Chapter Nine: Severed Ties
They continued on traversing the desert, encountering creatures unfamiliar to them. Strange pink star-like creatures inside of cubes of a gelatin-like substance hopped towards them and jumped at them with enough force to knock them over, but not quite hurt.
"What arethese things exactly?" TJ asked slamming his guitar over one of the creatures. The gelatin fell apart and the creature fell over dead.
"Liquid Cubes." Trini told him. "They're kinda like the Gelatin Cubes we saw back in the Temple of Pluton. They fight the same, and they look the same except for the colour. These guys are a bit stronger too."
"Gelatin Cubes? In the Temple of Pluton? I didn't see any! Maybe if you hadn't killed everything before I got there I would've noticed these things. And why are these guys named Liquid Cubes? They're not very...liquid-y." Trini snickered.
"Sounds like you two have been to quite a few places. Did you see the Goblin King?" Yuta asked.
"Killed it." Trini replied with a cocky laugh.
"It's not all that great...I mean, there are stronger monsters out there."
Trini shrugged and unfurled his map. While TJ fought off the Liquid Cubes Amu glanced over the map with Trini and traced their path with her finger.
"We're almost there guys. Just a little more." She told them.
"Good. I'm tired of sharing a tent with these tools." Su said pointing at TJ and Trini.
"Always on the mark with those insults aren't you? Wouldn't miss a single opportunity if your life depended on it. Or if it didn't." Trini retorted.
"Gotta make sure you know your place." Su smiled.
After walking for another day and resting one more night, they seemed to be almost at their destination. As they walked more cubes approached them, this time a deep orange colour.
"Did I miss something or are these guys the same as the ones we fought before?" TJ asked stepping aside as Trini shot it.
"These ones are Blood Cubes TJ. It's a lot like the other cubes you know? They fight the same, they're just a stronger breed." Amu explained.
"Blood Cubes? BlooodCubes? Really?"
"It's better that you avoid questioning it TJ. Not all the Agasuras will be strong, or come in different shapes. Some are of different breeds. You'll see a couple kinds of goblin, and all sorts of Prirings. Sometimes it's better this way. Some of these breeds can be extremely vicious. I'm sure you haven't seen a Zombie Priring before, and trust me, you don't want to. They bite." Trini told him.
"That...that's pretty messed up. Jienda needs some kind of pest control...or Agasura control or something to get rid of things like that." TJ said.
"Isn't that yourjob? Dumbass." Su said.
"Good point. Kinda forgot about that." TJ laughed.
"Can you see that guys?" Amu said pointing into the distance. Where her finger pointed there seemed to be the top of a couple structures.
"That's..." Yuta said.
"Is it?" TJ asked.
"We're almost there guys. Let's hurry!" Amu said excitedly.
"It's about damn time." Su muttered.
Eventually they had finally reached Elfa. The sand slowly began to seem scarce as they started to walk on solid ground, the sound of their shoes against the gravel streets of Elfa. Tall buildings alike to palaces with giant domes on the top reaching out to the sky filled this city with a feeling of grandeur. The dusk sun shone down brightly on the city but the shade from the buildings kept it cool. Even the shops basked in this grandeur, unlike the small stalls bearing fruits, fish and other wares. A tumbleweed would roll by occasionally. As the six entered the village they saw a pair of adventurers running away looking absolutely terrified.
"Remember that bad feeling I had earlier? Yeah...it got worse. A lot worse." TJ said.
"I think I see what you mean." Yuta said pointing down the street. Elfa was completely barren. Not a single person occupied the street.
"What the...no...this can't be..." Amu said slowly walking forward in shock.
All the shops were closed, but not a sound came from them. The only noise made were those of the group, and the wind blowing sand past them.
"Trini walked towards Amu beside Elfa's Traveller's Bar. A small stairwell led up to a closed door. Trini looked up towards the entrance, and took glances through the street, then shook his head.
"It's alright Amu. I'm sure nobody was hurt. There are no sings of fights or blood." He slowly removed his hat and placed it in his bag. "But what could have chased away an entire city of people? Including all the adventurers? If there were bandits I'm sure it'd be a lot louder around here...especially at the Bar..."
"You wanna stand around and wait to find out? We're here now, so how about we get on with this and go find whatever the hell we're looking for already?" Su asked.
"I don't like this...at all." Moran groaned.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Su's right. Whatever chased everyone off might not be here now. And even if it is, I'm sure we could deal with it. Besides, we can't stand around here all day. We've gotta find Tetty and get on with our adventure." Trini said.
The other four nodded in agreement and they began to move forward. TJ began to look nervous and slightly agitated.
"TJ you need to calm down man. You're making me nervous just by looking at you." Trini told him.
As they walked beside the potion shop TJ looked over his shoulder. "I can't help it...this town is freakin' creepy. The fact that it's empty and the eerie atmosphere it gives off sends chills down my spine...my chest feels tight and my feet feel heavy. Can't we just camp out for the rest of the day and you know...wait until things return to normal before we try to pass through here?" He asked.
"Come on TJ, this is nothing to be afraid of. Now Choen Palm is a lot more intimidating than a ghost town."
"Did you say...Choen Palm?" Su asked.
They all stopped in their tracks as an evil laugh echoed all around them.
"Did someone call me? Ah...I see...excellent! Excellent! It seems this cat won't have to search for her mouse today!" An unfamiliar voice said.
"No..." Trini whispered.
A cold sweat overcame all of them as the ambience of the surrounding area began to feel heavy and tense.
"Not only have I located the agent, but I have also found the Prodigal Legend and an old play thing. It must be my lucky day." The voice appeared to be female. She laughed again.
Trini drew his guns and desperately searched the area. "I finally found you!" He shouted. He continued to look, the desperation in his face growing by the second. "Come out and fight me you bitch! LET'S SETTLE THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
Everyone began to look at Trini somewhat terrified.
"Trini, calm down man...you're freakin' me out. Big time." TJ said.
"I'm sure whoever it is, they aren't worth getting so worked up over..." Amu said gesturing for Trini to calm down.
"If you knew who that was, you would have lost your shit. It's high time we met." Su said closing her eyes. "Get out of the way idiots! She's coming!"
Everyone dodged aside as the ground where they stood was shattered and a figure slowly began to stand, completely enshrouded in a cloud of dust. As it began to settle, there stood a figure unbeknownst to most of them. A tall slender woman with short snow white hair and crimson red eyes emerged. She wore a white cotton sweater revealing her left shoulder, a short mini-skirt beneath the sweater (barely visible), a metallic red collar, and earrings in the shape of a star and moon. She carried a metal crossbow with a scope and a meter beneath it, a blue rest, with a deep blue stave. The crossbow itself was a rusted red.
As she emerged from the cloud of dust she shrugged and smiled devilishly. "Some things never change hmm? Quick on your feet as you were back then." She said.
TJ began to look terrified as he backed away. "There's no way..." He whispered.
"Choen Palm...The Heartbreaker." Su said staring directly into her eyes.
TJ began to look more terrified by the moment. "Choen...Palm?" He whispered. His hands trembled as his eyes began to look dilated. He shook his head as tears welled up in his eyes and he tightly gripped his temples. "There's no way..."
He fell to his knees as he began to take deep shallow breaths. The memory of the boy in his visions suffering by her hands flashed in his mind for a few moments.
"No...it couldn't be!"
The information that Weldin gave him before he set out from Belos felt fresh in his mind like a scar opened once more. "Almostdiedtrying..."
And finally, TJ's own words pushed him past his limits. "The causof Iris' disappearance."
TJ started to violently shake his head and shout, "I don't want this! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die..."
Amu fell to her knees and placed her hands on his shoulders as she tried to talk to him through his terrified shouts. Moran slowly backed away while Su walked forward covering up the other two.
"What do you want from us?" Su asked with a deadly look in her eyes.
"Excuse me for a moment." Choen Palm said holding up a finger. She then began to punch the crossbow she wielded. She looked up through the scope and began again, until it instantly fired a bolt towards Trini which he barely managed to dodge. "Ah excellent. This atrocious weapon always gets jammed. Now then, let us drop the formalities since many of us are past the greeting stage." She said smiling at them.
Trini stood up and began walking towards her, stopping in front of the members of his party alongside Su. "Who do you think you are suddenly walking into Elfa like you own the place? Does your precious laboratory mean so little to you? Or you just couldn't wait for me to come to you?" He asked.
She chuckled. "Oh Trinidell, you haven't changed at all have you? You still have that same fire in your eyes you had...mmm...how long has it been? Eight years?" She chuckled and shook her head. "I thought you had left me for good last time Trinidell. I still harbour feelings for you of course." She placed her elbow in her free hand and placed the other against her cheek as she smiled.
"You think that shit's funny?" Trini asked. His voice began to sound vicious.
"Come to me Trinidell. Let me embrace you and feel the warmth of our lost love."
Su glanced at Trini through the corner of her eye and muttered, "You...you and her weren't allies or something...in the past...right?"
"Do you really believe a word she would say? She's a liar! There was nothing between me and her eight years ago, and there's nothing between me and her now!" Trini shouted.
"Oh Trinidell...you shouldn't lie to your allies like this. I'm sure you can tell them the truth and they'll understand. You and I both know there was magic between us." Choen Palm said.
"SHUT UP! I WON'T LET YOU RUIN EVERYTHING I'VE BUILT UP TO NOW!" Trini shouted.
"Yes! Show me that anger, that hatred that lies deep within! Show me more! Let me see how strong you've become so you can become my pawn once more!"
Trini grit his teeth and aimed both his guns at her. "The mistakes of the past are something I can't undo, but I'll find my way to redemption, and I'll start by killing you! Let's end this Choen Palm!"
She let out a delighted cackle. "Are you always so fast to take a challenge up in arms? How foolish of you child. Come, let us negotiate. There is no need for us to fight so long as diplomacy exists."
"You say diplomacy, but obviously it's not gonna end with just a simple discussion and a handshake. The hell do you want?" Su asked keeping a cool demeanor.
Choen Palm smiled devilishly. "Ah...quite the clever one aren't you? You must be the brains of the group I take it?"
Su chuckled. "Hmph. You aren't wrong, but don't bother flatter me. It won't make me go any easier on you, should your 'diplomacy' fail."
"Elusive and deadly as you always have been, aren't you? No matter, should I have need for you I will return again, but right now you are nothing more than a mere distraction to me. My only request is that you give me the boy, and I will leave peacefully. None of your allies shall be harmed, nor the people of this city, and everything will be as it was before my...arrival."
"By the boy you mean TJ...right?"
She gave Su a slow gentle clap. "Good job. Gold star for the Earth Sage..."
"Didn't she mean earth mage?" Trini whispered.
"Now then, just stand down and let me take the boy and our negotiations shall be complete. You are all free to go about your menial lives, and I shall go about my own."
"Do you really expect us to believe anything you say so easily? There isn't a person in all of Jienda who hasn't heard of your betrayal. If you were willing enough to backstab Iris Livier and have the Dark Moon Princess turn her back to her and her party, what would make us want to believe you now?"
Choen Palm sighed and brushed her bangs aside. "Why must you stand in my way? Do you even know who this boy is?" She crossed her arms. "I am positive that he means nothing to you, other than being an ally in your party. Why don't you give him to me, and find another bard? Perhaps a bard who can...play?"
TJ seemed to snap out of his trance at that comment, and Amu helped him to his feet. "How do you know about my inability to fight?" He asked her breathing heavily.
She seemed to be slightly annoyed by his comment. "Use your head boy. Would I have searched for you if I knew nothing of you?"
Though TJ stood it seemed he was lacking in balance. His body still trembled though his voice was calm. A hint of fear was evident in his words. "You were searching...for me? Are you trying to stop me from finding Iris?"
"Iris? She's dead you dolt! Do you know nothing?"
"I won't believe a word you say! I'll find Iris!"
"I'll only tell you this once more boy. She is dead! She died to the hands of the Agasura King and she will not everreturn, so give up on her! It is time you face reality and search for a possible truth! Join me, boy, and I shall tell you everything! I will tell you of your shattered past, and of the future that awaits you! Join me, boy, and let us rule this world together!"
"You're crazy." TJ said breathing heavily, barely able to stand on his feet.
"TJ you need to rest. Whatever just happened took a lot out of you. At least sit down for a while." Amu told him.
"You might be right." TJ turned to Choen Palm and smiled. "I won't join you in your quest for world domination or whatever. I told you, I'm gonna find Iris. That's all there is to it." Amu led TJ to one of the alleyways by a store and sat him down in the shade of the building.
She shrugged and scoffed. "What a foolish boy. Being blindly led by the nose by the Vandels. Discussing this with children was nothing more than a waste of my time. If you will not give me the boy, then I shall take him by force. We will just have to forge another contract under a different pretext. Now come, let us end this swiftly. I should warn you though, the next shot will not miss. I can promise you that I will have your head pinned to a wall."
"Let's see you try!" Trini shouted.
Trini knelt down and started firing his guns at Choen Palm, who gracefully and skillfully avoided every shot. Su dashed out from the alleyway beside the potion shop and attempted to stab her with her dagger. Choen Palm leapt over Su and slammed her crossbow into her back. She quickly turned around pointing the weapon at her and fired, landing a shot right in Su. Su froze completely, then began to actually freeze.
"Su!" Trini shouted.
"...What?" Choen Palm muttered slowly backing away.
The frozen Su shattered to pieces as Choen Palm uttered, "Above." And leapt back as Su fell above where she once stood skillfully landing and dashing at her again. Choen Palm continued to move back as Su quickly approached, carefully placing another crossbow bolt at Su's head. She fired the shot and it connected, and Su immediately disappeared in a cloud of smoke revealing a log with the bolt stuck in it. Su dashed out from behind Choen Palm, quickly and silently approaching her.
Trini raised his guns and pointed them at her once more as he shouted, "DID YOU FORGET WHO YOUR REAL ENEMY IS?" He began to fire catching Choen Palm off guard, but not enough to succeed in landing any of his shots.
Su finally came into range to attack Choen Palm and shouted, "Masquerade!" She took a horizontal swing but missed as Choen Palm avoided the attack by leaping backwards. Su immediately turned around while moving towards her and leapt as she continued to turn cutting her enemy's cheek as she rose through the air. She landed and quickly threw a smoke bomb to the ground disappearing as the smoke did.
Choen Palm placed her hand against her cheek, removing it shortly after. She looked at her hand, the agitation on her face slowly becoming evident as she glared at Su.
"How dare you..." She muttered. "You are nothing more than children, and for that reason I underestimated you. But it seems you are getting cheeky because of it. I shall not waste my time on you. Stand down now, or you shall not walk away from this battle."
"Children. Ha! If you think we're just kids, you're in for a world of hurt." Trini said grinning. "We're just getting started."
"Never thought I'd team up with this guy, but we have a common goal, so I could agree with him just this once. Kicking your ass comes first." Su said smiling. She sat cross-legged on the potion shop's sign.
Choen Palm scoffed and shrugged. "Children don't learn until they get some cuts and bruises. Consider yourselves lucky if you walk away with a few broken bones." She said.
She immediately aimed her crossbow at Su and fired a shot, then dashed towards Trini while reloading it. While Su dodged Trini aimed at her and began to fire, but before he knew it she was in his face. She hit him across the face with her crossbow and kicked him in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards. Su dashed down towards the ground from the building and used the momentum to quickly close in on Choen Palm and attack with an upward slash. Choen Palm avoided the attack and grabbed Su by her arm, throwing her up against a nearby fruit stall scattering pineapples everywhere. She dashed towards her again slamming her against the stall a second time with a body check.
As Su began to slump to the ground Choen Palm aimed her crossbow at her head again and grinned balefully. Moran jumped out from the barrels beside them and tackled Choen Palm to the ground tumbling along with her until she threw him off. Moran collided with one of the walls under the arches on the bank and rubbed his head as he sat up, while she desperately searched for her weapon. When she finally found it, she saw Su standing beside one of the barrels waving to her with it in her free hand.
"Hand it over you runt!" Choen Palm snarled ready to pounce on her.
"You want it? Come and get me!" Su said back to her.
By that time Trini had already got back to his feet and retrieved his weapons, firing at the unsuspecting Choen Palm, who still managed to dodge his bullets.
"You..." She muttered. She dashed at him again, Trini quickly avoid her initial punch. She reached out and grabbed him by the face, lifting him in the air and slamming his head against the ground. She tossed Trini towards Moran and the two collided, then glared at Su again. "Now that there's no distractions, I willbe taking that back."
"I think you forgot someone." Yuta said jumping onto the sign above the potion shop and began rapidly firing down on her.
"You wretched Vandelsnever learn do you? Your cheap tricks and bullets will not work against me. But I applaud you for trying."
While avoiding Yuta's shots Choen Palm quickly approached Su and attempted to punch her across the face. Su quickly dodged it and drew her dagger form it's case, taking swings at Choen Palm while keeping the crossbow out of her enemy's reach. The two continued to fight while Yuta reloaded and began to start firing down on them again.
"Watch where you're shooting dumbass! If you shoot me I'll-" Su crouched under another one of Choen Palm's punches and quickly got on stood up as she said, "Dancing Dagger!" She performed a side slash as she slid backwards but missed the attack. "-kick your ass all over this whole damn city!"
"Enough of this! This childish game of yours is growing old!" Choen Palm angrily shouted. She raised both of her hands above her head and a strange black mass alike to a black hole was emitted from them. It began to grow slightly as she chanted, eventually covering her hands entirely.
"Shit! Hit the bitch!" Su shouted to Yuta, dropping the crossbow and running.
Yuta fired at her but all of his bullets were sucked into the black hole she created. "It's not working! She's just sucking everything into that...thing!" Yuta shouted.
"You're a useless sack of shit Yuta! It's high time you guys did something! Especially you TJ!"
TJ and Amu dashed out from the alleyway both armed. Amu threw three daggers at Choen Palm while TJ armed his guitar and dashed toward her. Choen Palm lowered her hands and black holes appeared in all the places TJ and his allies once were. The daggers Amu threw were sucked in, and anything touched by the black holes disappeared. A large part of the sign Yuta was standing on disappeared completely, leaving him absolutely mortified. He dropped his weapons and slowly crawled away from the remains of the spell.
"It's...her..." Yuta whispered.
TJ stopped as one of the black holes appeared in front of him and disappeared a few seconds after, quickly trying to make up for the lost time. He raised the guitar over his head as he jumped and attempted to hit Choen Palm with it but was stopped. She grabbed the guitar, and punched TJ away, flinging him back into the side of the bank with his guitar crashing beside Trini and Moran.
"Damn it! Su follow my lead!" Trini shouted as he stumbled to his feet.
"I can handle myself!" Su retorted.
Su dashed to reclaim the crossbow but was beat to it by Choen Palm. She quickly stopped and leapt towards the potion shop, grabbing onto the ledge where Yuta and the sign rested, and leapt off again. Choen Palm fired two shots at Su but missed both as Su dived towards her.
She placed her hand in front of her and shouted, "I've got you now! Earth Dragon!" A long slab of rock appeared before her and she reeled her arm back punching it with as much force as she could. The stone shattered and unleashed a green transparent dragon the length of the distance between them and flew directly towards Choen Palm. fading as it collided with the ground. Trini took the chance and fired two shots, delaying his next few as he turned and fired two more from the hip. She easily saw through his tactic and avoided his shots again.
"Su, again!" Trini exclaimed.
"Hmph. Fine." Su said clasping her hands together. "Here's a little trick by me. This one's an original." She placed one hand against the ground and stood back as a stone creature began to emerge from the ground. While Su did that Trini began to fire at Choen Palm again to keep her busy. Once the creature had fully emerged, it appeared to take similar outer characteristics of Su.
She quickly ran on the wall to get in front of Choen Palm while avoiding the bullets, while her spell caught some of the missed shots. "Sky Dragon!" Su shouted pointing one finger tot he sky. Her clone followed suit, and two dragons similar to the one Su had summoned in the previous spell emerged from where she stood attacking both in front of and behind Su and her clone.
Choen Palm leapt from where she stood, grabbing onto the potion sign causing Yuta to quiver in fear. Trini dived backwards and fired two shots at her, causing her to drop down from the potion shop into Su's face.
Su smiled slyly and said, "Got you right where I want you, you crapsack! Nowhere to run! Ice Storm!" Su stretched both of her arms out in front of her and a light mist began to form around the two. She began to spin and as she did a series of ice stones began to form and attack Choen Palm. Su began to slow down causing the ice and mist to fade away, just barely revealing a frozen Choen Palm. "Now's your chance stupid! Make yourself useful!"
Trini dashed forward firing, and eventually slowed down but continued to concentrate all of his fire on Choen Palm. He continued to shoot at his frozen enemy causing the ice to crack and create a cloud of mist around her. Su slowly backed away but kept her eyes on the cloud.
Trini finally stopped firing and it seemed the battle had finally come to an end.
"Well, didn't think that's how it would end but it looks like that did the trick. She wasn't as annoying as I expected her to be, really." Su snickered. "At least when she was quiet. Now she's dead, and the world's become a better place." Su turned and began to walk away, but stopped in her tracks. "Actually, I take that back. She's not dead."
At that moment the cloud of mist spread further enveloping Su in it. Trini covered his face while Amu took cover and TJ came to. The mist began to fade and it revealed Su being held in the air by the neck. Choen Palm tightly held her and laughed.
"Foolish girl, did you really think that's all it would take to defeat me? You know nothing of the Heavenly Arts, and your limited understanding of the Arcane Arts is laughable at best!" Choen Palm sneered. "If this is the finest you can show me, I don't think I'll have a use for you after I take the boy."
"Just...watch me...you bitch. You ain't...seen nothin' yet...you hear?" Su uttered through her suffocation.
Trini began to look panic-stricken. He had his guns aimed at the two but his hands trembled. "What do I do? Do I shoot? Both of them might die...but...my revenge...this is my chance...but Su will die..." He muttered.
"Trini don't shoot! We can't risk Su's life like this!" Amu shouted to him.
"Then what do I do?"
TJ's guitar flew right by Amu and collided with Choen Palm's head causing her to lose her balance slightly as TJ dashed towards her.
"You...I'll make you pay for all of the things you've done!" He snarled. As he approached she seemed to be regaining her balance and glared at him seconds before they met face-to-face. TJ reeled back his fist and punched Choen Palm across the face with the momentum from his sprint as he turned around and shouted, "Amu! Now!"
Amu quickly followed in TJ's wake drawing three daggers. As she got close enough she stabbed Choen Palm once in the chest while TJ elbowed her in the back. Without stopping Amu slid beneath the arm Su was being held up with, and got to her feet stabbing Choen Palm once in the back with her second dagger. TJ quickly followed up by placing his hand on her neck and his foot by hers pushing her off of her feet causing her to let go of Su. Amu leapt through the air and quickly came back down thrusting her dagger directly into the center of Choen Palm's forehead.
A harsh silence fell over everyone as it felt as if time itself had stopped in those few moments. The impact from Amu's fall should have been enough to crack any normal person's skull. Su collapsed to her knees desperately gasping for air as Amu began to stand breathing fairly heavily herself.
"Good God...that was scary. Is it finally over?" She said laughing nervously.
A grin slowly spread across Choen Palm's face as she began to laugh hysterically. She rose to her feet without even having to touch the ground and stretched both her hands out repulsing all three of them. TJ and Su tumbled away while Amu was pushed in the opposite direction, with Choen Palm gliding towards her.
Choen Palm grabbed Amu by the front of her outfit and shook her head. "No matter how many times I tell you children, you are still so insistent on believing you can defeat me. What do you think will make you win this battle? Hope? Friendship? Love? Ha! I love the looks of terrified Vandels just as I'm about to kill them. You could almost say... how would you modern day humans say it? I 'Get off' to that." She smiled devilishly.
"Damn...we don't have much time. Su what's your strongest skill? Scratch that, what do we need to do so you can use your strongest skill?" TJ asked desperately.
"It's the-just make her look at me! If I can't look into her eyes it won't work! So just buy me some time candyass!"
"I should remove this. It is rather...uncomfortable." Choen Palm said reaching up to her head and grabbing hold of the dagger. She gripped it tightly and pulled it out, revealing the same substance that was inside of the strange black holes she created. Amu began to look even more terrified. "Ahh...that face you're making is so...delicious. Alas, I must control myself." She said with an evil smile. She grabbed Amu by the neck and with her free hand began to form another black hole.
TJ began to dash towards Choen Palm, grabbing his guitar on the run and using it to hit her in the back of the head. He stopped running and slid in front of her as she turned her head back raising one foot and kicking her across the face. She fell off of Amu and TJ quickly dove on top of her, wrapping both of his arms under hers and holding her up in a full nelson.
"You foolish boy! Do you think I would hesitate to destroy you should I need to? I do not need you to fulfill my plans! With you out of the way, it could only become easier!" Choen Palm shouted glaring at him through the corner of her eyes.
Su slowly approached with a devilish grin on her face. "Look at you now...you pathetic piece of shit. I can see the fear in your eyes and hear it in your voice, and let me tell you, it really is the best. Choen Palm, the Heartbreaker, being held down before me. It's sweet, isn't it? Vengeance, I mean."
"You talk quite big for a child. I could break free of this hold at anytime, if I felt the need. But what could you possibly do to me? The boy will be of no use without his memories, and without those, you lack the power to defeat me. I hold the key to defeating me, and there is no way for you to obtain it, you foolish child!" Choen Palm sneered.
"Su can you hurry it up? My arms are getting tired and I'd rather not risk her escaping!" TJ cried.
"Fine fine...let's get this started. Hope you've had your fun Choen Palm." Su said smiling. She closed her eyes and began to chant as she spread her arms.
"You still cannot-no...that's impossible..." Choen Palm muttered.
As Su continued to chant a pentagram with all sorts of markings began to appear beneath her.
"There's no way...how do you..." Choen Palm actually began to look slightly terrified.
"...Greed, Sloth, Pride!" Su continued to chant. An evil grin spread across her face as a dark power was emitted all around her.
"Su! What the hell is that?" TJ shouted attempting to hold his hat down while keeping Choen Palm from escaping.
Su opened her eyes, now a deep purple with large rings circling around her Irises. "Punishments of the sinner! Souls of the forsaken! Come forth and feast on your murderer's spirit! Let your sins become a feast to the victims of your crimes Choen Palm! Now look into my eyes, and join me in an eternity of suffering! Reave!"
For the tiniest moment TJ could have sworn he heard Su say, "Sorry, TJ."
Everything had turned black around TJ and Choen Palm; everything had disappeared from sight. TJ's allies, the city, and even the sky above them. Slowly, the ground began to appear, a barren and cracked earth, and the sky above them slowly faded in, a crimson red, almost like blood. TJ sat back-to-back with Choen Palm, both tied together with an unusual black substance surrounding their torso and arms.
Choen Palm began to laugh. "It seems the child has fooled me. I thought she knew nothing of the ancient magic, but I was wrong. So boy, what will you do? If you do nothing, both you and I will die here." She said looking at him from the corner of her eye.
"I dunno what you're talking about, but I trust Su. She wouldn't trap me in here along with you and kill us both! The only reason I'm here is because I was the one holding you down. Besides, I'm sure Su can tell the difference between her allies and enemies. Once you're dead, everything will be over and we can finally move on."
Choen Palm was speechless for a few moments. "How foolish could you be? Have you forgotten all of the spells and their effects? For you to forget this..." She began to laugh again. "This shall be quite an enjoyable experience for the both of us. I can hardly wait to see your face when the truth dawns upon you. You were truly a fool to trust the Vandels, and Iris Livier. Alas, it seems I will have to plan an escape."
"What are you talking about?" TJ asked.
Choen Palm did not answer, but she and TJ both looked as the sound of footsteps caught their attention. A lone figure in a black robe slowly approached them, the footsteps slowly de-synchronizing with TJ's bated breaths. Bony hands slowly emerged from the ragged sleeves and pulled down the hood, revealing Su's face. The Su under the hood seemed to be completely devoid of life; her skin was pale and faded, her irises completely absent from her eyes. Her face showed absolutely no expression.
"Su! Su what happened to you? Answer me! Su!" TJ cried but to no avail.
She raised her hand and a wisp of light quickly flew down from the crimson sky and began to shine brighter as it took form in her hands. A scythe appeared in it's place and the robed Su tightly gripped it, preparing to swing it.
"What are you doing Su! Su! Wait!" TJ cried.
The robed Su swung the scythe impaling Choen Palm and causing TJ to perform a sudden lurch. His eyes grew wide as he groaned and began to throw up blood.
"Oh god..." He whispered struggling to regain his breath.
Choen Palm tightly bit into her lip but grinned anyway as she spat some of her own aside. "Welcome to reality boy. You and I are in for an eternity of this." She said revealing a bloody grin.
One after the next more of the strange Su-like reapers continued approaching and doing exactly what the others had done, each impaling a different part of the pair's bodies, each harming both equally, and each ripping it from their flesh and standing aside for the next.. The torture continued and they began to increase by the number, eventually surrounding TJ and Choen Palm. As the numbers surpassed the hundreds and began to be reaching the thousands, TJ seemed to become completely devoid of life. He stopped groaning in pain, his irises faded out alike to those of his attackers. It began to seem as if he felt, heard, and saw nothing. As for Choen Palm, she continued to endure, keeping a devilish smile on her face throughout. No matter how much they suffered, though, the torture continued on.
Amu lay on the ground breathing heavily still in shock from having her life flash before her very eyes. Yuta still sat where he had since Choen Palm nearly caught him in the spell she cast. He quietly quivered and muttered inaudible things. Moran still lay under one of the arches of the banks entrances unconscious. The collision with Trini likely knocked him out temporarily.
Trini walked towards Su who was now lying face down on the ground. He placed a hand on her shoulder and flipped her over revealing her face. Her eyes were still wide open, blood running from both of them. Her eyes had stayed the same from when she had cast the spell. Her skin complexion had become pale. She seemed to be as dead as dead could be. Trini walked over to TJ, collapsed on top of Choen Palm and lifted him up. His face showed no emotion, and his eyes blankly stared into Trini's making him feel unsure whether he was actually looking or not. The dead weight from TJ's body seemed to be proof enough of that. His irises seemed to be fading though. He then rolled TJ over and tilted Choen Palm's head slightly. Her crimson eyes still contained their ferocious glare, although they seemed to be slowly fading like TJ's. He then walked over to Amu and checked her pulse. She seemed to have calmed down and though her pulse was slow, her heart was still beating. Moran was a bit beat up, but not enough to be in danger of death. Trini glanced up and saw Yuta trembling by the sign of the potion shop; a bit shaken up but he was alright. Trini grabbed TJ's body and slowly dragged it away, glaring into the eyes blankly staring at him.
"You idiot...asshole...is this really what you wanted? Was all that talk of wanting to find Iris so you could kill her too? Was all of that a lie? You make me sick!" Trini snarled. He spat in his face and threw him back on the ground. "You put everyone in danger. Without Su's sacrifice, we wouldn't have defeated Choen Palm. Be it vengeance, answers, or even experience, do you really think they were worth risking the lives of your 'friends'? Do you?" The sound of a tumbleweed rolling by was the only answer to Trini's question. "You and Choen Palm...have some kind of history. She and I might also, but that's where you and I are different. Whatever happened between us is in the past. I wouldn't have lead my friends into a trap like you almost did...I...I wouldn't have been mislead." Trini began to walk away until the sound of something moving caught his attention.
Trini quicky spun around and drew his guns just to see TJ as he slowly moved and sat back up. Without blinking or even breathing, he began to speak in a cold and lifeless voice. "I had never intended to put the life of anyone other than myself in danger, but I couldn't abandon those who fought so hard to stand by me in my endeavour. If I could save even one life, be it of my allies' or of a stranger's, I would do so. To save Jienda was a lofty goal for me, but something I felt that I could do with the help of my friends. Though I can't undo what had happened in the past; the loss of the princess and the place I called home, I still believed I could make a difference If I was given one more chance. Sacrifices had to be made...and I knew each and every one would leave a bitter memory. Alas, if one or two lives had to be sacrificed for the many, would you still spit on the person who made the choice?" The irises in TJ's eyes finally disappeared and he fell onto his side again.
Trini slowly began to back away from him. "What is it that you're trying to prove? Do you really need to go to such lengths to make your point? Do you even have to haunt me after you're dead?" Trini scoffed and placed his hands in his pockets slowly walking away.
The torture continued on and the two had not moved from where they sat and suffered. As the next reaper pulled the scythe from the two Choen Palm finally lifted her head and chuckled.
"Not even a spell of this magnitude will be enough to kill me. I applaud you once more for being quite resourceful, but I'm sure you know what the cost is of using this spell." She said. "Alas, I believe that it is time we part. Boy. Release the Sound of Frequency! On my Command!"
TJ's head bobbed slightly and he began to utter a light groaning noise, quickly gaining in decibels and eventually beginning to sound exactly like the Sound of Frequency. One by one the reapers collapsed to their knees and began to disappear in clouds of black mist. The sky above them began to reveal large cracks across it until it finally shattered to pieces like glass.
When it had finally ended all sorts of cuts began to appear on both Choen Palm and TJ's bodies in the exact same places. TJ slowly began to stand on his feet taken shallow breaths as Choen Palm stood up and shrugged.
Though she played it off she was severely wounded. Long gashes were spread across her arms and the cotton top she wore was stained with blood. She occasionally spat out more of it and wiped it away from her mouth in an attempt to hide it. "That was a nice little exercise, but I am growing tired of this. I'll be expecting you to arrive at the Kimara Research Laboratory very soon so I can run some tests. You seem to be malfunctioning." She said to him." At that point she had plunged her index finger into her ear and began to vigorously move it about. She finally drew it out and glanced at it, flicking something off of her nail. "Utilizing that skill is rather dangerous, for both you and I. Breaking the spell seemed to give us a fair bit of protection though. Now then, let me finish off your friends so there will be no distractions. A warrior needs nothing of the sort."
TJ wrapped his arm around his stomach while his other fell limp, taking long deep breaths. Blood dripped out from beneath his shirt and ran down his legs. The amount began to increase and slowly spread across the ground. He unsteadily got to his feet and spit some more blood onto the ground. "Do I look like a warrior to you? I was born like everyone else, raised like everyone else, and I plan to live like everyone else, so get out of my face."
She looked appalled for a moment, then a wide smile spread across her face. She began to laugh hysterically, then she lurched and began to cough up more blood and laugh again. "You are quite funny, boy. You should know as well as I do that you're nothing like anyone else! You are not human in the slightest!"
TJ nearly lost his balance. "Excuse me?"
She shrugged and shook her head. "You haven't been human since the day Iris Livier had come across you, and you are not now!"
"What're you trying to say? What do you know about me?"
She began to laugh again, a twisted sadistic laugh. "There is so much I can tell you, only if you will come with me. If you do so, I will tell you everything, from the memories you had lost, to Iris Livier's betrayal."
TJ grit his teeth and struggled to stand up straight but somehow managed it. "I'm not joining you...nothing could convince me to do that. I don't trust you! I may have forgotten my past, but some cheap story like that just won't be enough to buy my trust."
Choen Palm stared at him in an appalled way once more, but this time in disbelief. "That...no...never mind that. If you won't join me now, either I destroy you and your friends or I take you by force. I don't like boys who play hard to get, mind you. Your friend Trinidell I believe, gave me his body for us to succeed in our endeavour quite some time ago. Why don't you do the same?"
"I told you already, I'm not joining you. I'll collect my memories on my own."
Choen Palm scoffed and began to twirl her hair. "If that's what you want, so be it. I'll have your memory removed once more."
"What?" TJ collapsed to one knee and began to vomit again. His shoes and pants began to soak up more of his blood. He pushed himself to stand on his feet and slowly began to approach her.
"Oh how cute...still persistent are we? Sit! On my command!" She shouted and TJ immediately collapsed to the ground on his knees and watched as she made her next move.
She closed her eyes and began chanting again, summoning another black hole.
"Guess she's gonna finish me off with that huh..." TJ said laughing weakly.
The hole opened up in the sky high above the two, right in the center of the distance between them, and another opened beside her releasing a gun with multiple large barrels. She placed her crossbow on her back and tightly gripped the gun as the black hole began to release unusual looking explosives. At that moment Moran dashed out from under the bank past Choen Palm and TJ grabbing Amu and Su and tossing them into the cover of some of the buildings nearby. In the final few moments he grabbed TJ and threw him past Choen Palm before she had the chance to pull the trigger.
He stretched out his arms and shouted, "Don't wait until the last few moments to be courageous TJ! Be brave through and through, in each and every moment! Fight for what you believe is right, with all that you've got! Don't let this second chance be wasted!"
Choen Palm pulled the trigger and all of the barrels fired off at once setting off the explosives as the black hole faded. A massive explosion was set off where Moran had stood heavily damaging the surrounding buildings and filling certain parts of the streets with flames. TJ sat behind Choen Palm absolutely terrified as blood and decapitated body parts fell from the sky.
TJ shuddered and held out his hands as drops of blood fell onto them and stained them red. "Oh god..." He cried shaking his head. Tears began to run down his cheeks as he looked up to the evening sky. "Oh god no...Moran no...Moran!" He looked at Choen Palm absolutely terrified. "No! No no no! NO!" TJ began to scream absolutely horrified. "How could you? How could you be so merciless? You...you killed him! You killed Moran!"
Choen Palm turned to him and smiled as the blood stained her face and slowly ran down her cheeks. She began to laugh as she tossed the gun away and walked towards TJ. She placed her hands on his chin and looked into his terrified face. "Did you see that boy? Little by little, I will tear you wonderful world to shreds. It'll all come raining down on you, just like the blood of your decapitated friend."
"Why? Why are you doing this? Why must you make others suffer for me? Why don't you just take me and leave them out of this?"
"I've already told you boy. You and your friends had their chance and it was wasted. Taking you like this would be easy, but I feel that this should be enough. I can't risk having you turn your back on me when it matters. Now then boy I must-"
TJ got to his feet and grabbed Choen Palm by her shirt as he screamed, "WHY? WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME LIKE THIS?" His grip began to come loose as he slumped to his knees and sobbed. "Why? Why why why? Why?"
Choen Palm knelt down and leaned in towards TJ placing her lips to his ears as she whispered, "You have what I want, and I know what you knew. You need not know any more than that." At that moment Choen Palm began to walk away and eventually disappeared into the night.
TJ tightly held on to one of Moran's remaining hands as he screamed into the emptiness of the night before him. A desperate, forlorn cry.