A/N: It took me a bit longer than usual to update, but I think this chapter makes up for it ;)
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Chapter 21: Point of no return
"Come on…"
"No."
"Admit it…"
"NO."
I heard my other half sigh and for some reason I just KNEW she was grinning.
"You're not fooling anyone, you know…"
I groaned, barely resisting the urge to slam my head against the wall of the portal room I had entered after my fight with Crow. The moment I had passed through the watery curtain, my strange transformation was suddenly reversed, and I turned back to my old self again.
Almost.
The symbols on my stomach were spreading and the skin closest the wound had remained purple. Not only had my transformation left traces on my body; my mind was tainted as well. Isra's voice was louder, confident and much more difficult to ignore. I could feel her clawing at my confused mind, trying to weasel her way back to the surface and take control once more. I refused to let her, but found it increasingly harder to do so. Not only was she growing stronger, but I was growing weaker. As my dark side, Isra fed of the things that drained me of my mental strength. Fear… anger… and pain.
Non-physical pain, that was. Though different as night and day, we were still two halves of a whole and shared the same body. If I would happen to kick the bucket, she'd die as well. Isra wanted power and bloodshed, I wanted to just get back home. We had one goal in common though, and it was staying alive for longer than five minutes. This shared wish led us to form an uneasy cease-fire, though she could not resist taunting me every now and then.
"If you don't like him, then why didn't you get rid of Crowsiepoo?"
"First of all," I gagged, "don't use that nickname EVER again. It seriously makes me want to hurt myself and set fire to random objects. Secondly: I won't fight unless I absolutely have to and you know that."
"I know that he will recover and chase after us!" my dark side exclaimed annoyed. "It only takes three battles in a row to kill him. You already took the guy down one time, but instead of growing a spine and finishing what you started, you're allowing your enemy to gain his strength back and attack us at full health!"
"He's not my enemy now," I countered absentmindedly, gazing through the waterfall at the evening sky. The sun had just set and I couldn't help but wondering if he was alright. The minute that fleeting thought entered my mind, my eyes bulged out of their sockets and I mentally smacked myself in the face. Where the hell did THAT come from?!
"It's the game," Isra answered, a hint of sudden realization and worry in her voice. "It's starting to mess with your head."
"Really? I thought it was called 'Warrior Within', not 'Isra, pain in the butt'."
"Hilarious. Now take off those pink glasses and focus: we all agree that you're trapped inside a videogame, right?"
"Yes," I rolled my eyes sarcastically.
"And we also agree that this world is far different than what you're used to and has strange rules of it's own?"
"Wait a minute, do I even want to know where this is going?"
"Probably not, but I'll tell you anyway: Prince and Farah used to hate each other's guts, but called a truce, fell madly in love and most likely would have gotten married if it had not been for 'The Grand Rewind'. All of this happened in just a matter of days. Unlikely in the real world? Hell yes. Unlikely in a videogame? Don't count on it."
"No way… you don't think… No, that's ridiculous!" I protested quickly. "I'm not going to… EWW!!!"
"Let's face facts, Captain Clueless," Isra snapped, "all the ingredients are there: you have a truce. Only at night, but still a truce. There is also the Dahaka as your common enemy, and his vow to protect you binds you two together as travel companions. I can't believe I didn't see this coming before… then again… I am part of you…"
"Oh shit…" I whispered with wide eyes when I realized that she was right. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!!! What do I do!? What do I do?! I can't let that happen! Not during the day at least…"
"But you wouldn't mind a nightly romance?"
"…"
"Uhm, Alex? Hon? This is the part where you fall down animestyle and scream something along the lines of 'Eww, gross!!!' or 'What!? He'll kill me, you dolt!'," Isra commented dryly, but I was lost in thought.
A romance? With one of the Empress' minions? Was that even possible!? Even if the videogame rules applied to me, and it was possible to develop… feelings… for one of your worst enemies in just a matter of days, was there even a slight chance that sparks would fly between us? Prince and Farah used to be enemies, but did they truly want to kill each other? I didn't believe so.
Also, let's not forget the fact that they were both human, a very important factor in the Prince of Persia universe. That is… I had never seen Prince or Farah ogling one of the sand creatures, let alone the other way around. Okay, the monsters from the first game were brain-dead morons who could do nothing but grunt and snarl, but still… If something were to bloom… I knew it would be a one-way relationship.
I looked like a sand creature, but I still had a human heart. I was capable of falling in love, and if I wasn't careful, the game would make sure it happened.
No… that wasn't true… the game couldn't make me develop feelings for someone. It could only speed up an already existing process, so players wouldn't have to wait around for months or even years before something finally happened.
But again, this was between humans. Crow was born a sand creature, and though he was capable of experiencing emotions, I doubted the Empress gave him the ability to feel affection. The more time I spend with him, the greater the risk my embarrassing, though relatively harmless crush would change into something more… However, his feelings towards me would probably remain the same, and they were far from romantic.
"I'm so incredibly screwed…" I moaned to myself, slumping down against the wall and resting my head on my pulled up knees.
"… suggest you wait until… Hey! Are you even listening?!"
I started and bumped my head against the stone surface, letting out yet another string of profanities. If my character was ever made canon, the rating of the game would most likely go through the roof and directly into orbit.
"You were thinking about big bird again, weren't you?"
"I was not!!!"
"Then what were you thinking about?"
"…Going vegan…"
"ALEX!!!"
"Argh! I can't help it!!! It's the game that makes me do stuff! Totally not mental disorders or bad parenting…"
"You should've killed him when you had the element of surprise," Isra scowled. "Now I suppose we'll just have to settle for killing him in his sleep."
"No, we bloody hell will not!" I yelled, outraged. "I do have a sense of honor you know, even though it isn't much!"
"All is fair in love and war," my dark side tried to sway me. "Or both, in your case…"
"Sorry, Isra, no can do," I shook my head and crossed my arms in protest. "I'll run if I can and fight if I have to, but I won't stoop that low. He wouldn't either… I think."
"And if he was just a Raider who suddenly fell asleep during in the middle of an attack? Would you've struck then?"
I wanted to retort, but sweatdropped when I realized that I probably would have done so. Uh oh…
"Ha! I knew it!!!"
I didn't know whether to defend myself, or laugh at the idea of HIM being at MY mercy. Yeah, like THAT was ever going to happen…
Still, Isra had a point. Crow, like me, had two sides. One of them vicious and thirsting for blood, the other protective and… well… actually quite friendly. I loathed his day personality, but caught myself growing fond of the nightly version, that also tended to emerge when the Dahaka showed up. However, they were both part of the same whole and killing one would also mean killing the other. I couldn't afford to get attached and hesitate during a fight, or it would be my last.
No, it would be better if I spend the night alone and not give this awkward crush a chance to further…
"Delaes si etaf ruoy!"
I looked at the waterfall, sweatdropping at the booming voice that was followed by a couple of loud screeches and the sound of pots and vases violently being thrown around and shattering into pieces.
"Hey, keep it down out there!" I yelled, getting up and shaking my fist. "Some people are trying to slee…"
I was cut off when a feathered dark blur suddenly whizzed through the curtain and hit me square in the face. A few others plowed into my chest, making me fall flat on my back. The dazed birds didn't seem to realize where they were had landed and, still on top of me, changed back into the Crow Master.
"The Dahaka…" the avian demon mumbled weakly, his head obviously still spinning from the effects of the water. "It has…"
"Uhm… Crow?"
"Yes?"
"GET OFF ME!!!" I shrieked, shoving him away. Oh man… his face had been only centimeters away from mine…
I quickly turned away, hoping he wouldn't notice how my head more and more began to resemble a tomato. Oh Buddha, I needed a cold shower. I needed a cold shower BAD.
Come on Alex, snap out of it! Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy…
"AkahaD eht epacse tonnac uoy!"
The guardian of the timeline let out a loud roar, and I jumped out of my skin, right into Crows arms.
"EEEEEEEK!!!"
The Dahaka glared at us, but there wasn't anything he could do from the other side of the waterfall. With a last aggravated growl, he finally gave up and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
"Girl…"
"Yeah?"
"Let go."
I blinked and flushed bright red when I realized I was still clinging to his arm like some kind of freaked out koala.
"Eep! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" I yelped, jumping away as if bitten by a rattlesnake. I was gonna die… I was SO gonna die…
"… 300 have fallen."
I snapped out of it and sweatdropped when I realized he had been talking the whole time. Come on, Alex, deep breaths. Don't Panic… keep cool… relax… focus…
I sighed, and did a few breathing exercises until I felt I had sufficiently calmed down. Taking one last breath of air, I turned back to Crow. Now that he had found me, I doubted my nightly bodyguard would let me out of his sight, so I had no choice but to keep my hormones in check and stick it out. How hard could it be? For crying out loud, I wasn't really in love with the guy, was I? No! Of course not! He was a minion of the empress! A mindless drone! He was just a sand creature!!!
"Eh… sorry," I asked sheepishly. "Were you saying something."
"300 of us have…" he trailed off and gave me an odd look. "Are you not well?"
"I'm fine! Really!" I yelped, trying my hardest to stop blushing… which everyone knows will only make it worse. He was just a sand creature… it's the game… Alex, get a hold of yourself!!!
Crow eyed me suspiciously, but decided to continue talking.
"300 of us have fallen at the hands of that demon. It has no honor and will not even hesitate to strike its victims while they are asleep."
"In… their sleep?"
"Yes. It is detestable."
"The minute he leaves, I'm going to sing and do my 'I told you so' dance… the techno remix version."
I suppressed a smirk when I heard my dark side grumble and focused back on Crow.
"Any idea why? I mean… did you guys fool around with the timeline?"
"Perhaps indirectly, we have."
My eyes widened slightly and we sat down at the edge of the platform, the golden sands swirling behind us in a magical vortex that formed a passage through time itself.
"You told me… this world… is nothing but a game in yours?" Crow asked and I nodded.
"Yes, but I haven't finished it though. I only made it halfway through this tower."
"You controlled the game, but your avatar was the Prince, am I correct?"
"Yup! He used to be my own little puppet on a string," I said with a fox-like grin, but his face remained stoic as always.
"Tell me…when encountered… what happened to… us…?"
"Well, assuming the game didn't glitch on you, really cool rock music started playing and…" I trailed off and sweatdropped for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. "Uhm… well… there wasn't really a stealth option… so… a player had no choice but to… you know…"
"I understand," he said, his expression unchanged.
"For what it's worth… It took me three hours and a bazillion tries to get past you. In gameplay terms, that's only one step away from eternity," I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. Ugh… I felt so guilty… it was a lot less hard to kick his butt on screen, when I didn't have to deal with a real… person.
No! Not a person! A sand creature! He was only a sand creature! No matter how buddy like we got now, it wouldn't make a difference once the sun rose! He would still try to kill me and I would have to kill him! It was eat, or be eaten! I couldn't let down my guard!
"This explains it then," he continued, cutting short my inner conflict.
"What do you mean?"
"Girl, how many of us have fallen by your hand?"
I frowned, counting on my fingers.
"Lemmesee… I pushed one Raider into a spikepit, though he did hold a knife against my neck so you can't really blame me for that… Then there was another Raider, though technically I wasn't the one to cut off his head… Oh, and I think I killed a bird. That's about it, I guess… Wow, I suck…"
"If the timeline had not been disrupted, we most likely would have met our demise at the hand of the Prince of Persia. Instead, you got send to our world and entered this tower with the intent of saving him the effort."
"I took over this part of his quest, but without the killing… And now the Dahaka is after you to finish the job," I whispered, the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place. The sand creatures were meant to die at Prince's sword, but because we decided to split up, he never entered the Garden Tower. Because of me… the Empress' minions had cheated death… and now the guardian of the timeline was after them as well.
"See? There's no use in playing goodie-two-shoes and sparing them. Do it! Kill him now!"
"SHUT UP!!!" I yelled and Crow looked at me I had just smacked him in the face with a fryingpan.
"I wasn't talking to you," I sighed, massaging my temples in a failing attempt to calm myself.
"Can you control her?" he asked and I found myself unable to answer that question. I wanted to say yes, but deep down I knew that would be a lie. She was growing stronger, feeding on my negative energy and patiently biding her time. I think Crow could see the answer in my face, because he didn't press the subject any further. For a moment I thought I could see a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes, but it could easily have been my imagination. It probably was… was it? ARGH!!! Why couldn't I focus?!
I groaned and grabbed my head, as if trying to force some common sense back into myself. I was seeing things that weren't there and hoping for things that could never be. Why? WHY?!
Prince and Farah… it started with a crush… but it only took a few days…
"Girl, you are ill," Crow stated, annoying protective bastard that he was. I was on the verge of an all-out panic attack. I couldn't think… I couldn't even breathe… Go away, go away, go away! Why wouldn't me leave me alone?!
Only a few days…
Only a few days…
…Few days…
…Just a sand creature…
I violently shook my head, my eyes closed shut, and tried to fight the feelings that were trying to root in my heart. I couldn't… wouldn't…
Wanted to…
No! It wasn't real! It wasn't real! No.. it was real… the game had just accelerated things… No I couldn't give in! These feelings were wrong! It could never work out! Crow wanted to kill me! I needed to kill him! HE WAS JUST A SAND CREATURE!!!
My eyes snapped open when I felt a cold hand on my forehead. Wait a minute… was he checking me for a fever?! I hoped this was the case, for if this was some kind of Vulcan mindmeld, I'd be seriously screwed.
I opened my mouth to protest, but gulped when he narrowed his eyes in concentration and his face came dangerously close to mine. However, the avian demon didn't seem to notice that the distance between us was slowly growing smaller… If he continued to lean in like this, we eventually would…
No. I could not let it come to that. This had gone far enough and it had to nip it in the butt before this whole mess got out of hand. I just firmly had to tell him that I was tired and wanted to be alone. Then I would just have to make sure not to bump into him again. It was better this way for both of us. End it, Alex, I told myself. End it now.
"Crow?"
"Yes?"
Our eyes met again…
I opened my mouth to speak…
… and I kissed him.