Chapter VII: A Twisted Fairytale

The echoes of combat fell away, leaving Kakine Teitoku to his defeat. A massive hole in his chest, and his wings torn at the shoulders, he looked like a fallen angel. His mouth was open, but only gurgles escaped his bloodied lips. His eyes flicked about, attempting to discern any movements in the darkness.

He'd lost to that demonic monstrosity. He remembered those bladed wings drilling into his heart. Even with all the strength that his Dark Matter gave him, he was incapable of defeating a single enemy.

Someone's coming.

A thought that most certainly wasn't his echoed through his skull, reverberating in his mind. Shaking his head, he dismissed this single thought as a figment of his imagination, and listened for footsteps. To his surprise, he found that the voice had indeed been correct—rhythmic sounds of feet against the crystal floor reached his ears, and he turned to the sound. The last of his wounds healed and he slowly got to his feet. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he glared into the darkness. If that monster returned, he wouldn't show it any mercy. No, a painful death was all that would await it, if Kakine met it again.

"Help…me…" The feminine tones surprised him, and he found a pair of golden eyes, staring at him like twin lanterns in the darkness. Kakine caught the pain and desperation in them, before they blinked. Their owner took another step and begged, "You can, can't you?"

Kakine snorted and turned away. This girl wanted a hero. She wanted someone who could protect and save her from whatever foes lurked in this godforsaken tower. He didn't have the right to protect someone like that.

You know better. You're like him.

He pushed that foreign voice away and muttered, "Just get lost. If you're asking for help, you shouldn't have gotten here in the first place."

"B-but—I'm begging! I don't have anyone else!" The girl stepped out of the darkness, and Kakine growled. Her golden eyes were wet with tears, and her white hair shone with an ivory sheen. Her pale face was unblemished and saintly, but the sight only burdened Kakine.

He was a person of darkness. Even his power was 'Dark' Matter.

This person's entire being shone with a radiance that burned like the sun. Just gazing at that beautiful face brought him pain and envy. That light was foreign to him, something that he would never understand. He'd given up trying to understand that brilliance long ago.

No. You still want to understand.

That foreign voice persisted, and he saw hazy images that weren't his. He saw two girls, both small and vulnerable. He recognized one as Last Order, but who was the second? He threw those thoughts away and turned to the girl. "Leave," he demanded, pointing a threatening finger at her. Strings of Dark Matter built at the tip, preparing to skewer her like white spears. "Or I'll kill you." He'd killed before. He'd slashed, sliced, smashed, and broken others. As someone of the darkness, he knew murder all too well. He'd drowned his entire body in the blood of his victims.

He was beyond saving, so why was this saint reaching out to him for help? What could a villain do for a princess?

Kakine's eyebrows furrowed, and he racked his mind for a stereotypical fairytale. The princess would get captured by the villain, and the hero would save her. In this situation, shouldn't he kidnap her for a hero to save her? But who would rescue this girl?

He threw the notion away, and glared at her. "What're you still doing here?" he snapped, taking a threatening step towards her crying face. "Get out of here!"

She refused to move and instead collapsed to her knees. Clasping her hands in a gesture of prayer, she pleaded, "I can't! Just—just help me, please!" Kakine could've very easily flown away, but he didn't consider retreating an option. Instead, he flung those strings of Dark Matter at her, and wrapped them around her throat.

They began to tighten and she gasped for breath. Kakine lifted her off the floor and snarled, "Leave me—"

"Look out!" she gasped out, and Kakine whirled around, only to meet a crystal arm. He felt the muscles and bones in his neck struggle against the surprise attack, and he fell to the floor. Even while he regenerated, the crystal creature came closer, sniffing his twitching limbs like a dog inspecting its next meal. Kakine nearly lashed out when he was struck dumb.

"D-don't hurt him!" The white-haired girl stepped between them, spreading her arms apart, a human shield. The act surprised Kakine, and he slowly got to his feet. The monster wasn't impressed with her selflessness and swung its arm at her face. She closed her eyes and flinched, and Kakine snapped his fingers. The Dark Matter heeded his thoughts and left the girl's neck. They latched onto the monster's arm and prevented it from moving any further. She opened her eyes in time to see Kakine throw the creature as far as he could. He heard it connect with the ground with a jarring thud, and gave a vengeful smirk.

"That's for my neck." He turned to the white-haired girl and eyed her closely. She was quite pretty, but her charming face didn't faze Kakine, and he turned away from her in a huff. "And I saved you, so leave and be grateful, damn brat."

That isn't nice. She tried to warn you.

Kakine dismissed that voice and instead began walking away. He didn't get far when he felt her hand grasp his shoulder. "I don't care if you're a hero or a villain—I just want some help!"

Kakine glared at her over his shoulder, and shrugged her off. He didn't have time to concern himself with such needy baggage. He had to find out his location—he could safely say he wasn't in Academy City, so where was he? The sheer immensity of this tower was unlike anything he'd ever seen, and the countless creatures within weren't remotely human. He recalled Claudius' crystallized, insectoid figure and grimaced. Academy City wasn't responsible for something as alien as that.

"If you want information, I can give you some." Surprised, he turned to see her hesitant gaze. How was she—"I'm sorry." She blushed and took a step back. "You're thinking a bit loud. I can't help it." Her eyes grew thoughtful and she cupped her chin in confusion. "It feels like there's someone else—" Kakine silenced her with a glare, and she meekly obeyed.

"If you know what's good for you," Kakine growled, glaring into the darkness as if his very anger would illuminate their pitch surroundings. "then get behind me. It's better than standing around like you've got a death wish." A moment later, he felt her chest against his back and muttered, "Too close." She apologized and took a step back.

There was something wrong. His power— while he could feel thrum and rush beneath his skin, he felt strangely hollow. He willed Dark Matter into strings, and while his power obeyed his commands, he felt strangely powerless. It was as if the Dark Matter was moving of its own accord, and he could only command it to do things that it already had in mind.

If you want to use it, then just ask. I don't mind.

He'd tried to shove that voice from his mind, but now the situation had changed. This voice was in control, and his power had been stripped away from him, stripped by the owner of this voice! He gnashed his teeth at that, and willed those strings into the darkness. They did as he was told, and thrust like pale skewers. Thin as spider's silk and a thousand times as strong, they cut into the darkness like knives into flesh. Kakine moved his hands, and the strings roamed in the darkness, stabbing into anything they came across. The floor, the ceiling, and the crystal creatures that were nigh upon them—all were torn to shreds in the wake of Dark Matter.

In the past, such feats would've brought him satisfaction, but now…

What had happened? He remembered overpowering Accelerator and Mugino Shizuri. He remembered that fiery glory, the feeling of success. He remembered finally trouncing the Number 1, but what had happened next? His power…had Accelerator somehow taken it for himself? Did that esper now possess both creation and destruction—had he become a god?

"I'll kill him," Kakine spat into the rubble that remained of his brief onslaught. "I swear I'll kill him! Even if he's a god, I'll fucking send him to hell!" Kakine's oath was filled with rage and envy. However, deep beneath that tumult of anger, he felt a smidgen of pride. Accelerator hadn't beaten him. Accelerator had been beaten to the point where he'd been forced to steal Kakine's own power. In short, it had been an underhanded trick that had beaten him. Accelerator had truly fallen beneath his might.

That isn't what happened, the voice corrected him, but Kakine brushed it off.

But none of that mattered. For all his anger, Kakine knew what would happen if he stumbled about angrily. If he provoked Accelerator with only a shadow of his strength and a head full of fury, another one-sided slaughter would be all that awaited him. He recalled the first time they'd fought, when they'd both bore the title of 'Villain'. The incarnation of wrath that had burst from Accelerator in the form of those hideous black wings—he stood no chance then, and he stood no chance now.

Was Accelerator in the same place he was? Was he stumbling around in the darkness of this tower? The thought filled Kakine with a crimson glow, and he whirled around to face the girl. "You wanted help?" he muttered, and she nodded. "Fine," he relented, before wrapping Dark Matter strings around her neck once more. "but you'll help me too. I'm not a hero, and I don't do things for charity."

"I thought not," she replied sadly, and Kakine allowed the strings to dissolve into harmless wisps. "So," she asked nervously. "what do you want?" Kakine grinned at her compliance, and slipped his hands in his pockets.

This girl—once she'd outlived her usefulness, he could kill her. Too late, Kakine remembered her mindreading skill, and shot her a warning glance. She didn't seem too frightened however, and Kakine wondered if she'd heard him. Shaking his head, he asked her, "What's your name, anyway?"

She blushed, and averted her gaze from Kakine's face. Looking to the ground she mumbled something incoherent. Kakine sighed and slapped her forehead with a rugged palm. She winced and clutched the injured spot with her hands. "It's Alice!" she cried, her introduction piercing the air with an unnatural ring. Recovering, she asked his name in return.

"Beetle-Five." Where had that come from? His name was Kakine Teitoku, so why had he said that? He could feel a pressure in his skull, rearing its head. The discomfort made him frown. If this pain was Accelerator's doing, then that was just another thing to take revenge for. He opened his mouth to correct himself, but thought against it. If this girl would simply lose her life, then there was no point to reveal his real name.

With that brief exchange, the unlikely duo delved into the darkness, each with their hearts caught in webs of emotion.

Author's Note

I'm SO sorry it took me this long, really! I've finished school and exams, so I should have plenty of time to update. This chapter wasn't as long, but the next one will be longer, I swear. I hope you enjoyed it though, regardless of the length, and I'll try to be back with another one in the next three or four days.

But I've finally put a lot of thought into this new world where they've found themselves in, down to the wildlife and the lifestyles of the people. You'll find it all quite interesting, I think, so sit back and watch it unfold. If nothing else, you'll admit this story's pretty original by the end.

Till the next update,

Zekrom1

By the way, my brother wrote this chapter, but I'll write the rest. I had to beg him to write this one, but now that this stumbling block's out of the way, I should be all right. He'll write the chapters from time to time, so just giving you that. Alright, I'm done. Again, really sorry for the late update!