Author's Note:

Forced to do something against your will, a regretful decision that changed your life, and worse of all, it's all your fault. If you had something like that happened to you, how would your life change? How will it change your life?


Chapter 11: Broken.

Inner Feelings.

Overwhelming emotions locked out my mind, but my body started to move. I paced myself through the darkness, the guilt eating me from was I supposed to feel? How was I supposed to react? I had no more tears to cry, and no more voice to shout. In silence, my mind lingered in the darkness. Shadows flickering would reveal images once in a while, of the corridors of the house, of the doors leading from one room to the next. I had wondered what happened to me. Whether it was instinct or desire, I picked up the family shield lying on the floor, and pushed the through the door..

"Kiera!" A familiar voice shouted across the darkness, and Big Brother's face came into view. I saw him yelling desperately. Just what am I doing? I could feel nothing, my mind a great blur.

"Crnk! Crack! Znk!" A terrible, monstrous sound kept roaring out. As painful as it was, I pushed it away like everything else. It took me a while to realize it was from the shield, dragging along the floor. The rubble from the fight cracked and screeched as I took one step after another. I saw Papa, as well as the man who was with him, fighting off the one with the Mask, and my movements got quicker.

The field had become a wasteland, explosions had blown a lot of the stones apart from the street, its edges black from the fire. Involuntarily, I made my way towards the fight, my eyes piercing at the Masked man as if he was all I saw. The sound of people yelling and gunfire slowly drowned itself out. A sharp, ringing sound kept cutting into my thoughts, dying down just as quickly as it appears. What am I doing? Questions emerged every once in a while, in a soft, sad voice. Am I going mad?

Stop.

The voice cried out in my head, pleading as if she was crying. Papa finally noticed me coming, as he shifted his eyes before they widened with shock. I felt nothing, even when the Masked figure raised his gauntlet the second Papa attention turned to me. With one massive swing, he knocked Papa off his feet and crashing towards the house even after Papa blocked with his two hands.

As the brawl between Mister Luciano and the man with the Mask continued, my steps brought me even closer. Staring into the eye-slits of the long, statue-like mask, I saw shadows that danced around, changing their shapes, laughing and gigling in a crazed fashion.

"What's wrong with her!" I could hear Big Brother's voice coming from afar. He sounded worried.

"Did something happened? Go find your Mom!" Papa ordered, a heavy, concerned tone. I think I saw Big Brother dodging back into the house, as worried as he was.

Are you angry?

The voice asked within my mind, now with a curious tone. My body kept on moving on its own, my eyes watching everything that was happening like a movie. One step closer, and the Masked man noticed me. As it happened, my body moved as if it knew, throwing the ancient shield across in a wild swing. A bright flash of light blurred everything else, and just as quick, Mister Luciano jumped out of the way.

"Doom!" The sound blew away everything else as my shield struck the Masked man's gauntlet. The force so powerful, a little feeling returned to me. The stones, dust and sand flew to the sides as if an explosion went off right where we stood. Was I afraid? I could not tell. Eyes appeared from within his mask, ones of surprise and intrigue. Although, his emotions only lasted a second. Raising his gauntlet once more, he threw another punch at me. I didn't know exactly what happened, but at that moment, I bend my knee, bringing my body down and dodging the strike.

My vision was shaky, my mind numb and empty. Voices kept crying out, but in reality, my body fought. Turning in a circle like I was dancing, I used the momentum to throw an even stronger swing just as the Masked man stood surprised after my dodge.

"Thunk!" Pushed by an unknown, almost mysterious force, I pushed on with a power I never thought I had. Surprised as he was, he raised his right gauntlet up so fast my eyes could barely see it.

They say humans are capable of great things, that our body can achieve feats what most others couldn't believe. The only limitation, the only thing that hold us back, is our mind. When one feels too much pain, the mind dies. Exhausted beyond measure, I lost all feeling of my body. Constant assault from the stress and emotions left my consciousness buried within a dark corner of my own mind. Images of what was happening occasionally flashed into my mind, the sounds muzzled, drowned out. Papa said, in the state I was in, however, I fought with strength, speed and instinct unlike anything he's ever seen...

Blank eyes, devoid of hope and life, I dragged on the family shield, my presence silent. He said I couldn't hear anything, that the only thing I saw was the threat. There was death in my eyes, he said, brought forth from a broken mind...

Are you scared?

The voice asked me in my mind once more, the voice and tone now soft, gentle. Back in the fight, the figure was left stunned. Strangely, I could feel, or rather, sense, confusion from the figure. As he tried to get away, out of fear or caution, my body didn't let him. Wielding the heavy piece of metal that is my shield, I pulled it back towards me and thrusted it at him. Apparently, he couldn't keep up with the two things he wanted to do, defending himself, as well as to jump away. My shield pierced into him like a giant spear.

"Crash!" The man crashed into the stone, breaking into the path and sending dust and sand up into the air, blowing up smoke everywhere.

"Kiera..." Papa said out with a concerned look, sounding serious, worried. I saw a fearful light in his eyes. Papa's... afraid of me.. It felt more difficult to see what was happening, as the shadowy fog got thicker. That was when a small, gentle touch grabbed my hand.

No he's not.

A voice in the darkness replied my thought, consoling me. The voice sounded young, even younger than me.

He's just worried about you.

The shadows vanished, and feelings returned. In my mind I saw who was speaking to me all this while. A young child stood in front of me, her golden hair glowing in the darkness, short and neat, touching her neck. Her green eyes were big and bright, full of hope and life. Wearing a cute dress, she looked at me with a smile, strangely calming me down. Her hair, her eyes reminded me of someone, but my mind felt too tired to come up with an answer.

"Dad!" As my vision got clearer, Big Brother burst outta the house. Blood-shot eyes and a pale white face, he looked like someone who just seen a ghost. "Dad! Dad!" He kept yelling out, his movements jittery.

"Calm down, what happened!" Papa tried his best to calm Big Brother down, but I could see him feeling worked up. Big Brother opened his mouth, but no words came out. I could see how difficult it was for him to tell Papa. Of course, I knew what he was gonna say.

"Mom's... dead!"

Everyone was shocked as they heard it, their eyes blown wide open. Papa tried to blink once, then he tried again, before tears started forming around his eyes. Big Brother stood by his side, sobbing away, still trying to hide the look of him crying. The guilt, the feeling, the regret, everything just burst right into me again, and just when I thought I cried all I could, tears exploded from my eyes.

Papa said that as Big Brother yelled out his words, tears started dripping from my eyes. Small, tiny droplets fell from my green eyes, full of crimson veins. It seemed as my consciousness cried, so did my body, reacting to the feelings that swept over me.

It's my fault! It's all my fault! I killed my friends, I killed Momma! And now, I'm afraid of what's gonna happen to me! I'm so bad, so evil! In my mind, I cried and I cried, screaming out the thoughts that made me feel guilty, feel afraid. The little girl in my mind stood by my side, her presence holding me back from going completely mad. She stood without saying a word, as if trying her best to listen. It was true, I felt more afraid for myself than feeling sad for what happened, and I hated that. It's all because of how weak I am!

You have to tell them.

What? In the shadowy darkness, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was as if those were the very words I didn't want to hear. Fear returned in a most unwelcoming way, the trembling and shivering that slowed me down before came back stronger than ever.

And you're not weak!

The little girl tugged on my clothes as she corrected me, and I turn to look at her. She smiled, the most comforting smile ever.

You've seen what you've been doing, right? It's all you! It's your true self, it's your power!

She continued, her high voice feeling very, very familiar. As she spoke, she grew brighter, and I could feel the shadows disappearing.

"I never expected such a development..." A voice, deep, almost like a machine, spoke out with power. Suddenly, a wave of power pushed away the smoke caused by the Masked man's crash. He stood there, his right gauntlet raised in the air. The Masked man looked unharmed, unscathed. "Did the illusions went out of control...?" He asks to himself, as if the fight he was in is nothing in his eyes.

Illusions? At that word, the memory of what happened with Momma flashed across my mind, the shadows disappeared. It felt bright, as if the word was the \key to the puzzle. Piecing together my thoughts, the girl walked in front of me with a smile, as she slowly faded away. That was when I finally realized who she was. She's me, the small part of my mind, holding me back from going completely mad. In a wild flash of bright light, I felt tugged along by a powerful force. A blink of my eyes, and I'm back in control of my body. My body felt light, full of strength, it was as if the painful, tired self from before was just dream.

"Papa... Big Brother.." I cried out, shutting my eyes to stop the tears. I just know that I had to tell them. "I'm the one who killed Momma." I admitted to my mistake, the feeling of fear no longer there. The shivering, trembling had stopped. I looked on at the Masked man, who was standing there, as if curious of what I was gonna say.

"What are you saying Kiera?" Papa argued back, as if he didn't want to believe it. Big Brother, however, snapped immediately at my words.

"She was the only one who was with her inside! You killed her! She probably can't even defend herself if the attack came from you!" A lot of words were shouted out, hearing them from Big Brother only made that much more painful. He looked angry, panicking over what he heard.

After a last, single drop of tear fell from my eyes, I was ready to fight. I felt nervous, like I'm going on stage for the first time ever, or trying to convince a crowd of people that they're wrong. The heavy shield felt just right in my hand, and I raised it towards the Masked man. "Illusion or no, I won't let you leave here today!" I yelled out, my eyes furrowed for the first time in my life.

"Hahahahahaha. Intriguing..." His voice sounded wise, calm, and most importantly, confident. The wind blew harder as if nature herself got excited from what was gonna happen. Was it his power, I wonder? I watched as the mechanical figure paced his way towards me, with power and stature to his steps. Somehow, I got the strangest feeling that the man behind the Mask was getting excited. With a wave of his hand, another huge force of power blew forth from his body, like a hurricane had formed around him. With his mechanical body standing proud, his arms thrown to the sides, he gave out his words.

"Very well! It's been generations since I've gotten such excitement! Rejoice, mortals! Ambrogio fights once more!"

Whoever he was, wherever he came from, it was obvious his power is in a league of his own. The realization changed nothing. On that day, I came into a power I never knew I had, and I wasn't going let him leave untouched. He stood with pride, a silent look in his eyes, but the wind blew at his command. His words, though little, brought forth many questions regarding his identity. What did he mean by generations? Just how old is he? Behind the mask is the man who had nature at his side, but I just found my wings, and I didn't intend to go back on my word...


Wow, the final scene is happening! Did you find yourself relieved for Kiera as she fought against her own doubts and shadows? Did the words left you cheering at the end? The final fight is about to begin, and it will mark the end of this story! Watch out for the next update!