One Last Sting in the Tail.
Milla awoke to a cold metal ceiling.
"No… no no no no no…"
Did Brevon still have her? Was she still on the ship? She shot up in panic.
She regretted it immediately. Milla stifled a scream. The foreign object in her left arm shifted. She looked down to see red liquid flow into her veins. She'd never seen anything like it. She'd never been in a hospital. The sight of something invading her skin frightened and nauseated her. Scared, she tried to pull it out.
She screamed as the needle shifted inside her vein. The drip came out at an angle. Blood began to seep out of her arm. Pain radiated out from the wound, but Milla was too shocked by the sight of her own blood to do anything except moan ineffectually. She went pale. Her vision darkened, and she felt a wave of sickness wash over her.
She retained just enough awareness to take in the terrifying metal cell. Milla saw metal seats, a metal door, and a strange angled wall on the other side of the room. It was actually the transport's exit ramp, but she didn't know that. To her it just seemed like a steel divider. Blood-red liquid poured out from the drip. An unknown quantity already circulated within her body. She sat atop some kind of scientific work bench… almost like an animal to be dissected. There was only one conclusion she could reach.
I'm still on the dreadnought…
Someone had brought her here. She hadn't been left in the power room. Only one person would have done that. Brevon had won.
They're dead, She realised. They're dead, and he's coming back. He saved me for last…
It was too much to bear. Terror and shock overwhelmed Milla. She blacked out.
...
The smell of red petals wafted past her nose.
Weakly, Milla's eyes fluttered open. That was a more reassuring smell. She could feel a stinging in her arm, but it seemed less intense somehow. For some reason things seemed… less hopeless? She saw the drip lying limp beside her. Red liquid stained the tabletop. Her clothes slowly absorbed the substance, staining them crimson. It spread out in a pool around her right side. It looked like blood... but it wasn't. Milla belatedly realised what she'd pulled out of her arm. She understood why it didn't sting as much.
Petal essence, she realised. Someone tried to heal me.
The wind whistled by outside. She could hear the cries of birds. Milla finally realised where she was. She was on Avalice. They'd pulled her out. Even though she'd attacked them, Carol and Lilac had found it in their hearts to pull her out of the ship. They'd saved her life. Milla burst into sobs. She didn't deserve to live after what she'd done…
Where are you? She pleaded silently. Why aren't you here? Did they abandon me?
Milla sobbed. She realised how much sense that made.
Why would they want to be my friends after what I did? She thought miserably. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't want to hurt them, but it's still my fault. I should have fought back. I shouldn't have let Brevon control me... they wouldn't have let him control them.
I hate him. I just wanted friends! I just got in the way. Now I'll never see them again. I don't want to be alone...
Something in that horrible scenario didn't add up for Milla.
Would they really just abandon me? Milla reflected. They're nice people. They were screaming at me to come back. I wanted to stay. I tried. I was just too weak.
Fresh tears forced their way out of her eyes. She remembered blacking out.
If they hate me, then why did they take me off the ship? Why did they give me medicine? Why help me at all if they were just going to abandon me again anyway? Why leave me on the ship?
Milla gasped.
I'm still dangerous, aren't I? she realised. I'm going to attack someone again. I could attack them again. That's why they locked me in the ship... and if they come back, I'll be waiting for them. That's why they were healing me. They were trying to hold back the monster!
A terrible, gripping fear took hold of her. Any moment now her bones would begin to stretch. Her blood would boil, and her flesh would swell. She'd turn back into an abomination.
Milla realised what she had to do.
I have to leave them, she realised miserably. I have to go back to the wild, and I can never come back.
Despair washed over her. It wasn't fair. Milla didn't want to go back. She didn't want to be alone again, but what choice did she have? What right did she have to stay after this? She wept silently as she pulled herself up off the counter. She didn't know where to go. Nervously, she tried for the metal door.
She froze at the sound of footsteps.
She was stuck in the middle of the room. She had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. Those footsteps were heavy. They didn't sound like her friends' footsteps. They sounded horribly like someone else's. Milla began to back away towards the exit ramp. The footsteps were approaching fast. They reached the door. It flew open.
Milla gasped.
She then deflated, shaking. It wasn't Brevon. Instead, a soldier from Shang Tu regarded her coldly through his visor.
"Oh." he spat. "You're awake."
Milla stared wide-eyed at the soldier, her feet against the exit ramp. He had his sword out, and he didn't sound friendly. He didn't sound pleased to see her either. That scared her more than anything else.
What did I do? She thought immediately. Whatever it is I'm sorry…
"You're quite the little coward, aren't you?" The soldier said. "What's wrong, never seen a sword before?"
Milla trembled. She'd seen one knife too many.
"A forgetful little idiot too," the soldier menaced. "Didn't you forget something slightly important while you were up there?"
Milla stared at him blankly.
"Our Stone, mutt." the soldier demanded. "Where is it?"
Milla's blood turned to ice.
"I-I'm sorry…" she whispered.
The soldier advanced, a murderous glint in his eyes. Afraid for her life, Milla conjured her shield.
"STAY BACK!" she cried.
The soldier paused. The barrier disconcerted him. Merciless, cold eyes stared out at Milla.
"You've destroyed the world. Do you know that, pup?"
"I know," Milla said, distraught. "I'm sorry…"
"Sorry?" the soldier said angrily. "You think sorry is good enough? Now that everyone is going to die?"
Milla froze up. Then she slumped down in shame. She shut her eyes, dropped her shield and lowered her head. The soldier advanced. She shook as she waited for the end. She couldn't fight back. What right did she have to? The metal footsteps came closer.
I'm sorry.
The soldier loomed over her.
I'm sorry I was born.
The sword didn't fall.
Milla peered out at the armoured giant. He stared down at her. All she could see were his eyes, but they were enough. This person didn't care about her in the slightest.
"Give me your bracelets little girl. Then I'll let you go."
He could have stabbed her in a half second. Milla trembled, but she shook her head.
"I can't." she whispered. You don't-"
The soldier grabbed her wrist. Milla cried out as he tried to force the jewellery off.
"No!"
"NO!" Milla screamed. She pulled away.
Before she realised what was happening the soldier was halfway across the room. He sprawled on his back. She'd hit him with a shield burst. Milla locked up, terrified by what she'd just done. He didn't move. Had she just killed this man?
Just die, she thought. Just go away before you hurt anyone else! Monster!
Then he groaned. Milla shook, relief coursing through her. She wasn't a murderer. She was a failure, a traitor and a bad friend, but she wasn't a murderer. The soldier got to his feet. His shield was badly dented.
"Going to kill me?" He asked breathlessly. "For a bracelet?"
Milla shook her head.
"Y-you don't understand," she croaked. "I'm dangerous. You can't… come… near me!"
Milla's parents had told her never to take those bracelets off. For longer than she could remember she'd never done so. She'd kept that promise all these years. She didn't know what would happen if she broke it. Again, she shook her head. The soldier drew up to his full height. Milla quailed.
Please don't attack me again!
The movement had opened up her injury again. She was vaguely aware of something running down her arm. It stung badly. She felt ill.
"In that case I think you'd better leave little girl," he said coldly. "You don't want to be a danger to anyone else, do you?"
Milla clenched her eyes shut. She tried to fight back the black waves of despair that crashed over her. This was the worst thing anyone could have said.
Of course, she realised. He wants you to go away. Why wouldn't he? You're just a danger to everyone else. Go away Milla. Go back to the wild.
She couldn't go through with it! Milla fell to her knees. She burst into tears. She didn't want to be alone! A kind person could have turned things around. Lilac or Torque would have known just what to say. Carol could have helped. This cruel soldier showed her no pity. He drove her over the edge. He marched towards her with his blade drawn. Milla started and covered her head as he punched the wall behind her. She shrieked as the exit ramp fell open behind her. Then she screamed as he grabbed her hair. The soldier threw her bodily from the ship. She flew off the ramp and landed face first in the snow. She lay there, shaking like a leaf.
"Get out of here freak. Don't come back, or we'll kill you!"
Milla pulled herself to her feet. She gave one last desperate, plaintive look to the soldier.
Please just let me stay! she begged him. At least let me say good-
"GET!"
Milla crumpled as his shield hit her square in the torso. He hadn't thrown it with any force, yet it was still enough for pain to ripple through her body. She lay in the snow for a moment, stunned. Deep bruising began to swell up over her sternum.
Then she heard him coming down the gangway. Her last nerve finally broke. Milla ran for her life. She sprinted out into the cold. She wanted to leave the ship as far behind as possible. She ran away from the soldier, she ran away from his knife, and above all she ran away from the hideous, stinging hatred in his eyes. She didn't know or care where she was running to. She knew what she was leaving behind. Friendship. Safety. Above all, she missed company. The three days she'd had those wonderful friends had been the best days of her life... as pathetic as that was. She no longer knew how to live without them. As Milla bounded away through the snow one last horrific realization hit her.
I'm never going to see my mommy and daddy again.
The one thing that had kept her going slipped out of her mind. The cold stole it away. Her parents' faces slid out of her mind, replaced by a feeling of utter hopelessness. Milla ran on through the cold and dark. Eventually she figured she'd find some forest or cave and huddle down somewhere for the night. She could shield herself from the freezing weather there, and live out whatever remained of her pathetic life.
What Milla didn't know was that she was heading north. She was approaching Avalice's frozen outer reaches. A cold, hopeless grave awaited her there. She would die alone, believing that she deserved it. Milla was going into desperate danger. The cavalry was still an hour out. Her blood stained the tracks she left in the snow…
The soldier snorted derisively as he watched the little girl disappear over the horizon. She ran fast. He had to admit that. He wasn't even sure if a vehicle could keep up with her, she was moving so quickly. He noted her direction with amusement.
Stupid brat. he thought. If she'd just listened, I would have pointed her in a safe direction. Instead she made me throw her off the ship. Pathetic.
She'd probably freeze to death in the northern wastelands. The soldier returned to the ship. He didn't care. However, he didn't close the ramp just yet. There was something else he needed to take care of first. In fact, he'd just gotten an idea. Casually he strode through the door to the cockpit...
...and stared down at his two comrades as they struggled furiously with their bindings.
"Well, I tried to warn you," he said casually. "I tried to tell you both that the world is coming to an end. We need to look out for ourselves now, don't we?"
The soldiers flashed the sociopath furious, defiant looks. They'd heard what had happened in the hold. He'd betrayed that little girl's trust. They'd promised her friend that they'd keep her safe. Their anger didn't help. Instead, it gave the traitor an idea.
"Now, are we still broken up about that kid? Come on, you don't think she was worth anything, do you?"
It was calculated to make them angrier. It succeeded. The older of the two soldiers roared at him through his gag.
"Those brats let the Kingdom Stone get destroyed. Killing them now before everyone finds out would be a mercy. But since you care about them so much…"
He picked the fuming soldiers up. One at a time he dumped them off the ship. He then dragged them to the jeep. He threw them in. He made sure his sword was drawn. Then he pulled down the gag of the older soldier.
"Here's my last order," he mocked. "I'm going to borrow the ship if you don't mind. Got to get out of the Three Kingdoms before they collapse. But I've got one more mission for you if you're interested."
"I'll cut your throat out Wei," the soldier spat. "You'd better not be here when the general comes back!"
That was exactly what Wei was afraid of. He decided it was time to accelerate things.
"Yes… be that as it may I have no intentions of staying here. However, you do seem to care about that little girl. I thought I'd give you a chance to save her."
He cut the soldier's hands free. The man went straight for his throat.
"Ah ah ah!" Wei teased. He effortlessly backed out of range. "Most unbecoming of you to assault your commanding officer."
"You're not an officer Wei," the soldier taunted, as he struggled with his feet bindings. "and you're not my sergeant either."
Wei dropped the funny act.
"She's running north, and you're wasting time struggling with me. I've got a sword here, and you don't. You really want to risk getting killed?" He sneered. "She'll be all alone then."
The soldier stopped trying to force the knots on his legs open. He hesitated.
"Curse you…" he spat.
"Believe me Shun, I've heard that many times from people a lot smarter than you. It never seems to stick. Now enjoy your tour of the north pole."
Wei laughed. He left the soldier to slowly disentangle himself from the rope. He strode back towards the ship.
He had many reasons to be pleased with himself as the ramp slammed shut behind him. Milla had seemed like an annoyance at first, but that shield had been awfully dangerous. It would have been quite nasty if she'd woken up and realised what was going on mid-flight. Worse, she could have revealed how "dangerous" she really was. That dragon had been playing with fire.
Not only had he rid himself of that danger, he'd gotten rid of his troublesome colleagues too. They'd been too stupid to realise that civilisation's impending collapse released them from their oaths. Now he didn't have to bother with killing them. There were lands beyond the Three Kingdoms, ones that remembered how to live without that magic rock. With this spacecraft in his hands he could travel to any one of them. Wei would get ahead of the curve before the riots began in the three cities. The refugees would soon begin to pour outwards. It was essential he escaped before the borders closed.
He saw himself as a very enterprising man. He'd positioned himself perfectly to survive the coming storm. A survivor, that's what he was. Other people could try to salvage obvious sinking ships. Yes, he was very clever. He returned to the cockpit, ready to make his escape.
Then he realised he didn't know how to start the ship.
"Ah." he thought.
This could be a problem. Especially since he'd just let his former comrades drive away. They'd taken the only jeep available. How long until the general returned from the forest? He'd have two, maybe three super powered teenagers in tow?
Wei had to admit, he was starting to sweat slightly.
Lilac knew instantly that something was wrong. They'd pulled up outside the ship. She leapt out.
"What is it?" Gong asked.
He didn't kill the engine. Lilac stared at the ground as if it was on fire. Gong couldn't see what she was looking at so intently.
"They've taken the jeep. Your men. I left them with Milla!" Lilac explained frantically.
Gong tensed up. That wasn't good. Behind him Carol and Torque exchanged worried glances.
"Maybe they had to go get something?" Carol asked.
Gong shook his head.
"Those tracks are going north." he explained as he got out of the vehicle. "There's nothing out there but ice and snowstorms."
Carol shivered. Her apprehension grew by the second.
"What are they doing-"
"Aah!"
Lilac cried out.
"What? What is it?" Torque asked. His voice rose with worry.
Carol left the vehicle like it was on fire. Lilac slowly and fearfully crossed the distance between herself and the tracks. She examined something on the ground. Then she fell to her knees.
"Lilac?" Carol asked fearfully.
All three of her companions rushed over to where she'd fallen. They gasped at what they saw. Specks of Milla's blood stained the snow. They extended out north. They were small but distinct. No one could mistake those paw prints.
"No…" Lilac whispered. "please… Milla…"
Torque tried to take charge.
"We have to get after them," he ordered. "Back to the-"
*CRASH*
The spacecraft door fell open. They turned to see a lone soldier from Shang Tu try to leave the ship. He froze when he saw them. Everyone regarded him coldly.
"Ah!" Wei said hastily, feigning relief. "I'm glad you're back general! We need your help."
"What happened?" Gong snarled.
Lilac glared venomously behind him.
"She ran off general! We tried to stop her, but she had a shield! We couldn't-"
"Liar."
Lilac strode forward. She had a dark expression on her face. Wei shrank back. He hesitated as the furious dragon began to stalk up the exit ramp towards him. Carol and Torque looked on nervously. Gong followed behind her. None of them liked where this was going.
"She was trying to escape, huh?" Lilac asked, her voice falsely casual. "Any idea why?"
She stepped forward. Lilac exuded menace through her outwardly calm demeanour. Sweat broke out on Wei's forehead.
"She… she said she was dangerous," he said nervously. "She didn't want to hurt us."
It was a good lie. It stayed close to the truth. Everyone bought it. Cold shock ran through the gathering, followed by pity. Some of the tension seemed to dissipate.
Then Lilac observed a small, crucial detail.
"She didn't want to hurt you?" she asked calmly.
Then her voice suddenly rose to fury pitch.
"Then what's that dent in your shield?"
Every face behind Lilac hardened in dawning, outraged comprehension. Wei realised he'd been rumbled. He reached furiously for a response. Surely the correct lie could get him out of this?
"She… she attacked us when we tried to approach. Because she was…"
Wrong answer.
Lilac had wrapped a tendril round his throat. Everyone gasped as she lifted him into the air. He might as well have been paper. Wei choked and clutched at his throat. His weapons dropped to his side.
"Lilac, stop!" Gong cried. "That's murder!"
Lilac was past listening. She constricted her tendril further. Wei tried to cry out. All that escaped was a desperate, hideous gargle. Lilac's voice was as hard and cold as ice.
"Before you attacked a little girl you should have asked yourself one very important question. What gave you the-"
"What makes you so special?"
Lilac dropped Wei like a sack of rocks.
She stumbled back. She realized belatedly whose voice she'd been using. A horrific cry pierced her ears.
"Eeehhhhh… MRRRRRRRGH!"
Wei clutched at his throat. He held out a desperate arm for help. He still couldn't breathe! Lilac stared, eyes wide with horror, as Torque rushed up the ramp past her. She saw him pull the panda's helmet off. She watched as Wei's face twisted in fear and agony. She could see him pleading for help. Only a gargle escaped his lungs. The world around seemed to fade away from Lilac. There was a terrible ringing in her ears.
"I… I didn't mean to-" she began.
She hadn't known her own strength.
"His airway's crushed!" Torque cried desperately. "I need a knife!"
A tracheotomy, Lilac realised as her blood ran cold. They're going to cut his throat open.
No one had any knives to offer, so Torque picked up the sword instead. Mercifully Lilac couldn't see what he was doing.
"Get me a tube!" Torque cried. "A plastic tube! Anything you can get!"
"I'll search the ship!" Gong assured him. He strode up the ramp.
"Easy Lilac." he whispered.
He put a hand on her shoulder as he passed, but Lilac barely heard him. The words filled up every corner of her head.
"That's murder!"
That was the one thing Lilac had tried so hard not to be. She'd run from that last, terrible label for the past three years.
I don't want to be a killer.
Who had she said that to again? A little hand grabbed her right shoulder. It wasn't so little anymore. Lilac twisted around...
...and met Carol's scared and disbelieving eyes.
"Lilac?" Carol asked fearfully.
Lilac pulled out of her hand. She backed up, unspeaking. Her mind went blank with shock.
Then she shrieked.
"MILLA!" she cried. "MILLAAAAA!"
Before Carol could say anything, before anyone could respond, Lilac had taken off across the icy wastes.
Then everything unravelled. Carol stood there frozen for a few seconds. She watched Lilac disappear into the north. Then she panicked.
"Oooh LILAAAC!"
Before Torque could respond she leapt off the ramp, sprinting after her through the snow. Torque watched her run off. He froze in mid-operation. Gong returned to see him stand up in a panic.
"We need to go after them!"
"Finish your operation!" Gong cried.
His voice rose in alarm as he realised what was going on, but Torque didn't really hear him. He slipped past Gong and ran for the cockpit. Gong was left with a man with a slit throat. The plastic tube... and Wei's undeserving life, was in his hands. He growled and grabbed him off the ground. As quickly as he could he hauled him down off the exit ramp. The way Torque was behaving he'd probably take off with them still on it. Sure enough, as Gong forced the tube through the cut in Wei's windpipe the ship took off behind him. The exit ramp flailed wildly. It barely missed Gong's head.
He was heading off in the wrong direction. The angle was slight, but he'd still fly miles off-course. He'd have barely any ground visibility like that. Gong cursed in his head. Looking for Carol and Lilac from the spacecraft would be like trying to spot two needles in a thousand haystacks. Gong was left grasping his treacherous subordinate. He'd failed. The situation had slid completely out of his hands. At least the idiot could breathe again. Good. Lilac had committed assault, not murder. Plus, Gong had someone to take his anger out on.
"You are going to jail for a very, very long time." he menaced.
Wei didn't argue. He trembled in the snow. Growling, Gong pulled him away and back to the jeep. He drove off.
He didn't go north. Gong knew he wasn't going to catch up with Lilac or Carol in his jeep. At the speed they ran at it probably wasn't possible to catch them today. He would have to wait until they went to ground. Gong made a circular in the snow to mark where the ship had landed. Then he hit the gas back to camp. He was going to have to organise fuel and order a general search. It could take days to find the girls now. If his jeep ran out of fuel, he'd just need rescuing too. Unless their legendary run of bad fortune turned and Torque stumbled upon one of the girls in the snow...
Milla, Lilac and Carol might not have that long. And Gong had two other soldiers out there too, in a jeep with limited fuel reserves. Gong wondered despairingly if he'd already lost them all.
Please, not now, He thought. Not after everything they've been through. We were so close…
Carol ran for hours.
She ran across snow and ice. She slid down embankments, climbed cliffs and stumbled through foreboding woodland. Through valleys and across hills she hurtled into Avalice's northern reaches. The icy wind intensified every minute. She followed anywhere Lilac's tracks fell. She was rapidly running out of strength, but she didn't care. She averaged sixty miles an hour as she broke through the extremes of Avalice's northern climate. She'd come further north than any Avalician had dared come before.
Then she had nothing.
The tracks stopped. Carol ground to a halt.
"What?"
That same question echoed in her head again and again.
"What? What?"
"What?"
She saw nothing but virgin snow. She heard nothing but the howling wind. She saw no hint of Lilac or Milla. They could have been ghosts the entire time. Carol was left dumbstruck. The cold ripped through her unprotected flesh. Something went out. Exhaustion finally claimed her. She toppled over in the snow…
She lay on her back, staring up at the sky. It was suddenly ablaze with fiery white light. A beautiful, shining vortex swirled in the early morning sky. The Kingdom Stone was safe. The world was fine. All of Lilac's guilt, her pain and suffering, her final, terrifying breakdown in the forest as her world had collapsed around her ears…
It was all for nothing, Carol realised bitterly. Just a sick prank.
What did the world mean to them as they froze to death in the snow? Did they mean anything to it? Who cared about three wild children? No one, as long as they had their TVs, cars and comfy lives. No one would give a toss. Lilac, Milla… her, they had all played their roles perfectly. Now they could be thrown away. They were disposable like used tissues. Furious, bitter anger ignited in Carol's mind. She pulled herself to her knees… and then up to a crouch. She forced herself back to her feet. She had no one to help her this time. Why not? They never had before. She began to force her way through the snow.
I have to get back… she thought. I have to get help!
This was the way back, right? Disoriented, Carol marched on. She listened for her footsteps.
One.
*crunch*
Two.
*crunch*
Three
*crunch*
Four
*crunch*
Carol counted thirty crunches.
Thirty-one
*crunch*
Thirty-two
Thirty-three…
Wait… is this the right…
*Thump.*
Carol collapsed face down in the snow. She lay there, unmoving. The cold burned her body and sucked the life from her limbs. She realised dully what had happened.
I'm sorry Lilac. I couldn't… keep up… after all.
It was just like going to sleep. She began to feel drowsy as her body temperature plunged to dangerous levels. Carol tried to fight it, but she couldn't move. Above her head, that beautiful spiral of white, hopeful light mocked her. It returned hope to Avalice even as it ripped hers away. Had Milla held out for just a few more hours… had any of them bothered to look up, things might have been different.
They weren't, and it was too late now. Carol shut the beautiful display of lights out of her mind. She closed her eyes as her body began its final shut down.
It's not for me. she realised. It's not for us. Nothing ever was.
I hate you all.
Snow began to cover Carol as she drifted off into one final rest.
Loading next scene.
Tip: In battle, victory goes to the last side to give up.
Author's Note.
Hey everyone, Bystander here. We now have a forum specifically for Freedom Planet here on ! If you want to discuss a story, discuss the game, ask for feedback, chuck story ideas around, or just chat with other readers, be sure to check it out! You can find a link in my profile.
