A/N: This chapter is rated M for intense graphic content, explicit gore, light cursing, and character death.
A/N 2: I wanted to thank Ruby Casablanca for all the help with this chapter.
Chapter 10
Tamara walked though the door to see Darcy sitting on the couch filing her nails. Looking to the table she could see a blood covered knife sitting in plane site.
"I see that you had some fun," Tamara said with a smile on her face, "Did she suffer?"
"She felt the pain that she caused Miele." Darcy replied as she placed the file down on the table, a smirk growing on her lips.
"What did you do to her after your fun?" Tamara asked eagerly as she sat down next to Darcy, the latter shifting over so that they sat face to face.
"We threw her out with the trash." Darcy answered nonchalantly, flipping her hand with a coy gesture.
Tamara laughed as she wrapped an arm around the witch's shoulders. "You have done an excellent job my dear," She said before leaning over and fiercely kissing Darcy. The embrace was passionate and Darcy closed her eyes as she felt Tamara's tongue enter into her mouth before she released a small moan.
We're going to need to split up," Bloom decided as she looked at the others.
"I agree," Tecna responded. "Dividing the area gives us the highest probability of finding Flora."
"Stella you go with Tecna," Bloom said as she looked at her two friends. They nodded, moving to pair with each other.
"I'll go with Aisha." Musa responded, sliding up to the Morphix fairy. No one objected.
After the girls had split up into their groups Bloom turned to look at Helia.
"Helia, I think that you should come with me," She said, pulling him away from the boy. "You might be able to talk some sense into Flora when we find her."
Helia nodded, immediately going to Bloom's side. He would do anything if it meant saving the girl he loved from injustice.
"And what about the rest of us, oh fearless leader?" Riven asked sarcastically, lowering himself into a mock bow. Musa punched his left arm in annoyance, causing him to rub the area, a scowl growing on his face. Thankfully, he knew better then to reply.
"You and Nabu stay here and keep an eye on Miele." Bloom replied, motioning to the small girl under the covers of a hospital bed. She looked scared out of her mind. "It looks like she isn't doing so well, and Flora would kill us if we let her little sister get hurt again."
Riven shrugged, loathing the fact that he was stuck on babysitter duty while the others actually got to go on a mission. Nabu, on the other hand, had already moved over to Miele's side and was trying to coax her from under the sheets.
"I'll stay here with Brandon and make sure that he is okay," Sky said as he looked at Stella's worried face. Here eyes never once moved from Brandon's broken body, and he could tell that she would never willingly leave him alone like this even though her friend was in danger. She nodded her head gratefully at Sky, golden eyes shimmering with worried tears.
Now the only one left without a job was Timmy.
"I'll make sure that everyone stays in contact 24/7," the ginger haired Specialist offered, pulling out his PDA. "I can even run a scan for all plant based magic used in the last hour within a fifty mile radius if it'll help."
"Thanks Timmy," Bloom smiled, her spirits lifting. The more help they had in locating Flora, the better. "Now come on you guys. We have a friend to find!"
"Enchantix!" the girls all cried out, transforming before flying away, Helia running as fast as his feet could behind Bloom. They needed to find Flora, and fast before she got herself into any more trouble.
And before Riven could even blink, all the girls had vanished, a cold draft left in their departure. Great they had left him alone with the magic man and a little girl. This was soooo exciting.
He turned and walked over to the bed. Miele had risen from under the sheets, but her face looked like death, a paper thin line pressed firmly down where her lips should've been. Whatever this kid had scene, Riven assumed, must've been bad. Nabu was at her side, prodding her with his own fingers.
"Dude, what're you doing?" Riven asked as he settled himself in a chair, his eyebrows sky high in confusion.
"I'm trying to get her to laugh…" he trailed, moving his hands to her other side. She twitched a little, but nothing more. "But obviously tickling isn't working."
Nabu tried peek-a-boo, knock-knock jokes and even a few magic tricks, but all to no avail. The girl wouldn't even crack a fraction of a grin. It was as if she was made of stone, and Riven was getting tired of Nabu's antics. That and Nabu's "child voice" was grinding on his last good nerve.
"Why don't you just leave her alone? She looks freaked out enough as it is. With her sister gone right after returning from being kidnapped, if I were her, I'd want to be left the hell alone!"
"Riven, language!" Nabu scolded, slapping him upside the head. He used a little too much force, and Riven's head fell forward to make contact with the bed rail. However, Nabu could've cared less. "She's only a child!"
"Hey man! What is your-" Riven began to shout, glaring at the magician.
They both immediately stopped when they heard it, the little girly giggle that escaped the tiny person in front of them. Her cheeks had some pallor returned to them as to indicate a blush, and they knew that their ears had not deceived them. Unexpectedly, they had successfully made Miele laugh through Riven's pain.
"Well, that solves that problem," Nabu said happily as he watched Miele laugh some more. It was as if once she started she could not stop.
Riven sighed, reclining back in his chair, nursing his bruised head. He could literally feel his brain throbbing. "I'm gonna be felling this one for weeks! Thanks a lot Nabu!"
"Hey, if it works, it works!"
"Yeah, whatever." Riven was sulking now, his feet propped up on the bed, Miele wasn't tall enough to take up that much space, so his boots didn't bother her.
"Willing to go again?" Nabu asked happily, almost hoping for the chance to slap Riven again.
"Hell no!" Riven shot back, crossing his arms across his chest.
And that was the end of that conversation.
Tamara stood up from her spot on the floor from which she had been kneeling, looking at Darcy lying sweaty, naked and spread eagle on the table in the room panting and desperate for her to continue. A small smile appeared on Tamara's face before she turned her body away, causing the witch of Darkness to whimper in protest. Tamara, who had her fill of her favorite toy for the moment, decided to leave the office all together, choosing to walk up to the balcony for a bit of fresh air. It would do her some good to see what she would one day own. No one, not even Darcy, tried to stop her as she left for the roof, her footsteps echoing across the empty halls, up metal stairs, until the cool wind of the day stung her cheeks.
She could see the whole city from that view atop the club. 'One day,' she thought, 'one day soon it will all be mine.' That was what her plans entailed, and very soon, she would be ready to start them on a fuller scale. Everything was so tiny to her now that she commanded power. Now, everything was in her reach.
It was then, in looking down at her future slaves, when she saw her, the apple of her eye, the one girl she had been desperately been searching for. She could see the girl running into complete strangers as she dashed away. It was heart-wrenching really, her emotions for the girl strong due to their bond. All Tamara wanted to do was hold her. She was so close, Flora's body just stories below as her darling thugs stood in front of the door to the club.
She continued to watch as Flora ran off into the distance; tears began to shed from her own eyes as she watched the Nature fairy. 'That's it,' Tamara thought as she turned and entered the building again, 'it is time for her to come home with me.'
Tamara walked down the stairs and back into the office only to see Darcy still lying on the table. She had almost forgotten about her pet, she could see the lust in the witch's eyes as she entered the room. "My love it is time for me to return the favor." Darcy said as she slowly sat up, beckoning her lover over.
Tamara walked over to the witch and kissed her as she fondled her left breast. She wished she could stay to ravage this beauty, but Flora was just too important to her. Pulling apart from the kiss a smile appeared on the fairy's face, "I'm sorry but I don't have the time right now." she apologized with as much sincerity as her heart could muster.
"Why not?" Darcy asked with a confused face, her genuine disappointment evident.
"I need to go and talk with someone right now." Tamara replied sweetly, as if she were speaking to a baby. By her actions, sometimes she swore that her spell had reduced Darcy's IQ to one of just that, a child.
"Would you like me to come?" Darcy asked innocently, "I can help."
"No," Tamara answered as she shook her head, "I want you to rest for now, we will continue when I return. And this time you can give me pleasure."
This seemed to please the witch, and Tamara kissed Darcy one last time before exiting the room and walking outside the night club. She had work to do, and with a wave of her hand, became someone else entirely.
Tecna and Stella had been searching for what had felt like forever, and still came up with no leads on how to find Flora. Even with Timmy's radar, she was off the map, and the girls were just about to give up. Of course, Stella had no problem with that; she didn't really care if she ever found Flora again. It would serve her right if she had to live on the run for the rest of her life. Tecna wasn't so willing to give up on her friend, and still thought she was innocent enough, but the evidence was stacking up against her by the day, and it was getting harder and harder to know which story was the truth.
Both girls hated splitting up; they thought it was pointless and only caused more trouble then it was worth. But, no one wanted Stella around, and tensions were high even with what Brandon had said, so at least this way they could do some damage control. However, that would not stop Stella's foul mouth from running.
"I don't get why we are still looking. She's obviously running for a reason, and I say good riddance!" the Sun fairy fumed angrily to herself, but loud enough to hear, as usual.
"Stella you don't mean that," Tecna replied patiently as she had all day. She had been combating these remarks for a while and was beginning to believe, as crazy as it was, that her friend actually wanted Flora gone.
"Oh, I mean it! I don't care it I ever see her again. After what she did to Brandon, I hope she dies out there!" Stella exclaimed.
She was about to rebuttal her angry friend once more in hopes of silencing her for good this time, when the sight of the very person they were talking about came into view. Tecna was shocked at her nonchalant presence, just sauntering down the street in plain day light, pretending not to know them, or even acknowledge them. Something about her air was wrong, but what was even more concerning was that the fact that Stella had yet to lay eyes on her subject of abuse, Tecna held her breath as Stella took notice of her pause, and turned to see Flora coming straight for them.
"You!" Stella snarled, scaring away some of the other people on the street. "How dare you show your face around here!"
"Stella! We were supposed to be looking for her remember!" Tecna hissed, worried that her words might scare her friend away. Stella shut her mouth for the moment, and turning to Flora, Tecna changed her tone completely. "Flora we were so worried about you! Where have you been? We have been looking everywhere."
"Oh, I was just stressed. I'm fine now, I promise," Flora waved Tecna's arm off her shoulder where it had been in a comforting gesture. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."
"Flora, we've been looking all over for you; you are a wanted criminal. We can't just let you go." Tecna tried to explain rationally, tightening her grip on the fairy's arm. Flora looked peeved, her face flashing red for a moment before her composure came back. This sure wasn't like Flora…
"Well, I'm sure you can wait. You've waited this long already; I'm sure a few more minutes won't kill you," Flora said with a bite, her patience and temper obviously waning.
Tecna narrowed her eyes, trying to get a read on her friend. Why was she acting like this? Still, she couldn't let her go. "No, Flora. We are trying to help you. You have to stay with us."
"Why are you trying to run?" Stella asked caustically, her eyes glaring daggers through the girl. "You got something to hide? Another body in the alley? I thought you said you were innocent!"
"But, I have no clue what you are talking about," Flora replied sickly sweetly, no longer fighting Tecna and placing all her attention on the Sun fairy, infuriating Stella further.
"You bitch! I cannot believe you have the nerve to show up here, after everything you did to us, and mock me so openly! I should hex you!" Stella screeched her hands ready to cast the spell. Flora only looked amused, and it made Tecna's stomach turn…this wasn't Flora; she was sure of it. However, Stella was too angry to see the differences, and proceeded to back Flora into the alley she had originated from. Stella shoved the girl into the dumpsters, and Tecna cried out in protest, temporarily forgetting her recent revelations.
"Stella! What is wrong with you?!" Tecna screamed, yanking the enraged Sun fairy away from where she had knocked Flora to the ground.
"What's wrong? This bitch has gone unpunished for too long, that's what's wrong! I am going to make her pay for what she did to Brandon, to her friend, to us all!"
Stella fought against Tecna's arms, yelling obscenities at her as well. She was becoming wild, and Flora just lay on the ground, smirking and wiping the blood coming from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes had grown manic at the punch, and she sprang up once more to face Stella. Tecna was growing afraid of this Flora and tried to pull Stella out of the ally.
"Come on Stella, we don't need to do this," Tecna said encouragingly.
"Yes, I do! Flora has to pay!"
"But that's not Flora, look at her!" Tecna pleaded, looking at the girl's twisted face. It was like Flora had become demonic. "Our Flora would never act like this! Think about it Stella!"
Stella was still writhing and shouting, but the thought struck deep in her mind, and as much as she convinced herself that she hated Flora, she let herself see the flaws in this girl. Tecna was right; this wasn't Flora, but Stella wasn't thinking rationally. She didn't care if it was Flora or not; the likeness was enough. She wanted her to suffer, to know her pain…to die.
"Stella please! This isn't Flora!" Tecna repeated forcefully, practically dragging her companion away from the impersonator.
"No, it isn't." The Flora girl said dryly, grinning a wicked grin that made her eyes glint sinisterly.
"Who are you?!" Tecna yelled at her, ready at any moment to attack. But suddenly, the girl stood up to full height, channeling all her power to her stance, and Tecna then felt very small and insecure. Compared to all that power, she felt like nothing, and she could tell that the girl could tell.
The stranger dropped the act, and the pair both watched in horror as Flora's face contorted and melted to give way to a new, full face, one with cold eyes and long blonde hair done in platinum plaits. This girl circled them like prey, her body fully forming, and she laughed as she relished in her victory. Oh, what plans she had for them.
"Let's have some fun, shall we?" Tamara cooed from above them where she had been circling, sending down a shower of energy blasts that had the two girls running for cover. Tamara shot some more attacks their way, maneuvering them so that they were perfectly positioned for the optimum performance. The two girls were sweating, and despite the new appearance, Stella was still screaming 'murder' at her, which she guessed wasn't totally inaccurate. In fact, she smiled at the fact.
"And who shall be the first to fall?" She asked them, enjoying their worried, puzzled faces.
"Whoever you are, whatever you did to Flora, you'll pay for!" Tecna screamed back, guarding herself in the process. What a sweet notion; as if she could really defend herself against her!
"What I did to Flora? Please, I am here to save her, to liberate her from you who put her down," Tamara lowered herself so that her face was only inches above Tecna's. She searched the fairy's eyes for any spark of talent, anything to pique her interest, but found a blank slate. She was disappointed. "What a shame! You don't deserve someone as amazing as Flora!"
"Did she hire you to scare us?" Stella bit, a revelation, no matter how wrong, hit her full force, and she couldn't stop from voicing her opinion. "Did she think that if she got you to freak us out and praise her greatness, then we would forgive her? What kind of sick joke is this?!"
This only seemed to anger Tamara, her face growing harsher. "No joke sweetie," she went over to Stella and pinched her cheeks, grabbing her face in-between her hands. "And I'm afraid that comment will cost you."
Tamara raised her hand to strike when she felt something smash against her back, and turned to find Tecna in her Enchantix form blasting her from behind. Tamara smiled with glee. "Well, well, well! Looks like there is something in that hollow shell of yours. Shame…"
She closed her eyes and vines sprung from under the ground, pocketing the alley and shaking the entire ground. The thick green appendages wove their way around until the concrete gave way to a giant Venus fly trap. The plant was a monster, much bigger, and much more dangerous then it should've been with razor sharp thorns and needle like teeth.
"What the hell is that?!" Stella shrieked from where she had taken cover.
"My pet. And he hasn't been fed for quite a while…living in the sewers has made him…starved."
Every word she said put a shiver down Tecna's spine, and Stella was still in horror over the giant plant in the middle of the road. However, Tamara's icy gaze and creepy smile towards her didn't sit well in her stomach, and just as soon as she had looked away, a wave of hot liquid washed all over her body. Tecna fought the urge to vomit as the clear, foul-smelling jelly goop made its way down her limbs; it was literally everywhere, and she was afraid to move. Stella shrieked once more, as if it would do any good, and Tamara cackled.
"Dinner time," she said to her pet, and the plant lunged after his prey. Tecna barely had time to react before her vision went dark. Then everything burned.
A smile appeared on Tamara's face as she watched the giant plant devour the Technology fairy. She could hear the girl's screams, and her pleas for help; oh, if only she knew what was really happening. The whole scene was too delicious. She began to laugh when she noticed how shocked Stella was, how white her face had turned and the o-shape of her horrified, gaping mouth.
"Get me out of here!" Tecna yelled from inside the plant. Still Stella remained frozen, not sure what to do. This had never happened before, and nothing could've prepared her for it. This was all so overwhelming, like a nightmare.
"She would not have gotten away from him anyway," Tamara said, almost to comfort the girl in her failure, as she turned her vision back toward her pet.
A scream from inside caused Stella to flinch, her first true reaction, and Tamara began to laugh as she heard Tecna screamed out in pain again.
"Set…set her free." Stella tried to command, her voice shaking.
"Or what?" Tamara asked as she turned to look at the Sun fairy, the malice in her eyes so very clear.
She was enjoying this, this psychopath was relishing in her friend's pain, and Stella's blood boiled all over again. A ball of yellow energy had appeared in Stella's right hand. Before Tamara could react she felt the force of the blast hit her in the chest sending her flying into the wall behind her. Another bone chilling scream could be heard from inside, and Stella didn't miss it. She used it to fill her fury.
"I said set her free," Stella commanded again, this time with all the power and intimidation of a witch.
"I see that you do have a little fight in you," Tamara smirked as she slowly stood up, "that makes you so cute."
"Get her out of there before I make you get her out of there."
"Fine," Tamara said before snapping her fingers, "Spit that fairy out." And it did.
Stella couldn't really believe what she was seeing. All she could process was Tecna, or what she supposed what was supposed to be Tecna. The huge plant threw her from its jaws, the needle teeth dripping in sizzling crimson as it opened. Her friend slid across the ground in a river of greenish goo, coating her body, the most putrid of smell coming off of her friend's body.
Her throat caught, and she resisted the urge to lose the contents of her stomach.
The light blue translucent gloves had been dissolved away; most of the skin and muscles from her hands to her elbows were no more. Her orchid butterfly wings were now just nubs connected to her back. The lilac tube top had been eaten away as was the skin beneath to the point that Stella could see her ribs where her left breast should have been. The holes were everywhere. She could see another where the Technology fairy's stomach once was, the organs all exposed and falling out. Her legs had been eaten to the point that there was nothing below either knee, not even bone, and there were only pieces of fabric remaining from her shorts. Her head was the worst though.
Most of her hair had fallen off of her head; the skin that was left was in the process of falling away. Slowly the Technology fairy looked up at her friend to reveal that the entire right side of her face had melted off. Stella could see right through her skull. The right eye was missing as well. Tecna reached up with her bony arm, reaching for Stella, the side of her face that could still express emotion covered in pain and pleading for help.
Stella forced herself to look away from her friend even though she found it extremely difficult. But, what lay in the sight around her, settled and gurgling in the acidic goop was Tecna. Her bone, skin, blood, all swirled around the Sun fairy's feet, and Stella blanched. Her eye, Tecna's right eye, was staring at her, moving round in the spectral as if it were still alive.
That was when she lost it, backing up and away from her decomposing friend, ignoring her garbled, half-living screams, because Stella couldn't even process her own. She couldn't stomach this. It was too much, and she lost hers in the process. Tamara watched as Stella collapsed to the ground heaving before walking over and pulling her head up so that she was looking at Tecna. Tamara held Stella's head so close to the body that she could feel the heat of the acid and at that moment Stella regurgitated again.
"Now what are you going to do to help your friend?" Tamara whispered into Stella's ear, her lips brushing across the sensitive lower lobe, teeth biting down there.
Stella opened her mouth to gasp, but nothing was heard. Tamara shook her head before releasing Stella's hair allowing the Solarian princess to fall back to the ground. In her delirium, Stella heard a snap of fingers before she heard Tecna scream out in pain once again. She had to look away, the heat now radiating from the body lashing onto her to indicate that it wasn't just acid that was killing Tecna now. She let no tears fall, the air far to dry now for that. Sticking up her bottom lip as she was forced to look once more by this sociopath, Stella slowly looked at her friend to see that she was now a blackened, charred mass of carbon that could hardly be described as a body.
"This is your entire fault," Tamara said as accusatorily she looked at her work, "She was asking for you to end her suffering and you hesitated."
Tamara looked down at broken Stella one last time before shaking her head and flying up into the sky. Stella slowly crawled to where the body of her friend now lay, completely ignoring the giant Venus Fly Trap in the back of the alley slowly sinking back into the earth. It was no longer hungry; having gorged itself on Tecna's shredded flesh, and now had no reason to remain. Stella didn't have the courage to destroy it. Wrapping her arms carefully around the charred girl she began to rock back and forth. A lone tear fell as she babbled on about nonsense, pretending as if Tecna was still alive, ready to pop out of the ash and laugh at all of her corny jokes even when no one would join her. She didn't know how long she sat there, but it was long enough to know that she could not accept that fact.
Flora had been wandering around pointlessly for a while now, having bumped into a random stranger and been rejected from every lead she had to getting off of this planet, she was ready to give up for the night. She had no where to go, no where to be, and decided that wandering was probably the best choice for a wanted criminal/murderer. She was sure there was a bounty on her head by now, and she was crazy if she believed that no one knew about it. Still, she was beginning to wonder if wandering was such a good idea as well. The alleys were dark and there had been a disturbance earlier in this area. It was a scary risk, but one she had to risk for her own freedom. Still, in her run from the law, she didn't expect to see who she saw lying in an alley cradling a rather smelly garbage bag like it was a baby.
"Stella," she called skeptically from behind her, "what happened?"
Stella turned around to see Flora standing at the other end of the ally. A rage began to build inside of her at the site of the Nature fairy, a rage that burned brighter then anything she had ever felt. This was her fault, not her own. If only that girl was dead; if only Flora knew how to keep her identity to herself. Oh, that worried expression, how fake it was. She didn't care about Tecna; her new friend got her killed. And now, Stella would let her know how that felt, how it was like to lose a life right in front of your eyes.
"How dare you!" Stella said as she stood up and Flora could see the literal blood and rage in her expression, wild and manic. "This is your fault! If you did not run away then Tecna would be alive right now. "First you kill your friend on Linphea," Stella continued through closed teeth, "then you hurt Brandon followed by hurting your sister, and now you killed Tecna."
Flora opened her mouth to try and calm her friend down but Stella beat her to the punch.
"Don't say a damn thing," Stella yelled, "I don't care what you have to say, I will never forgive you for what you have done."
Before Flora could react Stella had gathered all her energy into a single ball in her hands, aiming them at Flora's heart. Flora could tell that her friend was distressed and that it obviously had something to do with her; the deranged look in Stella's eyes read that she had snapped, and Flora was panicked. She had no idea how to respond to the person pointing a potent spell at her chest. Stella was a loose cannon, and her emotions were on overdrive. Flora raised her hands in surrender, but that didn't curb Stella's paranoia. Instead, she fed off of her actions, her eyes growing even wider with her own conclusions.
"You are guilty, and now, I'll kill you. You will know pain! You will never hurt another person, ever again!" Stella raised both of her hands toward the Nature fairy, "Supernova!"
A large explosion filled the area causing the buildings around Stella and Flora to rumble and collapse. They could both feel the vibrations, the repercussions thrumming in their chests, cracking the foundations at their feet. The concrete shifted, the ground hissed, and both girls were thrown by the force. Stella was still after Flora though, lunging at the girl's feet, dragging her down into the center of the destruction. Tamara who was floating over head was shocked at the amount of raw power that the Sun fairy had expelled. She could see one of the buildings falling on top of Stella, her screams of protest and vengeance lost with her remains, but was quick enough to create a small shield around Flora, but not before a piece of building had hit her upside the head. When the rubble cleared, she quickly flew down to the ground where her desire awaited.
Stepping over fragmented glass, concrete slabs, and other debris, Tamara surveyed her surroundings with a satisfied smile. Things had gone better than expected. The hot-headed princess did a lot more damage than she ever could've hoped, yet it caused her immense joy to know that yet another one of those annoying Winx brats had met their end. They were always getting in the way, and now she had one less to worry about. She walked further into the eye of the storm to find a young girl splayed out on the ground, injured, but still breathing. Flora. She rushed over to the Nature fairy's side. She would need a new identity this time, something to keep the girl from recognizing her. Tamara reworked her genetics just in time for Flora's eyes to open to the world.
"Oh, my poor dear, come here," Tamara cooed, leaning over Flora's battered body, checking her pulse and wiping off some of the soot on her cheeks. "What's happened to you?"
"My friends..." Flora gasped, struggling through clean air over the clouds of ash coming from the burning plant in front of her.
"Yes, I'm so sorry for your loss..." Tamara said sympathetically, mouth in a light pout.
"Wh-what?" Flora stuttered, holding her head. God, how it hurt!
"Oh, now, now, what's happened to that pretty head of yours?"
Tamara reached over where the Nature fairy lay on the ground to gently trace the gaping wound that was currently bleeding out on her head. She frowned; glad the two girls were gone so they couldn't hurt her Flora anymore. "It's quite nasty. But I can make it better."
Tamara stood up, slowly taking Flora up with her, but as soon as Flora was upright, vertigo hit and sent her stumbling into Tamara, her head pounding. She reached up to touch where it hurt, only to come back with a hand covered in blood. Her hands were shaking, and she fought the urge to vomit. The world was spinning around her. What the hell was going on?! Everything was whirling, twirling; Tamara's agitated voice was miles away. She didn't know if she was spinning or if it was just her mind, but everything stood still as she saw it, saw the plant goo and broken street clearly for the first time.
And she screamed.
A horrid sound pierced every space, high pitched and something feral, something totally unnatural. Pain. There was so much pain in that scream, both physical and emotional. The memories of that last few minutes came back at a blinding speed, sideswiping her, toppling her to the ground again. They beat down in the sides of her skull, her brain throbbing in her head as the memories loosed themselves from the prison where she had placed them as the concrete hit her head. She blacked out for a reason. She chose to.
And then the emotional pain came as she remembered, really remembered what had befallen her friends. They were so, so angry at her, but she only tried to save them. And Stella set the Venus fly trap on fire, Tecna still inside. She could still smell it, the smell of burning flesh. One down. And, oh God, Stella's rage. The words that she said, horrible things that she dare not repeat, they stung at her, almost worst than what came next. The fire, explosion, the ground falling, buildings collapsing, down, down, down. A storm of rock and metal, brining them down. She heard Stella's back snap far before she saw the blood that came from her decapitated body as it collapsed to the ground, buried under piles and piles of burning rubble. Two friends, gone in an instant. No pretense, no warning.
Flora didn't stop screaming, not even when Tamara tried to silence her by shoving her head into her breasts. Rocking the girl close, Tamara tried to shut her up, but Flora kept on crying. She wept for her friends, struggling from the woman's embrace to claw her way back to them. No, they weren't dead! They couldn't be! She still had so much more time with them to spend.
"Shh, shh, calm my dear..." Tamara whispered into Flora's hair, "It's okay; you're going to be just fine."
"No! I have to help them! Let me go!" Flora struggled and shouted, but Tamara didn't yield. "Stella! Tecna!"
"They're gone sweetie, dead as doornails," Tamara stated simply. "But I say good riddance. You are far better off without them anyway."
Flora stifled her heaving sobs for a moment, long enough to register what this girl was saying. Confused, and a little horrified, Flora turned to face her keeper for the first time. She was met with a pair of dazzling mix-matched eyes that gazed intensely down onto her face, one a bright violet color, the other a deep ocean-blue. Her raven-colored locks billowed down across her chest, soft as silk in wavy spiral curls, and her complexion was a healthy, radiant tan. She was so captivated by the beautiful woman and her bewitching ruby smile that she almost forgot what she had said. Almost.
"Wh-what do you mean I'm better off?" Flora stuttered, not quite sure what the lady's intentions were.
"I just mean that they didn't seem to be very good friends is all. At least not that I saw..."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Flora said, a little defensively. "Those girls were two of my best friends! I loved them with all my heart, and they loved me!"
"Hey," Tamara shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "I'm just saying, if you had heard what I heard..."
"What did you hear?" Flora asked, timidly, her curiosity getting the better of her, not bothering to wonder how this girl had heard her conversation at all.
"Nothing really, just that, before you came along, those two were talking about you to some other girls, saying that you were a murderer, that they should have the better sense to lock you up. That you were hopeless. Oh, the blonde girl, you should've heard the colorful swears she said about you, not very nice at all, although I suppose you did hear them from her first hand when she-"
"Enough!" Flora was shaking, tears rolling down her face as she relived each word like a knife to the heart. Did her friends really think she was hopeless? No, of course not. This woman was obviously lying. "That wasn't them; I didn't murder anyone. It's all just...one big misunderstanding, they'll see...or they would've seen had they not-" Flora couldn't continue. She couldn't admit that her friends were, well, she just couldn't say it.
"Oh, I'm sure, I have no doubt they'd believe you in a heartbeat," Tamara agreed, nodding her head vigorously in agreement. "But would you want them to?"
"Excuse me?" Flora asked, confused. "Of course I'd want them to! What kind of question is that?"
"An honest one," Tamara explained. "I mean, think about it. They'd believe you once you cleared your name but shouldn't real friends, ones that love you as much as you say they do, or did, believe you no matter what? I mean, isn't that the whole purpose of friendship, together through thick and thin? That is, unless that was all a lie too when someone as sweet and innocent as you is convicted of murder. And what do your friends do instead of support you, they look for evidence which there has so conveniently been a lack of."
"That, that means nothing! They're trying! They will prove my innocence!" Flora raised her voice, standing over Tamara in growing anger, ignoring the pain in her mind. She had to cling onto her beliefs, even though this woman was cutting them down one by one with every sentence.
"But my dear, if they were your friends, you would have no innocence to prove. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Hmm?" Tamara rose to meet For a, taking her hands in her own, squeezing them comfortingly. "You want to know what I think? I think that your friends aren't even looking at all. I mean, they've had what? Days? Weeks to find a killer and shown up with nothing? Now, that's not trying very hard to save someone they 'love'."
Flora was hyperventilating now, her body threatening to give way from under her. She could feel the world spinning in a whole new way, but this time, it was like her entire being was being rewritten. She felt as if her entire friendships with these girls were being reshaped, the tones and tenses behind every spoken word gaining new meaning, darker meaning. She felt her whole mind revolt against her as memories old and new re-mastered themselves with new purpose, every syllable holding some new malice or harm, and it made Flora weep. Was she ever really friends with these girls? After all this time, were they ever really together?
"It's okay, it's okay. I know it's a lot to take in, but you'll okay. It's hard when you realize you can't trust your friends, but that's why I'm here. You can trust me," Tamara smiled a winning smile, opening her arms out in open invitation, but
Flora's mind was still wheeling at a million miles per hour.
"How can I know I can trust you?" Flora asked bitterly, glaring at the girl, not sure where to turn if things went sour.
"Why, I came in the middle of this destruction to save you! I pulled you out of the rubble and healed your forehead, look!" Tamara was being awfully over dramatic, but as Flora placed her hand on her head, she found the blood gone, a light scratch the only reminder of her blow. Perhaps this strange girl was really trying to help? "I offered you enlightenment; I liberated you from your past, and now, I offer you friendship, the real kind."
"Really?" Flora asked, a little like a lost puppy, eyes wide in appreciation for sanctuary.
"Really," Tamara repeated, assuring Flora she could trust her. Flora took a step towards Tamara, but stopped there and cocked her head, still weighing the situation.
"We can be real friends?" She asked again, just testing it on her lips. Flora still wasn't sure now, but what the girl said next melted all fear.
"Of course!" Tamara cried, throwing her arms around Flora, embracing her. The girls hugged for a good long while, and Tamara could've stayed like that forever if she had the chance, right tin the arms of a woman she loved.
"Well," Flora sighed, still sniffling, "I can't go back to Alfea. I never want to see their faces ever again."
Tamara giggled and wiped away Flora's last tears. "There, there. Stop your sniveling. You can come home with me! Somewhere far away from those horrible Alfea people."
"Thank you so much...I'm sorry, but I just realized, I don't know your name." Flora looked away, sort of embarrassed to be committing such a faux pas around her new friend.
"Tamara. And it's no problem! What are friends for?" Tamara bubbled, offering her arm for Flora to take.
"Friends." Flora repeated, smiling back at Tamara.
Together they walked down and out of the alley, not even looking back at the girls burning corpses to say goodbye, past the police officers, and far far away from Alfea. There, Tamara thought, was where they'd create their own, better life together.
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