Now everyone, I'm sure we know what day it is today and that anything can happen. Our top priority is to keep Devit from getting himself caught or killed by the exorcists if he attacks another village."
"We may as well just let him get on with it, less humans to deal with and it's his fault if he gets caught." Tyki said idly.
"I know he can be a pain but if he does get captured by the exorcists they may try and use him against us."
"And he's pretty useless without Jasdero against an exorcist." Road added, which was true, the twins needed each other, so if one got caught or even somehow killed; they wouldn't stand a chance in battle.
The Earl knew this, and just like last year, he'd thought up a plan that would be put into action if Devit did a repeat of last year, both Noah and Akuma may be needed to bring him back, if his motive was strong enough, it can make him unusually strong, they needed someone like Skinn to help. The plan this year was to keep an eye on him by having one of Tyki's Tease to hide on him, it was much less noticeable than to have Akuma follow him around, if something happens, Tyki will know and he can alert everyone else. 2 years ago, they tried to keep him locked within the Ark, which was a very bad idea; Devit more or less wrecked everything in sight so they decided it would be best for him and everyone else to be out.
"Alright, does everyone know what to do in case something happens?" The Earl asked. Everyone nodded. Road however wasn't as worried about Devit as she was Jasdero. Everyone seemed so preoccupied with him it felt like Jasdero was being left out; he was suffering just as much.
"Lord Millennium, may I be excused?" She asked and was given permission to leave. She headed straight for the twins room, but as she walked down the hallway she bumped into Devit. She looked up at him, he wasn't himself and she could tell. If she bumped into him any other day, he'd be annoyingly sarcastic that she'd separated his arm from his shoulder. But now, he just stared at her, his eyes were lifeless but they had a hint of malice in them. They stared in silence for what seemed like hours until he finally said in a cold tone,
"Going out."
With that, he left. She watched him go and noticed a Tease hiding inside his fur rimmed hood. She had a bad feeling about this. Trying to ignore those uneasy feelings, she continued on to see Jasdero, she knew what to do to somewhat cheer him up; it seemed to be the only chance to see her soft and caring side. Unless she was with a certain Allen Walker. Upon reaching their room, she gently pressed her ear against the door to see if she could hear anything. It was quiet.
"Jasdero? Can I come in?" She waited for an answer, but he didn't reply. The quiet Jasdero was now in function. Road carefully opened the door and peeked her head inside, Jasdero was sat at the end of his bed hugging his pillow. She couldn't help but feel disheartened at seeing him like this, it didn't look right at all, he should be wreaking havoc with his brother and annoying the hell out of Tyki and Skinn, it was always fun to watch.
"Jasdero?" She asked as she approached him, not really expecting an answer from. He just sniffled and hugged the pillow more, he looked he was going to burst into tears. "Wh-where's Devi gone?..." He asked her as she sat down next to him.
"He's… gone out for a bit, he'll be back soon." She'd hoped that would relax him slightly but it didn't, he just buried his head into his pillow. This happened last year as well, she knew what to do though. "Hey you haven't brushed your hair yet, it looks all messy." She stood up, retrieved his brush from the desk beside his bed and sat behind him.
She gently pulled his long hair back to rest behind his shoulders and began to brush it, just like his mother did. This calmed him down more and he lifted his head up from the pillow, there was a silence between the two for a while, until Road pulled his hair into a low pony tail.
"Y'know Jasdero, if you wore your hair like this, you'd look kinda handsome."
Jasdero lifted his head more so he could see his reflection the mirror, he stared for a while, but shook his head. Road frowned as she released his hair and continued to gently brush it. She still sensed his uneasiness and began to move to part 2 of her plan of making him feel better, she'd learnt to do this after entering his dreams a few years ago around this time, he'd dream of their mother and she'd always sing this song to make him and Devit feel better.
"For you know, once even I was a little child, and I was afraid, but a gently someone always came, to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears and to give a kiss goodnight, well now I am grown, and these years have shown, the rain's a part of how life goes but it's dark and it's late, so I'll hold you and wait till your frightened eyes do close and I hope that you'll know, that nature is so, the same rain that draws you near me falls on rivers and lands, on forests and sands, makes the beautiful world that you see in the morning, everything's fine in the morning, the rain'll be gone in the morning, but I'll still be here in the morning."
"She's not there though…"
Road stopped singing. "I know… but she might be here right now, you just can't see her."
"Dero wants to see her though... but Devi always says no…"
Road knew this, she knew that they were capable of bringing their mother back. Not their real mother of course, but a doppelganger. But Jasdero can't do it by himself; both twins need to be thinking the same thing for something to come to reality.
"…Jasdero, have ever thought that he says no because he doesn't want you to get upset?"
"Dero's upset now!"
She flinched back a little now, she'd never heard him snap like that, sure, he was cynical under the right circumstances, such as killing an exorcist, but it was always portrayed as a game and he was under the influence of his brother, but this was different.
"... Dero knows she won't be the real one... but Devi wants to see her too, I hear him at night sometimes, but he gets mad…"
"… Well, you know what he's like Dero, he has that much pride, it's almost spilling from his ears."
A very small smile crept onto Jasdero's face at that comment, she was right; he'd always been like that for as long as he could remember, he remembers one time in particular, years ago when they were at school, he was almost certain Devit had a crush on one of the girls and as soon as he asked about it, Devit's exact words were:
"Ew no! Girls are gross! Every single one of them, all they do is cry about shit! Why would I like one of them?!"
As much as those memories amused him, school was always a problem for both of them. Jasdero had always kept his hair long and that made him a target for the bullies, being called a girl was a common insult thrown at him and this led to Devit lashing out at them, he broke one of the bullies arm one time, laughing at his pain, enjoying how he cried, he would have gone further had the teacher not turned up. He got into a lot of trouble for it… they called him a monster. Jasdero quickly shook his head to stop the memory from going further and hid his face in his pillow again as a mix of anger and fear began to take over, they weren't monsters, the sub humans were the monsters!-
"Jasdero."
Road was holding him now, her arms wrapped around him as she leant on his back slightly. "It's going to be okay, I promise."
He was about to respond to her, until Tyki opened the door suddenly, the pair looked at him and he looked slightly worried.
"We might have a problem."
..:~~:..
This place really was disgusting. It was small, cramped, the people were idiots, running and screaming as the fires jumped from building to building, it was no surprise really, they were so tightly packed together, it was a firetrap waiting to happen.
Devit stood amongst the chaos, watching the fires build and the smoke rise into the moonless sky. All the humans were scrambling to put the fires out but it was futile, they were too big to handle now. But though this made him 'happy' in a way, he wasn't done yet, why should the fire get to have all the fun? He wanted to play as well!
Shrugging his coat back over his shoulders, he walked over to the stupid humans trying to put out the fire; they quickly noticed him, assuming he was here to help, but they couldn't have been more wrong, the dark matter had already formed around Devits hand and he began to slash at them, slitting throats, guts, limbs cut clean off… top half's separated from the bottom half. Blood was spilling everywhere, their terrified screams almost drowning out the roaring fire consuming the building, one man tried to grab the Noah from behind, but it only ended in the mortal being thrown into the burning building, the flames clinging to him, burning him, killing him slowly, ever so slowly. It was a beautiful sight, and the horrific screams were like music to his ears. He stared at the carnage for a few minutes, eyeing the disembodied corpses on the ground and wondering if he'd maybe gone too far...
Nope.
Turning his heel, he walked away from the scene and took out his revolver, true, he couldn't materialize without Jasdero, but he was still a Noah, he could still manipulate the dark matter within him, but though his gun was a fairly futile weapon, he knew just the sight of one could spike fear, and he loved it. Luckily, he'd stowed a few away, just for this occasion. But as he reloaded his gun, a mob had gathered behind him, they didn't look too pleased with his handy work, the fact we covered in blood made him stick out, so much so that they'd brought an array of weapons with them, guns, lead pipes, knives, he wouldn't be surprised if someone had a wooden plank with a nail sticking out of it.
The group advanced towards to him, shouting all sorts at him, 'Devil', 'Demon', 'Filth', condemning him to the darkest parts of Hells reach, but he only stared. As much as he'd love to play with them, he had a certain house to visit. Ignoring them, he turned once more and began to walk, but once again, he was grabbed and spun around to face the human holding him. He was yelling… something, the crowds moving in on them but keeping their distance, cowards. Devit stared at the man who had apparently given him a chance to plead his 'innocence', but his answer was a bullet up through the man's jaw and out the top of his head.
"Shut up."
He kicked the lifeless human into the crowd, who in turn started back away as the image before them began to sink in, the majority of them had already started to run, but that was okay, he'd go after them later, he was going to deal with the fools who had decided to stay first. It happened within a flash, he moved with inhuman speed as he cut down the remaining few, their blood staining the ground, there was that much of it that it would probably stay there for a few days.
Looking over his shoulder, he spied what he was looking for, that stupid little house he used to call 'home', he expected it to be empty but as he got closer, he realised that there were people living in there, those bastards! An unexplainable anger built up as he approached the house, kicking the door with that much force it flew right off its hinges and crashed into the opposite wall, he was greeted by a man but he was quickly dealt with, a bullet resting nicely between his eyes before he got too close. Devit looked around the room; it was still the same from what he could remember, the kitchen was still there, that damn table that would always give him splinters and those three small steps… those stupid, little, steps-
"Shh sweetie."
His head quickly turned back to that table and he flipped it over, revealing a woman and two small girls hiding underneath it. He pointed his gun at them as the mother stared up at him, her cheeks already stained with tears and fear plastered all over her face. She huddled the children against her but they still peeked at the intruder. But once he got a decent look at them, he thought his stomach was going to leap out his throat.
They were twins.
They looked terrified, big blue eyes were staring straight at him, and it was making him feel sick, he regained his posture and straightened his arm, pointing the gun properly at them again, but as the girls gazed at him, he could feel his hand start to sweat. Dammit, why couldn't he pull the trigger?
"Please go… You've done enough damage, leave us alone!" The mother shouted.
He shot a glare at the woman and he was finally able to pull the trigger, but it only hit the ground in front of them, causing them squeal and cling onto each other more. "Shut up. You'll all be wiped out soon, so I can either let you burn alive, or I can shoot you in the he-" Before he had time to finish his sentence, something wrapped around his waist, he only had time to stare it for a second before he was yanked out of the house and flung into the building opposite. The forced of hitting the other house dazed him slightly, and the dust that surrounded him was stinging his eyes, hindering his vision slightly, but he didn't need to see what dragged him from the house. Forcing himself up, he stormed out of the dust cloud, ready to obliterate the Akuma that got in his way, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He yelled, but the Akuma, a lowly level 2, had its back to him. "Hey! Go blow yourself up!" Dark matter was already solidifying in his hands, he was about to attack the Akuma, but as soon as it turned to face the Noah, that horrible feeling of wanting to be sick settled in Devits stomach again and the dark matter dissipated completely.
"I'm sorry Master Noah, but the Earl says I don't have to listen to you."
Devit could only stare wide eyed at the Akuma, unable to move or think properly, all he could focus on was the Akuma's appearance, its disgusting appearance, which was causing a feeling to brew that was somewhat foreign to him.
Fear
It looked like a clown, the twisted features of its face were prominent, its sickly yellow 'eyes' were held open with hooks, it had menacing sharp teeth, its white face was plastered with blood and smeared make up of blue and red. Every little detail that would send chills up the Noah's spine.
"Blow up."
Devit managed to mumble as he started to slowly back away from the Akuma, he couldn't tear his eyes off it, no matter how much he wanted to, a weird instinct to watch its every move had taken over him. The Akuma continued its advance but it was slow, it was given strict orders to just keep Devits attention long enough to get him back onto the Ark, but it wasn't told to not enjoy this moment.
"Blow. Up." Devit tried again, but it ignored him again and launched forward a few feet, spiked teeth bared and a chilling cackle emitting from its throat, the sudden action from the Akuma caused him to quickly back up, only to trip on a fallen piece of rubble and hitting the ground as it towered above him. This was horrible; he hadn't felt this weak in a long time, he could hear his heart beating in his ears, sweat was starting to bead on his forehead and he couldn't stop his body from shaking lightly. As the Akuma closed in on him, he tried one more time,
"Blow up you fucking piece of shit!" He screamed, probably a little louder than he expected, but the Akuma laughed and launched itself at him. Unable to make himself move, feeling completely paralysed, he shut his eyes tight and waited for the attack.
"Alright, that's enough." Hang on, he recognised that voice. Devit opened his eyes, expecting to be in the village he'd single handedly destroyed, but he was back on the Ark, looking up, he spied Tyki standing over him. He couldn't figure out what emotion to feel right now, he was relieved that the Akuma had stopped, but he was pissed that Tyki had sent that Akuma after him in the first place.
"Y-You bastard!"
Tyki then reached down and yanked Devit to his feet. "What were you playing at?! You could've alerted an Exorcist with that stunt you pulled!" Devit glared at Tyki, completely ignoring the scolding, he wanted nothing more than to rip his throat out. Tyki shoved the teen towards the hallway that lead to his room.
"Get yourself cleaned up, you're dripping blood everywhere." He half expected the twin to yell some sort of profanity at him, but he just yanked himself free and paced down to his room. Sighing, Tyki ran his fingers through his hair and walked in the opposite direction, but before he left, he looked over his shoulder at the Akuma.
"You." The Akuma looked at its Master, waiting for its order.
"Blow yourself up."
..:~~:..
Devit had been in the shower for a while now, the water running down his body and down the plug hole was coloured a diluted red, he wasn't even trying to scrub the blood off, he was just letting the water do it for him, no matter how long it took. His clothes were just thrown in a messy pile in the corner, completely soaked in the blood of the villagers. The warm water felt nice, but he was bored of standing under it; he just wanted to go bed. Shutting off the water, he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist, then grabbing a second to messily dry his hair. After roughly drying his hair, he pushed his fringe back, letting it stay there for a moments, before realising he probably looked like Tyki, so he shook his head to let his hair fall back into place.
He went to leave the bathroom but he paused, catching sight of his self in the mirror, he'd grown used to seeing his skin stone grey colour, but something had caught his eye, as the steam cleared, he spied two scars resting on his chest. Bullet hole scars. Despite the fact his body was now able to heal itself from any form of trauma; those two little scars had remained. He stared at them with blank eyes; the memory of that night quickly flooding back to him, the sound of the gun shots and screams echoing in his mind, he felt like his head was going to explode and the sight of those scars were fuelling his temper like never before. He screamed at the top of voice and smashed his fist against the mirror, causing it to crack and smash around his fist. He panted slightly as he calmed himself down, hanging his head and holding his fist against the broken mirror a while longer, before drawing it back, not bothering to analyse the blood trailing down his arm as he left the bathroom.
"Devi…?"
Devits eyes glanced towards where the timid voice came from. Jasdero was sat cross legged on his own bed, already dressed for bed, it'd been a long day, but it wasn't over just yet. He watched his twin grab some shorts a shirt, this part was always awkward.
"Devi… Where did you go this time?"
After a few moments of silence, he answered, but it was in a cold tone. "Just some village, doesn't matter." With that, he proceeded to get dressed, not bothering to face his brother. Jasdero glanced at him, he knew the answer to his next question but maybe this year would different.
"Devi.. can we-"
"No Dero." He hissed before the question was properly asked. It was always the same, why didn't he get message already?
Jasdero shifted slightly, "Why not? It's just for tonight."
"You know why Dero!" He glared at him over his shoulder this time. "It won't be the real thing, and we're not supposed to care about that woman anymore." He stood up this time, grabbing the used towel and heading to the bathroom to dump it, but Dero wasn't giving up yet.
"I know that… but can't we just do it this one time?"
"Shut up, Dero."
"No Devi!" Jasdero stood up off his bed this time. "You always say no, but you never say why!"
"Shut up Jasdero."
"You want to see her as well, you talk about her in your sleep sometimes, why do you keep saying no!?" Before Jasdero had time to react, Devit had pinned him against the wall, smashing his fist against the wall next to his head,
"'Cause I can't remember what she fucking looks like!"
What did he just say? Jasdero went to lock eyes with his twin, but Devit wasn't looking at him, instead, his head was hanging, letting his hair hide his face and his arm was trembling slightly. After a few minutes of silence, Jasdero decided to break it.
"Devi? What do you mean?"
He didn't answer at first; he just held his position, trying to find the right words to explain what he meant. "I can't… I can't remember what she looks like, Dero…" His legs then suddenly decided they didn't want to hold him up anymore, so he began to slowly sink to the floor; Jasdero followed him down and held onto his shoulders to stop him from falling forward.
"…Why can't you remember? It wasn't that long ago, and your memory isn't that bad, hee." He tried to lighten the mood slightly, but it had little effect.
"…When those bastards shot me and I fell back… I cracked my head open on those fucking steps." He hissed, still avoiding eye contact as the memory quickly replaying in his head.
"I can't remember what her face looks like, if we tried to make her appear.. she'd look like some fucked up doll- I'm sorry, Dero!" He suddenly yelled. Jasdero just stared at him, feeling completely dumbfounded at what just happened, Devit never apologised about anything, but it all made sense now, why he kept saying no all these years... He then leant forward and wrapped his bandage covered arms around his twin, he could feel him shaking ever so slightly but he kept quiet. As he held onto him, Devit rested his forehead against Jasdero's shoulder and kept repeating, 'I'm sorry Dero, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' and this made Jasdero realise how weird it felt, it was meant to be the other way around with situations like this. Letting go, he clapped Devit upside the head, to which he let out a yelp.
"What was that for?!"
"Stop saying sorry! It's not your fault… you should have said something earlier, hee!"
Devit finally looked his brother in the eye, not quite believing what had just happened, it felt like they'd swapped roles, like Jasdero was looking after him. Leaning back slightly, he let out a sigh, he wouldn't admit it, but he couldn't begin to describe how relieved he felt, he'd kept that locked up for so long-… "I sound like a woman, man up already." As he got to his feet, he pulled Jasdero up with him.
"Can we go to bed now, Devi? 'M tired, hee."
Smiling slightly, he shoved Jasdero back onto his bed, then climbed into his own. He was about to settle down, until he felt Jasdero sneak in next to him and wrapping his arms around him.
"Night Devi, hee."
That smile crept back onto his face, undoubtedly happy that his only remaining family was next to him. "Night, Dero."
They didn't need a mother, or anyone else for that matter. Twins only need each other, nothing more, nothing less.
A:N- Wow okay, this was much harder to write than I thought. The Twins are meant to be out of character for this, bear in mind that this is not a normal day for them and I wanted to see what it would be like to portray them like this.
