CHAPTER 2: Nightmares
All she could hear was screaming. All she could smell was smoke… and blood. It took a little while, but soon Saya realized it was her that was screaming. And the smoke was the mansion burning. 'Who could have done this?' she thought. She immediately thought of Diva and wondered if she was ok. And then Saya saw her sister. Diva was holding Joel's limp body in her arms, her lips pressed to his neck.
"Diva!" Saya shouted. "What have you done?"
Diva grinned and she dropped Joel's body. "I'm only giving him what he deserved for the years of torture and experiments he put me through."
"But he was like a father to me. He was the only person who ever loved me," Saya said as she dropped to her knees.
"Oh come on sister, at least I made it quick and painless," Diva coaxed as she walked around behind Saya and put her hands on Saya's shoulders. Leaning down to her ear, Diva whispered, "He deserved to die Saya. For everything he's done, he deserved that much." Diva returned to her full height as she began to giggle. Saya squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to hear her sister. Diva's giggle turned into a full fledged laugh. Saya couldn't stand it anymore. She threw hands up to cover her ears and screamed.
"Noooooooooooo!"
Saya sat up quickly, eyes searching left and right. Another nightmare. She was covered in sweat. She could still feel the heat of the flames. She could still hear Diva's laugh. But she knew that it was all a long time ago. Over a hundred years ago to be exact. She wasn't even in the same country anymore. She was in Okinawa, Japan, in a bedroom above a bar run by her adoptive human family. Since leaving the Zoo, many things had happened. She had joined forces with a group known as the Red Shield. She had discovered her origins as a Chiropteran, like her twin sister Diva. She had learned about the creation of Diva's Chevaliers. She had fought many battles against said Chevaliers and many other Chiropterans. She had even created 2 of her own Chevaliers, Cloud and Squall (yea, I went there). She had also gone through several stages of a 30 year hibernation, which always left her slightly amnesiac. Her memory had just recently come back to her. And the one thing she really missed was her dear sister. The person she hated and loved at the same time. With a sigh, Saya lay her head back down and went back to sleep.
"Did you sleep ok last night Saya?" George asked her as she stepped off of the last stair and into the main room of the bar.
"Not really," she replied.
"Nightmares again?" George asked.
"Yea. Same one as always."
"Hmm… Cloud and Squall were here earlier. I think they headed down to the beach with Riku and Kai. Riku was pretty insistent about teaching them to surf." George said with a smile.
Saya couldn't help but giggle. The last time Riku had tried to teach them to surf, Cloud had fallen and hit his head on his board, and Squall had run right into Kai, knocking them both off their boards. Her Chevaliers weren't the most coordinated guys, but they were the most competent swordsmen she had ever met. Saya threw her shoes on and headed out the door towards the beach. She couldn't miss this, it was almost guaranteed to be another priceless moment.
"Saya!" She spun quickly to see David, her Red Shield contact, coming towards her. "Hello Saya," David said without any emotion.
"Oh, hello Mr. David. What's new with the Red Shield? More Chiropteran sightings?" Saya asked.
"Actually, we think we've found Diva," David replied. Saya froze. They had found her sister. After 60 years of no positive sightings, they think they had found her.
"Diva," Saya said slowly, remembering her sister and the dream she had just had the previous night. "Where?" she demanded.
"We believe she's back in France. She was recently spotted with a known Chevalier at the Louvre in Paris by one of our agents, and we believe she may be headed back to the Zoo," David replied.
"Back to where it all started," Saya whispered.
"Yes. We're already prepping the boat for departure, and we've got a helicopter standing by as well. We'll be ready to leave whenever you're ready. You know where to find us." With that, David turned on his heel and walked back the direction he had come from.
"Diva," Saya whispered again. Oh how much she missed her sister. She hated that things had turned out the way they had. She hated going to war against her own flesh and blood, the only real family she had ever known. But she didn't have a choice. Or did she?
