Chapter 23: In which The Phantom certainly pulls a cheap one out of nowhere
"My beautiful Goddess, how long it had to have been for you! Finally, after all these blasted decades of pain and misery, you return to the throne!" The Phantom shouted, laughing inbetween his words as he still couldn't believe his eyes; he has finally, after studying and performing failure after failure, can finally allow those that proceeded him in life to rest peacefully, knowing now that it is indeed possible to resurrect a fallen soul. Oh, glory days, dear leaders! No, it is not glorious, why would I even-
The girls and soldiers didn't even have pupils anymore. This was impossible; there was no way this could have happened. Maybe if she was the seal to something, then yes, she could then be revived, but dying out naturally was irreversible. Dear god, he destroyed the natural life-cycle, and an ancient Goddess from many decades ago, long remembered as the tragic-leader who unfortunately fallen many years too soon into her rule, now sat in front of them, half-dead and half-alive at the exact same time. Her eyes were still devoid of life, and her jaw hanged on its hinges as though it wasn't properly placed on in the first place. The girls all agreed that nightmares will be produced from this scene in the near future.
"How did you-? I mean, how did…wha?" Vert stammered, her jaw on the floor as The Phantom laughed his own heart out, if he managed to have one. Lady Turbo didn't even bother to look over in her direction, simply resting her head on her fist as she looked directly forward; it was currently unknown if she saw the infidels that now lay hurt on her now-dusty floor. "This is impossible! You can't just revive a person like this! Do you not see her, Phantom? She barely looks natural," Vert said, still stuck in an endless amount of surprise and disbelief.
The Phantom stopped laughing, looking directly into the eyes of Turbo, who still has not acknowledged him. Gust puffed her cheek out. "Only advance alchemists can perform this, and no one ever succeeded. Gust is lead to believe that you somehow perform well on alchemy?" Gust asked, surprisingly not caring that someone that was once dead was staring her down (though she probably wasn't noticing her, anyways). The Phantom looked down on her, his face lighting up red once more, making his silvery head look like a rather shiny tomato.
"Dear child, alchemy is but a baby's term for 'nothing-but-luck.' Alchemy could never succeed in doing this! It was all science, and all of it were proper formula's that people have made, but have never understood, until I have arrived upon this planet. Do you not see her, staring at you? Her mind might not have fully developed as of late, but rest assured, she will soon become her old self once more!" The Phantom shouted for the hundredth time. He gazed at the dead-but-not Goddess, chuckling like a madman.
"…"
The Bitch can't even talk. How inspiring, eh, Phantom? Blanc laughed in her head, coughing out smoke as the two sisters of hers bawled their eyes out. Strangely, as though she possessed the ability to read the minds of those that are weak (which I don't believe she has, though being The Phantom's story now, you can never tell), Lady Turbo looked over towards Blanc, who stopped that laughing in her head as she held onto both Ram and Rom as hard as she could. "What the hell are you looking at? Seriously, if this all we were acquired for, can we leave now? This place is too dusty, and that is seriously not helping my sinuses!" Blanc yelled, still choking up some smoke residue that escaped down her throat. Each cough made the girls cry harder, and that, too, was not helping her sinuses one bit.
"Lady White Heart, you are indeed correct! I now have no justification to keep you in the care of my people and my Basilicom. Once you leave, I'll kill off the rest of the petty pawns in the towns dotting the landmass, and eventually I'll rid of Gamindustri in its entirety! With Lady Turbo by my side, anything is forever possible in this forsaken world!" The Phantom said, folding his arms behind his back as he looked back at the Goddess perched on her throne. Even with her name being said a couple of times, she still didn't change her gaze from Blanc, which was making everyone, even The Phantom himself, completely nervous.
"Woah, what was that?" Noire shouted, coughing herself as smoke escaped her body; damn the world around her for being shocked for no apparent reason. "You save the world, and then you freaking destroy it? What kind of logic is that?"
The Phantom gave himself a facepalm. "Dear Polygonal Gods, do any of you read back into the text? I think somewhere back there, I have stated that I sincerely hate you all, and I also recall Histoire retelling you all a tale of my past before this whole madness began; yes, I am aware of that scene, you are not required to ask. Hell, even without looking back, you said it yourself, Lady Purple Heart. I am the antagonist, and will never be anything but the antagonist. That is how this plot works, dammit! Was that not the case for all the other adventures you have endured? Did you really think that I was just going to save the world and leave? Ha, what imbeciles you all are! We have been repeating the same lines and thoughts for the past three chapters, anyways, so I might as well kill you all as well," The Phantom finished another one of his long paragraphs of text.
He's right…all we've been doing was saying how crazy he was, and he always spouts out his random thoughts. Goodness, are we that boring? Nepgear thought as she tried to massage Uni's shoulder, which had a rather serious burn spread across the blade. Lady Turbo shifted her gaze towards the young CPU Candidates, making them both flinch as the eyes of the once-deceased watched their every twitch. Lady Turbo didn't even seem to blink; only stare as though she was petrified over something, something that has doomed her to be scarred for the rest of her supposed-to-be-short life. Nepgear could see Vert attempting to stand, though it always ended in vain.
"Damn you! I knew we should have never listened to you! We could have stopped you, but why the hell-"
"Didn't you? That is a very good question, my friend, and I do believe this is around the 20th time you have either thought of this, or have said it out loud. Seriously, the readers must be getting bored by now."
"Oh, shut the hell up!" Noire shouted, grimacing as her muscles managed to lift her surprisingly-heavy body off the ground, allowing her to stand on her own two feet, although she was clearly ready to fall back down, making the situation worse. Hey, at least two Goddesses managed to stand! Lady Turbo even looked shocked at this sight, the only emotion that was produced by her during this scene. That too, friends, was progress.
The Phantom tilted his head. "I'm sorry, are you standing because, I don't know, you want to fight me? Even in your current state?" he asked. With a silence following for just a couple of seconds, he looked about at the soldiers that still surrounded the premises of the room, and with a heartfelt chuckle, everyone burst into laughter once more. Lady Turbo was still staring out in the distance as The Phantom began to act all crazy once more. This just infuriated the Goddesses even more, but you probably could infer that already.
"S-Stop laughing! Yeah, I'm hurt, but I can still kick your butt anyway that I want!" Noire shouted, blushing as the soldiers laughed even harder. Lady Turbo closed her eyes, looking rather indifferent towards the scene; did her mind ever show up in her brain? It made one guess for quite some time.
"Stop laughing at my Noirey! Phantom, we're both calling you out!" Neptune shouted, going into a western drawl as she finished off that phrase. Out of all of them, Neptune seemed to be the least injured, as she stood without much of a problem, though pain was still in her eyes. The two Candidates of Lastation and Planeptune looked at their older sisters, and what appeared to be based on instinct alone, both stood as well, their muscles begging them to follow gravity and stay low on the ground. Soon, Blanc joined in as well (she forced Ram and Rom to stay on the ground, not allowing either of them to get hurt anymore then they are now). "Look at that, Phantom! Even when hurting like a motha, we still are a thousand times cooler than you ever dreamed of!" Neptune shouted, placing her hands on hips, as though to commemorate how much of a badass she felt she was within her head.
Okay, readers, what do you think The Phantom did next? Did he look shocked and send his soldiers to attack the girls? Did he try to keep his cool and sound rather disturbing? Or, get this, did he laugh out loud and look all crazy, like he continued to do in the previous chapters? Yeah, come on, do I even have to write it? Oh well…
The Phantom, however, laughed aloud, stepping down rather quickly, right in front of the Purple-Haired Goddess, who didn't even attempt to flinch at his presence. "Lady Purple Heart, surely you aren't serious? All I wanted was to revive Lady Turbo, and then kill you while you were still weak; where does this confrontation come into play? I looked at another universe that followed this scene, and yet it didn't have this! Hm, perhaps I inadvertedly created another universe than the one that I was trying to make…what did I write on page 635 again?" The Phantom asked himself. Neptune was now shocked, surprised to see that the antagonist was actually doubting his own plan; that generally means that the villain is rather harmless, right?
"Ha! Seriously, Phantom, I have no idea what your talking about, with all this universe stuff; I mean, multiple universes? That's farfetched! (Cue a facepalm from Noire) Still, if you can't even formulate a plan, then you are worst then the egg-shaped doctor himself!" Neptune boosted, performing that style of laugh that random people in anime do where they sound like an older, sinister woman. Everybody got that?
The Phantom now looked at the ground, a finger stroking that metallic chin of his. He began to pace about the room in front of the Goddesses, Lady Turbo watching his every step with dead eyes. "This does not make any sense. Were my theories wrong? They shouldn't have the ability to stand upright…what in the world is going on? This certainly makes no sense! They're supposed to still be on the ground, I kill them, and then Lady Turbo and I end Gamindustri together, along with my very special friends, of course! Unless…" The Phantom stopped his movements and looked back at Lady Purple Heart, who now flinched, not liking this sudden shift within him. "Lady Purple Heart, I will only fight you, along with the other Goddesses and Candidates, if you transform into your CPU form. Please, it will be disatrous if you stay in your human forms. I'll wipe the floor with you in that case! I want a fair match, so come; transform!"
Oh dear, what is this devilish man thinking up? Vert questioned, not liking how The Phantom had no distinguishable emotions that could be read by her; With the exception of that endless grin, he was completely unreadable in any sense of the word. Neptune, unlike Lady Green Heart, was still very prideful in her words, and felt that she will still be able to defeat The Phantom, regardless of what he might have up his sleeve at that given moment. Neptune, call yourself down! I do not believe we stand a chance against him! I hate saying it, but we have to somehow escape. Vert was thinking up some rather smart words, but because her jaw was now hurting rather hellishly, she couldn't formulate the words with her vocal cords, forcing her to become temporarily mute. This was not going to help in the long run if Neptune said anything stu-
"Okay, you asked for it! Ladies, even you Nep Jr., let's show this monster the true awesome power of teamwork!" Neptune shouted, going all corny for some reason (She recalled a cutscene from a certain game starring a certain hedgehog). Vert grimaced at this, breaking the common writing law of separating character thought-and-speech into separate paragraphs by thinking: Dammit, Neptune, what are you doing? Can't you see he's trying to lure us into a trap…still, maybe she's smarter than I know. She has proven herself to be an excellent strategist out on the field. I sure hope she knows what she's doing…
Vert, Vert, Vert. You should know that Neptune is only good as a strategist out on the field; when she has to make some rational decisions not on the field, she's…rather ditzy and ignoramusy, to say the least. Nevertheless, the entire party that had the ability to transform (with the exceptions of Ram and Rom) did exactly as they were told, regardless of the fact that Blanc was mortified by the thought of it, remembering the painful sensation she experienced a day ago out in the forested area. This is going to suck, isn't it? Blanc asked within her head.
The room glowed white, blinding the entirety of the rest of the people as the Goddesses transformed into their CPU forms. When the flash ended, the heavenly countenances of Gamindustri's rulers appeared before the unmoved Phantom, all armed with the swords and guns crafted in Celestia (or, in Black Sister's case, crafted from CFW Brave), ready to slice The Phantom in pieces. "Hm…" The Phantom sighed, indicating that, perhaps, his strange plan of some sorts that really wasn't explained all that well has failed miserably.
"Phantom, prepare to face the darkest judgement Gamindustri can ever provide!" Lady Black Heart shouted, her sword prepared over her head, its bright glow shining against the muted colors of the desolate Basilicom. The other Goddesses forgot the pain that they had experienced from the electrocution, looking fully prepared to kick ass, just like their earlier days in the previous trilogy. Yet, because he is a douchebag, The Phantom did nothing more but fold his arms, watching intently at the Goddesses before him. Nisa watched from the back, still feeling intense pain in her nose as the worst thing imaginable was about to occur. That is correct; it will be worst than The Phantom reviving a dead Goddess, or everybody pratically being injured. If The Phantom was unfazed, then what chance did the Goddesses have?
Hearing a sudden noise that sounded like a creak, the Goddesses looked up beyond The Phantom, now looking up towards the throne, where Lady Orange Heart was supposed to be located. Despite the fact that she looked like she was still dead, Lady Turbo was now standing, her face filled with nothing but contempt as she began to walk like a zombie towards the others. She was making an audible noise, sounding what might have been a cross between a dying puppy and a diseased goat (Sick, I know, but as the author, I have no idea how else to describe it). Her rotting figure, barely covered by the loose fitting dress she was buried in (the revival process didn't revive her previous weight, so she was close to being like a twig) , was twitching about with every step she took, sadly deprecating her elegance from the time she was actually alive. Dear lord, what was she doing.
"Dammit, bitch, sit back down! We want to fight this asshole only, not you!" Lady White Heart shouted, saliva dripping from her mouth, her mighty hammer looking like it weighed the same as a piece of paper. Even with that threatening shout, Lady Turbo continued to move forward, her orange hair (Which still looked like it was bathed in a sickening pit of mud) flowing in the non-present air, her eyes looking as though they desperately wanted to shut for the last time once more. The Phantom still refused to budge, still watching the Goddesses as they wondered what on Gamindustri they were supposed to do. Was Lady Turbo going to be a threat? Oh dear, if that was the case, she, too, is a Goddess, so does she still possess the power to transform?
"Lady Orange Heart, correct? I command you to stop! This does not concern you…" Lady Purple Heart began to say, before a sudden pain began to felt within her chest. What? What's going on? Why do I feel so nausous all of a sudden? Lady Purple Heart began to ask herself, feeling as sick when she felt the pain from possibly breaking the fourth wall. Her sword was dropped to her waist, and her floating body crashed to the floor, her knees managing to break her fall before she completely collapsed against her own weight, the floating pieces of armor around her dropping onto her body. The other Goddesses noticed this, and they, too, collapsed in the same fashion.
"Goodness…I can't stand…" Nepgear grunted, her Godly body transforming back into her human form, with the entire room being shrouded in a clean shade of white. In less than a minute after they initially transformed, the Goddesses and Candidates of Gamindustri were back into their human forms, even weaker than before. Nisa watched in horror as The Phantom laughed his non-present lungs out. This was definitely not working now, is it?
"Ah, so we are still following the universe I'm trying to make. I guess you all need to level up in order to transform again. Good, I was concerned for a second there," The Phantom began, Lady Turbo taking her position right next to him, panting as her body was still trying to keep itself alive after its expiration date many decades ago. He turned to her again, his eyes and mouth glowing red once more (a feature? Phantom, you really have to explain yourself sometimes…), with him saying: "My lady, forgive me, but may you finish them off?" This sentence was said out loud, while the next couple of lines were whispered, so the Goddesses and Makers couldn't overhear it?"I don't want you to kill them, but to mearly push them back into the teleporters outside in the most painful way imaginable. Mercy will be granted to them for now; Still, if they do die, then I guess no harm will be done in the end. I do not know why I'm being so generous, but I want to fight them when they can actually fight. Then, once they come back powerful, you can kill them all off. Understood?"
The Phantom is showing mercy, even though he was planning on killing the Goddesses all this time? That's disturbing, but if he really wants this story to go on for another 40 chapters, then so be it. I have no say in this, readers, so if I were you right now, I would recommend not reading this story any further. It might get bad, filled with mary sues and Gary Stu's, and so many lame references and puns that would make the circus that is flying look saddened by the children it had produced. Please, do not continue; this is not my story anymore! Quick, take it off your favorite list, delete your reviews, call a moderator-
"Shut up, creator! Today is a new day. They shall live for today, but when we meet again, they will die off by Lady Turbo's hand. For now, they must prepare themselves for that moment!"
And so I shut myself up.
"We're…we're really going to die. Uni…" Nepgear struggled to reach the little tsundere, who was fading in-and-out of consciousness. Uni looked at her friend, trying her best to smile. Her arm was fully visible, with the sleeve pushed back due to the shock, revealing all the cuts that she had caused on herself. I wish I could'v helped you, Uni. I can't stand to see you die like this. I…don't want anyone to die!
"I'm…right here, Nepgear. Don't…cry on me," Uni said, extending her arm out, managing to grasp a hold onto Nepgear's frail hand. She was smiling, though she found it was too painful to continue doing so. Still, the two of them held one another tightly, hoping that the end won't be so bad. Dear God, I thought he already said he wasn't going to kill anyone! I know that they didn't hear that conversation, but does this scene really have to be this depressing? Next thing you know, we're going to see Ram and Rom cry their eyes out as they await death…
"No, I don't want to die!" Ram cried, holding onto Rom as tightly as she could. Rom couldn't even say anything, her throat choking itself (if that is possible to begin with) as tears poured out of her scarred face. Blanc couldn't believe it; she was defeated from electrocution, loss of shares, and overall being yelled at by the most insane person she has ever met in her life. Seeing her little sisters cry like this made her own eyes fog up. Mina, forgive me. I guess I'm a terrible sister after all…
Good God, Phantom, finish this scene already! We have enough depressing things happening in our life; we don't need this!
As though he read my words, The Phantom walked back towards the throne, completely silent as the soldiers in the room began to shake in fright. The same white light that the other Goddesses were eaten by, brightly illuminating the entire Basilicom, blinding many of the soldiers in the process, soon consumed Lady Turbo. When the light subsided, entering the darkened world once more, what stand where Lady Turbo once stood was the CPU of Land16, making the others look on in horror.
She was glowing a furious orange, looking as though she was being burned alive, most of her body not visible due to the engine not working with fire all that well. Her hair was now a bright orange, almost blonde, extending down towards her knees, with the ends being almost as sharp as knives; even though it was a different form, it still was caked in mud and dirt, making it look like a disgrace to the CPU race. Her body was no different, as the skin visible to the naked eye was rotting, peeling in some places to reveal some diseased muscle, with the skin itself being colored a sickening purple, much more than how Linda was colored. Unlike other Goddesses, who sported a much more revealing spandex leotard-style attire, Lady Orange Heart still wore her elegant dress, which was ripped about at certain points, with the beautiful design dotting it faded away due to time. In her hand was the biggest rapier anyone could have ever imagined. Even in her Goddess form, she was still a miserable sight. Well, enough of that purple prose; back to the scene!
"Forgive the destruction of the Basilicom, my fair lady, but it is for the best. We will rebuild it into a stronger foundation, anyways," The Phantom rationalized. After facing the throne for a couple of seconds, he turned to face the group one last time. "Goddesses, Candidates, and Makers! If you survive this blast, and are thus brought back to Corporatol City, then I suggest that you heal up as fast as humanly possible, and train as though there is no tomorrow! I shall give…let's see, it is about mid-June, correct? You have to the end of August to come back to this Basilicom, or else I will begin the invasion that will end the history of Gamindustri as you all know it! If you die in this blast, then I hope you all either enjoy hell or the Graveyard!"
He now looked at Lady Orange Heart, who had her back towards him. "Now, my Lady, fire!"
Fuck, why is she listening to him? Blanc thought her last thought, before the entirety of the Basilicom was filled with darkest sense of light imaginable.
On the side of the Makers, Nisa was the only making any rational thought within her mind. However, all she could think before she was engulfed in the light as well was, simply blunt: Fuck…
Lady Orange Heart made another sound that resembled a dying cat, and with her rapier aimed at the heavens, a mighty gust of wind began to form around her. The soldiers surrounding the perimeter of the room began to feel uneasy, as Lady Orange Heart was always described to hold the power to completely clean out a room in a jiffy, a cleaning that was definitely not enjoyable in any sense. They began to grow fearful, and even though The Phantom would probably scold them, the soldiers began to break their formation and ran for their lives to the doors. Some managed to get out of the Basilicom rather swiftly, but some were just about to reach the door when the strike occurred. Those that were too slow and stood too close to her were swiftly disintegrated, turning into ash, including the clothing on their backs and the metallic weapons they carried.
The attack was strange, as it appeared just in front of The Phantom, who was unharmed in the blast. It was a gigantic heat wave, produced from the abundant energy that was circulating thoughout the room. It formed into a solid object that drifted towards the door, its heat reaching up as high as 980 degrees Celcius (1800 degrees farenheit). To those that were slow, disintegration was their fate, while others were fiercely burned, to the point of being fatal. Those that made it to the door were still burned greatly, and even those that were already outside suffered some damage, mostly to their faces. Most of all, however, everyone was blown back, as though a huge tornado suddenly ripped through the entirety of the Basilicom. Many crashed through the doors, while others actually broke through the wall, crumbling part of the Basilicom, making it shake in its wake. Windows broke everywhere, walls lost their paneling, and even the floor began to lift off the landmass.
Our heroes saw the blinding light, and were anticipating the death of heat's untimely grasp. Strangely, while they indeed burned, they were simply thrown off towards the broken wall, not suffering a painful death like some of the unfortunate soldiers. It appeared that Lady Orange Heart had some control over her powers, as she followed whatever The Phantom told her, making sure that the Goddesses, Candidates, and Makers survived the blow. Each of the girls screamed as they tried to stay on the ground, but all of them were eventually blasted out of the room, all while accompanied by some strange woman chanting music in the background.
"Farewell, Goddesses! Maybe one day we will meet again, in which I, along with my lady, will end your very nations!" The Phantom shouted, laughing the loudest anyone could ever laugh. Pain and terror filled their hearts as The Phantom continued to laugh, Lady Orange Heart grimacing as she made another of those weird-ass noises, not particularly caring that her Basilicom was beginning to be burned to the ground. Before the girls could do anything, before they even had a chance to fight their way back towards the antagonist of this story, their whole world vanished into an endless abyss of white, an unknown fate to be following them.
5pb. Phase 1: In which we find that the idol might not be so dead after all
When 5pb. woke up, she felt as though she fell into a hole, and was unable to get out.
Her eyes opened falteringly, and her pupils were greeted to the endless shade of black, covering every cardinal direction possible. She was sitting against a wall, which, as she could feel, was covered in a thicket of dust and grime. Her hair was messy, to the point that each strand was thrown about haphazardly. She had trouble feeling her fingers, but whenever she felt them, they throbbed as though she pulled the nails clean off their homes. She rubbed her face, feeling dirt drift off with every pass of her hand, as well as feeling some wounds that formed themselves around her cheeks. She was clearly not in her stage-attire, as she couldn't feel her exposed belly; instead, she felt some sort of cotton fabric, one that covered her arms like a sweat-shirt; actually, that was exactly it.
Whatever she was wearing, it was definitely unflattering. She wore some form of sweatpants, and the sweatshirt was more like a standard sweater, making the top part of her body itch terribly. Why would I ever wear this? I'm not even jogging! 5pb. thought in her head, before sudden questions flooded her mind. She ended up questioning her whereabouts, as she certainly did not remember ever entering a dark building like this, and falling aslepp on a wall at some point within the room. She felt massive pain throughout her body, and when her hand skimmed over her shirt-like sweater, she felt what might have once been a massive gash, though because of the lighting, she wasn't able to see if there was any blood residue left behind. Why was she wearing this, and why was she feeling pain in her stomach? Was I robbed? Where's Iffy and Epica?
She managed to stand, feeling some pain in her thighs, though it wasn't enough to warrant her to sit back down. "Ow, my head…" out loud, placing her hand on her scalp, feeling woozy as the eternal darkness took its toll on her. I need to know where I am. Wait, I should have my phone, right? I just need to contact Iffy and find out…
But when she felt the part of her pants where pockets normally resided, she found that there was no pocket to begin with; no pockets, no phone. "Oh no, what am I going to do?" 5pb. suddenly said, worry prevelant within her phone was gone, IF and Epica were currently MIA, and worst of all, she was in the complete dark, both in reality and within her mind, as she still debated what the hell lead her to this position. Was it another party, Lyrica? We all remember the grand party about two months ago, and I do believe it ended the same way. The only difference was that Lyrica was able to remember things easier than this.
"Okay, do not panic, Lyree. You're clearly in a room, so there has to be a way out," she cheered to herself, taking deep breaths as she looked about the dark room, which she began to notice, was surprisingly damp. If the room's damp, then that means water gets in, right? She thought to herself, as she extended her arms out, trying to feel for any solid object around her, though all that she felt was the heavy air around her. She swung her arms around, and tried to stomp her foot to make a noise (she also realized that she was wearing sneakers now; was she jogging before all of this?), though the only noise that was made was some metallic clink. Okay, the floor is metal. That's…bizarre…
Out of nowhere, as though the Polygonal Gods were trying to please her for once, a dim light randomly switched on, and a flicker of light appeared before her, a cloud of dust being illuminated around her. 5pb. was initially confused, but she felt some sort of relief, as she could at least see a couple of feet in front of her. On the other hand, she also felt disturbingly nervous, as someone, somewhere, decided to turn on a lamp for her; hell, the whole fact that the lamp looked like it was made one hundred years ago also set her off the edge. Okay, should I thank somebody, or…
When she saw the object on the floor, she suddenly realized how thirsty she had slowly become. Her throat was completely dry, and she felt as though her lips were cracking under the pressure of the words she had said before. On the ground, however, she saw a bucket, filled with some form of liquid, illuminated by the lamp directly as though it was intentional. She couldn't tell whether the water was actually water, or some other liquid that she should just haste away from really quickly. Still, given how dehydrated she was at this moment, she didn't care if the water was the produce of some human who had to go really bad to the point that couldn't get to the bathroom; she immediately ran to it, bent down, and brought her hand into the liquid, scooping up as much water as she could, before placing the small portion of it into her dry mouth.
She felt the wonderful life-saver drift down her throat, and at first she had to cough it up, before her body finally responded to it; while it felt rather crunchy, her tastebuds registered the liquid as water, so that was one worry she could leave out of the picture. She continued to drink some of the water, trying to sooth her throat as it burned with each gulp made, making her feel somewhat sick, though she attempted to ignore this as she guzzled down the contents of the lone bucket.
Once she felt satisfied, she took some additional water and splashed her own face, feeling as though other things were hitting her head as her skin grew softer once more. It felt relaxing now, and she felt as though she was actually relatively clean, like she had just stepped out of a shower, with IF following closely…
Wait, where did that come from? Carrying on…
She finally felt something strange, though. She opened her eyes after one final splash to the face, and out of nowhere, she felt it was necessary to look at the contents of the pale in front of her. She looked directly inside, and her eyes opened agape, her mouth jaw shaking in its hinges at the sight before her. Let us just say that her tastebuds were liars, bad ones too.
Inside this bucket was blood, a dark crimson red that looked like it was rather unhealthy, though that could just be the lighting effects. In the blood was a civilization of dead critters, some being the common fly, others being…other disturbing creatures that Lyrica has never seen before in her life. For the past couple of minutes, she was drinking this thicket of someone's (or something's) blood, along with the dead things that decided that they wanted to fly about this marvelous canyon of red. Even her face, which was rather pale and fair, was now covered in the same red shade that inhabited the bucket. She was mortified, to say the least.
Without even a second thought, she kicked the bucket away from her, tipping it over and spilling the thick blood out onto the dusty, metallic floor. It transformed into a sea of black on the floor, with some of the bugs within the thicket actually twitching after being released from that tomb. 5pb. tried to hold it in, tried to hold in the consumed human waste within her stomach, but she was never the type of person that could be considered iron in this department. She quickly grabbed hold of a wall, aimed her head down, and vomited everything she once consumed, coughing in spurts as her mouth quickly burned from the sudden influx of acid that came from her stomach. This is was rather unpleasant for the common reader, but it was an important thing to write, right?
Probably because she felt like she was dead once more, the memories of Lan16 and The Phantom came back to her quicker than the vomit leaving her body. She remembered the terrified face of IF, who was desperately trying to save her from the clutches of the strange vine-like creature (that explained the wounds on her stomach, as she remembered getting stabbed by the strange creature a couple of times). She remembered losing IF's grip, and she was soon pulled into the darkness of the forest, her body smashing into every single tree that happened to inhabit the landmass. Before she was knocked out, she thought she saw Underling within the forest, asleep of course, but before she could register her prescence, she was seeing the color black all around, and next thing you know, she was in this strange room with a pale filled with blood.
"I'm alive? How is…I can't be alive…" Lyrica questioned to herself, thinking that being grabbed by a sharp vine and being dragged in way that her body would hit everything in its way would be enough to end anyone's life. She didn't know if she should feel grateful for being granted a second chance, but no matter what, she was definitely isolated from the rest of the group. "Did they make it to that village? Oh, I hope Iffy and everyone's okay," 5pb. said to herself, picturing a dark scene of IF bleeding as she walked towards the village, with everyone else dead around her. She eventually collapses out of desperation,and as the doors of the village close for a final time, the zombie-like monsters run up to her and…
No, don't think like that! Iffy's a strong soul; those monsters are no match for her!
As she recovered, she turned around to see a small child with her, no more older than 5 years old. It was a boy, and he wore shaggy clothing that barely fit his frail body, which was clearly malnourished and dehydrated. His eyes were begging, and they were producing tears. He was looking at the spilled bucket, his teeth (dirty and mostly all black) jittering, a cry waiting to be produced. "Food," he whispered, though because he had a thick accent of an unknown country, it came out sounding like "fould." Lyrica was absolutely perplexed, to say the least.
"Um, hello there. Wh-What's your name?" Lyrica asked, extending her shaking hand out for the boy, though she knew that he will be terrified from her blood-stained face. The boy shifted his gaze to her, and unlike what she had thought at first, the boy pouted with rage towards her, probably not realizing that blood from an unknown specimen plagued both her breath and her once-clear face. Eh, I wish Iffy was here. She was always good with kids!
Strangely, a strange song lyric played in her head for really no reason other than padding, at least in my opinion: But first, are you accustomed?...have you ever been accustomed? Well, I have…
The boy, out of the blue, completely lost interest in her, and instead focused on the vomit on the ground. Lyrica was confused, of course, but when she saw his target, she grew sick again. He began to run towards it, and while 5pb. extended her arm out in order to capture the kid, the boy broke through her easily, getting down upon his knees and…feasting on the remains of what lingered in Lyrica's stomach. "No, no, don't eat that! That's unhealthy, son! Stop it! Oh," Lyrica said, running over to the opposite end of the room, closing her eyes as she tried to forget the sight in front of her. She was sweating pretty badly now, even though she barely had any liquid within her.
As soon as she felt like she was going to throw up once more, more loud noises were heard, and to the side of the room where the the boy was eating whatever 5pb. had last, there were more lights being turned on. It turns out that the walls of the room were all glass (the back wall was actually concrete, while the floor was of course metallic), with other rooms similar to 5pb.'s extending out towards the horizon. On her side of the room, more rooms appeared, and in each one, there was at least two people present, with the same pale sitting in the middle of the room. Usually, one person was yelling their lungs out as the slammed against a wall, while the other was crouched in the corner, crying their eyes out.What in the world… 5pb thought as she looked on in horror.
"Let us out of here!"
"I don't want to die…I don't want to die!"
"Ah, death will finally claim us. This moment is so great, ain't it child?"
"grrrr….nerrr…nwalll…"
These were the strange noises she heard from the rooms around her, and it soon came to Lyrica's attention that these rooms were cages, and they were locked away for some reason. "Oh shit," she said out loud, looking out the side of the room where no other room was. Were they always there, and she just blocked their cries out, or were they just added to this place, and were just as confused as she was? From the looks of it, many of the buckets were knocked down, with the same black sea forming around the puddle. Each person wore the same style of wear Lyrica wore (the only exception was the little boy with her. If someone put them in these suits, was he too small to sport one? If that's the case, why was he here in the first place?), and they were all sick and tired, just like her.
Out of nowhere, a bright light entered the bigger room that held these cages, blinding 5pb. as she backed away, holding her arms up to cover her stained face. The light was completely void of any color, allowing the positive space of three silhouettes to stand out perfectly. When her eyes finally adjusted to the sudden shift in lighting, the three figures were much more prominent, and everybody in all of the cages, including the little boy that was feasting on her vomit, turned to face these mysterious individuals.
Two of the individuals looked like some sort of soldier, as they carried rifles in their hands, with a rather prominent helmet covering both of their heads; while they were simply shadows to everyone, it wasn't that hard to tell that they were rather bulky and tough. The third person, the one that stood in the middle of them, was the strangest one. He was probably 10 feet tall, wearing an oversized jacket, with a head that seemed to be either completely bald, or sporting an insignia on his forehead; either way, it was rather huge, with a glowing mark appearing on his neck, or where everyone speculated his neck was. The three of them were all threatening, of course, but this man was both tall and extremely muscular; he will certainly be a force to be reckoned with, in case he turns out to be a prominent bad guy in this story.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if we opened the cages you inhabit, you will walk towards us and onto this glowing, yellow line. You will not run nor act in any way that will cause us to open fire upon your frail bodies, and that is an order and a promise! Do we have an agreement?" one of the soldiers appeared to say. Even though she didn't really agree with this man, the rest of the prisoners nodded in compliance. One of the soldiers nodded, and with something strange being said by the big, middle man, one of the soldiers vanished.
In an instant, the glass doors of their cage opened up, and the outer room was now traversible. 5pb. was of course reluctant to step out of the cage, but the soldiers standing in front of her were clearly armed and dangerous, and she'd rather stay alive then be gunned down by two madmen, or whatever that middle guy was capable of. She saw the rest of the people, including surprisingly the little boy, walk out of their cages like the soldiers instructed, and thus she has done the same. She took a deep breath, unsure of what the future was going to look like; for all she knew, this will be her saddened grave, and she will never see her friends ever again. Will the world still end? She hadn't a clue.
She didn't see the yellow line at first, but when she took a couple of steps forward, the yellow line randomly became visible to the naked eye, and she stood on it as instructed. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was confused by all of this, as others were confused over the yellow line as well. Taking a good, long look, Lyrica noted that there were at least 25 individuals on this line, meaning one of the cages held only one person. Everyone was different, and the climate was rather diverse. There were girls her age, boys her age, middle-aged people, rather old people, children like the little boy, and of course, the crazy gents who were crouching as though they were on the hunt. Considering that they were completely insane, this was probably likely.
The middle man was also getting a good look. "So these are the new arrivals, huh? Great, more weaklings. We'll never get ratings unless we get the stronger folk. Damn, I really need to find better people for this," the man in the middle said, scratching his chin, though it was still hard to make out. The lighting was getting better, now that everyone had their eyes adjusted to the dark and light even more, and it seemed that the man was indeed bald and looking like a robot, one of his eyes sticking out and dangling on a loose wire. His mouth was always moving, irregardless of the fact that he wasn't talking most of the time. He was uncanny, in order to summarize this paragraph for your convenience.
Hearing the terms "stronger ratings" and "weaklings," a man suddenly spoke up. "What the hell is this? Where the fuck are we?" he shouted, raising his fist in the air as those around him looked petrified. Lyrica didn't know what would happen if this man spoke out, but she felt like it was a necessary questioned to be asked; so far, no questions have been answered, and Lyrica was growing more sick and confused by the second. The middle man laughed, and sounds of guns getting prepared rang through the air. The soldiers were pointing their rifles directly at the man, making him wince.
"For the sake of your life, I will recommend keeping your mouth shut! I'm just like The Phantom: you speak out of term, and your brains will be splattered about on the floor. Do I make myself clear?" the middle man said. The man still looked at him with rage in his eyes, but he lowered his fist and did as he was told, making his neighbors completely scared for their own lives.
So he knows The Phantom. I guess Nisa would proclaim this guy to be a baddy, huh? Lyrica thought in her head, looking at the man with a pout of her own. The middle man clapped his heavy hands together, making a sound like a grenade going off with every impact of his palms.
"Dearly beloved, my name is Fizier Pearson Shouding, but you may refer to me as FPS, if it is too much of a mouthful for you. I have served in many wars, and the buckets of blood within those cages were the meals my squad was given everyday. Now that you are in my possession, you better get used to the coppery taste, for that might be the only food you will be getting for the next couple of months. As stated before, I am one of the many generals under The Phantom's army, the leader of the army, to be exact! I am also the owner of the show 'Arena-o-Violence', the popular show on the east coast of Lan16! You may know our motto by heart: 'Who needs color and imagination, when you have dark hues and blood and teen boys who feel it is necessary to spout dangerous slurs that would make their own mommies cry?'"
The east coast? I'm on the east coast? Oh man, I'm far from the others, i think…wait, I'm on a show? Lyrica thought in horror, looking to see if anyone else had any reaction to this. From the looks of things, everyone was ready to faint, and those that weren't were giddy with joy, enjoying the title of the show, instead of fearing it. Oh god, what is going to happen? Iffy, where are you?
"All right, let's get this show on the road. Soldiers, make sure they follow me in that straight line. Any of them try to break the formation deliberately, fire away. Come now, folks! Follow me into this room!" FPS said, turning around slowly, his footsteps sounding like landmass-quakes with each and every press towards the ground. People were whimpering and crying, while others were swearing under their breath, but nonetheless, they all followed his advice, as Lyrica felt her feet move on their own, with the soldiers aiming at them without saying another word.
Just do what they say, girl. When the time comes, get the hell out of there! Lyrica shouted as she was lead out of the room along with the other 24 people.
In the next room, bright lights were cast against a dark sky, and buildings were clearly visible against the outer horizon. They were outside of a huge arena, and it looked as though they exited out of a huge warehouse, making everyone uncomfortable. Worst of all, however, was the sight of 75 other individuals waiting outside a huge metal door, one that will lead into the arena floor, which made Lyrica even more nervous. There was a balcony hanging above the door, where a ton of soldiers stood, all aiming down their sights towards the massive group of people, in case some decided to run for their lives. Lyrica saw more people her age and above, while others were even younger then the five year old; there was a mother in this place, and she was carrying an infant! What type of show was this?
While they all had the opportunity, no one ever said a single word, with the exception of those that were crying, but those were simply audible noises rather than coherent words being formed. I don't like the looks of this. It's like the outside of my concerts, but less inviting and more terrifying!
FPS was helped by a couple of soldiers (have I failed to mention the hundred's of soldiers that covered the area, including all possible areas that people could escape to?) up to the balcony, his massive size being a pain for his movements, though it gave him the edge of looking rather terrifying to the common man. Once he got up there, he looked out towards the group of 100, his mouth still moving even though he hasn't said anything in a while. Even though he couldn't, he looked as though he grinned towards the group, making them all flinch. With that, he turned to have his back face towards them, with camera's coming out of the walls to view him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of Lan16, how are all of you tonight?"
After he said this, an obnoxious cheer and roar was produced from inside the stadium. "Holy…there's a ton of people watching. I'm really scared," some girl said out loud, making sure her voice was low enough so the soldiers wouldn't fire at her. Everyone else didn't say a word, but they suddenly all turned pale at the noise.
"This is the 20th season of 'Arena-o-Violence,' and as all of you die-hard fans know, when a season begins, 100 people are always randomly selected from all around Lan16. Yet, only 75 are allowed to continue on into later episodes, so you all know what that means!" FPS shouted into a mike they all couldn't see.
Oh god, why do I have a feeling I know what he's going to say next?
The arena exploded in a wave of hellish cheer. "Death Combat!" They all shouted in unison. That audible tune made everybody in this group feel a sudden feeling of dread, even the crazy ones. Lyrica began to shake even more. What the hell does "Death Combat" imply in this case?
"That's right! Tonight, 25 unlucky souls will have their lives ended in this arena of pain! To the contestants, there are millions of items around the arena floor that can be used to kill; some will end lives quickly and mercilessly, while others will kill much slower, and thus much more brutal. Also, don't expect to hide, for every tile on the ground is rigged to explode after 1 minute of continuous standing, and just so you know, there are proximity mines hidden about on the floor. Hell, we even stationed snipers to fire at will, meaning you can get killed by those that are supposed to protect you! Wouldn't that be a bother, eh? Once 25 are killed, the remaining 75 will be able to move on! Now, once the bell rings, the gates will open, and all of you are required to enter the combat zone! If you are still out on the arena after 10 seconds, these soldiers will end your lives early as well! There is no escape, my friends; fight for the thought that you are entertaining your home! This is the greatest accomplishment anyone of us can ever endure. Now, ladies and gentlemen, begin the countdown!" FPS shouted.
Lyrica and the rest wanted to cry. They really had to kill one another? What the fuck, dude? I know that this fanfic is a dark one, but since when was it a kill-em-all story? Even with the innocent 5pb.? Dear god, I can't watch this scene, readers.
"There's children here, and he expects us to kill them? I…fuck this world," , realizing that this was the most she had ever swore in her entire life. Iffy and Epica would be disappointed, for sure.
"3...2…1…"
The anticipation was tremendous, and she felt everyone grow much more insane then they already were.
"Go!"
The gates opened, and everyone bolted. 5pb. was the last one in, and she can tell that this was going to end badly. Very, very badly.
This is taken from The Phantom's book "Neptunian Theory: The Destruction of Man and Planet through the trivial matters of Godly dissolution;" Page 635, para 3:
"…Even with the pain and misery that we can face, if my calculations are all correct, then the plan should work. One of the many chances of our universe not falling apart is to zap the living daylights out of the Goddesses of Gamindustri. This will render them unable to transform, and if they can, then they will be unable to hold the form for long. This is the only way for the world to not end, and simply put, my other world ending theory has not occurred yet. This, of course, is a major worry for any sane man. Hopefully, the calculations of C minus S divided by X to the ninth will be factual, or else our universe will be just like I described the nexus of Celestia earlier: another piece of dust in the wind…"