Amelia waited outside the school's main building for Doug. She glanced at her watch. She hadn't heard from him after school yesterday, and he should have been here by now–
She heard fast footsteps, and looked up. Kara was running toward her, Marie right behind her. Kara stopped in front of Amelia, breathing hard.
"Kara!" Amelia said. "What's wrong?"
Kara gasped, then looked her in the eye. "Doug got hit by a car, he's in the hospital," she said. "I've got my mom's car. C'mon."
By the Rose, Chapter 21: How to Save a Life
Kara leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, trying not to look at anything.
She hated hospitals.
She remembered being dragged to one when her grandma was dying. She'd been about five at the time, too hyper to spend much time in one place for long. Then they'd brought her in to see the old woman.
Kara could still see her, somehow. Laying there in bed, three different tubes sticking out of her arms and another one coming out her nose, looking like she'd snap if you looked at her too hard. She didn't remember much else about that visit, just screaming and falling out of her dad's arms, and trying to get out of the room as quick as she could.
She shuddered a little at the memory, and wished again she was anywhere else. Not that she could go.
As much as she hated to admit it, this had just gotten a lot more serious. Except for when it was a plot device, no one had really gotten hurt in the series. Sure, they all fought with swords, but that hadn't mattered. And even Akio riding on the hood of his car hadn't been enough to make it crash.
Kara sighed, and reminded herself again that she didn't know. But she remembered walking out of school yesterday and seeing Doug's motorcycle still in the student parking lot. She hadn't seen it this morning, but she hadn't really had the chance to look. Somehow, she had a feeling it was still there.
"Kara?"
Kara glanced down. Marie sat in one of the plastic hospital chairs next to her with a months-old magazine in her lap. She looked worried. Some of her hair was coming out of her usual ponytail, making it look like she was trying to fly away.
"Yeah?"
"What you said on the way over, do you really think that?" Marie asked, her voice quiet.
Kara blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Damn right," she said. "There's no other way. Doug's been teaching me how to ride, he's too careful to get hit. And like I said, I saw his bike yesterday."
"Then it was worth staying a little late," Marie said.
Kara nodded. They'd stayed behind to talk with Sean. It was the first conversation she'd had with him, or anyone else in the club, that didn't involve the duels or any of this in what felt like weeks. Sean had been set on getting the club going again, and had been throwing series ideas at her. She'd made him stop when he got to a title she knew was porn.
"Young ladies?"
Kara looked up and almost snarled when she saw it was just a nurse. Her voice was a little too close to how the old bat of a teacher talked. Kara forced a half-smile. "Yeah?"
"Your friend wants to see you now," the nurse said. "Please, follow me."
The nurse led them to Doug's room. Kara forced herself to stay neutral, to not let the shock show. Doug looked like something out of one of those old cartoons, the ones that always ended with someone wrapped up in a full body cast in the hospital. His left arm was in a cast, so was his left leg, hanging in some kind of rig from the ceiling. His body was all wrapped up; Kara guessed busted ribs.
Amelia was there too, sitting next to the bed, tears streaked down her face. She wasn't smiling, which was weird enough to see. But Kara would have wondered a whole lot if she had been.
"Let me guess," Kara said. "You should see the other guy?"
"I'd laugh," Doug said. "But that hurts."
"He's going to be okay," Amelia said, sounding kind of like she needed to believe it, like she needed someone else to believe it.
"I'm sure he is," Marie said. "What happened?"
"Five broken ribs, broken arm, broken leg," Doug said. It sounded like he was reciting it. "It'll be about two months before I get the casts off, but the doctors say I should be all right, shouldn't have any trouble using the arm or walking again. And they've got me on some really good pain pills."
"Good," Kara said, nodding. She leaned against the wall, then looked at Doug. "Tell me what happened."
Doug glanced at Amelia, who nodded. "I want to know too," she said quietly. "Kara said – she said she doesn't think you really crashed."
Doug looked up at the ceiling, and it was a while before he said anything. "Kara's right. I wasn't on my bike. I was . . . I was riding."
Kara cursed. Amelia gasped, then clapped her hands over her mouth. Marie looked at Kara, and Kara shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marie reach for her hand, and took it. This was going to suck.
"But – but I thought. . . ." Amelia trailed off. "Why, Doug?"
"It's not because of you two," Doug said, looking at Marie and Kara.
"Didn't think so," Kara said.
"He threatened you," Marie said. "Or he threatened Amelia."
"Sort of," Doug said as Amelia gave Marie a panicked look. "He didn't say he'd hurt you, Amelia. He said that--" Doug coughed, then winced, screwing up his face. It took him a moment to start talking again. He looked at Amelia. "He said if I rode, he'd leave you alone."
Amelia reached for Doug's good hand and held it tight.
Kara leaned forward. "So you rode," she said. "Then what?"
Doug coughed again. "Then I told him I wouldn't duel," he said. "Chris tried to make me, even got up on the seat and I think he was going to threaten me or something. I . . . that was stupid. I stood up too, I was getting really mad." He swallowed hard.
Kara paused. She didn't want to press, but she had to know. "Then what?"
"Then I told him no, and he said 'too bad,' and he disappeared."
"He disappeared?" Marie echoed. Kara looked at her. The same fear was back in her eyes.
"He was gone, just, poof," Doug said. The fingers on his cast-bound hand twitched. "Just like that. Then the car wasn't on that road anymore, it was on the freeway."
Kara sighed. She could guess the rest. She squeezed Marie's hand, just to reassure herself she was there. It was just as she'd thought, and worse than she'd guessed. She made a quick mental note to beat the hell out of Chris, one way or another, then looked at Doug again.
Doug and Amelia were looking at each other, standing as close as they could. Amelia was crying again. Kara held back what she was going to say and waited.
Things had officially gone beyond anything that happened in the series. She knew that now. Sure, no one in the series had refused to duel – hell, the only time someone came close was that Onion Prince guy failing as a Black Rose duelist before he even started.
Kara decided she didn't want to think about the Black Rose thing with Amelia still in the room. Just because.
There had to be something or someone behind all this, she thought. This wasn't just happening anymore, it was happening on purpose, and a purpose meant there was something driving it. Things couldn't go on like this. She had to know what was happening.
Kara glanced down at Marie. Yeah, Marie probably knew more than what she was saying. A lot more. But could she ask her? There were . . . there were places she didn't want to go. And she'd gotten too used to having Marie around. She couldn't just tell her to piss off.
And where would Marie go, anyway? It wasn't like Kara was going to challenge someone and lose on purpose.
Dammit. There were too many questions, and not enough things she could do. Typical. She looked up to see Amelia and Doug looking at her.
Amelia looked back to Doug, and said, "I'll come by after school. My mom's going to be mad that I just left, but they'll understand."
"I know," Doug said. "Thank you."
"I'll see you later." Amelia leaned in and kissed Doug on the cheek, then headed out the door, saying she'd wait in the hall for Kara and Marie.
Kara walked to the side of Doug's bed, tugging Marie along with her. She sat down in the chair Amelia'd been using. "So," she said. "What didn't you tell her?"
"That it was easy to ride when I knew Chris wouldn't ask her to," Doug said. Somehow, he was smiling.
"Good thing you did," Kara said. She managed to smile as well. "Looks like you're more of a prince than me."
Doug shook his head, barely. "I'm no prince," he said, then coughed again. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Just did what I had to do." He took a deep breath, then looked Kara in the eye. "We've got to stop this."
"I know," Kara said. She hung her head. "Damn. We should have stopped this before you got hurt. We should have known this'd happen."
"I don't think we could have," Marie said. "Nothing like this happened before."
"Yeah, but this isn't the anime!" Kara snapped, whipping around to look at Marie. "I know you're the Rose Bride or something, but – god, this is so messed-up. It's been messed-up since day one."
"I'm sorry," Marie whispered.
"It's not your fault," Doug said. "Don't ever think it is. You didn't make me ride, you didn't disappear and make the car crash. You didn't bring the car here in the first place. You didn't start the duels."
"I know," Marie said, still quiet. She looked down at her hands, putting them both around Kara's. "But I'm the Rose Bride."
"You're not Ends of the World," Doug said.
Kara felt Marie's hands twitch. She looked at Doug. "Yeah, that's right," she said. "You think there really is an Ends of the World after all this?"
"Seems like it," Doug said. He coughed again, and winced. "Gah. Anyway. Yeah, from how Henry was, and how Eric was, and what Amelia told me about Sharon, there's got to be someone else behind all this."
"Yeah," Kara said, nodding. "But how? How'd all this shit get started?"
"I don't know," Doug said. He leaned his head back on his pillow. "But I'm kind of glad I'm out of it." He chuckled, barely. "Didn't want to get out of it like this, but at least I don't have to worry about challenging you."
Kara had to say it. "I'd kick your ass."
"I know, I'd let you." Doug looked back at her. "I don't know how much longer I can talk, so one more thing." He nodded toward the back of the room's door. Kara looked, and saw his black leather jacket hanging there. "The keys are in the left pocket. Take 'em."
Kara blinked, then looked back to him. "Holy shit, Doug. No. No way. I can't do that."
"The bike won't do me any good in here," Doug said. "Come on. You know how she is, she needs to get out, be on the road."
Kara shook her head, smiling. That was such a typical guy thing, calling his bike or car or whatever 'she.' Sharon always called that wishful thinking. Sure, Doug had another 'she' in his life, but that didn't change anything.
"You sure?" Kara asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Doug said. "Get the keys before I change my mind." He barely chuckled again.
Kara didn't move, but Marie stretched out, still holding Kara's hand while she fished around in Doug's jacket. A moment later, she brought back the unusual motorcycle key on a silver skull keychain. "Is this it?" Marie asked.
"Yeah, that's it," Doug said. "Now get out of here, I need to sleep."
"Got it," Kara said, taking the keys from Marie. "We'll come visit when we can, maybe after school today with Amelia."
"Thanks," Doug said, and closed his eyes.
Kara turned, and as they were about to leave, she heard Doug call her again. She turned.
"Take care of her," he said.
Kara looked down at the keys and knew that wasn't all he meant. "Damn right," she said, then tugged Marie out of the room as quick as she could.
Once they were outside, Kara dragged Marie down the hall to another sitting area. She didn't see Amelia. Good. She let go of Marie, threw herself into a chair, and started crying. Her shoulders were shaking after only a breath.
After a moment, Kara felt Marie's hand on her shoulder. She didn't move, didn't say anything. Marie sat down next to her, and leaned her head on her shoulder, offering some kind of quiet comfort.
"What the hell," Kara said through her tears. "It's not supposed to be like this!"
"I know," Marie said, then raised her head and put an arm around Kara. "I know."
"You know?" Kara started wiping her face, though the tears were still coming. "What do you know!"
Somewhere nearby, a nurse told her to please be quiet, but Kara flipped her off without looking. She was focused on Marie, on the pain and fear in her eyes, but also the girl herself. This had all started when Marie showed up.
"Who are you?" Kara asked, then sniffed. "This ain't your fault, but if you hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened!"
"I know," Marie said, shrinking back in her chair. The loose hairs fell down over her face, like they were trying to hide her. "I didn't want any of this to happen – I didn't want anything bad to happen to anyone."
Kara took a deep breath, and wiped at her nose. "So. Could you do anything? Could you have, I don't know, made this not happen?"
"Maybe," Marie whispered.
Kara looked at her again. She saw something in the girl's green eyes, something that reminded her of Anthy. She remembered Amelia talking about a fanfic she'd read, where the author had talked about some scary ageless thing that Anthy had going on, and how you could see that in her eyes.
Looking at Marie, Kara finally understood that.
"I know," Kara said, sniffling, "I know I said I'd never give you an order. But if you don't tell me what's up with you, I'm going to order you to." She swallowed hard. "Before anyone else gets hurt. Damn it."
Marie looked at her, and for a moment Kara almost took it back. She looked so sad. But she finally said, "Yes, Katherine."
Marie took them to a pretty bad part of the city. Kara started to wonder why they were here, until Marie pointed to an apartment building and said, "That's where I woke up."
Kara looked up. The building was an old-style place, looked kind of like a hotel. There were tagger's marks along one side, and the whole place looked like it should be torn down. She heard a siren in the distance. There was trash in the streets. Kara squinted. Of all the places to come.
"What d'you mean," Kara said, not looking at Marie, "that's where you woke up?"
"I'll tell you when we're inside," Marie said. She'd hardly raised her head since they'd left the hospital. She started walking toward the building, and Kara followed.
They climbed the stairs to the sixth floor; the elevator was broken. Marie walked down the outdoor hallway until the reached they sixth apartment, then pulled a set of keys Kara hadn't seen before out of her pocket. She unlocked the door, and it creaked when it opened.
Kara looked inside.
'Grey' was the only way to describe it. The apartment wasn't more than a studio, just one big room with a small sort-of kitchen and two doors, one of which led to a bathroom. The walls were a dingy off-white, and there wasn't anything on them. There weren't any dishes out in the kitchen, and the clock on the microwave was blinking all zeroes. A single twin bed sat against one wall, a rumpled white blanket laying over grey sheets. There was no pillow. The whole place seemed like no one had lived there for a long time.
Kara looked at Marie. "Here?" she asked. "This's your place?"
"I think so," Marie said. "Please, come in."
They walked in and Marie shut the door behind them. She sat down on the bed. Kara started to look around. There was some food in the fridge and cupboards, but only paper plates and plastic utensils. The other door led to a closet; the only clothes inside it were two school uniforms and some sweats. She closed the closet door and leaned against it, giving Marie a hard look.
She still looked so sad. Kara gritted her teeth and made herself say it.
"Okay. Talk."
"I think it was the same day I met you," Marie said. "When I met everyone in the anime club. I woke up here, and I knew I had to get to school."
"Wait," Kara said, holding up a hand. "You just woke up? Here?"
Marie nodded. She was only looking at the floor. "I don't know how I got here. I . . . I think I was at the foster home before. I remember some of the homes I've been to, I've told you about that."
"Yeah, like the one where you saw Utena," Kara said.
Marie nodded again, and was quiet for a moment. Kara took a step closer, and when Marie looked up, tears were streaming down her face. Kara forced herself to stay where she stood. She had to know the truth, and hugging Marie wouldn't help.
"I was so scared," Marie said, her voice gone stiff and high. "I knew when I woke up. I knew I was – me, but I knew someone else too. I knew I wasn't just me. There was something – something I had to do. And I knew that I had to get to your school."
"You woke up knowing that?" Kara asked.
"I woke up knowing a lot," Marie said, then sniffled. She hung her head again. "Like I said, I remember all of Utena, I remember watching it. And when I woke up, I knew what I had to do, and . . . and I realized what I was."
Kara shuddered, trying to imagine that. To wake up and know that you weren't totally yourself anymore? She shook her head, trying to make the thought go away.
"I didn't want to be the Rose Bride," Marie continued. Tears were falling on her hands, clasped before her. "But I felt it. I felt it and I knew I didn't have any choice. There were things I'd have to do, and I couldn't – I had to."
Kara leaned back against the closet door again. She took a deep breath. Just when she'd thought things couldn't get any weirder – no, she'd never really thought that. But she hadn't expected this would be Marie's secret. Even though she knew it'd gone too far for this to be some joke, she hadn't thought of this.
"I don't know how," Marie said. She sounded a little calmer, but she was still crying. "I don't know how it's possible."
"But it's happening," Kara said quietly. "Can't deny that."
"I remember what I dreamed," Marie said.
"You dreamed something?"
"Something." Marie paused. "I remember . . . it was like I was running from something, like there was something chasing me. I don't know what it was, but I was afraid, and it was like I was just watching myself. I was running . . . for so long. Years. Then, there was this burst of roses, and it was like I was going faster, more than just running. Then I woke up, and I was here, and I wasn't just me."
Kara remembered the very end of the Utena movie, with the cars and the castle and Akio all falling apart into nothing but rose petals. She wondered if Marie thought the same. She didn't ask.
"It's been getting worse, sometimes," Marie said. "That . . . that feeling that I have to do things. That I have to be Anthy. Sometimes, I feel like I'm just watching myself again, like there's nothing I can do but what – but what she would do."
Kara nodded, barely. It seemed like Marie was just letting it out, so she stayed quiet.
"It was worse when I was with someone else, when it was Henry or Sean or Sharon. Maybe not so much with Sharon. But definitely with Henry. I tried to defy him, tried to not be Anthy for him. And it just made things worse."
"How?" Kara asked. "Made him even more of a jerk to you?"
"Something like that," Marie said. She sniffled again, then coughed. "I . . . when you first talked to me, when you acted like you cared, I . . . I'm sorry, Kara. But I started to hope you might be the one."
Kara frowned. That didn't sound too good. "Might be the one what?" she asked.
Marie raised her head. Her eyes had gone red and puffy, but Kara could see the hope there. "Might be the one to rescue me."
"Oh, fucking hell," Kara muttered, then put a hand to her forehead. "I'm not a prince, we've been over this."
"Not really, we haven't," Marie said. "But that's just it. This is going to sound strange, but when I'm with you, I feel like I can be . . . me. Not the Rose Bride."
Kara lowered her hand and looked at Marie. Wasn't that what she wanted? She'd only dueled because Henry was being such an ass, she hadn't wanted a bride. She sure as hell hadn't wanted the Rose Bride. And now, she made it so Marie could be less of that?
"With anyone else," Marie continued, "I don't think I could have disagreed with them. I couldn't have told them no. You make me feel like who I used to be."
"That's still who you are," Kara said, snarling a little. She didn't know how much she believed that, after what Marie had just told her. But she had to say it. She wanted to believe it.
"I think so," Marie said, lowering her gaze again. "But I'm not sure."
"How come you're not sure?" Kara asked.
"Some of it's like I said. It's worse during the duels. It's like all I can do is watch, because that's all that Anthy did, I can't do anything else. It's like watching my body stand there while I'm not in it. And. . . ."
Kara stepped back toward her, and stood near the bed. "And?"
When Marie spoke, she was whispering. "And sometimes, it seems like I can change things. Like Anthy did, I think, even if she was just being mean to Nanami."
"Change things, huh?" Kara folded her arms over her chest. "Like what?"
"I don't know," Marie whispered. "I've never done it. I never wanted to. But I think . . . if I reach for the part of me that's Anthy, and I just push. . . ."
Kara squatted down by the bed and reached for Marie's chin, raising her gaze. She looked her in the eye. "One order," Kara said. "Don't do that. Ever."
Marie's eyes went wide, and she started to pull away, but Kara held her. "But you said, earlier, you asked if I could have changed things. If I could have made this not happen."
"Yeah, I know," Kara said, not letting go. "Doesn't mean I want you to. Because I don't. That ain't right."
Marie lowered her eyes. "If you say so, Kara."
"I say so." Kara let go of her and stood, and started to pace. There wasn't much room in the apartment for that, but she managed. "So. What d'you think happened? Why are you sort-of Anthy? And where's Utena?"
It was a moment before Marie said anything. "I don't know about Utena. I don't even know how I know something of being Anthy. But I think. . . ." She trailed off, and Kara looked at her. Marie was crying again. "I think Ends of the World is trying to bring me back to him."
Kara scowled and started to say something, then let her breath out all at once. "I feel like I should say it's just an anime," she said, more quiet than before. "But I've been fighting duels for you, and there was that thing with Amelia. Can't deny that."
"And there's Chris," Marie whispered.
"And there's Chris. Bastard." Kara was still pacing.
Dammit. Why did this have to happen to her? And she couldn't even say she hadn't asked for it. Sure, she wouldn't have wanted to live through the Utena series. Not from the inside. Akio was a real fuckhead, and the last thing she wanted was to have to face him down and have him try to sleep with her or something.
She thought back to what Sean had said, sometime between asking her out and challenging her. He'd done what half the school had done – said that she and Marie were together, y'know, like that. She'd denied it, of course. They weren't like that. They didn't even sleep in the same room, not even the same bed, like Utena and Anthy did in the last part of the series.
The scene with Utena and Anthy holding hands across the bed flashed through Kara's mind. She felt her face heat.
Dammit.
Kara turned and made for the door.
"Kara?"
She turned and looked at Marie, one hand on the doorknob. "I gotta think about all this, okay?" she asked.
"You don't . . . sound like yourself," Marie said slowly. "Are you going to be all right?"
Kara blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Doug's in the hospital, Sharon's gone nuts, Chris sold his soul, you've got Anthy in your head, and Akio's coming out of the anime after us," she said. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Just fuckin' peachy."
She walked out and slammed the door behind her. After a moment, Marie didn't follow, so she headed for the stairs and made her way back to the street.
This couldn't be happening. Maybe she could go home, go to sleep, and wake up tomorrow and nothing would have happened. Hell, maybe she could talk her parents into letting her transfer. Let's see her stay engaged–
Engaged. No matter what, she'd fought in the duels, she was the one engaged. Kara sighed through clenched teeth. She couldn't walk away from that.
"You end up in the nicest places."
Kara recognized the voice and whipped around. "Chris. What the hell?" She started walking fast toward him, clenching her fists.
Chris shook his head. "Back off," he said, though he sounded far too casual. "I haven't said a thing."
"You put Doug in the hospital, you asshole," Kara seethed. "You don't need to say anything, you just need to get your ass beat."
"Didn't know you swung that way," Chris said, grinning. "Or is Marie too sore to walk after--"
Kara swung at him, but he ducked out of the way, moving around her. He held up both hands, laughing.
"You little shit," Kara spat.
Chris chuckled. "You're calling me little? C'mon. At least I can wear pants without rolling the cuffs up halfway to my knees."
Kara started to curse at him again, then realized something. She lowered her fists, and forced herself to calm down. There was a way to get an answer. It might not be what she wanted, and it sure as hell wasn't what she really wanted to do, but if there was a shot, she'd take it.
"Where's the car, Chris?" she asked.
Chris paused, and blinked at her. "What?"
Kara managed a grin. There was something nice about throwing him off like that. "The car, dumbass. Red, convertible, no driver? Where is it."
He ran a hand over his hair, looking nervous. "I don't know," he said. "It just shows up when I'm supposed to, y'know, get someone to ride. You want to ride? You're not even supposed to, are you?"
"You're sure as hell not going to seduce me, but yeah." Kara took a deep breath. Now for the hard part. "I want to ride."
There was the sound of a motor in her ears. Kara looked up and down the street.
"So, you hear it," Chris said.
"Yeah."
"You've got something, some reason not to give up hope?" Chris looked nervous, like he wasn't used to making it up as he went along.
Kara rolled her eyes. "Damn right."
"Then c'mon!" Chris stood in the middle of the street, his arms thrown wide, his hair blowing back even though there wasn't enough wind. "Come with us to the world you desire!"
A red car sped down the street right at them, and came to a screeching halt in front of the apartment building. No one was driving. Chris jumped over the passenger side door and slid into the seat.
Kara hopped into the back. Then they were off.