Author's Note: I don't own Soul Nomad or any of its characters.
I really, really, didn't like how this chapter turned out so I'm really sorry that if it didn't turn out too well quality wise…
And finally, Merry Christmas!
Chapter 7: Growing Darkness
"Huh?"
Danette's head suddenly jerked upwards, her tags lightly slapping her ears.
"Is there something wrong, Danette?" Asked an amused woman.
"Lady Lay-Virtuous!" Danette exclaimed. "Um…shouldn't you be resting?"
Virtuous smiled and let out a small laugh, "I'm quite fine. This body is more fitting than the last, it won't fall apart as quickly so I no longer have to sleep as often as before."
"I guess that makes sense…" The Sepp admitted. "So, what's up?"
"I was watching you and noticed you looked troubled. I wanted to see if you were all right."
Danette sheepishly touched one of her horns. "Well I guess…I mean no…I mean…I dunno. I just suddenly got this real bad vibe."
"I see," Virtuous answered. "Perhaps is has to do with them?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," the Sepp girl snorted. "She's not exactly the most reliable person and he's the world's biggest jerk! Who knows what sorta trouble they'd get into up there…alone."
Danette's voice trailed off. Virtuous gently asked, "Are you worried? They've been gone for several weeks."
"N-no, of course not!" When Virtuous raised a knowing eyebrow Danette shrunk a little and admitted, "Okay, fine, maybe a little…a lot…urgh, I just can't explain it. It's mostly her I'm worried about though."
"You don't trust Gig with her?"
"That's-I dunno…" Danette sighed. "It sounds funny to think about it sometimes but…I'm not sure. Sometimes I do but others times…ugh… I don't know why I'm so worked up over all this. I mean, it shouldn't be any different than all the other times they've gone off on their own but still it's just really driving me crazy having to wait around like this."
Virtuous nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure they're fine. All we can do is have faith in them. They'll be home soon enough."
"I guess…before ya know it he'll be back insulting and complaining and calling me stupid-even though I'm not-and moaning on about hotpods. And she'll be right after him…probably lazing off again or something. Speaking of which, while she's off doing who knows what she's been missed a lot of training sessions! I swear, when she gets back I'm making her work overtime!"
"Hmph, 'lazing off'?" Rumbled a deep voice. "You're one to talk. Weren't you supposed to be catching up with priest training?"
Danette turned to the newcomer with a defiant look and said, "Hey! I'm working on it, okay? I'm just-taking a break right now."
"That must be some break, every time I've come out here you're 'on break'," the Redflank returned.
"Hey! Since when do you get to lecture me?" Danette's face turned slightly red.
"Watch your tone, Sepp girl," Grunzford chastised. "When you get to be my age, then you may speak back."
"But that'll take ages!"
"Exactly, during that time you may develop manners, though as a Sepp that seems highly unlikely."
"Heeeey, that's mean!" Danette protested. "And in front of Lady Virtuous too and-uh…L-lady Virtuous?"
Virtuous suddenly moved towards the gates of the common area. Danette and Grunzford exchanged glances as they followed. At first Danette couldn't understand the cause but as she looked towards the gates she understood.
"It's you!" She cried.
----
The one thing that Gig had learned well in his existence was how much he hated dreams that had to do with the past.
Especially when they weren't his.
Somewhere in that haze of red were images…
Hot fire…
Being abandoned…left to die…
The eyes of the man that meant the most as he stood by…
The pain as something sharp was driven into the torso…
While the one that meant the most turned away…
Then suddenly, back on Drazil…
That cow was there, talking to…whoever this was. So was the real Layna…
The person and Danette were leaving…
Things were finished and they were going home…without a certain someone…
"Moving…moving on…to be…the one left behind…"
----
When Gig woke up, he felt in as foul a mood as ever. He hadn't had to deal with cryptic dreams in over a year and he hadn't missed the experience. At least back then those dreams had something to do with him specifically but-
But then he remembered the second set of images.
They weren't his, that was for sure. The only one who would remember it that way would have to be the kid.
Hell, the first set weren't either of theirs. The only person he could think of that matched the bill would have to be a certain recently deceased.
And then there was that voice…
Gig shook his head. This was beginning to give him a headache.
"Hey, kid, you up yet?" He called.
No answer.
It wasn't just that. There was virtually no sign she had been there. The spot she had been the night before hadn't been depressed, the grass looked overgrown, as though it had been untended for a long time.
Gig suppressed a dark sensation as he pulled himself to his feet and glanced around frantically, "Hey, kid! If your around here, get your freckin' ass out here right now! I swear if I have to go looking for you again I'm not going to happy! HEY!"
Only silence met his response.
Unwillingly, the dream's words echoed in his head, "Moving…moving on…to be…the one left behind…"
Gig clenched his teeth.
That was when he began to notice another few unsettling developments.
One, the sky was looking ominously obscured by dark clouds.
Two, there was a lot of dust in the air.
Three, the lively clearing now looked…dead.
The hell?
"One thing after another…"
Gig crossed the path through the now-mostly cleared-trees, almost tripping over that inconvenient rock again, and stumbled onto the main road. He eyed the marks up north, leading to the country curiously. The marks seemed to trace around, diving the country from the area near Mira…
Gig nearly touched it but then stopped himself. He couldn't help but get a nagging sensation…
He kicked up a stray pebble towards the line and watched as it came streaking back, barely missing his head, as an invisible force repelled it.
"Figures," he said with a scowl. He wondered if he had the Crimson Tear to blame for this too. If the way out was cut off that only left the hellhole he had gotten thrown out of.
Up ahead were the gates of Mira. Even from that distance, Gig could tell something wasn't wrong. Unlike 'yesterday' there were no guards. The gates were pretty much gone now too. It looked like they had been forcefully torn from the inside.
Scratch that up as oddity number four and still counting.
Unconsciously, Gig found himself being drawn closer. Despite the fact he had been itching to get away from the hellhole morbid curiosity had a nasty habit for overcoming common sense.
Among the first things he noticed were that like outside the city's walls, there was practically no visible life. Before Scarlet Iago had broken out there had been a festive happiness in the air. After Scarlet Iago there had been life too, a festering desperate desire to survive, the fact there was so little of anything right now was down right creepy.
As Gig nearly rounded the next corner, someone barreled into him.
Swears came from both parties. Then the newcomer suddenly gasped, "It's-you're-"
Gig didn't bother concealing his surprise.
It was that rock throwing-shin mauling-brat! Only, they looked notable older and that did little to soothe Gig's suspicions about what the Crimson Tear had done.
There was a shrill whistling in the distance and the brat seemed to freeze. He mouthed the words 'oh crap' and quickly pulled himself back up and began to run, leaving Gig to stare blankly.
The hell…
The brat wasn't too far when they turned back and hissed, "What're you doing!? Do you want to be caught!?"
"By what!?" Gig growled.
His question was soon answered by the sound of heavy footsteps and someone shouting, "Up there! That way!"
Judging by the stereotypical dark clothing, pointy knives, and rabid looks of greed, now would have been a good time to exit.
Gig zipped to where the brat had indicated. It was one of the side alleyways, behind a pile of debris. While it wasn't the best hiding place the brat seemed to be too scared too be picky. The footsteps stopped for a while. There was a close call as someone stopped at the mouth, Gig had been ready to move if something happened, but someone called them away.
"I don't see nothin'."
"Then ya better see somethin'. The boss ain't going to be too happy if we come up empty handed again."
"The boss? Hah! I'm more worried 'bout the employer. That Dracon's a crazy fucker!"
Dracon? Gig thought. Why was it that everything in that city seem to trace back to that guy?
"Heh, I hear ya. Hangin' around his place is enough to make me want to run home, cryin' to the old lady."
"The work ain't gettin' easier either. We're runnin' out of excuses to make arrests."
"Hey, guys, three words. Shut up and move it! The rat can't be too far away."
"But…that ain't three words…"
The speaker was quickly cuffed across the head before their steps thudded away.
The brat let out a deep sigh of relief; their body collapsed against the wall. "They're gone…"
"Exactly, who are 'they' anyway?" Gig asked.
In Gig's mind, if there were sound effects, this would be the place where a piano would have crashed to the ground, matching the jaw drop of the brat. "Y-you don't know!? Are you serious!?"
"Obviously, I don't, otherwise I wouldn't waste my time asking," Gig responded irritably.
"Was your head buried under a rock or something!?"
"I haven't been around for a long while!" Gig said defensively, which was technically true, or at least by his guess. "But I know someone who will be buried if they don't start explaining things."
The younger of the two looked at Gig with a look crossed between dislike and incredibility. "They're 'security' guys, or at least that's what that Dracon calls them. They root out young guys specifically. They'll look for any excuse to bring you in-they wanted to bring me in because they said I looked too shifty!
" If you haven't heard of 'em, I'm surprised a guy like you've survived this long without even hearing about them unless…unless you're a plant and are actually one of them!"
He took a few steps back, tensing to run again.
Gig calmly drawled, "For one thing, if I were one of them, I'd probably nail them for lacking originality. Two, kidnapping's boring as hell and way too much effort. Three, I would have kicked you in the teeth and dragged your sorry ass in already. And speaking of kicking, still clobbering unsuspecting saps in the shins?"
"N-no!" The brat turned bright red. "Anyway, who are you one to talk!? You sill picking on defenseless kids?!"
"I wasn't picking on anyone! You screwed with me first, I responded. Simple as that."
"I apologized!"
"And then whacked me back, what? Five seconds later? I think the idea of an 'apology' constitutes to not doing it again or something."
"'Cause you deserved it!"
The two glared each other down. Gig was reminded why he hated dealing with little brats. He'd gotten some information at least…
However, there was something bothering him…
"Hey, if those guys are supposed to be 'security' what happened to the knights and that Liam guy?"
The brat looked at him with another 'where have you been' look. "Gone. Either got recalled to the capital during the civil war or disbanded with the captain's suicide. They say the guy went nuts, something about nightmares and a red light. Don't know how anyone could lose it from that."
Gig wasn't as surprised by the revelation of Liam's suicide as the last bit about the 'red light'. It made him think about other unsettling things. Like Reira's last words to Liam. And…
"Moving…moving on…to be…the one left behind…"
Gig grimaced.
Meanwhile, the brat was still eyeing at Gig suspiciously. "How could you not know any of this?"
"Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told ya," Gig shrugged.
"I've heard tons of excuses," the brat said indignantly. "You're already really, really suspicious already."
"Then beat it."
"I should." The brat, oddly enough, remained planted. "But you owe me. I told you stuff so pay up. That's street rules."
"Fine, you want an answer?" Gig said laconically. "I've either been pulling a rip van winkle or some jilted bitch who really should take therapy sessions made me time travel. There's your answer."
The brat stared at him with a slack jaw. When Gig smirked at the reaction the brat snarled something unfitting for his age.
It was probably a good thing that at that moment, someone else appeared through the alleyways. They both tensed a moment, in case one of the 'security' guards had double backed, but it was some Sepp instead.
The brat instantly perked up at the sight of the newcomer. "Raul!"
'Raul' smirked a little revealing his yellow teeth and ruffled the younger's hair. "C'mon, I've been looking all over for ya. We gotta split before-holy shit! You're that guy!"
Both Gig and the brat blinked in surprise. "What? You talking about me?"
"Y-ya, you!" The Sepp voice cracked with anger, his face paling slightly. "You were with that whore that broke my nose!"
"You two've met?" The brat asked, nervously glancing between the two.
"'Course we have!" His fingers twitched to where Gig could see the outline of knives. "He's one of the jerks that put the guys out of action, right before the Scarlet Iago outbreak!"
"Ooooh yeah, I vaguely remember something like that," Gig said with a sardonic look. "I probably would have remembered more if they put up a better fight. I didn't even feel a bead of sweat from those guys. It was like swatting flies actually."
"You son of a-"
"'Bitch'? Such an original insult! Put a lot of thought into it?"
"That does it!" To Gig's surprise, the guy actually drew a knife. Maybe he was more than just talk? "I'll pay you back for the guys, right here, right now."
Gig let out a dark laugh. "Big talk. Just because I don't have a visible weapon, right? Not that I need it, it wouldn't take much to take you down. I'll break your nose again, just for memory's sake."
Raul snarled a curse and balanced the knife.
"Raul, stop it!" The brat hissed.
What stopped him however, wasn't his sibling.
It was another hand appearing and calmly holding his arm back.
"Careful now, this ain't exactly the best place for a showdown," the newcomer said in a familiar voice.
Isn't that….
"Lobo?" Raul's anger seemed to drain a little at the sight of the other Sepp.
"Where were you?" The brat demanded. "You were supposed to stick close to Raul!"
"Relax, it's not like anything happened to him while I was away. Besides," he pointed at the sack he brought with him. "Someone had to grab a hold of the loot, what with someone causing a commotion and making their dear brother run off to find them. In case you forgot, we've been running short since some of the guys went missing. We're not really in the position to pass up an opportunity just because someone messed up on their end."
The siblings suddenly looked guilty at Lobo's last words. The Sepp continued. Anyway, I got the cash before anyone noticed what was going on. They should still be clueless right now but someone's bound to figure it out soon enough so shouldn't we book it? Same to you, pal."
He nodded to Gig with a friendly grin. One, Gig noted, that didn't match his eyes.
"But-" Raul protested but Lobo's gaze made him stop. He sullenly sheathed his knives and said through gritted teeth to Gig, "We finish this. Later. We hang around warehouse 9, if you aren't a coward."
"Whatever," Gig said.
"Raul, c'mon!" The brat said with an exasperated look.
"Comin', Mikaila."
The two siblings took off. Gig looked confused.
"Isn't 'Mikaila' a girl's name?"
Lobo laughed. He casually walked up beside Gig and lit a cigar. "You look familiar."
"Yeah?" Gig said, in a noncommittal tone.
"Yeah. You see, I was doing some small time work during the Inspections. The whole thing was pretty boring. A frenzied mob, a few deaths here and there, heartbroken relatives, the usual from an affair like that. Maybe it'd just because the rest of the show was a let down from how it opened. Some redhead with a black sword suddenly acted up and wrecked a bit of havoc. They say that there was this red light that day and some guy that was there with her too. Ever hear of it?"
"Nope, can't say I have," Gig didn't miss a beat, returning Lobo's grin with his own. "Heheh."
Lobo shrugged. "Must've mixed you up with someone else then. Sorry about that. See ya later, pal. "
----
"And that's what happened," Revya finished.
She hadn't wanted to come back to the village but as time went by on the plateau, Revya's desperation brought her back. She had been up there for three days before she decided to come back. And all the time there had been no sign from anyone, let alone the Crimson tear. Only those unsettling dreams that echoed the same words over and over again…
"Released…you…released…you are released…"
Virtuous exhaled, "I see. It seems like you have had quite the experience."
Revya nodded absently and said, "I'm sorry to bother you about it but I didn't know what to do. I called out to her several times but I all I got was…nothing."
"It isn't really making much sense," Danette said. "I mean, tossing you out but keeping him?"
"I don't know," the redhead answered. Though she did have many guesses, none that were pleasant. "That's why I came back. I thought that since Grunzford had brought it up he'd know something about it."
"Do you?" Virtuous asked the Redflank.
He shook his head. "As much as I would like to give you a straight answer, I don't know much more than I already told you. It's been ages since I heard about the other two."
"Other...two?" Danette cocked her head slightly. "What's that supposed to mean? Did I miss something?"
"I'm with Danette on this, what other two?" Revya asked.
"It was about some odd years ago…sometime after I left the village and before I met Trish I believe. An acquaintance's daughter had a run in with the Crimson Tear when she went camping with her fiance in the mountains. It was the same curse, a fused body between her and him."
"So you've seen this before?" Revya asked. She knew he had to have heard it from somewhere but she was a little surprised. "Then why didn't you tell us about it before we left?"
"You two were so quick to take off I didn't have much of a chance to explain," Grunzford said simply.
"Oh…" The redhead said sheepishly. That was right…when they decided what they needed to do all her and Gig just called back a quick farewell…
"As I was saying, my acquaintance had a daughter cursed by the Crimson Tear during my visit. He started researching the curse and asked for assistance. It's happened many times in the past two hundred years, most commonly it's been between couples or in the odd case just two close friends, non-discriminatory towards gender. When his daughter and her love heard about the 'series of tests and display of true love' they left immediately. They were gone for so long time that I had moved on during that time. It wasn't until a few years later that I heard about them again in a letter her father sent me."
"Did they succeed?" Virtuous asked the loaded question.
"I assumed do. He said she was back home and living in peace. A bit quieter but she seemed well and her lover was mentioned briefly however… " He closed his eyes, recalling the memory, "Something about his words seemed a bit off. I dismissed it at the time but upon reflection maybe there was something more he wasn't telling me. It's been years since we last spoke so I've never really thought about it until recently."
Hearing that placed a feeling of uncertainty in Revya. She quickly brushed it aside. "Do you know where she is today?"
"Probably still near home, assuming she's the same girl I remember," Grunzford said. "Are you planning on paying a visit?"
"I'd like to," Revya answered. She lightly fiddled with her side strands. "If she knows something about Reira and that world I might be able to find out what's going on."
"Hmmm…" Grunzford sunk into thought. After a moment he said, "I had been planning on checking on her father when I left the village. Perhaps now would be a better time."
"Now?" Revya asked.
"I don't see why not," Grunzford said. "Besides, you looked ready to run off the instant I brought it up."
Revya ducked her head and sheepishly muttered something. Danette gave her a sly look to which Revya returned with a look of ire that could have rivaled Gig's. To which, of course, the Sepp seemed blissfully immune.
"Then the two of you will be off?" Virtuous asked.
"As long as there are no objections," he said. "It isn't as far as Astec so we wouldn't be gone for too long. It might as well just be a peaceful stroll."
"Not too far, huh," Danette said thoughtfully. She nodded her head and grinned, "In that case, I'm coming too!"
"Danette?" Revya cocked her head slightly.
"C'mon, it'll be like before!" Danette said excitedly. "Besides, I have about million questions I want to ask you."
The Redflank let out a huff. "Don't you have enough on your plate priest training and playing 'town guardian'?"
"Yeah, but you said it yourself, it's only for a little while so it won't be that big a deal if I cut for a short bit." Danette turned and appealed to Revya, "Besides, you don't mind, right?"
"Not really," Revya said with a shrug, though she was privately glad.
"Great, then it's settled!"
"Hmph, so much for 'peaceful'," the Redflank muttered.
Virtuous laughed softly at the comment. However, as her eyes wandered over to the black sword her look became opaque. "Revya, may I speak with you in private?"
"Huh?" Danette blinked. "About what?"
"Nothing important, just a small curiosity," Virtuous assured her.
Grunzford nodded while Danette looked like she would insist on staying behind and listening. He began trudging away and called, "Come along, Sepp Girl. This is grown up talk."
"G-grown up talk!?" Danette stuttered. She seemed to forget what she was planning and she ran to catch up with him. "I am too grown up! At least more than her! Are you listening old man!? Hey…."
Virtuous smiled in amusement as the Sepp's voice trailed off while Revya smiled weakly. "She never changes…"
"Perhaps, I would say she has more…creative ways of expressing her maturity," Virtuous commented.
Revya nodded in agreement. "You wanted to speak to me, Lady Virtuous?"
The opaque look returned to her features. "Yes, it concerns your sword."
"My sword?"
Before Revya could ask further the Master of Life extended her arms and her staff materialized in her hands. She lifted it upwards and there was a spark of light.
And then something odd occurred.
The onyx blade's hilt started radiating a warm aura. It suddenly went into recluse but it had been too late. It had already been discovered.
"Wh-what was that?" Revya asked, looking the sword apprehensively.
Virtuous made the staff dematerialize. "It seems to have acquired a new occupant."
"New…occupant?" She repeated.
"Yes, or rather, part of something at the very least," she explained. "As you are well aware, that sword is a demon sword, ideal for carrying souls. This one however…something feels off about it. It feels incomplete. Do you have any idea where it may have come from?"
At first, Revya was about to answer 'no' but then she remembered something…
On the day Reira died the sword, when the bright red light had filled the sky, it had felt the same way…
"Maybe," she answered.
"I see," Virtuous said. "While I don't sense any malice from it but I would be careful."
"I will," Revya promised.
"Very well, I await your return." Virtuous lightly squeezed her arm. "Both of you."
Somehow, Revya didn't need to ask whom else Virtuous was talking about.
----
Flames again…
Zazana with Odie…
"…Ran away?"
"…No! They were just gone when I woke up this morning! Along with all their stuff…"
"Don't they have a word for that? Like, fly-by-night or something?"
Standing on the plateau of the Yuga Mountains…
The person seemed to be hesitant, but after a moment began the trek down the mountains alone…
"Moving…moving on…to be…the one left behind…"
"Stop fucking around with me!"
----
There was a dark figure standing over Gig as he awoke.
He instantly tensed but the figure flinched away.
"Do you always look angry when you wake up?" The brat-actually-girl-but-didn't-really-look-it-named Mikaila asked.
"Do you always watch people in their sleep?" Gig countered. "Do you have any idea how undeniably creeper-like that is?"
The girl stubbornly stuck out her chin and said, "I'm doing you a favor! If you're alone certain guys are likely to slit your throat or something."
Wouldn't surprise Gig. When he had decided to take a look at the warehouse a good chunk of the residents there were among Raul's little group. While he had been told not to worry about them Gig didn't exactly believe in the idea of honor among thieves. The last guy who had been like that was Endorph and none of them were him. Gig would rather not wake up with a knife buried in his back but right now he wouldn't mind if one of them tried just so he'd have an excuse…
"Moving…moving on…to be…the one left behind…"
Gig felt another dark stab of irritation. He'd skip trying to get back to sleep…
"Are you heading out?" Mikaila asked curiously, as he stretched and moved towards the doors.
"Better than hiding around like a rat," he answered. "I only came because I needed to get some sleep and I had to kick your brother's ass to do it."
Gig didn't really want to hang around there much longer. He didn't know what he was going to do now but having to deal with a fight obsessed moron like Raul who kept insisting that he 'avenge' his losses was boring. And besides that, Raul's second hand man was making him uneasy. He'd rather be able to find something than wait around and see what shit the Crimson Tear decided to grace him with next.
"You could just wait till Raul and Lobo get back from scouting," she suggested. She said the second name with a hint of venom. Looked like Gig wasn't the only one who disliked the guy…
"See the above response," he said.
Mikaila's eyes narrowed. "No wonder you got ditched…"
Stab. Twitch.
The brat had come to the conclusion after casually asking Gig earlier what happened to the nice redhead that was with him when they last met. When Gig didn't give a straight answer she 'logically' decided that was what had to have happened.
Between that and the Crimson Tear's latest set of images that was the last thing he wanted to be hearing. Especially from a let snot who knew nothing.
"Shut up. Now."
She blinked in response, as though deciding now would be a very good time to drop it. "Whatever…hey, since you're going out…can I ask you a favor?"
"I don't know, can you?"
"Will you just listen?" She demanded. "This is serious!"
"Should you really be acting so rude to someone you want to ask a favor from?" He asked with a sardonic look. "A simple 'please, grant me your merciful help' would go a long ways."
"Fine, could you please lend me your merciful help?" Mikaila seethed.
"Depends on what it's about."
"I want to go out too."
"Then go."
"I can't go alone because it's the rules everyone goes out in at least groups of two and no one else will go with me."
"Then why not pester your dear brother's friends instead? Hell, I bet you'd rather to hang around with them than me."
"You're right, I would," she said sourly. "But my brother told them not to because of my last time out so you're the only person I can think of that wouldn't really care about his wishes so I was thinking-"
"Forget it, I'm not playing babysitter," Gig said dismissively. "You wanting to go out hardly counts as 'serious'".
"This is serious! I have a bad feeling about all this!" She insisted. Forcing herself to calmly down she said, "I'm worried about Raul. He's been gone longer than he should be. Lobo's missing too but that guy's always missing. Raul isn't like that."
"Wouldn't he just be with Lobo?" Gig asked. "I mean, if he's supposed to be the so-called leader and Lobo the 'faithful right-hand man' then I don't see why the panic."
"Just because he's second in command doesn't mean he's trustworthy," Mikaila replied. "He does his job really well and all but it never feels right when he's around. You've talked to him too, don't you feel it?"
Gig lightly scuffed the warehouse ground. Of course he had, even without having met Lobo back in the real world, he'd have to grudgingly agree. Lobo was the type of guy that smiled, patted you on the shoulder and kept a knife ready at your back. If that wasn't enough to earn a spot near the bottom of Gig's to-trust list it would have to be the guy's far-too-curious expression when he recognized that him and the kid were the ones from the Inspections.
"Fine, I'll give you that, but I don't see why I have to waste my time over this," he said.
"You don't have anything better to do anyway," she replied stubbornly. "Since you won't do it to be nice just do it so I don't keep bugging you about it."
"Or, I could just walk out that door and skip the part where you keep pestering me."
Mikaila let out an impatient growl, "There's nothing I can do to get you to help me?"
"Nothing," he intoned.
She glared at him angrily. For a moment, it looked like she would revert back to herself from when they first met and attempt a shin kick or something.
And then Mikaila smirked very demonic grin.
----
It turned out that it wouldn't have been accurate for Danette to have said 'a million questions'; it was more like a billion.
"So when he suggested that nothing happened?" Danette asked with a look of incredibility.
"No," Revya repeated for what was probably the millionth time.
"Okay, what about when-"
"No."
"But you two were in the same room and-"
"Reira was there too-and it wasn't like that!"
"So let me get this straight, everything but nothing happened," Danette concluded with a look of frustration.
"Danette, it's not that big a deal," Revya said with strained patience. At this point she wasn't sure whether she should be feeling embarrassed or annoyed.
"Not that big a deal!?" Danette's jaw dropped. "All that time alone and nothing happens. I guess I'm kinda thankful for what could have happened but you think at least one of you would take the initiative over it. It's like you two are missing pheromones or something."
That settled it. Revya's embarrassment overrode her annoyance. She looked pleadingly at the amused Redflank. "Help."
"Oh no, I'm not getting involved in this," Grunzford answered. "You two can sort it out yourselves."
"Yeah, I can agree with that!" Danette chirped. Obviously, by the look on Revya's face, she didn't agree.
"Do you have anything else you wanted to ask?" Revya asked. "Aside from…you know."
"Hmmm…not really I guess," Danette replied. "You already talked about a lot of stuff back at the village."
Great…Revya thought.
"And," Danette added, a little bit quieter, "I guess there are some other things but you didn't look like you wanted to get into so…"
"Danette…" They stopped walking a moment.
Danette suddenly flashed her a grin and said, "Besides, this is much more fun! I mean, you should have seen the look on your face when I started asking. The whole time it was just so-so bright red!"
"No it's wasn't-" Revya protested.
"It was!" Danette insisted.
"Doesn't this count as something I don't want to get into?" The redhead asked.
"Yeeeeah, but this is different."
Revya rolled her eyes and called ahead to Grunzford, "Do you know how much further?"
"We're almost there," he stated. "If I remember correctly it should be over the next hill."
"Really?" Danette asked. "Wow, that didn't feel long at all…"
"Maybe because you were having a little too much fun with your interrogation."
"Hey, you don't need to say it like that…"
As they pulled up the slope Danette couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow…"
While the house had been built a displaced from other settlements, it was more lavishly built than Revya would have expected. If it hadn't been so worn from neglect and overgrown with weeds it could have passed as a place from Corsius. And it was those details that seemed to bother Grunzford.
They walked up the path and knocked on the door. There was a deafening thud from inside. They exchanged glances as muffled woman's voice could be heard inside following by other thuds. Finally, the door opened and figure panted, "Can I…help you?"
The first thing that Revya noticed were despite the voice was definitely female the figure was clearly more male-like. They were easily over six foot and had broad shoulders but there were little inconsistencies. They had long, graceful hands and slim wrists and the figure seemed to have a certain grace.
Grunzford was the first to speak, "It's a been a while, Lena."
Lena looked confused a moment but then gasped in recognition, "Y-you're father's associate. You were here when I ended up with this…condition."
"Indeed, we wanted to ask you about your encounter on the Yuga Mountains," Grunzford said his next words with care. "Several years ago, your father sent me a letter stating you were doing well but I see he didn't mention a few things."
"He hardly ever did," Lena said with a bitter note. Her eyes drifted over Danette and eventually rested on Revya before they hardened. "I take it you had the misfortune of meeting Her too…If it just you or is there another?"
"Just me," Revya answered. Something flickered behind Lena's eyes again.
"Would you like to come in?" She offered, after a moment. "I don't mind answering what I can."
Inside, the interior was much like the outside, a home that should have appeared classy and comfortable but was touched with smudges. Things had been seen carelessly knocked over and the books in particular were caked with layers of dust.
"I'm surprised Alistair would leave his books like this," Grunzford murmured.
"That would be my fault," Lena said. "Father doesn't really come home anymore so I stopped seeing much point taking care of them."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said sincerely.
Lena merely shook her head, "It's nothing to be sorry about."
"Hey, look at this," Danette motioned towards the window. In a pot grew yellow herb. And it was the same herb that was growing all over the place in spaced out pots.
"Oh, that reminds me, I should finish watering them-could you wait a moment?"
Lena tripped on seemingly nothing, drawing odd looks from her guests as she moved from plant to plant. She examined each one with great care, gently murmuring something. It reminded Revya a little of Reira only there was detail that felt unsettling.
All the herbs were of one, specific species: rue.
Once Lena was finished she took a seat across from Revya and asked for her story.
It all started with going to the Yuga Mountains in search of Gig's Golden Hotpod…
As the story was repeated Lena would interrupt with a question or at certain times, commentary. She seemed to be in a catatonic state, as she seemed to relive her own experience. Sometimes it seemed she knew the outcome of events with even the slightest mention of something or on the rare occasion it seemed to be the opposite. When Revya finished Lena sat in silence. All the while she stared off at a nearby stalk of rue.
"People you knew were there too?" She said finally, wearing a tired smile. "The merchant from Prodesto was my best friend actually…my father was in this 'Emries' place… I guess she'd have to do it that way, she wouldn't have known enough people or to create the world she did if she based it off her own memories…"
"So, is what happened to her what happened to you?" Danette asked.
"Most of it," Lena sighed. "Only the major bits. I met that apothecary, out in the rain too. I was there for Scarlet Iago as well as the 'Inspections' and…the death of Her.
"But I wasn't as lucky as your friend here," her voice hardened, her eyes suddenly sparking with hate. "It wasn't as simple as me being sent back without Felius…"
"Lena," Grunzford spoke gently, "What happened to him?"
Lena abruptly stood up. She drifted over towards one of the pots. Gently, her fingers trembling, she stroked the leaves. "Dead."
"Did Reira-" Revya started.
"No…no…it's because of me. Because of me…because I…killed him."
All three stared in shock. Danette was the first to speak, "W-wait, what!? You killed the guy!? Yo-you don't mean literally, right!?"
The pot shattered when Lena suddenly pulled too hard on the leaves, causing the plant to become unbalanced and crash.
"I'm sorry," Lena's voice came out as a half whisper. "I…don't think I'm feeling well after all."
"Lena…" Grunzford looked like he wanted to do something more but midway through the action he thought better of it. "We're sorry to have brought this up for you."
"It's okay," she shrugged, her face still hidden from them. "I don't see why I should be acting so odd, especially with how I am now…sorry, could you please excuse me?"
Grunzford solemnly nodded. "We'll let ourselves out."
Lena nodded gratefully. She disappeared up the stairs, stopping briefly to whisper to Revya, "You should be grateful for what you have…it'll be easier to forget it now. And…he's probably gone by now."
Revya felt her the pit of her stomach drop.
Gone?
She heard Danette call after her and she rushed after Lena.
"Wait! What do you mean by 'gone'?"
Lena kept her back turned to Revya. "Just that. If…if he isn't by now. Even if you do manage to make it back to her world it would be too late."
"I don't understand you."
"Listen to me!" The older woman's voice became tighter…the bitterness from earlier seemed to return with a vengeance. "The Crimson Tear…that bitch…she doesn't play fair. She doesn't care about things like her supposed tests or display of 'true love'. No matter what you do it's her world. It's like…flipping a coin fifty times and it lands as heads every single time. She makes it seem like you have a chance but it's not, it's only what she wants. Why else do you think in the past two hundred years no one has broken this curse? If you go back she'll set you up in whatever scheme she's planning and you'll only get hurt."
The words hung in the air between the two.
Finally, Revya managed to ask, "What did Reira do to you and Felius?"
Lena didn't speak. She slowly turned to Revya and faced her with a tear-streaked face. The emotions that showed on her face were enough to make Revya stop herself from prying further. Instead, she said a quick apology and turned towards the stairs.
Unconsciously, she thought. Are you listening, Reira?
Surprisingly, the sword's hilt gave off warmth for the briefest moment, before becoming cold again.
"Well?" Danette asked as Revya reached the bottom step. "What happened? What'd she say? Why'd you go off like that?"
"I'll tell you outside," the redhead said.
"Okay…" Danette cast an uneasy glance towards the stairs."Are you sure we should leave her like this? I feel kind of bad now…"
"There's not much else we can do," the Redflank answered. Revya silently agreed, as sad as it was.
On their way out, Danette looked the fallen pot of rue. "So much…I wonder why. Why just this stuff?"
"That 'stuff' is a herb called rue," Grunzford explained. "It's commonly used for medicinal purposes or by priests for spiritual healings. But it has another meaning."
"What?" Danette asked.
"Forgiveness," Revya said quietly. "It's for seeking penance."
----
The universe seems to have a certain law. Whenever someone says the words 'nothing can convince me' or 'nothing can get me to move' or anything of that variety it is usually overturned in some way.
That was the thought that was currently bashing Gig in the metaphorical head.
"Hurry up! We'll lose him!" Mikaila called.
Gig was starting to realize he had a shitty record of being dragged into the designs of females in general, like Virtubitch, elder hag Haephnes, the kid, the Crimson Tear, and now…
This has got to be a new low, he thought miserably.
"You could show a little more enthusiasm!"
Gig looked at her balefully and ground out, "Oh, I'm 'enthusiastic' all right, as enthusiastic as any other self-respecting guy would be after being black mailed by a flat-chested half pint!"
"It's not my fault you look so distrusting," she said.
"That doesn't mean you can accuse me of being a sex predator!"
"I didn't!"
"But you were going to, hence black mail, hence my lack of 'enthusiasm'!"
"Hold on-I think he went over there!"
"Argh…"
They had been out there most of the afternoon and there was more than one time Mikaila seemed to see Lobo at least. By her logic that meant Raul couldn't be too far behind so chasing after him seemed like the best idea. However, most of the time it led to nothing. It was either Mikaila was seeing things and highly delusional or Lobo was pretty damn good at slipping away, the former being which Gig would have gone with, hadn't he been pretty sure he saw something. Either way, this time was no different from the last.
"Not again," Gig grumbled. "The sun's starting to go down and so far, zilch. Don't you think it's time to pack it in and chalk your 'bad feeling' up as paranoia?"
Mikaila clenched her jaw. "Just a bit longer…I just can't shake this feeling."
She had said that the last time too.
"What a pain…" Gig said, lightly scuffing the ground. "Talk about a waste of time."
"It's better than whatever you would have gone and done!" Mikaila retorted.
"If I had been going out to get my fingernails torn off it'd be better than going on some goose chase to assuage a brat's paranoia."
"I'm supposed to be paranoid?" She demanded. "This is coming from the person who seems to be in denial over the fact he got ditched?"
Gig narrowed his eyes. "For the last time, it isn't like that! It's-"
"What? A feeling?" Mikaila challenged. "Like with me?"
"Of course not! Don't try and link my situation to yours," he said haughtily. "It has nothing to do with touchy feely stuff like 'feelings' or shit. It's just common sense. The kid's way too kind-hearted to try anything like that so your guess makes no sense."
Mikaila looked thoughtful and said, "If you're really not in denial maybe I'm not paranoid? Maybe it's the same thing?"
"No. No it's not."
She let out a frustrated sound and muttered, "No wonder you got ditched. I mean, you don't even call her by name…whatever it is. It doesn't even make any sense. You two look 'bout the same age-"
"I'm way older!" Gig asserted automatically. Physically, they were about the same age but mentally? He had a couple of centuries on her. That's why she was the kid.
"I still don't get it," she said stubbornly. "Why not just by name?"
"Because she's just 'the kid' is all, what else makes more sense than that?"
"But-"
"Enough with the Q and A already!" Gig snapped. Shaking his head, he said, "No wonder you keep losing him. Anyway, if we keep looking longer than twenty minutes I'm heading off wherever, screw any accusations you want to spread."
"Fine," Mikaila relented, sullenly.
The rest of the search was uneventful. Mikaila wanted to stay out a bit longer until Gig reminded her she'd have to do it herself. There wasn't anymore talk of 'paranoia' or 'denial' so things were relatively quiet.
And it would stay that way until about the time they started heading back to the warehouse.
----
Mikaila was still looking twitchy after she had decided to give up. On occasion, Gig would catch her still glancing around in faint hope of catching sight of something. If she caught Gig's looks of annoyance she ignored them and simply trailed behind.
They weren't more then ten minutes away from the warehouse when an all too familiar noise made them freeze: the whistles.
"Oh no!" Mikaila moaned.
She didn't start running until she heard Gig comment, "Isn't that coming in the direction of the warehouses?"
That didn't stop Mikaila from heading in a beeline towards the warehouses. Of course, the smart thing to do would be to run like hell in the opposite direction (it wasn't his problem after all!) but at the sound of movement close by he ended up rushed forward and shoving Mikaila into the mouth of an alley. The young girl turned to snap at him but the incoming sound reached her ears too at this point.
Two voices filled the air in eager whispers and laughs. One of them must've been among that group Gig had first seen based on the wheezing voice.
"Talk about a haul! Thank that'll keep that Dracon happy for a while?"
"It better, only so many 'arrests' we can make. We're runnin' out of bodies and the guy won't accept women either."
"Hey, um, about that…ya think he'll go after us next?"
"You kiddin'? We're his 'loyal' workers!"
At those words, it took a lot of will power for Gig not to burst out into laughter. Given his own expertise in the field and the fact Emries was pretty much a copy of Dio, he knew well enough a few low leveled pawns were probably near the bottom of Emries 'give a shit about' list.
"Yeah, yeah, I know…but it doesn't mean havin' a backup plan's bad. Even the boss is gettin' a little antsy and-"
"A little antsy about what?" Came an eerily familiar voice.
Mikaila looked ready to squeak. To Gig's silent relief, she managed to keep it in.
So much for paranoia…
"B-boss, hey!" The first voice exclaimed.
"Now that I have your attention, any luck with the 'special' issue?" Lobo asked.
"N-no boss," the second picked up promptly. "We checked it out but no sign so far."
"Then stop lazin' around and get back to work," he ordered. "We screw this up, we can so goodbye to that bonus and say hello to being next on the operating table. Do you guys want to be the ones to tell the Dracon we screwed up?"
"N-no, boss!"
"We're goin', boss!
The two grunts scampered off while Raul's former second in command let out an impatient growl. There was a rasp of metal as he started casually twisting a knife in his hands.
Suddenly, there was a blur of movement as a small form rushed the traitor.
"Lobo!" Mikaila snarled.
Gig swore from his spot. Damn it, that was humans all right! Ruled by emotion and unfettered by brain cells!
Though caught off-guard, Lobo had a lot more weight and experience on his end. He managed to catch the incoming fist and used the momentum of the incoming attacker to send her effortless flying into the dirt.
"Heh, what'dya know? It's the little tom boy," he laughed, still twirling his knife before pointing it at her. "Eaves dropping isn't a very lady-like hobby."
"Shut up!" Mikaila pushed herself back up and lunged forward again only to be lazily side stepped. "Where's Raul!?"
"Heh, oh him?" Lobo asked. "First to go today, probably first in the pecking order for my client's new toys. I'd take you to join him too but my client simply isn't paying for girls."
Mikaila shook as the word hit her in sharp barbs. "Why!? You know what happens so why would you do something so horrible-"
"Don't take it personal. Its just business." he shrugged. "Ya see, there's a little thing called supply and demand. The client wants somethin', and for the right price we supply it in the most efficient way possible. It was just a bad draw of luck that it ended up being working with your bro's two-bit gang. So while it's too bad for your loss, you have to understand it was just the most efficient-URGH!"
Mikaila stared in shock as Lobo stiffened before her eyes. Lobo attempted to jerk his knife backwards but the grip that twisted his arm back simply increased pressure.
"Too bad if your arm gets broken, this is just the most efficient method," Gig said sardonically.
Lobo paled. "H-hey now, let's not do anything rash here…I'm sure it'd be a lot easier to work things out in a civilized manner…"
"Oh really? Because you looked eager for a fight about a good thirty seconds ago, or does that only count for women and children?"
Meanwhile, the one who counted as both was deathly still. Her eyes bored into the traitor as she rasped, "It was you, wasn't it? Every time a guy went missing, it was always you involved in some way, wasn't it?
"I can't claim all the credit, some of them were stupid enough to go and do the deed themselves-" He let out a hiss of pain as his arm twisted further. He didn't stop though, he merely grinned and continued. "It's usually a waste to take so many because we lose our source of income too quickly and it's a pain in upkeep. Things were going well enough and we could have left things as they was, take a few every once in a while at natural intervals. But something changed so we needed to hurry it up, couldn't afford to miss out this time. But obviously, we botched things up…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gig asked. He didn't like where this was going…
"Right on cue. You see, our client's been on the look out for a certain person who disappeared shortly after getting kicked out of the city for causing a disruption during the Inspections, some girl with a black sword. She had this guy with her too, probably the last person to ever see her. With that clue in our midst, the client got a little impatient and told us to wrap things up, pronto.
"So really, the only one you should be blaming for this is the brute holding me."
"Don't try and pin your mess on me!" Gig twisting harder for emphasis. Mikaila seemed zoned out as she took the information in, making no indication of whether she agreed or not with Lobo's words. "Hey, you better not be believing this crap!"
"Like I said, none of this is personal so I'm willing to cut a deal," Lobo quickly jumped in. He nodded his head towards his fallen knife. "I'm sure if I pulled a few strings I could get your bro and his little pals let loose. Hell, you guys could even make off with a bigger cut of cash than you guys will ever steal. Just give me a hand with this guy. The Dracon gets what he wants, you gets what you wants, and I get a little something myself. Not a bad deal on all sides."
"Bull shit!" Gig glanced over to Mikaila. "C'mon, tell me you have a half a brain in there somewhere. Even if he did do all that, he'd use some loop hole or something to screw you over!"
Mikaila though, didn't seem to be thinking the same way. She looked unnaturally stoic as she listlessly looked at the knife. Barely looking at them, she took a few steps forward, reached forward…
And suddenly, she canned Lobo.
"You're lying!"
A second kick.
"I know you are!"
And a third.
"My brother…his friends…everyone…you bastard!"
Followed by a fourth and a fifth…
"If I could, I-I'd want you to suffer more than just dying!"
And then she went for the knife.
But before she could act further, Lobo collapsed to the ground, gagging in pain as Gig let go of him.
Mikaila blinked, the display slowly sinking in.
"Aren't you going to finish it?" Gig asked nonchalantly. "That's what you wanted, right? Him to suffer, sweet revenge, payback's a bitch, et cetera etcetera and so forth?"
Mikaila tore her eyes away from the traitor. Her eyes still had a feral look. "Why're you here?"
That was a good question. He didn't know why, it just happened. Why he had even stuck around was a better question. Mikaila would have been a great distraction to make off and a smarter part of him still thought he should have. He wouldn't lie; he wasn't a nice guy, let alone a 'hero'. He'd leave that to the blond haired-blue eyed farmer boy or the chivalrous bandit or the redhead with a black sword.
Must be the idiocy from last year infecting me… He thought with disgust. I knew stupidity was contagious.
Oh well, at least he had gotten something out of this waste of time.
"You can keep going if you want but hey, devoting so much hate into one loser's overrated," Gig answered, with a non-committal shrug. "Besides, if he's dead then that's it, you wont be get any mileage outta him. It's like tossing away a good chess piece or something. But if you want to rush off and use suicide as a rescue technique, be my guest."
Mikaila's initial anger seemed to subside a little, replaced with surprise. "You mean…you're going to help me?"
"Help?" Gig gagged on the word. "Don't me wrong, it's not for you or your brother or anyone else! I've got my own business right now and it seems like every single time that Dracon's at the end of it. That's all there is."
"You-" Mikaila began, but she stopped herself for some reason and settled for stubbornly averting her gaze. "Fine. Whatever."
On the ground, Lobo was pushing himself back up when a heavy boot crushed his hand and began to grind a little.
"Here's some good and bad news for you," Gig said blithely, with a dark glint in his eye. "The bad news is, the kid isn't here to keep me from going a liiiiitle too far. Here's the good news, you do exactly what I say and maybe that'll deter me just a little. How's that for 'business'?"
Unsurprisingly, Lobo was quick to agree. Who said that Gig wasn't good at negotiations?
----
"Man, that was pretty depressing…" Danette said, once they were a fair distance away. "From the sounds of it that Reira girl must've become a bitch after death…"
"I'm more concerned about what she said about the curse," Grunzford said. "The promised conditions for lifting the curse was listed ina book of folklore Alistair found. It stated that the promise was laid by the Crimson Tear herself however, if what Lena says is true then there's a concern about its validity. What do you think, Revya?"
"I don't know," Revya answered, fiddling with her side strands. It was a possibility Gig and her thought of during their guesses about the Crimson Tear's intentions but it wasn't one either of them wanted to dwell on for long. "From what I knew about Reira, she didn't seem like the type to make false promises like that."
"Yeah, but does that really count anymore?" Danette asked. "I mean, it sounds like her in that other world and her real self are completely different."
"I guess…but it's still apart of her to some degree I think"
Or at least, that's what Revya hoped. Then again, reality and faith were two different things…
"Released…you…released…you are released…"
"She doesn't care about things like her supposed tests or display of 'true love'. No matter what you do it's her world. It's like…flipping a coin fifty times and it lands as heads every single time. She makes it seem like you have a chance but it's not, it's only what she wants. Why else do you think in the past two hundred years no one has broken this curse?
Revya winced; suddenly realizing she had been clenching her fist so hard.
"Whatever the case, we won't find out much else here," Grunzford said. "Shall we head back to village?"
The village… that would be southwest, the Yuga Mountains would be off in the opposite direction. Between the two choices there was only one that had where Revya's thoughts kept returning to.
"We could always try and get a hold of Odie. He's the Dio now, he's gotta have something that would help. What do you think?" Danette turned to Revya. When the redhead didn't answer her she added, "Well?"
"I think I'm going back to the mountains," Revya said finally.
"Huh? Why?" Danette asked.
"There really isn't much else left, except to try and talk to Reira again. I don't think more research is going to help now and I don't think I can afford to wait any longer after what Lena said."
"I see your point," Grunzford said. "But you know, even if you went back there's not guarantee that the Crimson Tear will help."
"I know that but I still have to try," she said firmly.
Danette let out a suffering sigh. "Of course you do, you wouldn't be you if you didn't. Me 'n the old man'll head back to village and report to Lady Virtuous while you do what you need to do, okay?"
"Thanks, Danette." Revya nodded.
"But just so you know, that means you have to come back in one piece. What's his name isn't as important but if you do manage to bring him back, give slap him across the head for being so troublesome! And, you two have to come back together. Otherwise, I'll go hunt you two down and snap your necks."
Revya couldn't help but smile. "Will do. I'll see you guys later."
----
Danette kept watching until Revya was just a spec in the horizon.
"I'm surprised you didn't insist on following her." She nearly jumped at Grunzford's words. At first she was about to take it as his usual teasing but the look on the Redflank's face said he was sincere.
"It's not that I don't want to go with her," Danette said quickly. "I'm worried about her, considering her she's probably going to run into even more trouble and everything. Looking after her's a full time job after all!"
"But not this time?"
"Its just-well-I wouldn't be able to do much," Danette confessed. "I want to help but all I can really do is sit around and wait. I know Lady Virtuous and everyone's telling me I have to be patient and all but even though my head gets it I just can't shake that feeling. I know she'll be okay-and I guess she has him to look after her-but I still can't help but worry…"
"You sound like a mother."
"I'm not that old!"
"But even then, you know how life goes," Grunzford said. "Everything grows up and has to eventually watch over themselves. Even children have to grow more independent from their guardian's care."
"Yeah, I know…"
The Redflank nodded with approval. "And with that, you're one more step closer to being grown up."
That got Danette. She looked up indignantly and said, "Hey! How many times do I have to say it!? I'm already a grown up so I can't be 'one step closer'!"
"Hmph, perhaps I was mistaken," the Redflank rumbled as he began walking ahead.
"M-mistaken!? About what!?"
"Maybe you're further away from being grown up then I thought."
"What!? That's-that's mean!"
"Accusing your elders of being mean is also childish."
The exchange continued all the way home.
-----
Lobo's excuse for bringing them in was the pretense that Mikaila and Gig were supposed to have been plants. In the last pick up someone had gotten lucky and managed to get the jump on him so he was borrowing a shoulder. There was a bit of tension at the front gate but it was quickly dropped with the threat of becoming the Dracon's new lab rat.
The place had been a bit on the creepy side before but now saying the place was creepy would have been an understatement. It wasn't so much the change in the construct as it was the smell.
"How much longer?" Mikaila murmured, casting a nervous glance around the knight's former HQ.
"Not much, just around the next corner," Lobo said gruffly. He had been behaving well enough but it helped that Mikaila had his knife pressed neatly against his back as she 'helped' him move. "Always got to keep the dungeons close by. It's less of a pain to move bodies."
They passed a few grunts (to whom Lobo barely acknowledged, aside from another reminder to get back to work) on the way. "Must be your lucky day, almost everyone is still out."
"Then why act so calm about it?" Gig asked with a suspicious look. Though Lobo was a rat that was quick to do whatever saved his ass, he looked far too calm than he would have liked.
"Heh, as I said, this is all business. I get what I want, you get what you want, and none of us walk away as corpses. Well, unless you screw up on the escape but that part isn't apart of our agreement. Ah, this should be it."
He gestured to stairwell that spiraled downwards. "If you head down from here, there should only be a guard or two. The door's locked but it won't be much of a problem for long. Now then, give me enough room to grab it?"
Mikaila looked at Gig for approval to which Gig shrugged, keeping a careful eye on what was going on. She backed away a little but kept the small blade carefully pointed. Lobo reached for the candleholder to the right and lifted it to pull up a small compartment lid built into the platform. He shuffled around a little until he produced a small key.
"Catch."
He lobbed it at Mikaila.
And at the same instant, one of the whistles slipped from his sleeve to his hand and he brought it too his lips. Gig struck him as fast as possible across the temple but it was too late.
As Lobo's body hit the ground, the sound of the whistle echoed through the hallways.
"Oh no!" Mikaila's eyes widened in growing horror. "What not!?"
Gig clenched his jaw. "If what he said was true, we got a bit of time. If you're hell bent on helping your brother get moving already."
"What about you?" Mikaila demanded. The sounds of incoming voices were getting louder.
"Just go! I already have my own business, all right?" He snapped.
With clatter of impending harm, Mikaila swallowed and leapt down the stairs, leaving Gig to be the only one spotted when a grunt popped around the corner. Gig bolted seconds before the guy registered the fact there was not only an intruder but their boss was down. He could hear the grunt call back to his partners to hurry after, away from the basement.
Unconsciously, Gig's feet led him to where it was familiar: through a mess of corridors, up a flight of stairs, and eventually near a door that was flanked by a set of armor. As he caught his breath it dimly registered to him that he had been here before. Liam had led him here before…He didn't get to dwell on the fact for long at the sound of the hunters. Without thinking he instinctively fumbled for the handle and found it open. He quickly regretted the action when a wave of rancidness hit him, forcing Gig to gag. Holy shit, he hadn't smelt anything this bad since Vitali had tricked him into taking that crate of rotten hotpods…
Too late to complain, he slammed the door behind him and breathed shallow breathes, trying not to focus on the smell. As he waited for the sounds of movement outside to go away. As he took in his surroundings, his skin suddenly had the inclination to crawl off and die. He had only been in there once but from what he remembered, Liam's office was as it should have been. A nice, tidy, respectable, picture perfect room. It was still like that, if you took added creepy ritual circles written very possibly in blood, piles of spell books, weird instruments that you probably didn't want to think of what they were for, and a misshapen corpse that looked like it had been destroyed inside out lying at the center of one of said circles. Upon closer inspection, the corpse looked vaguely like one of Raul's group. It looked like someone had got to work early…
That was when Gig felt a faint buzzing in the air.
While Gig could no longer sense spiritual energy as clearly as when he was the Master of Death he could still feel something emanating. His eyes wandered to what looked like a sort of container. Around it was a the faint red glow of what could only be a Crimson Tear but it seemed dwarfed by the sheer pulse given off by the contained soul. It didn't feel right. It felt like shred or two of it had been ripped away…
Was it him or was it suddenly acting up more as he got closer?
There was movement from behind. Gig turned to face the man behind all this at the threshold.
The Dracon's lips curled in distaste. "I always thought the hired help were incompetent but I never would have imagined to this degree. How did a miserable dreck manage to get this far?"
"Simple, I walked through the front door," Gig replied, slowly inching towards the side where he could grab something if he needed it. Another thing he missed from his life as Master of Death, the ability to conveniently materialize a weapon.
"Such impertinence."
"It's a gift," he shrugged. "Along with being good looking and a hell of an ass kicker."
Emries looked at Gig with recognition, a chilling smile crossed his features. "You're that rowdy young man who interrupted the initial Inspections, are you not?"
"And if I am?"
"You would also be the companion of that young lady with the black sword, correct?"
Gig didn't like where this was going…
"And you're the creeper that's been going around asking about her."
"That would be correct," Emries said, ignoring the insult. "I'm quite interested in what happened that day. I wished to have learned more but unfortunately, Captain fa Toren naively interrupted before I had a chance to… discuss it with her."
Gig narrowed his eyes slightly. "Let me guess, with a torture session on the side, right?"
"Very likely, if she couldn't divulge what information I needed."
"Cold…" But not surprising, "And that 'information' would be…"
"That light and the sword of course. That day, there was a powerful red light and powerful soul who died an undeserving death. It should have resulted in the formation of a Crimson Tear and yet something went amiss. Shortly after the burst of light it simply vanished.
"Or, at least that was what Liam assumed," Emries continued. "Shortly before it vanished I felt a powerful flow of energy enter that sword."
That caught Gig's attention. The sword had the ability to eat people's souls, they knew that well enough from Gestahl's fate, but this was different…
"If you know so much about it, why care about it?" He demanded.
"I merely wish to free it from its prison. Such power does not deserve to locked away, unused."
"When egomaniacs like you can make use of it instead?"
"So righteous men could make use of it," Emries corrected. "That Crimson Tear should have enough to set things right. Enough power to save a country. Enough to bring back those that deserve to be here back into our world."
"Like this sucker?" Gig asked, gesturing to the container.
Emries said nothing.
"You've been trying to force the soul into an unfamiliar body and based on all the bodies around here, failing miserably," Gig said with a shake of his head. "Talk about a waste…"
"The deaths of the insignificant hold little to the tragedy of a single, great life, as my family would say."
"Your family's full of borderline necrophiliacs, I wouldn't give them much credit," he said caustically. "What I mean is, the soul's fragmented, dumbass. It's just wrong. Heh, even if you did find a vessel you'd probably screw yourself over."
"I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from one of the insignificant," Emries sneered. "Then I will ask you something you should be able to answer. That girl, more importantly, that sword, where is it?"
"Don't know."
Emries made a curt motion with his hand and lightning sparked. "Don't lie to me."
"No, seriously, I don't," Gig said flatly. "I thought you might since your pet cow blabbed about it but since you don't, that pretty much defeats any interest I have in this conversation so I'll just let myself out."
"I cannot afford that," Emries moved forward, power beginning to build. "I've searched this long for a sign. I will not allow it vanish before me."
Gig ran his options over in his head. Rush forward and risk electro-therapy or leap out window and end up as a splatter. The first option wouldn't be so bad if Emries wasn't keyed up like he was right now so the only thing that came to mind was to get him to relax enough…
"Why?" He asked suddenly. Emries seemed momentarily confused, not enough to drop the power though. Damn. "Why go after some kid when you have a Crimson Tear right here?"
"This one is barely of average purity, it has a weak attachment to this world and it's too imperfect to attempt such a high leveled spell," Emries replied briskly, much like a teacher to a dull-minded student. "While it has enough power to hold a soul its use in other areas would be lacking. However, once I have a more suitable vessel the soul replacement should be complete. And then this country will have the man it needs again."
Somewhere at the back of Gig's mind, something clicked together.
Gig could have kicked himself for not figuring it out earlier. As if the fact Emries was pretty much based off Dio wasn't clue enough…
"I get it now, you're talking about that Liam guy."
"So you're not a complete imbecile," Emries sounded mildly impressed. "The Captain's death was a tragedy in all this. I hadn't anticipated it into the grand scheme of things but I suppose upon reflection I should have. He was a kind leader, kind to a fault. The situation of both Scarlet Iago and the impeding fall of both the republic and of Mira weighed heavily on him until he broke. While I managed to recall his spirit from the otherworld before it had gone too far the body was too damaged from the fall to attempt a proper soul placement. Thus leaving us with the current situation."
"Uh huh…do you want to back up a sec? You said 'the grand scheme of things', exactly what does that entail?" Gig asked. He eyed the finely sharpened scalpel on the table. "Aside from the Crimson Tear hunting, Liam said that you're the one who brought up the idea of witch hunts in the first place because of a spell castor unleashing Scarlet Iago. Tell me, from your little inquisition, did you find a single victim that was capable of pulling off a spell like that?"
"What are you implying?" The Dracon asked, looking guarded, serving to increase Gig's growing suspicions. He hadn't been sure at first, it had mostly just been a random toss out to get Emries to let his guard down, but the more he thought about it, the more the random guesses and facts seemed to fit into a pretty good guess.
"I've known wackos that have tossed Scarlet Iago around before but they weren't just powerful, they had to be relatively close," Gig said. "Now that I think about it, I remember hearing some man-cow say something about how his weak-hearted sister was getting visits and treatment from a certain Dracon. And by the way, she's the first one to come down with the disease. Which brings us back to question number one, just how many did you kill actually have the power to work this sort of magic?"
"All those judged were simply those with potential," Emries replied.
"No calculations on power levels?" Gig feigned surprise. "How disappointing, because that leaves only one guess. Only one person seemed to have the means and the time to pull it off and they're a Dracon with a clashing mask. Ring any bells? Case solved?"
"Hmph, nothing more than a bunch of desperate suppositions with no clear evidence," Emries said dismissively, though his eyes seemed to glitter with something darker. "No proof and yet, perhaps if the situation had not have been so chaotic, perhaps someone else would have come to the same conclusion."
"So I'm right!" Gig couldn't help but smirk, despite the circumstances. "One more question then, teach, the one thing missing from all this is the motive. Why the hell take a place, shove it in a blender, then continue poking away at the remains?"
"For the good of the Republic," Emries replied.
"Screwing things like crazy is making things 'good'?"
"In nature, before a land can be reborn, destruction must eliminate everything first. Once that occurs, the land returns anew, untainted," he explained coolly. "A country is no different. Wittenberg had a failing government and with no true defense against other countries, the country was already long in decline. If the circumstances were right, even the common people would begin to see the glaring flaws. They would push for change. And with the right push, it happened. With the spread of panic from the epidemic and the uselessness of the council the old fools were overthrown."
"Only to leave anarchy," Gig sniped.
"But it kept the countries eyeing Wittenberg away. While they may be interested in an easy conquest they didn't want to adopt wide scale problems either.
"As for the state of the country, it can be easily remedied, once the right man steps up. In desperate times, true leaders must step up and be united under one solitary rule, as is the belief of my family. People, once scattered and broken, naturally are drawn to a source of salvation. Why else do you think men like Median the Conqueror succeeded? And what better salvation than that from the mystical power of the Crimson Tear? Not just a cheap one like the one here, a true Crimson Tear. The people would have their fears and cheap morals regarding such power stripped away and would accept the necessity once they see its use in the right hands. And once that occurs, the true revival may begin. All that is needed now is a vessel and a Crimson Tear."
"Spoken like a true nut job," Gig said. "All that may work in your little fantasy but here's the reality: you have neither of the 'all that's needed' and you're not getting either."
Emries' response made Gig do a double take. Of all the things he could have expected, this was somewhere near the bottom.
The bastard was laughing.
And that never ended well.
"What's so funny?" Gig carefully palmed the scalpel.
Emries barely looked up as his voice hardened. "Merely the fact that I am aware of something you are oblivious to."
Gig didn't wait for the answer. He ran forward and thrust the scalpel out at Emries. The Dracon grabbed onto the blade with his bare hand, enough to hold Gig in place for one moment. Enough time to launch the pre charged bolt of lightning squarely at his chest.
The blast sent Gig flying back into the ground of the blood circle with a hard thud. He seethed in pain, nearly slipping over the corpse of the failed vessel. His limbs still felt numb from the shock when he heard another chain of words.
Shit!
Gig hurled himself forward but a circle of energy had already formed and repelled him. In fury he delivered a series of hits against the wall of energy. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind the action were probably useless but hell if his pride would let him live it down! And the smug ass looked on the bastard's face wasn't helping. Gig hadn't realized his fists were starting to bleed until he felt something wet and warm trickle down his arms.
Emries serenely walked towards the container. "When you said I had neither you were correct…at least until you walked in here. You see, I had yet to find a candidate that drew such a reaction from this soul. I should extend my sincerest gratitude."
Gig felt his blood pounding in his head, gritting his teeth so hard they might shatter.
"And now, it begins!" Emries materialized his staff. "Do not be concerned, your soul will not disappear. Mostly likely it'll just be pushed out."
"Like hell!"
Gig tried attacking the wall one last time. Damn it! He had already died three times, he did not want to go for a fourth! Shit, shit , shit, SHIT!
The circle glowed a bright red. The container shook violent as Liam's soul flared.
All the while, Emries' voice echoed through the chamber.
Something shattered, followed by a blood-curdling scream.
And then all was silent.
-----
It was well past midnight when Revya made it back to the top of the Yuga Mountains.
An odd sense of deja vu settled over her as she crossed the crest. It was like stepping back to when she had first trekked up here with Gig, only this time there weren't any stars in the sky. Only darkness…
Revya shook her head. Stop thinking like that!
The redhead felt her feet lead her to that spot on the plateau where the bent back tombstone. The marker swayed gently, almost mockingly, in the wind at her approach. Anything Revya wanted to say suddenly felt jumbled up in her mind. Would Reira listen? The two days she had spent with no response weighed on her mind as well as Lena's words.
Suddenly, Revya caught herself and couldn't help but smile a little. If a certain jerk were here, he'd be chewing her out right now…
Revya knelt in front of the tombstone and quietly said, "Reira, I know you're listening, even if you're pretending you're not. You've been flashing these dreams ever since you sent me back. You keep saying 'You're released' but you know that isn't true. The curse isn't broken so send me back. I don't care how long it takes, I'll stay here and I'll keep talking until you listen. And…it isn't just about the curse."
She closed her eyes and breathed, "I can't just leave things like this. Not if there's still a chance…I can't just do what Lena suggested and forget about all this. Even if things are too late I want to try."
There was a long silence as Revya sat there. Revya's shoulders sunk as she let out a sigh.
Suddenly, she jerked in surprise.
The sword's hilt was warm and pulsing! Almost in response, the familiar sound of thrumming filled her ears. Almost in response to each other, the twin lights seemed to call to each other.
They felt…different from each other…
Like the time before, the red marker suddenly began glowing that beautiful, melancholy glow. This time however, Revya willingly reached forward to touch it.
The moment her fingers made contact, the red light engulfed her.
And then there was silence.